| Designer(s) | Valle & Markgraf |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Ad Astra Games |
| Players | 2 - 8 |
| Setup time | Fast |
| Playing time | 1.5 hours and up |
| Random chance | Dice rolling |
| Skill(s) required | Strategy, Tactics, Mathematics |
Birds of Prey (BoP) is a wargame currently published by Ad Astra Games that focuses on dogfighting in the jet age.
The game simulates combat using aircraft from the Korean War era to the early 90's. The game spans several generations of Fighter aircraft and features an extremely accurate flight model. BoP attempts to model true three dimensional movement using Tilt blocks and stacking tiles to orient box miniatures for the on-map display of aircraft.
BoP handles three dimensional gameplay with several play aids, such as the Pitch, Heading, and Attitude Display, or PHAD. The PHAD is a color coded polar projection of a sphere fixed relative to the map, and is used to handle sighting angles and aircraft orientation for flight, maneuvering, and targeting.
BoP uses a series of nomographs to quickly and easily calculate aircraft flight parameters based on speed, altitude, and mach regime. In addition to these constants each aircraft has its own unique drag profile, engine output, and lift profile.
Included aircraft are shown below:
Early jets These early aircraft were basically extensions of late WWII aircraft design, with a Jet engine rather than a piston engine. Some innovations were introduced in this first generation of fighter such as swept wings, ejector seats, and flying tails.
Early Supersonic The second generation of jet fighter introduced innovations such as the delta wing, variable inlets, and area ruled fuselages. These were the first production aircraft to break the sound barrier.
Upgraded Supersonic The third generation of jet fighters show a maturing of earlier design innovations. In addition the weapons of this era show much improvement.
Early Modern The fourth generation of fighters represents the start of a shift in design emphasis from speed and payload to maneuverability.
Modern The modern fighters show much more refinement of earlier advances, particularly the swing wing. Design focus shifted much more towards energy and maneuverability.