Europe Ablaze

Europe Ablaze puts hundreds of planes at your command to send out over the
deadly skies of Britain, France, and Germany during World War II. Take the
place of Reichsmarschall Goering or Air Chief Marshal Portal to plot campaign-
wide priorities and set the tactical doctrines your fleet commanders must
follow. Then sit back and helplessly watch the events of the day take their
course: the successes, the devastation, and lost planes tallied for you
tersely at the end of each day, like a report card on which the fate of your
nation depends. If that’s too much responsibility and not enough action, the
role of fleet commander is available, too. To warm this seat, you need some
real knowledge of air strategy. Plan night and day missions, approach vectors,
and rendezvous. Balance wear and tear on your squadrons with the demands of
your commander-in-chief. Select targets that maximize each squadron’s skills
and planes, but keep abreast of enemy flight paths — your opponent has plans
of his own.

Up to twelve hot-seat players can split up the air command roles available in
Europe Ablaze, or one player can take on all the roles or even leave
everything to the computer to learn some strategy. Detailed hex maps included
with the game lay out the targets in each scenario and provide a platform for
planning the next day’s strategy. The computer screen alternates between short
menus leading to command and report screens, and a campaign-wide map on which
the events of the day play out. Though the planning is turn-based, fleet
commanders have access to “run-time” commands by halting the spinning clock
which marks the progress of the day. Enemy strike plots can be examined,
intercepts sent out, and patrols strengthened every five minutes if you like.

Behind the scenes, accidents happen, crews gain experience, repairs are made,
and the results are rolled into each day’s report. Weather varies regionally
and changes with the season and the hour. Ultimately, victory rests on
destruction delivered; each air fleet commander is scored separately, and
their contributions determine the commander-in-chiefs’ scores, which decide
the outcome of the scenario. A map editor adds complete design of new
campaigns and a sample Mediterranean scenario.