Aeroplanes: Aviation Ascendant

I have a particular soft spot for games that seem doomed by their first impression. Aeroplanes: Aviation Ascendant may be the weakest in its trilogy—and with Automobile beside it, that is no small accusation—but it is still interesting, pleasant, and, above all, functional at the table. It holds up particularly well with five players, which I always appreciate when I am looking for something to bring out for a fuller group.

The experience revolves around an aviation theme and does not hide its randomness. There is plenty of “randomness,” enough that I can understand why the BGG audience broke out in hives when it was released. This is not a game promising absolute control or a sterile, mathematically predictable route.

Where its flow finds real character, though, is in the first-player die system. To me, this is one of those mechanisms that gives a session its own personality: priority order is not merely a procedural detail, but something that makes choices and the way players share the game space more interesting. I would not call it a game that lives on aggression; the interaction I take away is more about position and priority.

In the end, I consider it light-years better than Connecting Flights, and perhaps the best aviation-themed game I have played. If you find it cheaply, or if it is already buried at the bottom of a shelf from an old trade, it deserves a chance. And yes, I am almost certain that a shiny Deluxe edition from EGG would suddenly make it much more beloved by the audience—because sometimes the right box and the right presentation change the mood around the table remarkably.