Throttle Up! 2026

Your biplane races to photograph the enemy line in a sky swarming with aircraft in this abstract two player strategy game inspired by WW1 aerial dogfights. Can you protect your reconnaissance plane whilst stopping your enemy's in the chaos of a sky in which every plane moves each turn?

Players take turns to move their squadron of five planes around an abstract board of interlocked looped paths towards their opponent's home line and then safely home. Planes are shot down by moving onto them from behind, but any plane shot down returns as a reinforcement on the following turn, resulting in a constant swarm of action, unless they are forced down by having their movement blocked, which removes the piece from play.

The first player to return their special reconnaissance plane from the enemy line wins - but if three of your aircraft are cleared from the skies during any turn, you lose.

This is an abstract strategy game with no dice or random factors. It is designed for quick play and to keep both players closely matched in resources throughout the game.

—description from the designer