DVG designer Chuck Seegert on his new Stuka Leader and the influence of his earlier Zero Leader

Chuck Seegert’s second entry into DVG’s Leader series, Stuka Leader, went live on Kickstarter on April 20 and smashed its $20,000 funding goal in 41 minutes, by the game company’s calculation. This morning, as we post this video with 18 days remaining in the campaign, Stuka Leader stands at $70,000 in backing and counting. The game’s so nice we at the APBA Football Club have backed it twice.

Seegert’s first game for DVG was Zero Leader, a rare take on World War 2 aerial combat from the Japanese perspective. With expansions for aces and trainees, Zero Leader works as a companion to Corsair Leader —  the latter featuring Seegert as one of the available pilots alongside the legendary Pappy Boyington.

We spoke with Chuck on Sept. 28, 2021*, when we’d gotten wind of him concocting what he was than calling Jaeger Leader to bring the vaunted German pilots of WW2 to your tabletop. Our discussion ranged from his thoughts at the time about the mechanics and functionality he’d like to incorporate into the game to how he came to work with DVG. He also gave a hint at further must-have DVG games in the works, including Sopwith Leader for the WW1 buffs, as well as a Russian companion to Stuka Leader. Leader games are geared to the solitaire player and are a marvel of form and function.

Recalling his earliest experiences with the classic war games of the early ‘70s, Seegert goes on to discuss:

• The relative value of research materials created closer to the time of an event depicted in a game vs. materials created long after the fact.

• His appreciation of Data Driven Football by Ron Pisarz, who keeps the classic Paydirt! alive with contemporary football seasons.

• Adding non-quantitative “color of the game” elements — like the Cup of Sake card in Zero Leader — to balance realism and seriousness with entertainment and playability.

Get in on Stuka Leader on Kickstarter to grab the game and any — or all — of its expansions; there are two Eastern front modules, two Mediterranean modules, a Aces pack, a “What If?” pack featuring Germany's experimental aircraft, and even a Spanish Civil War module. You can cover 1936 to 1946 with this game.

And, if you can’t get enough Stuka action, designer Gottardo Zancani has designed the upcoming JU-87 Stuka Ace, to be available from Lock ’n Load Publishing. The game promises nine Stuka models that come into play depending on the mission or progression of the campaign. Sign up at this link to be notified of its arrival: https://store.lnlpublishing.com/ju-87...

If you’re a fan of wartime aviation, give a peek to these institutions that keep these classic craft flying:

The Experimental Aviation Association: https://www.eaa.org/
National Museum of the AAF: nationalmuseum.af.mil
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome: https://oldrhinebeck.org/
Golden Age Air Museum: https://goldenageair.org/
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum (WW2 Weekend set for June): http://www.maam.org/
Classic Fighters Omaka (next show in 2023): https://www.classicfighters.co.nz/
Warbirds Over Wanaka (next show in 2024): https://www.warbirdsoverwanaka.com/
Stonehenge Air Museum: http://stonehengeairmuseum.org/

And many, many more organizations — feel free to add your favorite aviation group in the comments.

Apologies for the wonky sound/audio artifacts. Would like to clean this up if/when we get a chance.