Thunderbolt-Apache Leader

Planning, careful resource management, and the simple joy of hosing down targets with an AC-130. That's Thunderbolt/Apache leader.You command a squadron of close support aircraft, mainly A-10's and AH-64's, against a wide variety of ground units in a huge variety of terrain possibilities. Also included are AH-1 Super Cobras, F-16 Fighting Falcons, AV-8B Harriers, the frighteningly powerful AC-130 Spectre gunship, and two types of unmanned drones, all of which have different armament limits and weapon capability as well as speeds.A campaign day has you picking which enemy unit or units you'll target that day, picking which and aircraft and pilots will attack those targets, then selecting the weapons for your aircraft. Weapons, though, have to be purchased with supply points, which you almost never have enough of. So, do you load an A-10 with laser guided 1000lb bombs and AGM-65 Mavericks to almost insure it'll succeed at its mission at the cost of not being able to repair battle damage later or replace lost aircraft or do you go with cheaper weapons that have less of a chance of hitting? Well, that depends on a lot of things like what the target actually is, Infantry Group, Supply Convoy, Tank Spearhead, Artillery, or a bunch of other things.Having decided and dealt with a few other things, you then deal out the terrain tiles to create your map and distribute the enemy units. Each terrain piece can have ridges on it that can block line of site and make maneuver interesting. Each campaign setting uses a different subset of the terrain tiles, so, for Iran, the maps tend to have a lot of parallel ridges while the North Korea maps are a lot of dead-end valleys and not much open country.The battle then begins, with you trying to destroy enough enemy units to destroy the battalion while trying not to run out of weapons or fuel and either dodging return fire, or, even better, maneuvering to deny the big enemy units a chance to shoot at you.There is a lot of depth to this game and a lot of replayability, but it's not overly complicated. If you're looking for a game you can play by yourself, at your own pace, this is worth a close look. The price may be a tad high, but you get your money's worth.Check out this games entry on BoardGameGeek. You'll find a video series someone posted of a campaign he played, that will give you a better description then I ever could here,

I'm still giving the game full stars based on everything that went into it; graphics, game pieces, maps, etc.But...it is one of those games that can only be termed - "busy" - in the sense that even though I have checked and triple checked every possibility in sequence before moving to the next turn, I am always and forever missing something.Maybe it's just me.This is a really good solo player game, relatively easy to set up, plan and execute missions, but I just can't seem to nail down what needs to be done each turn without constantly referring to the rule book.Think of a solo version of ASL.

Gave as a gift. No complaints.

Not only a great wargame, the best solitaire game I have ever played! The game plays quickly. The rules are rather simple. But the resulting planning and play are amazingly realistic for a game with substantial abstractions. Highly recommended!! These guys have a mega-winner on their hands.

The online reviews aren't kidding when they call this one of the greatest games ever! Components are top-notch, the artwork looks great, and it has very high replay value! It's tied for #1 on my all-time favorite games list.

There are glaring errors with the cards but DVG will not provide replacements.

The weight of the product indicates that it is 360 pounds. I leave the image to verify that it does say that in the product information. Please correct the weight to buy it because the price to buy it by courier rises a lot since it raises the price of freight.

This is a really fun game if you like these sorts of aircraft and weaponry.