visit Squadron Leader Website
Squadron Leader is a fast pace World War 1 (loosely) themed aerial combat game that is easy to learn and quick to play, with multifaceted strategy built in that can be enjoyed by all ages!
The modular nature of the rules allows for players to customise their game and add entirely new layers of strategy.
We encourage the use of house rules, and ask that you make suggestions on the GitHub, this is an Open Source game after all!
If you're viewing this on the website and want to see all the incredible work from the amazing people making this game better, check out the issues, pull requests and discussions on GitHub.
The objective of the game is the be the last plane left in the air by reducing your opponents Health to zero.
Each pilot will need:
- 1 plane token
- 4 altitude tokens
The pilots will share:
- 1 of each move template
- 1 range string
- 4 Red d8 for the Attack dice
- 4 Green d8 for the Defense dice
- Optional: Blue d8 for the Ace Bonus dice
- Optional: 1 70 cm x 70 cm playmat
The playing area of the game can be any size. Its usually just the entire table, because that is the easiest to keep track of, but for an optimal playing experience, you can define a square which is 70 cm square or 3 lengths of the range string wide and long.
At the start of the game each player secretly assigns the numbers 4,3,3,2 to their Attack, Defense, Speed & Health and simultaneously reveals their choices.
For example a begginner player may choose the following:
- Attack - 2
- Defense - 3
- Speed - 3
- Health - 4
Whereas a seasoned Ace may elect for:
- Attack - 3
- Defense - 3
- Speed - 4
- Health - 2
Determine who starts with a high roll of a d8. Each player places their plane within 1 straight maneuver template from the edge of the playing area and not closer than the range string to another players’ token that has already been placed. If each player is controlling more than one plane, take it in turns until each token is placed down.
There are 2 stages each round, the Move Stage and the Attack Stage. Everyone moves during the Move stage, and then everyone Attacks during the Attack Stage. Here are how they work:
- Players take turns to move their plane using the move templates, up to their Speed value. Each move template has a cost of 1, 2 or 3 for the straight, bank & turn templates respectively.
- To move, place the maneuver template at the front of the plane token, and move the plane to the other end of the template.
- The player may use templates up to the value of their speed, for example a player with a Speed of 4 can execute 2 straight maneuvers & 1 bank maneuver (1 + 1 + 2).
- A player must move at least once each round otherwise their plane would stall and they would plummet to the ground!
- If any part of a plane token goes off the board at the end of a maneuver, that plane is destroyed!
The below gif shows how to use the maneuver templates.
This gif shows a Move Stage where the player spends 3 speed to move.
- The attacker declares which enemy plane they will attack.
- A player can only attack if the enemy plane is within in range. Range is determined with the knots on the range string, ensuring any part of the knot at one end crosses over the attacker and any part of the other knot crosses over the defender (or closer than this).
- The defender must also be within the attackers firing arc which is the 90° lines on the front of the token.
- The attacking player rolls a number of Attack dice equal to their Attack value.
- The defending player rolls a number of Defense dice equal to their Defense value.
- Each value of 6-8 rolled on the Attack dice counts as 1 damage. An 8 rolled counts as a critical hit.
- Each value of 6-8 rolled on the Defense dice counts as a dodge and cancels out a hit. It takes 2 dodges to cancel out a critical hit. Critical hits still only deal 1 damage when not cancelled out.
- The defender loses Health equal to the hits that haven’t been canceled out.
A new round begins and the player who went second in the previous round now goes first.
This image shows a situation where the white plane can shoot at the yellow plane (blue arc) and the yellow plane CAN'T shoot at the white plane (red arc).
Alright enough chatter, let's take to the skies!
Squadron Leader has a growing set of modular rules to keep your games fresh, and for you to find the best version of aerial combat for you!
This rules adds a lot of options for strategy, and it's recommended you play with it.
- At the start of the game each player takes off with 0 altitude tokens.
- Once per round during their move stage, a player may spend 1 speed to Climb and add 1 altitude token underneath their plane.
- Players can only gain 1 alititude per round.
- In a round that the player hasn't climbed, they may Dive by removing any number of altitude tokens to add that number to their speed for the round.
- When at a higher altitude while attacking or defending, a player may reroll 1 die.
- The maximum altitude allowed is 4.
This rule prevents a pilot from being stuck when they are being tailed by an opponent.
- During the move phase, a player may declare they are executing a Split S maneuver and spend 3 altitude tokens to place their plane token at 180° at the end of the manuever (facing the opposite direction to the way they were).
- The Speed cost of the maneuver is double the normal cost of whichever manuever template the player is using (the straight now costs 2, the bank now costs 4).
- Players cannot perform a Split S and gain altitude in the same round.
You can read more about the Split S maneuver here:
Here is an excerpt:
"To execute a split S, the pilot half-rolls their aircraft inverted and executes a descending half-loop, resulting in level flight in the opposite direction at a lower altitude."
This rule rewards aggressive tactics:
- After a player knocks an enemy plane out, they may gain 3 altitude tokens (or up to 3 if they already have 1, 2 or 3), execute a straight, and place their plane token at 180° at the end of the manuever (facing the opposite direction to the way they were).
- This is an optional maneuver, but must be done before the next attack happens.
You can read more about the Immelmann turn here:
Here is an excerpt:
"In modern aerobatics, an Immelmann turn (also known as a roll-off-the-top, or simply an Immelmann) is an aerobatic maneuver that results in level flight in the opposite direction at a higher altitude."
Thanks to Ben for teaching me that this move has a name, and thanks Josh for finding Split S so that what the rules do in game match what real life planes can do!
This rule rewards expertly skills pilots who can maneuver their plane into just the right place in the sky!
- During the move phase a player may declare they are executing a Barrel Roll and execute either the 2 or 3 cost maneuver, but instead of orienting their plane along the new axis, their token will not rotate at all, and be traveling in the same direction.
- The speed cost for a Barrel roll is twice whatever number is on the template (2 maneuver costs 4, 3 maneuver costs 6)
- Players cannot perform a Barrel roll and gain altitude in the same round.
You can read more about the Barrel roll maneuver here:
Here is an excerpt:
"A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on both its longitudinal and lateral axes, causing it to follow a helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction."
This rule rewards players for playing aggressively, which can be helpful if you find pilots often avoid the action.
- When a pilot knocks another pilot out of the sky they become an Ace, and gain a Ace Bonus die.
- For the rest of the game, that pilot can choose to roll the Ace Bonus die at any point, but only once a round.
- The player must declare they are rolling their Ace Bonus die before rolling any other dice.
- Players can have multiple Ace Bonus dice, if they knock multiple opponents out.
For example, you could say "I am rolling my bonus dice for this attack". You now can't use the bonus dice until the next round, so if you used it for your attack, you wouldn't be able to use it when defending this round.
If you have 2 Ace bonus, you could use them both in the same roll, or spread them out across the round.
Reward or challenge expert pilots by changing the rules around the firing arcs. You can either:
- Play using only the forward firing guides and ignoring the wide arc, or
- Roll an additional attack dice when the defender is in the forward firing guide.
The game can be played on a hex grid. That removes the need for movement templates and strings. All rules are the same as without a grid, except for what is described in this section.
Any battlemat with a hex grid can be used. Planes set up in hexes along each player's edge of the mat. There can only ever be one plane per hex, and planes can never end a move in the same hex as another plane. A plane always face one of the six sides of its hex.
Instead of using the movement templates there are three possible moves on a hex grid that are used instead:
- 1 (Cost 1) Move 2 hexes forward.
- 2 (Cost 2) Move 1 hex forward, then turn left or right 60 degrees, then move 1 hex forward in the new direction.
- 3 (Cost 3) Turn 60 degrees, then move 1 hex forward, then turn another 60 degrees in the same direction as the first turn
Attacks are up to range 3. Count range in hexes, not including the hex occupied by the attacking plane, but including the attacked plane. The firing arc of a plane is a cone in front of it, starting with the single hex in front, then the 3 hexes in front of that, then the 5 beyond those.
Not everyone has a bucket of 8-sided dice in 2-3 colors readily available. With this optional rule common 6-sided dice are used instead. Attacks hit on a roll of 4-6. Defense cancels a hit on each roll of 4-6. There are no critical hits when using 6-sided dice.
You can change the feel of the game greatly by flying with a wingman. The strategy of how you fly together is totally up to you. Here are the additional rules for playing in teams:
- Teammates should sit next to one another.
- The playing order is determined by teams, rather than players, so within your team you decide who moves first, and once the entire team has moved, the other team goes. This is the same principle for attacking.
There are a few ways to make the game shorter:
- Have everyone start with a max of 2 Health.
- Designate a smaller playing area.
- Allow players to gain more than 1 altitude per round.
Feel free to experiment with the starting numbers, the original 4,3,3,2 is a guideline for balanced games, so going higher will change the game, but so long as each player has the same choices it SHOULD be fair.
You will need to print the following from the STLs directory:
- player_plane.stl x1 for each player
- player_altitude.stl x4 for each player
- move_all.stl x1
or
- move_straight.stl x1 (or 1x for each player if you wish)
- move_bank.stl x1 (or 1x for each player if you wish)
- move_turn.stl x1 (or 1x for each player if you wish)
- box.stl x1
For the range string you will need a piece of string which is longer than the length of 3 of the 1 cost manuever template. You then need to tie 2 knots the distance of 3 straight maneuver templates apart.
You can download all the printable assets from GitHub. The reason we don't have anything on any of the STL sharing sites yet, is because things are in a big state of change, so its easer to just have them in one place at the moment.
You can fit the game in most tobacco tins, old or new, but if you'd like a Squadron Leader tin that isn't £100+, you can get one here.
The small form factor of Squadron Leader is definitely one of the core tenets of the game. That said, u/porgherder made the very astute observation that this restricts design space, which sometimes is a good thing, but it is potentially at the cost of accessibility to some users.
To that end, I am going to start adding components that won't fit in a small box, that are interchangeable with components that do fit in the tin. The main one being a rigid range ruler that can be used with one hand. The other added benefit of not trying make the game fit in a tin, is printed rules will fit, there will be more space for player tokens and maneuver templates (so each player can have their own set). Most excitingly is that I can reintroduce my original design for a dial that players can use to keep track of their stats, so watch this space!
As stated, small box is part of the Squadron Leader quirk, so that's not going to change, but I am going to strive to make this game more flexible, and available for everyone to enjoy!
Yes! If you don't have enough speed left, but do have enough altitude to pay for the maneuver and STILL have the altitude required to perfom the maneuever, go for it!
My opponent just rolled their attack dice, is it too late for me to declare that I'm rolling my Ace Bonus dice?
If you can't execute a maneuver without finishing it in the same place as an opponent, you can't choose that maneuever.
However, if you need to move an opponent's token out of the way so you can put the maneuever template down, use another maneuver template to make sure you don't forget where your opponent's plane token was originally.
The rules for Split S and Barrel Roll say I can't execute them on the same turn as I gain altitude. Does this mean I can't do an Immelmann after a knockout?
No. The altitude gained from an Immelmann does not count, so you could do a Barrel Roll/Split S, then proceed to Immelmann during the attack stage after taking an opponent out!
The benefit of a critical hit is it's dificulty to dodge. Think of it as a very accurate shot. But is still only deals 1 damage.
First and most important thank you to Harry the GM for inspiring me to make a game in the first place.
Playtesters. Without your help, this game would suck.
- Becky
- Bekah
- Ben
- Chris
- Dan
- Danny
- Harry
- John
- Josh
- Lydia
- Matti
- Moses
- Patrick
- Priyatham
and a special thanks for their genius in coming up with a new barrel roll rule:
- Dylon
- Kirk
- Lila
a major thank you for their immediate help on release with getting the rules more readable, adding the Hex Grid rules and the d6 rules:
- Pelle
and for the important fix of making sure the game met Open Source requirements:
- avamk
- penyuan
- TechnologyClassroom
and for their awesome contributions to making an awesome printable box:
- Amnos
- Flo
and for SITCKERS:
- mevdev
This game was inspired by X-Wing TMG and Wings of War. The motivation for creating Squadron Leader was not as a replacement to either of these, rather as a alternative, when time, space and people who don't want to learn complex games are a factor when trying to get your gaming fix.
- Coop objectives & campaigns
- Bomber token (larger, slower, tankier)
- Alternative maneuver templates
- Large scale battle rules (10+ ships per team)
- Assets & instructions for playmats
- Printable assets for 3D models on blank bases
- More accessible components for less able players
- Stat dials for people who don't mind a larger box
Squadron Leader by Tim Smith is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
CC BY-SA 4.0 Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, even for commercial purposes. If others remix, adapt, or build upon the material, they must license the modified material under identical terms.
BY: Credit must be given to the creator.
SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms