Memoir '44 is a great World War II war board game that has simple mechanics and vast tactical options. It is not overly dipped in simulation mechanics but still fun and strategically challenging. Many compare Tide of Iron to Memoir '44. I would say their are similar but I think each have their own different appeal. I enjoy both.

Memoir '44: Air Pack is an expansion to appease those WWII war game fans that like to have the air power playing a more integral role. The Air Pack contains the necessary components to have air power play a strong role in your scenarios of Memoir '44.

From the back cover:
“Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many, to so few... - Winston Churchill - August 1940”

Inside the thin cardboard box, the first thing any war gamer will notice are the fully painted airplane minis - Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Supermarine Spitfire, Vought F4U Corsair, and Yakovlev Yak-9. These obviously are used as the minis when planes are on the board. These are very sweet.

The Rulebook contains the air rules for battles as well as a complete compilation of all 64 official Memoir '44 scenarios published to date. These scenarios include revisions to many of them that take advantage of the numerous expansions now available for the game system. Also contained in the box is a complete 120-card deck describing every single terrain, special rules, troop type and nation introduced since the game's launch.

There are sixty terrain tiles included in the box as well. For example, there are now winter and desert hills, winter villages and airfields, and gullies (which have the same effect as Wadis in the Terrain Pack). These are simply aesthetic changes to existing tiles so one can have white hills or villages on on the winter board instead of green. The game also includes some bomb craters, exit markers, take-off markers for use with airplanes or other scenario rules, destroyed bridges and an aircraft carrier.

From the back cover:
“ ... and never before has a Memoir '44 Expansion had so much to offer.”

The air rules introduce a new card called the Air Sortie card. Unless otherwise instructed by the scenario, this card is added to the deck and when drawn it is played face up beside the player's card holder. Some scenarios specifically state how aircraft are brought in while most simply use the Air Sortie card. In some scenarios, only one side may have the card while the other does not. It varies from scenario to scenario. The Air Sortie card, when in play, allows one plane to be brought into the battlefield. In general, unless the scenario says otherwise, the planes enter on any full edge hex on the board and each is considered a unit from then on.

An airplane can be ordered by standard Section cards, an Air Sortie card, as well as the Air Power card (which is considered an Air-Sortie equivalent). Only one plane can be on the battlefield at a time and they must be ordered every turn or leave the battlefield. There are no victory points for the opponent if the plane leaves the board.

Because there is no actual attack action against a plane, every time a plane is ordered, the plane must pass an Air Check roll. Every terrain has an air check value, and if there are adjacent enemy units more dice are added. In the case when there are adjacent units, the opponent rolls the dice. If a grenade is rolled, the order is wasted and the plane is downed. A victory point metal is gained if the opponent had units adjacent. This definitely balances out the effectiveness of the planes and creates a risk for the player to consider when putting a plane in play.

Planes can move 4 spaces on the board and take an action. Obviously, planes are not hindered by terrain or enemy units but must end their movement on a vacant hex. There are several actions a plane can take in combat. Some planes can take these actions while others can not. The action defines what planes can take them.

• Strafing - With this action, a player can fly over up to three adjacent units, rolling one attack die to each, ignoring terrain protection. This is similar to the old Air Power card except that not all hexes have to contain enemy units.
• Ground Support - The plane negates terrain protection of all enemy units adjacent to the plane. This is a power tactic but only 4 of the planes can perform it - Corsair, P38, Yak-1 and the Yak-9.
• Ground Interdiction - Enemy units that start their turn next to the plane cannot move but can battle. This is a handy tactic that can also make your plane a target (by forcing an Air Check). Once again, only a select set of airplanes can perform this action.
• Recon - Only available to the Storch aircraft, if the plane is next to an enemy unit the player can draw two command cards and discard one at the end of his turn. This is similar to playing a Recon card.
• Rescue - The airplane can remove a friendly infantry unit that has only one figure left from the board. This can only be taken by the Storch plane.
• Kamikaze - This attacks is of course for the Japanese plane only and is effective against ships. (Japanese only)

Of the actions available, the most effective one is the Ground Support as it can flush out units in protected terrain. Secondly, the Rescue action is a powerful tool, as it allows the player to prevent his opponent from getting a victory metal by saving a dying unit.

This expansion is far more than simply an upgrade for using planes. Although much of the rules revolve around that, there are more rules that enhance all the scenarios. One of the more interesting additions is Landing Crafts tiles. These are added to most of the beach landing scenarios to help out the invaders. They don't count as vehicles; they simply upgrade the unit in the landing craft to having two movements in water and gives them the ability to retreat. This can conceivably make a big difference in invasions, making them slightly less devastating for the attacker. Also, as mentioned before, the expansion also contains several reference cards, including one for every special rule in the game. These are absolutely invaluable and I wish other games would do something like this.

The 64 Scenarios are from previously published Memoir '44 products. As mentioned previously, they all have been edited in some way or another. Some have been changed to integrate more of the expansions available like the Terrain Pack or the Eastern Front pack, while others were edited to improve historical accuracy. Others are edited to clarify Special Rules and some have been changed with some "what-ifs" thrown in for flavor. The scenarios are broken out into theaters - Western, Mediterranean, Eastern, and Pacific. This, too, is invaluable to a Memoir '44 player as it refines the official scenarios and integrates all those other products he bought, making them worth buying even more.

In conclusion, the Air Pack creates a whole new level of war board gaming for the Memoir '44 fan. It does add a little more complexity but I do not think it is too much for a fan of the game to handle. It definitely preserves the feel and the ease of play of Memoir '44 while giving the player more tactical options to choose from. It presents some fairly original mechanics to simulate difficult battle situations. This is a great expansion for a great game - not only because of the Air Rules but also because of scenario updates and rules additions as well as the extra reference cards. I would highly recommend this to any Memoir '44 fan.

For more details on Days of Wonder and their new Board Game Expansion (WWII War game) “Memoir '44: Air Pack” check them out at their website http://www.daysofwonder.com, and at all of your local game stores.

Memoir '44: Air Pack
From: Days of Wonder
Type of Game: Board Game Expansion (WWII War game)
Game Design by: Richard Borg
Developed by: Don Clarke, Jacques David, Malcolm Green, Stephane Servais
Cover Art by: Julien Delval
Number of Pages: 80 pages (including scenarios)
Game Components Included:

• 8 Painted Airplane Miniatures & their in-flight stand
• An 80 page Air rules booklet, with 64 revised scenarios
• 60 new double-sided Terrain tiles including campaign & winter airfields, desert & winter hills, gullies & trenches
• 12 Round Markers, including airplane, "exit" and bomb crater markers
• 6 new Obstacles, including 6 landing crafts, a bombed out bridge, an aircraft carrier, winter field bunkers & dragon teeth
• 120 new Helper cards, including:
  • 2 Air Sortie command cards
  • 4 Nation cards
  • 8 Airplane summary cards
  • 10 Air Pack summary cards
  • 15 Troops summary cards
  • 19 Battle Star summary cards
  • 62 Terrain summary cards

Game Components Not Included: The base set of Memoir '44 and the other expansions
Retail Price: $ 42.95 (US)
Number of Players: 2
Website: www.daysofwonder.com