Blue Skies

Ah, the 70’s…leisure suits, bell-bottom pants, Charlie’s Angels, Star Wars (the first one), Battlestar Galactica (the first one!). There were lots of memorable moments in the 70’s. There

is one event that shaped our future that many people do not remember, but should – the deregulation of the U.S. airline industry.

The year is 1979. You are an executive of one of 5 new airlines. After years of lobbying to be free of government control of air routes and pricing, airlines begin scrambling to take advantage of the unprecedented growth in the industry. Air travel will no longer be only for business travelers and special occasions. Cheap fares mean that everyone can afford to fly. Who knows where the demand will be strongest? Will it be the Northeast or on the West Coast? What about the Midwest and Southeast? Maybe even Cleveland?

Each turn, new demand in the form of passengers will appear on the board. Some of this demand you can predict, but the rest? Your competitors have research departments too. They might even have computers.

The wave of new passengers increases every turn. Will you invest in new gates in the right airports? You can even try to be the dominant player in a region. Battle against your opponents for supremacy in this brave new world where there is nothing but sunshine, profits, and … BLUE SKIES.

The year is 1979, and the U.S. government has just deregulated the airline industry, opening it to competition in terms of fares, routes, and the airline companies themselves. You represent a new airline that's trying to set up business in the U.S., but you have an entire country open to you, so where will you set up shop and how can you profit more than the other newcomers to ensure that you survive?

In Blue Skies, the game board presents players with thirty airports in thirty cities. Each airport has four gates, with you using 2-4 gates depending on the number of players. To set up, draw airport demand cards from the deck to seed airports with passengers. Whenever you place passengers on the board, draw from a bag that initially contains 100 red cubes and 25 green cubes; for each airport, continue drawing until you draw a red cube, then redistribute passengers at the open gates of that airport as evenly as possible.

3-5 players

Ages 14+

60 minute play time

G4