Plane Games

Plane games cover a lot of ground: air combat, flights full of obstacles, and landing or parking simulators. There are more than 150, and you can pick between shooting, dodging or taking it easy at the controls.

Three ways to play with a plane

The most popular is air combat. WWII Air Battle, Skies of War, Air Fight, Airplane Fight and Air Force 2018 put you in a fighter, and Strikers 1945 Flash captures the style of the old vertical-scrolling arcade shooters, where you move up the screen firing at everything that appears. These usually have power-ups that upgrade your weapons and a boss at the end of each stage. You steer with the arrow keys and a fire key, and the challenge is dodging bullets more than aiming.

The second is precision flying. Airplane Parking Mania 3D asks you to land or park without crashing, and calm is what counts here: speeding up gets you nowhere, and gentle touches correct better than sharp ones. It's a game of patience more than reflexes.

The third is air traffic control. In Air Traffic Control and Air Traffic Chief you don't fly. You direct several planes at once so they take off and land without crossing paths. The difficulty climbs as more planes crowd the screen. Prioritize the one closest to landing and leave the ones that still have time for later.

There are also character games like Super Mario Flying, Mario Wings Sky, Star Wars Rogue Squadron and Ben10 Protector of Earth, which tend to be easier to pick up, and odder ones like Tu 95, named after a real Russian bomber.

Before you choose, think about the pace you want. Combat games give you no breathing room, parking games let you stop and think, and air traffic games mix the two: time to plan, then pressure as the planes pile up. If you keep running out of lives in a combat game, remember that power-ups are collected by flying over them, so it's worth a small detour to grab them.

One general tip: don't fire nonstop. Keep moving and find a distance where you can dodge. In parking games, go slowly and correct early.