Aces High / The Blue Max
for VASSAL 3.1.18

When the late Jim Hind originally designed the Aces High game he said that it was inspired by the Air Force / Dauntless games by Battleline and this VASSAL module was inspired by the Air Force / Dauntless VASSAL module that is currently available on the VASSAL site. 

So my thanks go out to Keith Poulter who kindly gave his permission for me to make this module, Rodney Kinney for the fantastic VASSAL system and to 'E' for the inspirational Air Force / Dauntless module.

Getting Started

To start a game first select what side you desire to play.  There are spaces for up to four Entente and four Central Powers players as well as a Referee player for PBEM games.  There is also a Solitaire player available for the solitaire missions in the game.
When selecting the maps to use, both map I and map II need to be selected to have the full mapboard and they need to set up as follows;

Map I

Map II

Once the module is loaded then the main toolbar becomes available.



Playing the Game

One of the most important things to do once play begins is to set up the logsheet header for each aircraft.  This will be used to mark off any damage sustained by the aircraft and also to show any ammunition expended in combat.  The header becomes available once the aircraft counter is placed on the map and is accessed by right clicking on the counter and then looking at the 'Misc Menu' options.  To complete the header the numbers in brackets need to be transcibed into the boxes, this will then display the tally boxes which can be filled in by clicking on the left most blank box.

The image above shows an SE 5A with a completed logsheet header.  In this example the aircraft has sustained 2 points of wing damage, 1 point of fuselage damage and has expended 4 bursts from the Vickers and used 1 drum of Lewis gun ammunition.
If a mistake is made in recording damage or ammunition usage then simply left click on the right most shaded in box and that box will return to an unshaded state.

By right clicking on the aircraft counter several movement commands will also be displayed, such as banking and turning.  In either the 'End of Turn' or 'Misc' menu options are other commands, such as climbing, diving, setting altitudes, and indicators to show if an aircraft is carrying bombs.