
- BGG rank
- BGG #2,576
- BGG rating
- 7.9
Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations
- 1 player
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.8/5
- 2010

Rules assistance for Hornet Leader II: Marine Air
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Hornet Leader II: Marine Air is an expansion for Hornet Leader II released in 2007 for 1 player, 60 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Dan Verssen and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling and Simulation.
Hornet Leader II is based on the original award-winning design published by GMT Games back in 1991. Like the original game, Hornet Leader II - Marine Air is designed from the ground up as a solitaire game. The game places you in command of the pilots and aircraft of a modern day squadron of Marine AV-8 Harrier fighters. It features AV-8s, more pilots, and campaigns. When you play the game, you will plan and carry-out missions in various campaign settings. Each campaign takes place in a different era, so your weapon options change with each campaign. A major part of the game is mission planning. You get to decide how your Hornets are to be armed, and which pilots are best for the mission based on their Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground skills. Missions are quickly resolved with the priority placed on speed and realism. Hornet Leader II has retained all the key decision-making aspects of the original game, while greatly streamlining the game mechanics. While performing each mission, you get to decide how your pilots engage the enemy Bandits, SAMs, and AAA Sites. This makes for some tough choices, the more suppression munitions, you haul to the target, the safer your pilots will be, but the less likely you are to destroy the target. Available in two formats: - Virtual Tabletop Game using the Vassal Engine - PDF files to download and print. Not a complete game, you must own Hornet Leader II.
Hornet Leader II: Marine Air supports 1 player according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Hornet Leader II: Marine Air is 60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Hornet Leader II: Marine Air for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Hornet Leader II: Marine Air has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Hornet Leader II: Marine Air belongs to these categories: Card Game, Wargame, and Print & Play. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling and Simulation. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Hornet Leader II: Marine Air are: Dan Verssen. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Hornet Leader II: Marine Air as an expansion for Hornet Leader II. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Hornet Leader II to use it. Check that your edition of Hornet Leader II is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.