Jeff Reviews In Harm's Way: Aces and Spades

Jeff Rients, after a bit of a Barbie-induced sabbatical from blogging, has posted a review of Clash Bowley's RPG of WWI flying aces. In spite of (or, more likely, I suspect, because of) a degree in history, I tend to avoid straight-up historical games myself, but this one seems to have a number of interesting flourishes that appeal to the designer in me:

Which brings us to one of my favorite parts of Aces in Spades. The players all work together to fight enemy squadrons, but they're also in earnest competition with each other for kills, general recognition, medals, mention in dispatches, and promotions. I like games with that kind of dual competitive/cooperative nature. Truth be told, when I'm a player I tend to approach any campaign that way, but that's another post for another day.

Also be sure to check out how points can be moved between attack rolls. It's a nifty and elegant system that gives players a bit more control of the random elements of combat.