Thunderbolt Apache Leader is a terrific solitaire wargame wherein the player recruits, builds, and arms his flight team for multi-part campaigns. While I may not always be in the mood to spend the major part of an hour setting up a game, this logical, well designed, beautifully packaged solitaire gem is probably the only solitaire game that I'd rank above Ambush!, Mage Knight, and D-Day at Omaha Beach, and the preparation does have the benefit of getting me invested in each particular squadron.
Thunderbolt Apache Leader has simple combat math, but a ton variables such as the changing maps, the various planes/choppers, the wide assortment of weapons, the varied types of defense, the specific types of aircraft damage, and the growing characters/pilots. Add to these factors the manner in which low altitude flying interacts with the terrain, how pilots handle those flights, how enemies scramble for cover, and how pilots get stressed out...and the narrative becomes very deep and detailed very quickly without feeling especially heavy.
The knocks that I have against the game are small. The set up time is really long, and the need to start aircraft inside the the hexes on the first move (rather than at the perimeter) seems a bit counterintuitive. Also, I like for game components to fully track all needed data--and not necessitate actual pencil and paper bookkeeping--but pencil and paper are needed here.
These are three minor gripes that keep the game from perfection for me, but at present, if I whittled my game collection down to one solitaire game, it would be this one. And if I whittled my collection down to one wargame, it would also be this one. Bravo, Dan Verssen and DVG games.