Play The Ancient Art of War in the Skies Online

I first played The Ancient Art of War in the Skies back in 1993, a release from MS-DOS Classic Games. It was developed by Evryware and published by Broderbund, arriving at a time when strategy games were really starting to explore more complex mechanics on home computers. It stood out for trying to blend thoughtful planning with the immediate chaos of flight combat, a combination that wasn't very common then.

You command a squadron of World War I era biplanes, issuing movement and attack orders on a strategic map before diving into the action yourself. The main goal is to outmaneuver and destroy enemy squadrons across a series of missions. The signature mechanics involve switching between an overhead command view to position your units and a side-scrolling action view where you directly pilot your chosen plane in real-time dogfights. The pacing is deliberate; you spend a lot of time assessing the battlefield before committing to a fight, and the difficulty comes from managing both the big picture and your own survival in the fray. It feels like being a general who also has to grab a rifle and run into the trench.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".