Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations

What not to like ? The box is full of great components and contains enough material to ensure dozens of hours of fun: 8 different campaigns, over 60 missions, 100s of pilots and a LOT of different weapons to choose from. Although it uses the same system as Phantom Leader, Hornet Leader is a step up because of the increased number of possible combinations in the preparation phase and the fact that missions are one turn longer each. HL is well-designed, well-balanced and will spend many, many happy hours on my desk.

Great game. A solitaire game that's completely replayable, yet filled with meaningful decision-making! The most important phase is in the planning: figuring out who to send out, and what sort of load-outs to equip your aircraft with. Then you send them off on their mission and hope they have what they need to successfully pull it off. It's all great fun.

A proof that solitaire gaming can be fun. Playing Hornet Leader makes me feel that I'm playing an actual game not just to try simulate something or solve a crosswords. Due to rather simple rules and game sequence you don't have to check the rule book all the time for every tiny modifier. A wide variety of planes/pilots, targets and ammo makes every game different and forces you to plan your attacks very differently. Event cards can make sudden changes to your perfect plan, but they are not going ruin the game experience with excessive randomness. Campaigns are very well designed and you have to keep up the good work through the whole campaing if willing to achieve even a good rating.

I bought this game having ZERO interest in modern aircraft carrier, modern air combat and it won me over completely. The problems the player must solve and the decisions he must make seem quite authentic and intelligent planning for a mission is usually rewarded - make a mistake and you are usually punished. And just enough luck thrown in to make it exciting. Fun game, beautifully packaged and presented. Easy rules that one rarely has to access. Possible to play first mission minutes after unboxing. Flawless.

Like Phantom Leader, a great yet simple game that not only deals with technical details but also (amazingly!) concerns itself with crew fatigue and stress. A very enjoyable and worthwhile game. There's nothing like getting a target, selecting the weapons for the job and then watching your attack fall apart when the unexpected happens - brilliant stuff. Wish they could make a regular, Harpoon style game based around this system. PS - I believe one weapon counter actually represents between 2-4 actual weapons.