- BGG rank
- BGG #29,219
- BGG rating
- 5.2
Airlines: United States Set 2
- 2–4 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 2.4/5
- 1998
- BGG rank
- BGG #31,020
- BGG rating
- 4.7
Airlines
1998
Rules assistance for Airlines
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 120 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.1/5
Rules assistant for Airlines
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Airlines is a board game released in 1998 for 2–4 players, 120 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Brien J. Miller and Brian L. Knipple and its main mechanics are Hand Management.
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About the game
Airlines, The Game of Airline Strategy (a.k.a. Airline Operations in the Age of Deregulation) is a game of airline operations and business in the 1990's. Players represent the Chief Operations and Marketing Officers of major American airlines, whose job is to fly the most passengers over a given period of time. There are two basic games in Airlines: the One-Year Quick Game which takes about 45 minutes to play and the Three-Year Game, which takes about two hours to play. The currency of the game is seats, seats are used to pay for everything. The game is card-based, with a small map to show distances between Major and Regional Airports. The cards consist of Major Airports, Regional Airports, various Aircrafts, airline Hubs (your airline), Gates, and varied Opportunity/Events cards. The Ops/Events cards may denote bad weather in a region (thus reducing number of seats for that round), strikes (which can played on another airline), Fuel Price Adjustments (which effect your maintenance fees paid with Seats), and even an Aircraft Incident card (which people outside the industry call "crashes.") Airlines can be combined with the stand-alone game Airlines: United States Set 2.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Avalanche Press Ltd.
Questions and answers
Airlines supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Airlines is 120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Airlines for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Airlines has a complexity rating of 2.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Airlines belongs to these categories: Card Game, Economic, and Aviation / Flight. Its main mechanics are Hand Management. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Airlines are: Brien J. Miller and Brian L. Knipple. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Airlines as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.