Iron Clouds

Iron Clouds is a strategic game of dieselpunk flying warships fighting in the skies of the colonial territories of the 1900’s superpowers. Far from being the only game in its genre, it took inspiration from Full Thrust, Aeronef and Leviathans for its dynamics and was our first take on game design.

The movement of the fleets is simultaneous, as each vessel has a corresponding maneuver card where with an erasable marker every turn the commands are written down. The movement choices must take into account the opponent’s ships, the clouds and the table edges in order to gain a strategic advantage for the following turn.

Once the new position of the ships is determined, the shooting starts. Each vessel has several weapons, each with a different range and precision, all condensed in the ship’s weaponry table. It might seem scary, but the whole broadside is performed with a handful of dice, using the column corresponding to the target range and adding all the contributions to the final firepower. Damage is finally dealt on both sides, and any surviving ship will have to deal with the malfunctions and the crew losses.

The game focuses on the individual ship, and even a single face off between two vessels can be an interesting introductory match to understand the game. The various ship classes, however, add a new dimension to the battle, as some are immune to lighter caliber weapons, while being however easier to hit due to their size.

If you are interested in playtesting the game and in receiving a free copy, you can contact us via The Lazy Forger Facebook page.