Airline

Thumbnail Analysis Game Review

by Don Lowry


Gamma Two Games is known to wargamers as the Canadian company that publishes QUEBEC 1759, WAR OF 1812 and NAPOLEON. But their major business is that of publishing family- games, of which this is an example. Its title and subject are reminiscent of Avalon Hill's old AIR EMPIRE game, long out of print, but the game itself bears little resemblance, and Gamma Two assures me they had never even heard of AIR EMPIRE until I asked them about any possible connection between it and AIRLINE.

This game comes in a colorful 11"x17"x1 1/2" box which contains: a 16" x 20" full color, mounted mapboard; a large number of plastic circular "city markers" and 1 each propeller plane, jet, and SST in each of four colors (yellow, green, black and red); two large, 5/8"-cube dice; a large selection of play money in colorcoded denominations of $1 million to $50 miIIion ; and an 11"x17" sheet, fol ded in thirds, having the rules in English on one side and in French on the other.

This game is for 2 to 4 players age 10 and up (though my 5-year-old understood it pretty well and enjoyed it immensely). On the board is a map of the world showing 18 key cities around the globe with lines connecting them. In a circle around the map are 24 spaces representing the same 18 cities plus spaces marked "subsidy", "maintenance", "charter", "hijack", "air cargo" and crash". Each player starts with a plastic propeller plane token which, in time-honored family-game fashion, is moved around the circle in accordance with the roll of 2 dice.

Each player also starts with $100 million and a home base in a city of his choice. As he moves his plane around the circle he can buy "landing rights" at cities he lands on, unless he lands on one where another player has already bought the rights. If that is the case, and if the city landed on is connected, on the map, to the owning player's home base, the player who lands there must pay the owning player a fee, the amount depending on what kind of plane the owning player uses: prop, jet or SST.

A player can trade up for a fancier plane by paying $30 million. In addition to collecting fees from other players money can be made by landing on the "subsidy", "charter" or "air cargo" spaces, while landing on "maintenance", "hijack" or "crash" can cost you. The winner is the player who bankrupts all the others. This is a good, fun family game built on sound principals in the true MONOPOLY tradition. Due to customs and shipping costs AIRLINE sells for $12 in the U.S. It is available from a few game stores or from Panzerfaust Publications.

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© Copyright 1976 by Donald S. Lowry
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