This review first appeared in IPW, the newsletter for all discount games club members. Contact colin@allusedgames.demon.co.uk for details. RAF (West End) By the summer of 1940, the German air force had triumphed over Poland, Norway, Belgium, Holland and France. Understandably, perhaps, they had no reason to believe that the heavily outnumbered squadrons of the RAF would be any more difficult to overcome. These illusions were soon to be shattered in a campaign which came to be known as the Battle of Britain. RAF is a solitaire game which simulates those critical weeks which, arguably, changed the course of 20th century history. Solitaire games can be broken down into four general types. First, there's the paragraph system driven game, like Ambush by John Butterfield, who also designed this game. Secondly, there are games like Raid on St Nazaine where your opponent's response is decided by various dice rolls, sometimes using numerous charts. The third type is based on your opponent, the game system, having a programmed response to your moves. This allows you to predict almost exactly how your enemy will react and is certainly the weakest and least entenaining of all the options. Finally, there are the games that depend on multiple card decks to create a believable opponent and it is to this breed that RAF belongs. It is remarkable that an industry that produces so many two player games that are great to play solo also produces so few actual solo games that are worthy of the name. Happily, RAF, the story of 'the few' is itself one of the few that make solo games almost an art form. A game turn kicks off with the daily upkeep phase, when reinforcements are received, installations repaired and weather determined. Weather affects whether the Luftwaffe (the game system) will make a light, normal or all out offensive against the RAF (the player) for that day. Alternatively, storms could ground all air raids and give the RAF a welcome respite. Next the German air raids commence and at this point the decks of cards come into play. A target card is drawn, the result being the destination for the next German raid. Then the player rolls a die to determine how much warning and the accuracy of any intelligence he has, on the incoming raid. This is modified by undamaged radar stations and the observer corp, who are, of course, themselves hindered in cloudy weather. Early warning allows the RAF to allocate more squadrons to interception. Good intelligence can tell them how many gruppen the raid comprises of or even their exact make up. Naturally, the player's warning will often come late and his intelligence may well be non existent. It becomes a balancing act between how many squadrons to commit to this raid and how many to retain for later in the day. The number of gruppen in the raid, and their make up of fighters and bombers, are decided by cards drawn from the force deck. After this, a card is chosen from the event deck which adds an element of randomness, such as increased fighter escort or German gruppen failing to meet their rendezvous point and missing the raid. The shuffling of these decks during and between games creates great replay value that some solo games lack. Air to air combat gives split results on the CRT and sees both air forces shrink through attrition. Raids continue till the end of day phase. The player earns victory points for German gruppen destroyed but loses them for his own losses and successful German bombing raids. The end of day sees both sides' formations recover from fatigue and damaged or resting formations make their way back onto the map. An optional rule allows night raids. As German victory points rise, their target priority switches from the effective airfields and radar stations to the less effective terror bombing of cities, simulating the actual course of history. I have to say that this is the best solo game I've ever played and must represent a high water mark as such games go. Not only is it an accurate simulation of the Battle of Britain, but it's also fun. Add to that the fact that it's simple, good for beginners and you have a game which is recommended for all players - everywhere! Alan Sharif