Dawn Patrol: Role Playing Game of WW I Air Combat

About this board game

Dawn Patrol: Role Playing Game of WW I Air Combat is a World War I air-combat game for 2–52 players, with a playing time of about 60 minutes. Each player controls an airplane in a thrilling test of skill and nerve, recreating the fiery dogfights and air battles of the Great War.

Alongside its aerial action, Dawn Patrol includes a distinctive role-playing element. When a pilot survives a mission, that experienced pilot can be used the next time a player flies the same aircraft. Surviving more missions and claiming more kills allows the pilot’s advantages to grow, giving the game a continuing sense of development from one flight to the next.

The game presents a substantial set of rules and reference material while remaining approachable: its 32 pages of rules and 32 pages of charts are described as “none too difficult.” This combination supports focused air battles as well as an ongoing pilot experience.

• World War I dogfights and air battles
• 2–52 players and approximately 60 minutes of play
• Persistent pilot experience across missions
• Advantages that grow through survival and kills

Released in 1982, Dawn Patrol is an update of the earlier Fight in the Skies. The game has an active club, the Fight in the Skies Society, which hosts one or two weekends of play in the Midwest each year and publishes The Aerodrome two to four times annually.

Dawn Patrol and Fight in the Skies are noted as the only game to have been played at every GenCon, and the game is also a featured event at GaryCon.