In 1980, a Massachusetts middle-school history teacher named Alfred Leonardi published one of the most ingenious tabletop war games ever designed. Ace of Aces: Handy Rotary Series turned WWI dogfighting into two leather-bound flip books. No dice. No board. No counters. Just two pilots facing off across a kitchen table, each looking at their own private view through the cockpit, each picking a maneuver, each calling out a page number to their opponent. Cross-reference, flip, repeat. The plane in your sights is the plane in his.
The system was so elegant that Leonardi patented it — the first patented game system in history, predating Wizards of the Coast's collectible-card-game patent by over a decade. It won the 1980 Charles S. Roberts Gamers' Choice Award and was inducted into the Origins Awards Product Hall of Fame in 1993. Variations followed across the eighties and nineties — Powerhouse, Flying Machines, and Balloon Buster for WWI; Wingleader for WWII; Jet Eagles for modern aircraft; eventually fantasy and Star Wars adaptations — but the original Handy Rotary set is the foundational pair where all of it began.
This is exactly that pair: Allies (the Sopwith Camel pilot's perspective) and Germans (the Fokker Dr.I pilot's perspective), bound in the original brown faux-leather covers with gold-foil stamping. Together they make a complete playable set — a self-contained two-player war game in two slim volumes that fits in a coat pocket.
Condition: Very Good. Both covers show light wear and rubbing to the gold-foil titling, with one small corner chip on the Allies volume. Interior pages clean, complete, and bright. Spines tight. Fully playable.
A foundational artifact for game collectors, aviation enthusiasts, or anyone who recognizes elegant design when they see it. Currently being reprinted by Mr. B Games via Kickstarter — but originals from the 1980 Nova Game Designs printing remain the collector's preference.
In 1980, a Massachusetts middle-school history teacher named Alfred Leonardi published one of the most ingenious tabletop war games ever designed. Ace of Aces: Handy Rotary Series turned WWI dogfighting into two leather-bound flip books. No dice. No board. No counters. Just two pilots facing off across a kitchen table, each looking at their own private view through the cockpit, each picking a maneuver, each calling out a page number to their opponent. Cross-reference, flip, repeat. The plane in your sights is the plane in his.
The system was so elegant that Leonardi patented it — the first patented game system in history, predating Wizards of the Coast's collectible-card-game patent by over a decade. It won the 1980 Charles S. Roberts Gamers' Choice Award and was inducted into the Origins Awards Product Hall of Fame in 1993. Variations followed across the eighties and nineties — Powerhouse, Flying Machines, and Balloon Buster for WWI; Wingleader for WWII; Jet Eagles for modern aircraft; eventually fantasy and Star Wars adaptations — but the original Handy Rotary set is the foundational pair where all of it began.
This is exactly that pair: Allies (the Sopwith Camel pilot's perspective) and Germans (the Fokker Dr.I pilot's perspective), bound in the original brown faux-leather covers with gold-foil stamping. Together they make a complete playable set — a self-contained two-player war game in two slim volumes that fits in a coat pocket.
Condition: Very Good. Both covers show light wear and rubbing to the gold-foil titling, with one small corner chip on the Allies volume. Interior pages clean, complete, and bright. Spines tight. Fully playable.
A foundational artifact for game collectors, aviation enthusiasts, or anyone who recognizes elegant design when they see it. Currently being reprinted by Mr. B Games via Kickstarter — but originals from the 1980 Nova Game Designs printing remain the collector's preference.
