September's Eagles: First Look

On the Table: A very brief look at September's Eagles

I recently purchased a copy of September's Eagles, designed by Paul Rohrbaugh and published by High Flying Dice Games. I have set it up and pushed the pieces around a bit. Enough to know that I'm interested in learning more about the game. The packaging, components and presentation are top notch and create "atmosphere", which is an important part of the draw of any game.

In addition to the rule book, the game comes with an "Official Racing Program" that provides a brief history of the National Air Races of 1929-1939. It lists 12 races (scenarios) with the Race Course Layout, and historical pilots and planes that took part. Each has a brief description of the actual race including winners, notable events, etc.

Apparently, air races were a pretty dangerous pastime and the game reflects that. There is a good chance that one or more players will crash at some point during the race, so not only do you have to maneuver to win, you also have to be careful not to leave yourself vulnerable to a race-ending crash!

It's designed for 4 players but I'm sure you can play with less players and still enjoy the game.

After reading through the rule book and the Program, I'm totally psyched to jump in and play!

It's primarily a card game revolving around three types of cards:

• Pilot Cards - Each represents a single pilot of the era, along with his Skill Rating and Fatigue Level.
• Aircraft Cards - Each represents an actual aircraft from the period, and lists "Turn Radius", "Throttle Settings", "Climb/Dive Cost" and "Endurance Factor".
• Action Cards - These are the cards that drive the action. Includes "Incident", "Skill", "Maneuver", and "Endurance" cards.

Player interaction revolves around the different card types, point values, suits, etc. and there is a familiar "trumping" mechanism that works very well for this type of competition.

But it's not just a card game. There's a great looking map showing an aerial view of what an Air Race field must have looked like in the late 1920's or early 1930's, complete with aircraft counters and stand-up pylons to mark the course of the race.

Here's the game all set up for the start of the 1929 National Air Race in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 2, 1929. I'm really looking forward to the experience!

I'm not hearing a lot of buzz about this game yet and couldn't find any other reviews. If it entertains as I expect it will, I'll be certain to publish some type of feedback (review, strategy, replay... whatever).

You can buy a copy of this game from High Flying Dice Games.