Speed Kings landed in my mailbox courtesy of Historic Wings and Thomas Van Hare, who figured my wife Jamie might enjoy it. The game’s built around 1930s air racing, pylons, prop planes, and the kind of reckless aviation that modern insurance companies would never allow. Cool premise right out of the gate. First thing that grabbed me was the box art: a Charles Hubbell piece that just pulls you in, the way good box art should (looking at you, games with a stock photo and a font slapped on top). Naturally, I couldn’t just open it like a normal person — the camera came out and an unboxing video was happening.

Spiral-Bound and Ready to Fly

Cracked the lid and the first thing staring back at me was a spiral-bound rulebook. Instant win in my book, no fighting the spine to keep a page open while you’re trying to remember whose turn it is. And it’s lean: eleven pages and you’re already playing. There’s a solid example of play in there too, a practice I wish every publisher would steal. Beyond the mechanics, Thomas packs in historical facts and designer notes that make the thing worth reading even if you never crack the box again, genuinely good stuff on its own. Now I’m itching to dig into Air Pirates and see what that’s about.

Real Planes, Real Pilots, Real Nice Cards

Next out of the box: the cards. Poker-sized, and the artwork is phenomenal, some feature actual photos of the real planes and pilots that inspired the game, which is a nice touch of “this actually happened” flavor. Everything’s laid out clean and easy to read, so you’re not squinting trying to parse a stat block mid-game. You get Moxie cards, Pilotage cards, Turn cards, Power cards, and Pilot cards, a whole deck ecosystem. Then there are the airplane player aids, which hold your pilot card and lay out the plane’s specs in one tidy spot. Visually sharp and genuinely functional as a player aid, not just eye candy.

Counters, Flags, and Table Presence for Days

Then the counters, and no letdown here, thick, colorful, easy to read at a glance (your eyes will thank you after a long game night). There are even flags to set up as pylons to race around, plus assorted game markers and planes that slot into stand-ups, which is going to look fantastic once it’s all laid out on the table. Can’t wait to see this thing in action. Almost forgot, there are player aids too, hard stock cards covering the sequence of play, circuit diagrams, and pilot skills.

Bottom line: the components are top notch across the board.

Now I just need to get this on the table and cross my fingers that my wife’s up for it (fingers, toes, all of it). So stay tuned for a full playthrough report. I’ve also put together an unboxing video, so go check that out if you want the full visual tour.

A Local Legend Hiding in the Deck

Quick side note because I nerded out over this one: I flipped over a pilot card and realized this game had some serious local flavor for me. Long before Walmart put Bentonville on the map, aviation pioneer Louise Thaden already did, the Bentonville airport is literally named after her. For those keeping score at home, I live in NW Arkansas, and Bentonville’s just down the road. We spend a good chunk of our evenings hanging out on the square, so finding her card felt like a neat little full-circle moment (yes, I digress, but a good digression). If you want to go down the rabbit hole on her, she’s absolutely worth the read:

City of Bentonville
National Aviation Hall of Fame
Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum

Thanks for supporting Cardboard Commander — see you on the runway.