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Castles in the Sky is a wargame about flying battleships

Clouds off the port bow.

Pilot flying World War I-style battleships in the upcoming wargame Castles in the Sky.

Designed to support at least a two-player game, Castles in the Sky: A Wargame of Flying Battleships takes place in an alternative 20th Century in which the Great Powers of the modern world – such Britain, USA, Germany and France – discovered the key to flight in warships. The development of the air screw successfully led to the creation of flight-worthy battleships that navies could ‘sail’ across the skies, getting into fights with ships from enemy nations and potentially changing the tide of war for good.

As the captains behind these aerial ironclads, players will be commanding their battleships across the battlefield, determining their movement and attack patterns. Using the rulebook for Castles in the Sky, players will be able to learn how to navigate their ships – represented by miniatures – and engage with enemy forces. Before battle, players will have to assemble their fleets using the various units available to each of the eight national navies.

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Once they’ve formed their respective fleets, players can then embark on a series of scenarios included within the book, with every scenario presenting the captains with unique challenges and obstacles for them to overcome alongside their battles against each other. Only the player who is able to command their flying fleet victory will be named the winner of the wargame.

Castles in the Sky was created by Eric Farrington, a wargame designer who has previously worked on tabletop titles such as Men of Bronze: Ancient Greek Hoplite Battles – a skirmish game that has players engaging in historical battles between warring Strategoi, or Greek generals, each leading their own phalanxes of troops – and Wars of the Republic: Ancient Roman Wargaming 343-50 BC, a wargame based on the various battles undertaken by the Roman Empire and its armies.

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Osprey Games is the studio responsible for publishing Castles in the Sky, having previously released other tabletop titles such as the World War II board game Undaunted: Normandy – alongside its follow-ups Undaunted: North Africa and the upcoming Undaunted: Stalingrad – miniatures title Frostgrave and the upcoming asymmetric board game Crescent Moon.

Castles in the Sky: A Wargame of Flying Battleships is set to be released on June 23rd for £15 ($19).

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