The aerodrome is open. Prepare for battle!

No experience is necessary to play in this tournament. Learning the game takes less than five minutes. The GM will be available during Heats to coach you through a game, and many of the veteran players are willing to teach new players as well. You will be in the cockpit facing down your first opponent in no time!

Tournament Format

The Ace of Aces tournament will be held in scheduled Rounds and through Recon Patrols. A Recon Patrol means you can find opponents to play at any time during the week before the deadline of returning the flight records. Pilots (players) can register for the tournament with the GM at the Rounds. The top six pilots will advance to the Final Circus.

Flights

Flight records, provided by the GM during scheduled Heats and available any time at the event kiosk, are to be filled out for each dogfight (the words “dogfight” and “flight” are used interchangeably throughout this page). These flight records may be taken with the pilot to be filled out during Recon Patrols throughout the week. As the GM will not always be available to resolve disputes, good sportsmanship is vital. All flight records must be returned to the event kiosk by 8 pm the day before the Final or to the GM at the last scheduled Heat. Please return the flight records even if you didn’t complete the minimum number of flights or unique opponent requirement! You may still be able to qualify for the Final and are eligible for special recognitions even if you don’t. Each dogfight reported on the flight record must include:

• opponent's name
• opponent's badge number
• damage inflicted and received
• result of dogfight
• points earned
• opponent's signature

The main game book being used in this tournament, and the one used in the Final, is the Handy Rotary Series, but any of the following WW1 gamebooks may be used as long as both players agree: Handy Rotary Series, Powerhouse Series, Flying Machines, Handy Rotary Deluxe Edition. Note that regardless of the version being used, damage will be 2 for close range, 1 for medium range, and .5 for long range. Players can still keep track of damage during the game in versions that use 1-2-4, but they must half the final score on the score for the flight record. So if the final score is 12 to 7, it would be recorded as 6 to 3.5 on the flight record.

Points for each flight are awarded as follows:

• Win (W): Five points if the dogfight ends by you shooting down your opponent and not being shot down yourself. - You win!
• Draw (D3): Three points if the dogfight ends by both you and your opponent being shot down on the same turn. - You may have lost your plane, but you also destroyed your opponent’s plane! OR If the dogfight ends due to being lost in the clouds and you inflicted more damage than your opponent. - The writing was on the wall and your opponent was forced to flee!
• Draw (D1): One point if the dogfight ends due to being lost in the clouds and you and your opponent inflicted the same amount of damage or your opponent inflicted more damage than you. - You didn’t win this one, but you lived to fly another day.
• Loss (L): No points if the dogfight ends by you getting shot down but your opponent survives. - You lose!

Determining Finalists

To qualify for the Final Circus, first consideration goes to pilots who have at least 15 flights against ten different opponents with no more than five against the same opponent. This means the pilots that make the finals are not only the most skilled, but also the most dedicated. No more than 40 dogfights will be counted. In the event that there aren’t enough qualifiers that meet those requirements, the remaining flight records will be considered by dividing the point total by the minimum number of dogfights required (15) along with a 25% penalty.

Advancement to the Final Circus will be determined by highest point average of valid dogfights. A dogfight is considered valid if it is against a pilot officially registered for the tournament and doesn’t exceed the five dogfights per opponent limit. Ties will be broken by highest number of flights flown followed by greatest difference in damage inflicted over damage received. In the event that there aren’t enough qualifiers that meet the minimum requirements, the remaining flight records will be considered by dividing the point total by the minimum number of dogfights required (15) along with a 25% penalty.

The Final Circus

After the final tally, the top six pilots, the Aces, will advance to the Final Circus. Check the event kiosk for a list of the finalists and alternatives. The Final Circus will be a round robin event where each Ace faces one another once for a total of five dogfights. The winner will be based on best record during the Final Circus. The first tie-breaker is head-to-head results between those tied. If there are more than two players tied and head-to-head doesn’t resolve the tie, then the second tie-breaker is damage differential. Additional Final Circus Rules:

• Dogfights cannot end in any type of draw. In a situation where a normal game would end in a draw, both players instead return to page 170 and continue the dogfight until one pilot inflicts more damage than the other
• No continuous stalling in place. If you are on page 187, 188, 198, 205, 209, or 213, you may not call one of these same six pages that continues a stall pattern

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