Welcome to the Lead Pursuit Podcast! We are a wargaming podcast specializing in aerial combat wargames, such as Blood Red Skies. We also talk about other miniatures-based wargames, boardgames and aviation, along with our general rambling about military topics. Thanks for taking time to visit us, and please let us know how you like the podcast!
Merged! is an aerial combat game focused on the close-in fight at what is referred to as Within Visual Range (WVR). Streamlined mechanics allow players of all skill levels to quickly maneuver their aircraft without detailed knowledge of aerial combat physics or tactics. Air-to-air combat, air-to-ground attack and surface-to-air defenses are all included as part of the rules.
“This game does not suck.”
Merged! is currently in playtest and more details about the release schedule will be made public in late 2026.
The Design Team is headed by Doug Glover, host of the Lead Pursuit Podcast. After co-designing several systems including Beyond MiG Alley and Fulcrum Leader, he decided it was time to branch out and head a design team himself. Many of the players that contributed to the rules for Beyond MiG Alley have returned to help with the playtesting of Merged!.
““Thank you for letting me play whatever the hell that was.””
Merged! uses these color-coded pucks to represent different altitude levels. The design team HATES the ubiquitous antenna stands used in aerial wargames and was willing to come up with a better, more visible and intuitive solution, even if it mean printing off boxloads of pucks for the playtest teams.
“The name “Merged!” sucks.”
Merged! is designed to be scale-agnostic, but the designers play with the Squadron Commander line of aircraft in 1:200th scale for the visual appeal. These miniatures are available here in the Lead Pursuit Store
“Great home-brew game once we added our own house rules.”
If you want to keep up to date with the development of Merged! you can follow our socials on Instagram and Facebook and watch this page for any updates or designers blog articles that we publish.
If you are STILL reading this page, and would like to assist us with playtesting, please fill out the form below and we will contact you with details of how you (and your group) fit best into our playtest schedule.