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This solitaire game of the Battle of Britain is card-driven with card decks covering Events, Attacking Forces and suspected targets. Game mechanisms deal with Radar warning(and lack of), weather and observer corps. The cardstock map covers southern England with graphics for airfields, industrial sites and ports.
You control British, Commonwealth, Polish and Czech Air Force Squadrons, positioning the day's patrols where you believe the Nazis will strike. Day after bloody day, the RAF must rise to battle the modern fighters of Luftflotte 2 and 3 while Nazi bombers pound England into ruin - and submission. You must intercept German bombers, sacrificing dwindling men and equipment to halt the German war machine.
The game system controls the Luftwaffe, directing a coherent bombing campaign against targets vital to British survival. A unique card system hides the strengths, compositions, and targets of the German strikes until after you've decided where your squadrons will patrol, and which raids you'll intercept. You make the decisions that could save democracy.
RAF offer three scenarios. The Hardest Days, The Thin Blue Line, and The Battle of Britain cover the entire struggle from beginning to end. The game is playable in as few as 3 hours or as many as 10.
RAF includes:
One full-color 22" x 34" map of southern England
160 full-color counters
134 target, event, and force cards (the rules correctly indicate 134 playable and numbered cards. There are 3 blanks in each set that are not used in the game bringing the physical count to 143 - 144 including dummy "title" card.)
16-page rules book
One six-sided die
Counter tray with lock-on lid
Game scale is Gruppen and Squadrons with one-day turns.
For one player.
Three to ten hours to play.
Ages 12 and up.
(from the back of the box and user's description)
Resafa - Playthrough & Review
- Enjoyed it more than expected.
- Liked the action selection with choices.
- Liked the card upgrades that allow for different plays.
- Enjoyed the dynamic market and tile flipping.
- Liked the network building and water flow mechanics.
- Tight gameplay where not all tracks can be maxed out.
- The complexity, while high, is manageable once understood.
- Felt like there was just enough to do without feeling overwhelming.
- The action selection system and card play were appreciated.
- The game offers good player interaction through actions and potential blocking.
- High overhead for teaching the game.
- The theme feels like a jumble of things; actions aren't strongly tied to the theme.
- The rulebook could benefit from more thematic explanation beyond single sentences.
- Canal building and trading in a historical setting.
- Underwater Cities
- Praga Caput Regni
- League of Six
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Card Play — Players play action cards each turn to perform actions, with each card offering two actions, one top and one bottom.
- Market manipulation — The trading tiles flip over, creating a dynamic market for buying and selling goods.
- Resource conversion — Resources can be converted into other resources or used for various actions.
- set collection — Collecting sets of cards or resources is a component of the game's scoring.
- tile placement — Players place garden and canal tiles on the board, connecting them to activate bonuses and score points.
- Track advancement — Players move markers along colored tracks to gain benefits or cards.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It is all about trading and all about water courses.
- This felt like okay and there was a huge amount of points at the end. Once you get the water flowing and maybe it's designed that you have a big rush at the end.
- The action selection system for a start, I like the way that you've got every action twice because it kind of forces you to do other things.
- My only hesitation of the game is that there might be a little bit too much in terms of each area works in a different way.
- My entire plan was because that card was there. So, I thought, right, I'm going to grab that card and I'm going to build loads of them.
References (from this video)
- Like the push your luck aspect and how it comes out.
- The tug-of-war trying to figure out what other people are going to try and do.
- Smooth transition between turns, no rounds.
- Pure gameplay with no upkeep.
- Global objectives provide direction.
- Superior artwork and component quality.
- Adorable artwork.
- Clear iconography.
- High quality components like foil badges and adorable tokens/meeples.
- Game is advertised for its intended player count (3-5) and doesn't have a tacked-on two-player variant.
- Clever take on pass and play drafting.
- Satisfying gameplay.
- Instantaneous setup.
- A lot of symbols can make it not as easy to table as Sushi Go initially.
- Requires studying symbols and memorizing their meanings.
- Seven Wonders
- Sushi Go
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- drafting — You're picking a card, drafting it, placing it in front of you, building out your tableau, trying to score the maximum amount of points.
- Pass and Play — You take one card, pass the rest. Take a can of cards, pass the rest. That kind of thing.
- Push Your Luck — At some point, you are either going to bust because you can't play any cards. So, it's got a push your luck element to it or you try to ship.
- set collection — There's also these um badges or these global objectives. So, they're typically the different color cards. You want to get a certain combination or a certain amount of those, something like that.
- tableau building — The cards you're taking, you're actually laying down in front of you into a tableau. You're placing a card. The next card you get, you place to the right of it.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I really like the push your luck aspect of this game and how it comes out because when you think of push your luck, you're not necessarily it's almost like an individual thing that's happening, but you're kind of gambling with everybody at the same time.
- So, I really like that that tug of war trying to figure out what other people are going to try and do.
- It is unbelievably smooth. I love that. It's just pure gameplay. No, no upkeep.
- I appreciate so much that this game did not create a two-player variant. It advertises itself as three to five.
- This is a better version of Sushi Go. This is Sushi Go is for for families and for new gamers. This is for gamers uh who have don't don't have time to play something more involved.
References (from this video)
- engaging pivotable strategies and table interaction
- busts feel forgiving due to compost scoring
- clear core drafting and hand management with meaningful decisions
- iconography clarity issues
- some players may find color differentiation confusing
- drafting, push-your-luck card game about ship cargo and scoring
- universe Tend
- simple drafting with table dynamic and competition
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bust mechanics and compost pile scoring — If you bust, the row cards go to a compost pile that scores at the end; the bust card starts a new row.
- Card drafting and simultaneous reveal — Players select a card face-down, then reveal simultaneously to form their row.
- center goals and timing — Center goals award points to early claimants; shipping and row construction influence who can claim them first.
- color-coded scoring and row restrictions — Each card color indicates scoring directions and potential restrictions in the row.
- shipping/banking and hand refresh — Shipping cards banks the row for scoring and replenishes hands to five (six with the ship card).
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Uno reverse card on steroids.
- I absolutely loved the god cards
- It’s basically Uno reverse card on steroids.