Flying Tigers (game)

Flying Tigers is a board wargame designed by Lou Zocchi and published by Gamescience in 1969, simulating the aerial combat waged over China by General Claire Chennault's American Volunteer Group, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, against Japanese air forces. The game covers the period from December 1941 through July 1943, giving players historical scenarios drawn from the unit's actual battles as well as hypothetical matchups that pit the Flying Tigers against Japanese naval aircraft that its pilots did not face in real combat. As an early title from Gamescience, a company built around wargame design, it uses printed counters and a map typical of the period's tabletop wargames to resolve individual dogfights and larger raids. The game found enough of an audience that a second edition was issued in 1973 by the publisher Third Millennia, extending its life beyond Gamescience's original run and giving later collectors and players two distinct printings to compare.