Wings for the Baron (Second Edition) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object of the Game
• Setting Up the Standard Game
• Glossary
• Technology/Event Cards
• Sequence of Play
  • Choosing Actions
  • Resolving Actions
    • #1 Build
    • #2 Espionage
    • #3 Design
    • #4 Research
    • #5 Bank
• Special Abilities
  • Albatros
  • Fokker
  • Halberstadt
  • Pfalz Flugzeugwerke
  • Roland
• Award Contracts
  • Procedure
• Inflation
• War Status
  • 1. Morale Adjustments
  • 2. Contracts Adjustment
  • 3. Allied Aircraft Effectiveness Adjustments
• Information Markers
• Game End and Victory
• Campaign Game Rules
  • Set Up Changes
  • Choosing Action Changes
  • Design Action for Recon and Bombers
  • Effectiveness for Recon and Bombers
  • Award Contracts Procedure Changes
• Solitaire Variant Rules
  • Solitaire Set Up
  • Action Changes
    • #1 Build
    • #2 Espionage
    • #3 Design
    • #4 Research and #5 Bank
  • Award Contracts Procedure Changes
  • Inflation and War Status Changes
  • NPC Money/Score
  • NPC Special Abilities
  • NPC End Game Scoring
  • Event Card Modifications
• Sequence of Play and Rules Summary

Components

• One 24-page, full-color Rulebook
• One 12-page Historical Reference book
• 96 cards
• Five double-sided playmats
• One game display
• One solo player aid
• 193 thick, laser-cut, multi-shaped counter pieces
• Four six-sided dice

Object of the Game

You are trying to amass the most money in Gold and Papiermarks (if they retain any value) by developing the best aeroplane designs in the greatest numbers.

Setting Up the Standard Game

Each player takes a player mat, showing its Standard Game side, and its matching set of markers for that manufacturer (each with its own special ability): Albatros, Fokker, Halberstadt, Roland, or Pfalz. Set up the player markers as follows:

1. Place your Factories marker on your mat's 1 space — you begin with one factory. The Albatros player starts with four factories.
2. Place your Papiermark and Gold markers on your mat's 0 space — you begin with no money.
3. Set your Technology markers to the side for future use.
4. Place your Wings Technology (arrow) marker on the Biplane area of your player mat, with its arrow pointing to the 0 engines technology row (it has a 0 value Bonus).
5. If your company's special ability includes a Talented Engineer (Fokker), Bonus Action (Pfalz), or Licensed Production (Roland) marker, those are placed in the Information markers box near the lower-left corner of your player mat. (Fokker begins with a talented engineer.)
6. Retain your six Action cards.

Place the game display in a convenient location between all players, and set it up as follows:

1. Place the German Morale (the Iron Cross medal) and Allied Morale (the Victory medal) markers on the 24 space.
2. Place the Fighter Contracts Available and Fighter Contracts Remaining markers on the space number equal to the number of players in the game.
3. Place the Allied Fighter Effectiveness marker (the small round one) on the 5 space. Set aside the Allied Recon and Bomber Effectiveness markers; they are used in the Campaign Game.
4. Each player places their Fighter Effectiveness marker (the small square one) on the 4 space. Set aside your Recon and Bomber Effectiveness markers; they are used in the Campaign Game.
5. Place the Papiermark Inflation marker on the leftmost (start) box of the Inflation track.
6. Set aside the Talented Engineer and Ace markers so that everyone can see their availability.

Next, assemble the War Status deck in the following manner to ensure the war's events happen in three Acts:

1. Divide the War Status cards into three piles by year: 1916, 1917, and 1918.
2. Shuffle the 1916 pile face down. Remove four 1916 cards and add them to the face down 1917 pile.
3. Shuffle the 1917 pile face down. Remove six 1917 cards and add them to the face down 1918 pile. Note that some of those four 1916 cards could have now matriculated forward into the 1918 pile!
4. Shuffle the 1918 pile.
5. Place the 1917 pile on top of the 1918 pile. Then place the 1916 pile on top. In this manner, the cards occur in a random, yet reasonably chronological order.

Finally, shuffle the Technology/Event cards into a deck and deal out two to each player (the player representing Pfalz receives three). Place the remainder aside, face down, to form a draw pile.

Glossary

d6, d3, d2: These are die roll results. A d6 is a normal die roll with six different outcomes – what you roll is what you get. A d3 is a three-sided die (i.e., a die roll ÷ 2, rounded up) where 1 or 2 = a result of 1; a 3 or 4 = a result of 2; and a 5 or 6 = a result of 3. A d2 is a two-sided die (i.e., a die roll ÷ 3, rounded up) where 1, 2, or 3 = a result of 1; and a 4, 5, or 6 = a result of 2.

Example: "1d6" means roll a single 6-sided die; "2d3" means rolling two 3-sided dice.

Effectiveness Rating: For the players, this is the sum of that aeroplane type's design features plus a die roll (and shown by that aircraft marker's position on the game display).

Gold: This is a player's score that is not subject to the ravages of inflation. On the reverse side is a +48 Gold marker in case you have collected so much gold that you have "lapped" the track on the player mat (lucky you!).

M (Papiermarks): This is a player's score that is subject to being decreased by inflation. On the reverse side is a reminder to collect +1M when you are awarded Contracts for having the Welded Steel technology.

Morale Rating: How each side is doing in the war. In Wings for the Baron, you would prefer if Germany won.

Preference Rating: That company's current Fighter Effectiveness Rating. Ties are resolved in favor of the player with the most markers (Talented Engineers, Aces, Licensed Production, etc.) in their Information Markers box on the lower-left corner of their player mat, or a random die roll if these are tied.

Political Influence has two different effects, each equal to its value (X): 1) When Fighter contracts are awarded, that player rolls one column higher (+X) than the Contracts Available marker; and 2) that die roll receives a positive die roll modifier (+X).

You still reduce the Fighter Contracts Available marker by the amount of Fighter contracts you have received down a minimum of 0; you cannot be awarded more Fighter contracts than there are remaining.

For example, if you had a sum of 3 Political Influence that turn that you were applying during the Award Contracts phase, and the Fighter Contracts Remaining marker was on the 9 column, you would roll on the 12 column with a +3 die roll modifier that turn.

Tie Breaking is resolved by the player going first who: 1) has the most markers (Talented Engineers, Aces, License Agreements, etc.) in their Information Markers box on the lower-left corner of their player mat; if that is tied, then 2) by the player with the most wealth (Papiermarks + Gold); if that is also tied, then 3) by a random die roll.

Technology/Event Cards

The Technology/Event cards have two distinct sections:

• The upper section has an aeroplane technology, used to create aeroplane designs. The blue camera and red bomb symbol are used only in the Campaign Game to improve Recon and Bomber designs, respectively.
• The lower section has an event, with its effects, restrictions, and play timing shown on the card. You can play a maximum of one per phase, and the events that phase take effect in the order that players reveal them. So there is some strategy in the exact timing of when you play your one Event card that phase.

You play each card as either a Technology (as described in the "#3 Design" section) or as an Event, but not both.

Once played, discard it face up in a discard pile next to the draw pile. If the draw pile is exhausted, reshuffle the discards together to form a new draw pile.

Sequence of Play

Each turn, perform the following phases in order:

1. Choose Actions: All players secretly and simultaneously choose two actions from among their Action cards and place those cards, face down, along the bottom of their respective player mats; one beneath the number 2 (meaning you will perform that Action twice that turn) and the other beneath the number 1 (which is performed once that turn).
2. Resolve Actions: Simultaneously reveal all Action cards and perform them in order number (found at the top of the Action cards; e.g., Build first, Espionage second, etc.).
3. Award Contracts: Players claim Contracts in Preference Rating order to increase their Papiermarks score.
4. Inflation: Roll a die to determine how much Inflation (if any) occurs; each player reduces their Papiermarks accordingly.
5. War Status: Reveal the next War Status card and implement its actions in order: a. Morale adjustments b. Fighter Contracts adjustment c. Allied Aircraft Effectiveness adjustments

Turns continue until either the Allied or German morale reaches 0 or the Inflation marker reaches the last box of its track, at which point the winner is determined.

Choosing Actions

At the beginning of each turn, all players secretly and simultaneously choose two of their Action cards to perform. Place your Action cards face down, one each below the slots numbered 2 and 1 along the bottom of your player mat. The Action card under the 2 slot allows you to perform two of that type of Action this turn, while the Action card under the 1 slot allows you to perform that particular Action only once this turn.

Note that the Focused Effort Action card cannot be played in the 2 slot. If it is played in the 1 slot, it will give you another (i.e., a third) Action of the card to its left. If you wish to concentrate your energy that turn on one type of Action, the Focused Effort card is for you!

(Focused Effort card: Perform the Action on the card shown to the left one additional time.)

Resolving Actions

After all players have finished choosing their Action cards, simultaneously reveal all of the chosen cards. Before players commence performing their Actions, play Event cards for this phase. After those Actions are performed, turn their cards face down as a reminder of their completion that turn.

Sequencing: Actions are resolved in order by type. Thus, all players who have selected any (#1) Build Actions complete them before any player conducts a (#2) Espionage Action. For some Actions, the order that players perform them matters (e.g., Espionage, possibly Design); other Actions players can freely perform concurrently (e.g., Build, Research, and Bank). When it matters, the order is handled by Tie Breaking (see the Glossary).

#1 Build

For each Build Action, you gain one factory (increasing its marker). Factories limit how much money you can receive from government contracts!

#2 Espionage

For each Espionage Action, select an opponent's technology that you do not have (and that you have met the prerequisites for, if any) and roll a die (+1 DRM if any other opponent also has that technology since it is more generally known).

If the result is less than that technology's espionage value, there is no effect (i.e., that Espionage Action is wasted).

If the result is greater than or equal to that technology's espionage value, you gain it and mark that technology as developed (as if you had played its corresponding Technology/Event card).

• Do not roll for Design Effectiveness afterward – you must perform a Design Action to take advantage of your newly-stolen technology. If you choose both Espionage and Design Actions in the same turn, a stolen technology can improve your subsequent Design Action that turn, since spying occurs first.
• If you do multiple Espionage Actions, you can see the results of each one before choosing the next technology you wish to spy upon.

#3 Design

For each Design Action, you may add one new design feature by playing Technology/Event cards; afterward, you may check the Effectiveness for one of your aeroplane types (Fighter, Recon, or Bomber) per Design Action.

Design First: First, you may (but do not have to) add technologies to your player mat that correspond to Technology/Event cards in your hand. Mark acquired technologies by covering the numbered part of their space with a Technology marker of the same value, and then discard the matching card.

Limitations: Certain cards have limitations noted on the cards themselves and shown by arrows on your player mat. You must have the prerequisite technology before you acquire a technology with arrows pointing to its box.

For example, acquiring Cantilevered Wings requires that you already possess Thick Wings technology. Therefore, you cannot play a Cantilevered Wings card unless you already have Thick Wings. You are allowed to play a technology and its prerequisite(s) during the same Design phase.

Major Breakthrough: The Better Engines III technology requires discarding two Better Engine cards to obtain. Doing so still counts as only a single Design Action.

One Per Tech: Duplicate technologies are not allowed (except Better Engines, see below).

For example, you cannot play a Streamlining card as such if you already have that technology.

Better Engines: The Better Engine technology has an additive effect; it is the sole exception to the above "One Per Tech" rule. However, you can only add one Better Engine technology per turn by design, and no player can ever have more than four total.

How Many Wings?: You begin the game with a Biplane design. The Monoplane and Triplane technologies have variable values depending on the current number of Better Engine technologies you possess (Biplanes are always worth 0). These values are listed on the Design Display and the cards.

For example, if you have Better Engines II technology, your Biplane design is worth 0, your Monoplane design is worth 0, and your Triplane design is worth +1.

Note also that each of these wing designs are mutually exclusive – you cannot have more than one wing design at a time. You may voluntarily switch to a Biplane design (for free, no discard required) any time you perform a Design Action.

Reshuffling the Cards: When a Metal Construction Technology card is played for its Technology half (instead of its Event half), reshuffle the Technology/Event deck and discards together to refresh the draw pile.

Effectiveness Second: After adding any new design features (or not), you may check the Effectiveness for one of your aeroplane types (Fighter, Recon, or Bomber; note that Recon and Bomber aeroplanes are only used in the Campaign Game) per Design Action.

Procedure: Roll one die for each attempt (unless you have a Talented Engineer marker in your Information Markers box, in which case roll two dice for each attempt and use the higher result), one Effectiveness improvement attempt at a time. You may choose the same aeroplane type (e.g., Fighter) multiple times in this manner after seeing the result of each roll.

Add the value of the die roll to the sum of all of the technology bonuses you have for that aeroplane type to determine its new Effectiveness rating.

If its new Effectiveness rating is greater than its current Effectiveness, increase its Effectiveness marker up to the new (higher) value. If it is less than or equal to its current Effectiveness, your marker simply remains where it is and that Effectiveness roll is wasted.

Effectiveness Roll Example: Pfalz has chosen to do two Design Actions this turn. During that step, after playing Technology/Event cards which add both the Ailerons and Agile technologies to his player mat, he chooses to roll for his Fighter Effectiveness with his first Effectiveness roll (to make sure it is sufficiently high before allocating his second Effectiveness roll that he is entitled to by virtue of doing two Design Actions that turn).

Since he has the required Rear Seat advance (see the Campaign Game rules), he plans to use his second Effectiveness roll to improve his Recon design (as it was just improved), but could also use this second roll for his Bomber design (even though it was not improved during his Design Action step).

#4 Research

For each Research Action, draw one card from the Technology/Event deck and add it to your hand. If the draw pile is exhausted, reshuffle the discards together to form a new draw pile.

#5 Bank

Roll the die once for each Bank Action. You may convert up to that many Papiermarks (reducing its marker) into Gold (increasing its marker) on a one-for-one basis.

Special Abilities

Each konzern (i.e., each business represented by a player) has a special ability as indicated on their player mat below the company's logo. For ease of reference each player mat has the Special Action of that factory printed on its lower left side. A more detailed explanation of the Special Actions follows:

Albatros

Starts play with 4 factories and cannot be reduced below that number. The die roll for each Banking Action gains a +1 die roll modifier.

Albatros was by far the largest manufacturer of warplanes in Germany.

Fokker

Starts with a Talented Engineer who cannot be taken away by another player's Event.

Anthony Fokker and his staff were continually experimenting with new designs and were unusually open to unorthodox (for the time) ideas such as thick wings being better than thin wings.

Halberstadt

When you perform Research Actions, draw one additional (+1) card (total; not one per Research Action performed!); then discard one of those just-drawn cards before placing the remainder in your hand. Thus, you don't receive more cards, but do have more options.

Halberstadt was the first German manufacturer to get a plane into production – the D.2 – which outclassed the E types in front-line use in the first quarter of 1916.

Pfalz Flugzeugwerke

Start with three Technology/Event cards (instead of two) and three Bonus Action markers. These markers are spent, once each and one per card (except for Focused Effort) maximum, as you perform Actions to gain one additional (+1) Action of that type.

Pfalz was the largest manufacturer in the semi-autonomous state of Bavaria, and had several political advantages from this position. Although they missed several opportunities to excel during the war (in game terms, hording their Bonus Action markers instead of spending them), they certainly had those opportunities.

Roland

(Recommended for a 4- or 5-player game only.)

Start with two Licensed Production markers. Spend these markers to go second during the Award Contracts phase and, when doing so, rolling on the table where the Contracts Available marker is located (not where the Contracts Remaining marker happens to be), but with a -1 DRM.

Most of Roland's production was licensed work of other firm's designs. While this was steady work, license fees had to be paid to the original designer, hence the -1 DRM penalty, representing the effect of less valuable contracts.

Award Contracts

Before awarding contracts, play Event cards for this phase. Then, in descending order of Preference Rating (with ties handled by the Tie Breaking as explained in the Glossary on page 6), players take turns rolling a die and looking up the result on the table where the Fighter Contracts Remaining marker is currently located to see how many contract orders they receive.

Preference Rating is that company's current Fighter Effectiveness Rating.

You will often need tie-breaking on the first turn or two, but as new designs are developed and political fortunes change, this will become less common.

You also receive column shifts and die roll modifiers to your Fighter contracts awarded roll from your Political Influence (see definition and example in the Glossary), Events, etc., and these are cumulative; any net roll result lower than "1" is treated as "1", and any roll higher than "6" is treated as "+" on the table.

Quality Requirement: Skip your opportunity to collect Fighter contract awards if your Fighter Efficiency is more than 10 below that of the Allied Fighter Efficiency. The Army does not want training aeroplanes; it wants competitive, quality Fighters!

Factory Limitation: You cannot receive more contracts in a turn than the number of factories you have. When awarded more contracts than the number of factories you have, proceed as if you received contracts equal to your factories.

Procedure

Once you have determined the number of Fighter contracts that you receive (and can fulfill based upon the number of factories that you have), you gain that number of Papiermarks (advancing that marker) and the Fighter Contracts Remaining marker is adjusted down the track by that amount.

Bonus Score: If you have the Welded Steel technology, you receive one bonus Papiermark after being awarded your contracts for that turn (whether or not you actually received any). Flip over your Papiermark marker as a reminder, if you like. Bonus Marks have no effect on the Fighter Contracts Remaining marker.

The End: The Award Contracts phase ends when every player has had an opportunity to receive contracts that turn (even if they receive 0).

Leave the Fighter Contracts Remaining marker wherever it ends up for the time being since the number of Fighter contracts remaining counts against the upcoming Fighter Contracts Available increase (during the War Status phase).

Inflation

After awarding contracts, one player (typically the one with the fewest Papiermarks) rolls one die and compares its result to the Inflation table printed on the game display.

Each time inflation occurs (either during this phase or by a Technology/Event card), advance the Inflation marker one (for 25% inflation) or two (for 50% inflation) boxes along its track. When it reaches the Hyperinflation/Game Over space (shown below), conduct that round of inflation and then determine the winner.

Procedure: All players must reduce their Papiermarks by either 25% or 50% (as indicated), rounded up if there is an up arrow in the new Currency Value box, or rounded down if there is a down arrow in that box.

For example, you have 9 Papiermarks. If inflation hits at 25%, you would lose 3 Marks (rounded up) or 2 Marks (rounded down). If inflation hits at 50%, you would lose 5 Marks (rounded up) or 4 Marks (rounded down).

Rounding 25%: When you round 25% up, subtract 1 M for every 4 or fraction thereof Marks on your track only. When you round 25% down, subtract 1 M for every full 4 Marks on your track only.

Gold: Inflation does not ravage the Papiermarks you have converted via Bank Actions into Gold. To protect your paper money from inflation, convert it to gold!

Events: After determining that turn's inflation, play Event cards for this phase.

War Status

After tending to inflation (if any), the War Status is checked. Reveal the next War Status card and implement its adjustments in order:

1. Morale adjustments (card adjustment first; highest Fighter Effectiveness second)
2. Contracts adjustment
3. Allied Aircraft Effectiveness adjustments

1. Morale Adjustments

Each card has an (always negative) concurrent adjustment to German and Allied morale. Adjust each side's Morale marker down the track accordingly.

If either or both sides' morale is at or below 0, the game is over.

Fighter Effectiveness: If the game is not over, and either side is the leader in Fighter Effectiveness, that side's morale is increased by one (+1).

Track Maximum: Markers cannot advance beyond the highest value on the Game Display (39). Any marker advanced beyond that remains in that box instead.

2. Contracts Adjustment

Each War Status card includes an (always positive) adjustment to the Fighter contracts available.

Procedure: Subtract the unassigned Fighter contracts for this turn (i.e., the numbered column where the Fighter Contracts Remaining marker is currently located) from the card's Fighter Contracts increase; if the result is positive, increase the Fighter Contracts Available by that amount. Otherwise, the Fighter Contracts Available marker is not increased.

Finally, end this step by placing the Fighter Contracts Remaining marker on top of the Fighter Contracts Available marker to ready it for next turn.

3. Allied Aircraft Effectiveness Adjustments

Most War Status cards conclude with instructions to increase Allied Effectiveness of different aeroplane types either by a fixed amount (e.g., "+1") or by a variable amount (e.g., the outcome of a "1d3" die roll; see the Glossary).

• Some instructions begin with "If behind…"; this means that the increase is applied only if there is currently a German aeroplane of the same type with a higher Effectiveness Rating. If there is not, no Effectiveness increase occurs.
• A few instructions have you "Reset" that Allied aeroplane type to the current Effectiveness Level of the most Effective German aeroplane of that type, plus a small fixed or variable amount (yes, this can actually cause the Allied Effectiveness to decrease!).

In the Standard Game, you are only concerned with Allied Fighter Effectiveness and can ignore instructions concerning Allied Recon and Bomber aircraft.

After implementing these War Status card effects, place that card into a face up discard pile next to its draw pile.

Events: After determining that turn's war status, play Event cards for this phase.

Information Markers

You can only have a maximum of one Talented Engineer marker in your Information Markers box on your player mat. You can have as many other types of markers there as you can acquire.

An Ace that belongs to another player can be "stolen" by an opponent who later plays its entry Event card (how fickle!).

If an Ace is killed by an Event, he is removed from play permanently and his entry Event is treated as "No Event" for the remainder of the game.

Game End and Victory

When either side's Morale marker reaches 0 or less, or the Inflation marker reaches its Game Over space, the game ends immediately.

Which Side Won the War? Who won the war determines how the game ends:

• If Allied morale loss causes the game to end, Germany wins the war and the value of the Papiermark remains stable.
• If both German and Allied morale plummet to 0 or less during the same step, Germany loses the war but is assured a seat at the peace table; apply an immediate end game round of 25% inflation to Papiermarks*.
• If German morale loss causes the game to end, Germany loses the war (this is the historical outcome); apply an immediate end game round of 50% inflation to Papiermarks*.
• If German Hyper Inflation causes the game to end, Germany loses the war in abject defeat and the collapsed economy makes the paper Mark worthless; every player immediately adjusts their Papiermarks markers to 0.

* If this end game round of inflation moves the Inflation marker to the Hyperinflation box, that becomes the war's outcome instead. Reduce the value of the Papiermarks players have to 0.

Who Won the Game? All players then sum the value of their Papiermarks + Gold + 1 for each marker of any type (e.g., Talented Engineer, Ace, etc.) in their Information Markers box on their player mat. The player with the highest total wins!

Ties are resolved in favor of the tied player with the most Factories.

This is the end of the Standard Game Rules.

Campaign Game Rules

The Campaign Game rules allow you to explore the air war further by introducing two new aeroplane models: the Recon Plane and the Heavy Bomber.

Set Up Changes

• Use the Campaign Game side of the player mats.
• German Effectiveness for each player starts at: Bomber: 0; Recon: 2; Fighter: 4
• Allied Effectiveness starts at: Bomber: 0; Recon: 2; Fighter: 5

Choosing Action Changes

At the beginning of each turn, all players secretly and simultaneously choose three (not two) of their Action cards to perform. Place your Action cards face down, one each below the slots numbered 2, 1, and 1 along the bottom of your player mat.

Design Action for Recon and Bombers

There are no changes to how Fighter technologies are improved (Streamlining and Agile remain Fighter technologies, although obtaining them also improves your Recon Effectiveness). Recon and Bomber designs are handled differently.

Most of the Technology/Event cards have a blue Recon and/or a red Bomber icon in their upper-left corner.

As a Design Action, you can discard a card with the Recon icon to gain any Recon Technology (excluding Streamlining and Agile; but including Rear Seat and Rear Machine Gun) as long as you have met its prerequisites. Similarly, you can play a card with the Bomber icon to gain any Bomber Technology (including Rear Seat and Rear Machine Gun) as long as you have met its prerequisites.

Major Breakthroughs: The High Altitude and Internal Bomb Bay technologies require two Technology cards with the appropriate icon to obtain. Doing so still counts as only a single Design Action.

Effectiveness for Recon and Bombers

The Rear Seat technology is the sine qua non for Recon and Bomber Effectiveness. That is, you cannot make an Effectiveness roll for Recon or Bomber aeroplanes until you have the required Rear Seat technology in place (after which you can start rolling to increase their Effectiveness Ratings with that very improvement). Once achieved, it cannot be lost to a Design Dead End Event (it is, in effect, locked in). Without a second person in the plane, it was nearly impossible for the pilot to effectively take pictures or bomb a target (remembering that early bombing consisted of holding the bomb itself over the side of the aircraft and dropping it by hand).

Recon Effectiveness: When rolling for the new effectiveness of a Recon design, roll 1d3 instead of 1d6.

Bomber Effectiveness: When rolling for the new effectiveness of a Bomber design, roll 1d2 instead of 1d6.

Award Contracts Procedure Changes

Begin each Award Contracts phase by looking to see who has the highest Recon and Bomber Effectiveness and award those Political Influence markers as follows:

The Generalstab Marker: Award this +1 Political Influence marker to a player if they have the highest Recon Effectiveness. It is lost at the beginning of any future Award Contracts phase when its owner no longer qualifies for it.

The Kaiserhilfe Marker: Award this +1 Political Influence marker to a player if they have the highest Bomber Effectiveness. It is lost at the beginning of any future Award Contracts phase when its owner no longer qualifies for it.

These markers take effect immediately.

In the Campaign Game, after you receive your Fighter contracts in the normal manner (if any) and before the next player rolls, you can employ your unused Factories' capacity to gain Recon and Bomber contracts (awarding 1 Papiermark each), if you are entitled to any, as follows:

Recon Effectiveness: You can automatically claim up to one contract per other Recon aeroplane design (including the Allies') that has a lower Effectiveness than your Recon design.

Bomber Effectiveness: You can also automatically claim up to one contract for every point of Effectiveness your Bomber is greater than the Allied Bomber Effectiveness.

Do not reduce the Fighter Contracts Available marker when receiving Recon and/or Bomber contracts. Recon and Bomber contracts are always available as described above.

Note that the total number of contracts you can receive that turn (Fighters + Recon + Bombers) cannot exceed your Factories!

This is the end of the Campaign Game Rules.

Solitaire Variant Rules

The Solitaire Variant Rules allow you to enjoy a competitive solo game. Wings for the Baron is still best played multi-player with 3-5 players, but this variant allows you to confront some interesting puzzles on your quest for riches.

Pitted against you are two (and you can increase the challenge by competing against three or even four) Non-Player Companies (NPCs) playing the Campaign Game (so you must be familiar with the Campaign Game Rules before playing this solitaire variant). NPCs do not use player mats, do not track money fluctuations, nor draw or play cards. Instead, their behavior is as explained in these Rules.

Solitaire Set Up

Select any company to play and set it up normally. Then randomly select two (or, for a greater challenge, more) other companies to compete against.

• Place their Aeroplane Efficiency markers normally.
• Place the two Contracts markers on the game display normally (i.e., in the "3" column when there are three competing companies in play).
• Place their Factory markers on the Player Mat in the "1" column (except for Albatros, which begins with their Factory marker in the "4" column).
• Place their Gold markers on your player mat for final scoring.
• If Fokker is an NPC, place its Talented Engineer marker under its Fighter Effectiveness marker on the game display.
• Place the Bonus Action and Licensed Production markers near the game display. These are used as reminder when resolving ties.
• The remaining NPC pieces, markers, and cards, are not used.

Action Changes

NPCs do not draw or play Technology/Event cards, but instead perform the following during the Resolve Actions phase.

#1 Build

During each turn's Build Action step, find the Fighter Contracts Available marker and note the "+" value at the bottom of that column. Compare each NPC's factory count to that value; if that NPC has fewer factories than that value, it gains one (+1) factory.

Build Example: At the beginning of the game, the Fighter Contracts Available marker is in the 3 column. The "+" value at the bottom of that column is 2. NPC Roland's Factory marker is in the 1 space, and an NPC Albatros' Factory marker is in the 4 space. Because Roland has fewer than 2 factories, Roland increases its Factories by +1 (to 2). Albatros has 4 factories, and so does not increase its factory count this turn.

#2 Espionage

NPCs do not conduct Espionage. You are limited to a maximum of one Espionage Action per turn.

You can select and roll for any eligible technology in an aeroplane type (i.e., Fighter, Recon, or Bomber) where your Effectiveness of that type is less than an NPC's Effectiveness marker of that same type. If your Effectiveness of that type is below both NPCs', you receive the +1 DRM for that technology being more generally known.

Espionage Example: You are playing the Fokker company. Your Bomber Effectiveness is 0, your Recon Effectiveness is 2, and your Fighter Effectiveness is 9. NPC Roland has a Bomber Effectiveness of 1, a Recon Effectiveness of 4, and a Fighter Effectiveness of 4. NPC Albatros has a Bomber Effectiveness of 0, a Recon Effectiveness of 4, and a Fighter Effectiveness of 9. You can spy for a Bomber or Recon (+1 DRM) technology because Fokker is inferior to at least one NPC in those types. You are tied for the top German Fighter Effectiveness, so you cannot learn anything through espionage there!

#3 Design

Important change: In descending order of Preference Rating (as with Contract Awards), each company take its turn performing Design Actions.

NPC companies roll on the NPC Design Tables every turn (reprinted on the Solitaire Game Player Aid for your convenience). The first table indicates which of that company's aeroplane types will have its Effectiveness increased, and another roll on the second table indicates by how much.

During the Design Phase, an NPC with a Talented Engineer (Fokker and possibly Pfalz) rolls two dice for their second die roll result and uses the higher of the two.

Aeroplane Type Improved (first roll):

Roll	Type improved
1	Recon
2	Recon
3	Bomber
4	Fighter
5	Fighter
6	Fighter

• +1 DRM if they currently have the lowest Fighter Effectiveness
• -1 DRM if they currently have the highest Fighter Effectiveness

Amount of Effectiveness Increase (second roll):

Type	1†	2	3	4	5	6
Recon	0	+1	+2	+2	+3	+4
Bomber	0	+1	+1	+2	+2	+3
Fighter	0	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5

• +1 DRM if they currently have the lowest Effectiveness of that aeroplane type
• -1 DRM if they currently have the highest Effectiveness of that aeroplane type

† = On a natural roll of 1 (i.e., regardless of modifiers), certain companies trigger their Special Event as follows:

• Halberstadt: Change the result to Bomber +1 and Recon +2.
• Pfalz: In addition to the table's result (if any), if Pfalz does not have a Talented Engineer, they receive one; it is placed under their Fighter Effectiveness marker.
• Roland: In addition to the table's result (if any), if Roland does not have an Ace Pilot, they receive one drawn at random from among those still available; it is placed under their Fighter Effectiveness marker.

#4 Research and #5 Bank

NPCs conduct neither Research nor Bank Actions.

Award Contracts Procedure Changes

If an NPC has the highest Recon and/or Bomber Effectiveness, place the Generalstab and/or Kaiserhilfe marker, respectively, under its Fighter Effectiveness marker as a reminder. Remove them, as usual, at this time if they no longer qualify.

NPCs roll for contracts normally and are subject to modifiers from Events and Political Influence. However, the only effect of their receiving contracts is reducing the Fighter Contracts Remaining marker.

Inflation and War Status Changes

NPCs are not directly subject to inflation. Conduct War Status normally.

NPC Money/Score

You need not track the NPCs' score. At any given moment, an NPC's score equals the sum of the numbers in the "+" rows in all of the game display columns containing one of its markers there (Factory, Bomber, Recon, plus Fighter).

Note that this means that NPC scores will be much higher than normal early in the game, but this will even out as the war progresses. Thus, they are likely to win ties that come down to money!

NPC Scoring Example: NPC Albatros has 2 Bomber Effectiveness, 2 Recon Effectiveness, 13 Factories, and 29 Fighter Effectiveness. When you sum the "+" row values in each of these columns (2, 2, 13, and 29), you find: 2 (Bomber) + 2 (Recon) + 8 (Factories) + 14 (Fighter Effectiveness) = 26. If you like, you can place the Albatros Gold marker on the 26 space on your player mat as a reminder. This is the value used for money when resolving ties.

NPC Special Abilities

NPC konzerns have special abilities as listed below. These do not apply to your company, which uses its special abilities normally.

• Albatros: Starting Factories: 4 (cannot be reduced below that number). Starting Markers: 0 (used for tie-breaking). Special Ability: None.
• Fokker: Starting Factories: 1. Starting Markers: 1 (used for tie-breaking). Special Ability: Starts with a Talented Engineer marker (cannot be taken).
• Halberstadt: Starting Factories: 1. Starting Markers: 0. Special Ability: Possible added Bomber and Recon Efficiency.
• Pfalz Flugzeugwerke: Starting Factories: 1. Starting Markers: 3 (used for tie-breaking). Special Ability: Possible Talented Engineer marker.
• Roland: Starting Factories: 1. Starting Markers: 2 (used for tie-breaking). Special Ability: Possible Ace marker.

NPC End Game Scoring

At the end of the game, convert each NPC's score into Gold and adjust it as follows:

1. Count the number of War Status cards in the discard pile to determine the number of turns. If the game ends in the Inflation phase, add one (+1) to the card total.
2. Cross-reference each NPC to the appropriate column in the table to obtain the adjustment to their Gold value plus the number of Papiermarks that NPC has at the game's end; each NPC's Papiermarks are subject to the end game round of inflation!
3. Finally, subtract one (-1) from each NPC's score for each box the Inflation marker has moved from its Start box (e.g., if the Inflation marker ended up in the Hyperinflation box, you would subtract ten).

NPC Papiermarks & Gold Adjustment at Game End (by number of War Status cards)

NPC		1-7	8	9	10	11	12+
Albatros	Papiermarks	6	8	8	8	9	10
Albatros	Gold Adjustments	-11	-7	1	9	17	26
Fokker	Papiermarks	6	8	9	10	12	15

Event Card Modifications

You can play cards for their Events with these modifications for the Solitaire Game:

• No Effect: The following Events have no effect: #21 Internal Security, and #56 Careful Preparations.
• #23 and #37 Prototype Crashes: The affected NPC skips its Design Action that turn.
• #27 Business Arrangements: Select a type (Fighter, Bomber, or Recon) where that NPC has a higher Effectiveness than you and gain one eligible technology in that type. Then you must select a type where the NPC has a lower Effectiveness than you and increase that NPC's Effectiveness of that type by one. You can only play this event if you fulfill both sides of this agreement!
• #39 Labor Shortages Affect Quality Standards: This only applies to the NPC's second roll (i.e., the one that actually increases the Effectiveness Rating).
• #43 and #49 Design Dead End: Lower by two the Effectiveness Rating of one NPC's aeroplane type. It cannot go below its starting Effectiveness Rating.

This is the end of the Solitaire Game Rules.

Sequence of Play and Rules Summary

I. Choose Actions phase

II. Resolve Actions phase

• A. Reveal all player's Action cards
• B. Events for this phase are played at this time
  • i. Build Actions (gain 1 Factory)
  • ii. Espionage Actions (for each player in tie-breaking order)
    • Select a technology another player has;
    • Must roll ≥ its Espionage Value to steal; +1 DRM if two or more players have that technology
  • iii. Design Actions (for each player in tie-breaking order)
    • a. Design first:
      • Play a Technology card listing the Fighter Technology to gain it
      • If a Campaign Game, play a card with a blue camera icon to gain a Recon technology
      • If a Campaign Game, play a card with a red bomb icon to gain a Bomber technology
      • If a Breakthrough technology, you must play two such cards
    • b. Effectiveness second:
      • If a Campaign Game, choose any aeroplane type
      • Roll one die (or two dice with a Talented Engineer); Fighter = d6; Recon = d3; Bomber = d2
• C. Research Actions (draw 1 card)
  • If Halberstadt, draw one additional card (total, not per Research Action), inspect, then discard one drawn card
• D. Bank Actions (roll 1d6 and convert up to that many Papiermarks to Gold)

III. Award Contracts phase

• A. Events for this phase are played at this time
• B. Campaign Game: Award/remove Generalstab and Kaiserhilfe markers for highest Recon or Bomber, respectively
• C. In Preference Rating order, each player rolls one die for Contracts on the current Fighter Contracts Available column. Adjust column and modify die roll for your Political Influence. Receive up to that many Papiermarks, subject to your present Factory capacity, which you cannot exceed.
  • Adjust the Fighter Contracts Available marker down a number of columns equal to the amount of contracts you were able to fill
  • If a Campaign Game: Gain 1 Bonus Contract per Recon Effectiveness marker that yours is ahead of *
  • If a Campaign Game: Gain 1 Bonus Contract per Bomber Effectiveness you are ahead of the Allied Bomber*
  • *Subject to your remaining Factory capacity; does not reduce the Fighter Contracts Available marker
  • Gain 1 Papiermark if you have Welded Steel; does not reduce the Fighter Contracts Available marker

IV. Inflation phase

• A. Poorest player rolls on the Inflation table and applies the result; whenever hyperinflation results, the game ends
• B. Events for this phase are played at this time

V. War Status phase

• A. Reveal the next War Status card
  • i. Morale Adjustments
    • Reduce per War Status card; whenever either of both sides' morale goes to 0, the game ends
    • If either side has the highest Fighter Effectiveness, that side gains one (+1) morale
  • ii. Contracts Adjustment
    • a. Increase an amount per War Status card; reduce specified gain by current position of the Fighter Contracts Available marker (minimum of 0 gain)
    • b. Reset Fighter Contracts Available marker to the same column as the Fighter Contracts Remaining marker
  • iii. Allied Aircraft Efficiency Adjustment(s)
• B. Events for this phase are played at this time