Air Postal Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Summary
  • Goal of the Game
  • Duration of a Game
  • End of Game Conditions
• Game Material
• Setup
• How to Choose Your Plane
• How to Choose a Pilot
• Game Turn
  • Flight Ops
  • Ground Ops
  • Reset
• Flight Ops
  • Loading the Aircraft Before Takeoff
  • Preflight Check
  • Conduct a Flight
  • Destination and Delivery
  • Flight Interruption: Incident or Crash
• Paying Debts
• Ground Ops
  • Action Objectives
  • Revenues Action
  • Maintenance Action
  • Aircraft Change Action
• Endgame
• Playing Aid - NOTAM (Notice to Air Postal Missions)
  • Description of the Objective Cards
  • Description of the Load Cards (Cargo and PAX)
  • Legend: Dice Meteo (Weather Dice)
  • Description of System & Crew Basic Cards
  • System & Crew Standard Card Description
  • Description of System & Crew Expert Cards
• Variants
  • Warbirds Variant
  • Main Base Variant
  • Basic Beginners Variant
• Solo Version

Game Summary

The game begins at the dawn of the 1920s: as player-pilots, you volunteer to open the first air routes. The only aircraft available at the beginning of the game are often outdated and underpowered planes, which will not allow you to venture onto the longer routes. Then technological and commercial development will give you access to more and more efficient aircraft, allowing you to explore the world over greater distances. And the time will come to attempt great firsts, such as crossing the Atlantic, the Andes, or even circumnavigating the globe - feats that will put you in the pantheon of history's greatest pilots!

Goal of the Game

Become a legendary pilot by gaining the highest number of glory points. You earn glory points during the game by flying to hub cities, achieving objectives or completing great first flights. In addition, the technological level of your aircraft and the money you have at the end of the game will also count in your total of glory points.

Duration of a Game

To estimate the duration of a game, count 30 minutes of flight time per player-pilot, i.e. about 1.5 hours for a game with 3 players.

Note that with the Basic variant (see Variants section), this duration is reduced to about 15 minutes per player.

End of Game Conditions

The first player to reach the following number of glory points at the end of his turn triggers the end of the game:

• 60 points
• 50 points
• 40 points

(the threshold used depends on the number of players, from fewest to most).

Game Material

• 1 game board with one side World Map and one side Atlantic Map.
• 1 Operations board to manage the game turn.
• 36 Aircraft cards (Basic side and Expert side).
• 8 Pilot cards (Recto Woman / Verso Man).
• 5 Setup postcards: these cards propose starting configurations (pilots, main base and hubs).
• 13 Weather dice: 4 blue, 3 green, 4 white, 2 red.
• 4 cockpits (1 per player) for positioning an Aircraft card and a Pilot card, and 4 rulers for positioning the Cargo, PAX, System and Crew cards installed on board the aircraft.
• 40 City cards: these are used to define the Main Base (of each player) and the Hubs (common objectives) of the game. There are 8 cards per continent.
• 81 Objective cards: these define the individual objectives that the players will try to achieve during the game. All Objective cards are recognisable by their checkerboard frame. There are 3 families of Objective cards:
  • 12 Air Route cards per continent
  • 16 VIP (Very Important Passenger) Traveller cards
  • 5 Diplomacy cards
• 42 Cargo cards: 12 Mail Delivery cards, 4 Priority Letter cards, 6 Smuggling Case cards, 14 Diplomatic Bag cards and 6 Fuel cards.
• 9 PAX on Board cards.
• 25 System cards: 4x System Basic cards (cards with Basic: 4x Met Report), 12x System Standard cards (4x Compass, 4x Autopilot and 4x Gyroscope), and 9x System Expert cards (cards with XP logo: 1x Altimeter, 1x Auxiliary Tank, 1x Cargo Door, 1x Flaps, 1x Slats, 1x Floats, 1x Variable Propeller, 1x Wing Tanks, 1x Air Stairs).
• 20 Crew cards: 4x System Basic cards (cards with Basic logo: 4x Copilot), 12x Crew Standard cards (4x Flight Engineer, 4x Navigator, 4x Radio) and 4x Crew Expert cards (cards with XP logo: 1x Fuel Expert, 1x Meteorologist, 1x Veteran).

Note: these card dispensers and organiser are made after existing buildings: the "Hotel Grand Balcon" in Toulouse, where the Aeropostale pilots used to stay, the "Halles Latécoère" in Montaudran, where the Latécoère aircraft were built, and the Mills Airport, near San Francisco, which was one of the very first modern airports in the world.

Setup

A. Choose a Setup card and place the indicated game board on the table.

B. Place the Operations board next to the game board. Place the deck of Crew Basic cards (4 Copilot cards) and the deck of System Basic cards (4 Met Report cards). These are laid out face up.

C. Make a deck by mixing the 5 Diplomacy cards with the Objective cards from the decks of the continents mentioned on the Setup card. Place this deck in the 1st slot of the "Grand Balcon Hotel" dispenser of Objective cards.

D. Make a deck by shuffling the Cargo & PAX cards and place it in the 1st slot of the "Mills Airport" dispenser of Cargo & PAX cards.

E. Arrange the indicated number (depending on the number of players) of Objective and Cargo & PAX cards in their respective lines on the Operations board. Players may choose cards from both lines. During the Reset phase, these lines work like "Rivers." Remove the rightmost card from both lines. Move any remaining cards as far to the right as you can, and refill the empty spaces.

F. Build up the bank by sorting the banknotes and place them in the dispenser near the game board within reach of the players. Make up the reserve of Aircraft cards available for purchase, ranked by technological level, and place them in the "Halles Latécoère" dispenser.

G. Place the Weather dice near the game board within reach of the players.

H. Make up the 6 System & Crew Standard card decks, i.e. a deck of 4 cards for each type: (Compass, Flight Engineer, Autopilot, Navigator, Gyroscope and Radio). Place them in their respective slots. Then shuffle the System & Crew Expert cards (cards with the XP logo) and randomly draw a number of cards equal to the number of players + 3. These cards form the System & Crew Expert card deck for this game. Place this deck next to the other 6 System & Crew decks. Put the remaining System & Crew Expert cards back in the box: they will not be used for this game.

I. Assign a set of wooden pieces to each player, then randomly determine an initial order of play and place each player's turn marker in that order on the "windsock" track on the Operations board.

J. In turn order:

1. Choose a pilot among those proposed on the Setup postcard chosen for this game, and take the corresponding Pilot card. The city associated with the chosen pilot is your Main Base.
2. Place the City card of your Main Base card near your cockpit. Earn the number of glory points and money indicated on the card (these values are repeated on the Setup postcard). Place your marker on the score track at the location of the number of glory points earned: during the game, move your marker according to your glory point gains (or losses!).
3. Place your Aircraft meeple on the board at the location of your Main Base.

K. Place near the board the City cards listed under the Hubs section on the Setup postcard, and place a ring token on the board at the location of each of these cities so that all players can easily locate them. These are the common objectives for all players in this game.

L. In reverse turn order, choose an Aircraft card from those available without paying the cost. Note: the aircraft chosen must have a technological level equal to or lower than the number shown on your Pilot card. Insert your Pilot and Aircraft cards into your cockpit (note: place the Aircraft card on its "Basic" side only for the Basic initiation variant). Finally, place a cube on the maximum endurance level of your pilot.

In this example, Maryse Bastié must choose a starting plane with a maximum technological level of 3.

How to Choose Your Plane

Each Aircraft card shows:

• Max Fuel: The value shown is the maximum amount of fuel that can be carried in the tanks of this aircraft.
• Range: The value indicated shows the maximum distance that the plane can fly during a game turn (see Flight Operations). This distance, expressed in number of dice, corresponds to the total distance that you will be able to cover with this aircraft during your game turn, whether during a single flight or several successive flights.
• Technology Level: This value reflects the performance level of the aircraft and reflects the technological developments: the higher the technology level of an aircraft, the better its overall performance.
• Purchase Price: this is the amount you have to pay to the bank for the purchase of this aircraft when you are the first buyer (new aircraft).
• Resale Price: this is the amount you receive from the bank for the resale of this aircraft when you wish to resell it to acquire another one, or the amount you have to pay to the bank to buy this aircraft back after another player has resold it (second-hand aircraft).
• Load values: the values shown are the maximum number of Load cards that can be on board this plane, for each card category:
  • Cargo: maximum number of Cargo cards (Mail, Priority Letter, Parcels, Diplomatic Bag, Fuel).
  • PAX: maximum number of PAX on Board cards. Please note that "Traveller VIP" (Very Important Passenger) cards are considered as PAX on Board cards. A VIP Traveller objective card therefore occupies a PAX slot in your plane when you choose to take this objective.
  • Crew: maximum number of Crew cards (Copilot, Navigator, Radio, Flight Engineer, etc.)

In the Basic initiation variant, the Aircraft card is used on the "Basic" side. The aircraft then have only one Load value, corresponding to the total number of Cargo, PAX, Crew and System cards that can be installed on board the aircraft.

How to Choose a Pilot

Each Pilot card shows:

• Revenues: This is the amount of money you receive each time you choose the 'Revenues', 'Maintenance & Revenues', or 'Objectives & Revenues' action (see Ground Ops).
• Technology Level of the starting aircraft: the aircraft you choose at the start of the game must be of this technology level or lower.
• Technological Competence: this is your ability to progress when you change aircraft. The value shown is the maximum difference between the technological level of the new aircraft you wish to acquire and that of the old one.
• Endurance: represents your pilot skills (dexterity, reflexes, vision, analytical skills, etc.) which decrease with the fatigue accumulated during the flight. The points are spent during the flight, and brought back to the maximum level at the beginning of each game turn.

The available pilots include Dieudonné Costes, Jean Mermoz, Howard Hughes, Günther von Hünefeld, Maryse Bastié, Hélène Dutrieu, Harriet Quimby, Margaret von Ertzdorf, Richard Byrd, John Alcock, Joaquin Loriga, Italo Balbo, Bessie Coleman, Lady Mary Bailey, Polina Denisovna Osipenko and Carina Negrone.

Amelia's advice: Choose the Basic variant to play with a simplified version of the rules and get familiar with the game mechanics or to introduce the game to novice players during faster games. Once you have mastered the basic rules, you will be able to take full advantage of the game by using all its features! This time there is no room for chance: everything (or almost everything!) is under control. It is your choices that will lead you to success or failure, because if luck can make you hope for success, bad luck alone cannot explain your failure!

Game Turn

In the turn order indicated by the position of your turn marker on the windsock track of the Operations board, place your token in the first available location in one of the lines of Flight Ops or Ground Ops actions, which are resolved in this order:

Flight Ops

By choosing to place your turn marker in one of the Flight Ops slots, you will be able to:

• load your aircraft by taking the available Load and PAX cards
• perform the pre-flight checklist (Preflight Check) in order to buy Fuel, Copilot, or Met Report cards
• then perform one or more flights, in order to move your plane on the board.

These actions are detailed below.

Ground Ops

Thanks to these actions, you stay on the ground to prepare your next trips! You can choose one action or combination of actions among the 5 proposed options:

1. Objectives
2. Income
3. Maintenance + Income
4. Objectives + Income
5. Change of plane + Maintenance

Each action is detailed below. On your turn, place your turn marker on an available space. If a player already occupies one of the last 3 slots, you may force him/her to move to another slot by paying him/her the amount shown (e.g. $10,000 for the Maintenance + Revenue slot). The unseated player cannot refuse the offer, and immediately places his turn marker on another slot (on which it was not yet positioned during this turn), including within the Flight Ops section.

Reset

Replace the players' turn markers on the windsock track to determine the order of the next turn. To do this, first reshuffle those positioned in the Flight Ops action line and then those in the Ground Ops action lines. If more than one player is positioned in the same action line, the turn markers are moved up in reverse order of their arrival position (from last to first for each action line).

In this example Red will be the first player in the next round, followed by White, Blue and then Yellow.

Discard the rightmost card from the Objective and Cargo & PAX card rivers, move the remaining cards to the right onto the empty slots and then replenish the rivers from the deck. When the Objective or Cargo & PAX card deck is empty, shuffle the corresponding discard pile to make a new deck. The game rounds continue until one of the players triggers the last round.

Flight Ops

In the turn order indicated by the position of your turn marker on the windsock track of the Operations board, place your token in the first available location in one of the lines of Flight Ops or Ground Ops actions, which are resolved in this order.

Loading the Aircraft Before Takeoff

On your turn, in the order of the players on the Flight Ops slots, draw 1 Load card (Cargo or PAX) from among those available in the Load card pool. Then the next player in the Flight Ops section does the same, and so on until there are no more Load cards available or all players in the Flight Ops section have passed. When loading, always make sure to respect the limit of the number of Cargo or PAX slots, as the case may be, still available in your plane.

In this example, the aircraft tanks are full (Fuel gauge on 6, which is the aircraft's maximum value), and the endurance marker is on the pilot's maximum value (4). The maximum numbers of Cargo and PAX cards are reached (3 Cargo and 2 PAX).

Preflight Check

After loading and before initiating the next step Conduct a Flight, you can purchase Fuel, a Met Report or hire a Copilot, and check that your pilot is Fit to Fly.

• Buy Fuel: Each increment of the Fuel gauge costs $5,000, and you cannot exceed the Max Fuel level of your aircraft. Pay the bank for as many points of fuel as you want (or can afford) then set the needle of the Fuel gauge in your cockpit to its new value (remember: the level is zero at the beginning of the game).
• Buy a Met Report: you may buy one Met Report card from the deck, as long as it does not exceed the Load (System) value of your aircraft. Pay the cost to the bank.
• Hire a Copilot: you can buy a Copilot card from the deck, as long as it does not exceed the Load (Crew) value of your aircraft. Pay the cost to the bank.
• Fit to Fly: At the start of your turn, place the cube on the highest endurance value shown on your Pilot card. You are now ready to fly! Remember that Fuel and Endurance levels will decrease during the flight, depending on the difficulties encountered. It is important that you do not drop either the Fuel or Endurance gauges below zero before the end of the flight!

Conduct a Flight

On your turn, determined by your position on the Flight Ops action slots, you will make one or more flights between two cities. To do this:

1. Measure the length of the flight: it is represented on the board by the number of squares separating the departure and arrival cities of the flight (each square corresponds to a weather die to be rolled). Remember: during your turn, you may not fly a total distance exceeding the Range value of your aircraft, this total distance corresponding to the length of the flight or the sum of the lengths of the flights made during your turn.
2. Conduct the flight: roll the dice corresponding to the boxes of the chosen route (1 die of the corresponding colour per box separating the departure and arrival cities of the flight), then resolve them in the order of their position on the route. For each square on the route, you must spend the Fuel and Endurance points indicated on the corresponding die. You may choose at any time to apply the effects of your System & Crew cards.

If the Fuel and Endurance values are equal to or greater than 0 after passing the last square of the flight path, your aircraft lands safely at the destination city.

Your plane does not reach its destination if:

• the Fuel or Endurance value falls below 0
• the Fuel value drops to 0 before leaving the last square of the flight path and reaching the destination city

In both cases, proceed to Flight Interruption.

Note: if the Endurance value drops to 0 before reaching the destination city, it does not lead to a flight interruption.

If you have reached the destination city, you may proceed to Delivery.

Finally, if the Range of your aircraft and your Fuel and Endurance levels allow, you may choose to continue your journey and Conduct a Flight again. Please note: in this case, you cannot take new Load cards, buy more Fuel or reset your Endurance level, you must continue your journey with the current levels.

In this example: the red plane flies from Berlin to Moscow. The weather dice give the following result:

• clear sky = -1 Fuel
• headwind = -2 Fuel
• ice & snow = -1 Fuel and -2 Endurance

i.e. a total of -4 Fuel and -2 Endurance during this flight.

Destination and Delivery

If you have arrived at your flight destination, you can take advantage of this stopover to deliver a Load card (Cargo or PAX) of your choice, and perhaps fulfil some objectives!

Deliver a Load card, respecting the following 2 instructions:

By default, you can only deliver one Load card (Cargo or PAX) at each stopover. You receive the corresponding bonus from the bank, if any, and discard the card. Note: If you deliver a "Diplomatic Bag" card in connection with a "Diplomacy" objective card or a "Traveller VIP" (very important passenger) card, do not discard these cards and keep them (see assessment of the objectives).

Respect the delivery instructions according to the location: Airfield, Big City, Embassy, Customs — refer to section NOTAM.

At destination: assessment of the Objectives

If, at the end of the flight, you have reached the first city listed on one or more of your Air Route objective cards, place one of your cubes on the card(s) concerned to record your passage.

If at the end of the flight you have achieved an objective (Air Route, Diplomacy, VIP...), you immediately earn the corresponding bonuses (glory points and money if applicable). Do not put the cards of the objectives you have achieved back into the discard pile: keep these cards which will no longer be available for the rest of the game, and can be used if necessary to check the final score.

At destination: landing in a Hub

If at the end of the flight you have reached a Hub for the first time: place a cube of your colour on the corresponding city card, and immediately win one of the 2 rewards offered (glory points or money). Note: a subsequent visit to the same city does not allow you to win again the chosen reward nor the other one.

At destination: achieving a Great First

If the flight you have just completed is one of the Great Firsts (see picto on the board) not yet completed, you immediately earn the corresponding glory points. Place a cube of your colour on the picto on the board to record your achievement.

Flight Interruption: Incident or Crash

A Flight Interruption may lead to an Incident or a Crash depending on the type of route (Overwater or Overland) and the type of aircraft (Land Plane, Seaplane or Amphibian).

Overwater routes are marked with a blue halo on the game board. The other routes are Overland routes.

• A Land Plane can be recognised by its pictogram. A Flight Interruption with this type of aircraft leads to an Incident if it occurs on an Overland route, or a Crash if it occurs on an Overwater route.
• A Seaplane can be recognised by its pictogram. A Flight Interruption with this type of aircraft leads to an Incident if it occurs on an Overwater route, or a Crash if it occurs on an Overland route.
• An Amphibian is an aircraft that may be equipped with floats and/or wheels. They can be recognised by the presence of both the Land Plane and Seaplane pictograms. A Flight Interruption with this type of aircraft leads to an Incident regardless of the route (Overland or Overwater).

Note: If the Seaplane pictogram is in brackets on the Aircraft card, it means that the "Floats" System card must be installed on the aircraft for it to be considered as an Amphibian. Without this "Floats" System card, the aircraft is considered to be of "Land" type.

Consequences of an Incident or a Crash

In the event of an Incident, you make a forced landing:

• Return your Aircraft meeple to the departure city of that flight.
• You keep your plane, your pilot, your Load cards, but you lose all the Fuel consumed during the flight.
• You lose the number of glory points corresponding to the technological level of your plane.
• Your turn ends here.

In the event of a Crash, your plane and its pilot disappear forever, lost for eternity in the solitude of the desert immensities or swallowed by the waves of a raging ocean!

• Put your Aircraft meeple back on the departure city of this flight.
• You lose all of your Load cards (Cargo & PAX, System & Crew) - discard the cards (they go back into the box for the rest of the game), without getting a refund for their cost.
• You lose all the Fuel consumed during the flight.
• Discard your Pilot card (it goes back into the box for the rest of the game) and take a new pilot from among those still available.
• Discard your Aircraft card (it is returned to the box for the rest of the game) and take an airplane among those still available (new or second-hand) and of a lower technological level, without paying for its cost.
• The tragic but glorious death of your pilot has added to the legendary stories that make up the history of aviation: you earn 3 glory points, or 5 glory points if a "Traveller VIP" was also on-board the aircraft! Beware, when 3 pilots have disappeared during the game, the press loses total interest in the subject and any subsequent Crash does not bring any more glory points.
• Your turn ends here.

Antoine's advice: My fellow pilots, there is certainly poetry in taking all the risks and relying on providence alone to reach your destination, but if you continue along this path, you will certainly only gain a posthumous glory that is as bitter as it is ephemeral! The experience of an uneventful flight will lead you to ask yourself this crucial question: do you take off again and continue the journey despite the growing threat of a possible crash, or do you wait wisely for the next round to attempt this new flight? Victory or defeat will be the result of these choices. There is no external fatality. But there is an inner fatality: there comes a minute when we discover we are vulnerable. The future is only ever the present to be put in order: it is not a question of foreseeing it, but of making it possible. So before you embark on a great journey, choose your aircraft and its equipment carefully, as well as the crew to support you. Don't forget that a raid plane will allow you to achieve great firsts, but their limited payload makes them very expensive to operate. On the other hand, an airliner will allow you to deliver cargo and passengers that will bring you a lot of money but perhaps less glory. Find the right moment to switch from one to the other, and vice versa. And never mind if you're wrong: tomorrow's truth feeds on yesterday's error. What saves is to take a step. One more step. I have seen the defeated chess player play for years in the hope of the victory party. For one is richer for having it if it is not even for oneself.

Paying Debts

During a game, you will frequently have to pay different amounts, whether it is to buy fuel, a new plane, new equipment, or hire a crew member, or to pay the penalty for discarding Cargo or PAX cards, or even to pay the fine if customs caught you with illegal goods (Smuggling Case)! You are obliged to pay the full amount due immediately. However, if you do not have enough money, you have the option of paying your debts with a penalty of 1 glory point for every $10,000 owed, e.g. 2 points for a debt of $15,000.

Ground Ops

Resolve the actions on your turn according to the order defined by the number on the slots selected by the players.

Action Objectives

There are 2 Objective action slots in the Ground Ops section:

• Objective action alone (not dislodgeable - slot 1), and
• Objective action combined with the Revenue action (dislodgeable for $10,000 - slot 4).

In your turn, choose an Objective card from among those available in the river, or the one on top of the deck. Caution: you must take one card, not more not less.

Revenues Action

There are 3 Revenues action slots in the Ground Ops section:

• Revenue action alone (not dislodgeable - slot 2),
• Revenue combined with Maintenance action (dislodgeable for $10,000 - slot 3)
• Revenue combined with Objectives action (dislodgeable for $10,000 - slot 4)

In your turn, receive the Revenue shown on your Pilot card from the bank.

Maintenance Action

There are 2 Maintenance action slots in the Ground Ops section:

• a first slot combined with the Revenues action (dislodgeable for $10,000 - slot 3),
• one combined with the Aircraft Change action (dislodgeable for $5,000 - slot 5).

On your turn, you may buy one or more cards from the 7 System & Crew card decks, as long as it does not exceed the Load (System and Crew, as applicable) values of your aircraft. You may not install more than one copy of the same card in your aircraft. You may also discard System & Crew cards you have acquired in previous rounds, but their cost is not refunded. When a card is discarded, it is returned to its deck.

Aircraft Change Action

There is only 1 Aircraft Change action slot in the Ground Ops section, combined with the Maintenance action (dislodgeable for $5,000 - slot 5).

On your turn, this Aircraft Change action allows you to replace your current aircraft with another, whether new or second-hand. In all cases:

• The difference in technological level between your current aircraft and the one you wish to acquire must be equal to or less than the technological skill value of your pilot.
• If the Load values of the purchased aircraft do not allow you to keep all the Load cards (Cargo, PAX, System or Crew) you have, you must discard the cards you cannot keep on board your aircraft:
  • if it is a Cargo or PAX card: put the card in its discard pile and pay back to the bank the premium normally collected for its delivery (examples: $5,000 for a Mail card, $15,000 for a PAX on Board card, $30,000 for a Smuggling Case card, etc.). Note: if it is a Traveller VIP card, you must pay the $15,000 and deduct the glory points related to this objective.
  • if it is a System or Crew card: discard the card into its System & Crew deck, without receiving a refund for its cost.
• Place the Aircraft card you have just acquired in your cockpit, and place the card of the aircraft you have just sold next to the "Halles Latécoère" organiser to form the pile of used aircraft.

Attention: Some aircraft cards have a resale price of 0. These are unique aircraft, often intended for the completion of long range flights. The player who owns one will not receive any money for the resale: this exceptional aircraft goes to enrich the collection of an illustrious museum! Therefore its card does not go join the pile of second-hand aircraft: it is discarded permanently and cannot be used again during this game.

Buy a new aircraft: You can purchase a new aircraft from the aircraft available for purchase in the "Halle Latécoère" organiser. Collect the resale price of your current aircraft from the bank, then pay the purchase price of the new aircraft to the bank.

Buying a second-hand aircraft: You can also decide to buy one of the aircraft available in the second-hand aircraft pile. Collect the resale price of your current aircraft from the bank, and then pay the resale price on the card of the used aircraft you are buying to the bank.

In both cases, you must pay the full amount due immediately: the bank does not grant credits!

In this example, St Exupéry goes from a level 3 aircraft to a level 5 aircraft, which is possible with his technological skill. He has to pay the bank $80,000 - $10,000 = $70,000. As the new aircraft has the same Load values (Cargo, PAX, Crew and System), St Exupéry can keep the Load cards he has.

Endgame

You trigger the endgame if you are the first player to reach the required number of glory points (see Endgame Conditions) at the end of your turn. Players who have not yet played in the current round perform their actions. Then count up everyone's glory points:

• You must subtract from your total the points for any unfulfilled objectives in your possession.
• Add to your total the number of points corresponding to the technological level of your plane.
• Finally, collect the resale value of your plane from the bank and add up the money you have. Every $50,000 is worth 1 additional glory point.

The player with the most glory points is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the player who owns the aircraft with the highest technology level wins. If there is still a tie, the players share the glory of this great victory!

Playing Aid - NOTAM (Notice to Air Postal Missions)

Description of the Objective Cards

Air Route: Opening new air routes earns you glory points and money. Place a cube of your color on an Air Route card you own when your plane is on one of the two places mentioned on it. You are free to choose any route to reach the 2 places mentioned. The objective is achieved as soon as your plane reaches the second place mentioned on this card: receive the amount of money from the bank and earn the number of glory points indicated. Keep the completed Air Route cards near your cockpit, turning them over to distinguish them from any Air Route cards you may not yet have.

It is possible to complete several Air Route objectives during the same game turn.

The points of the Air Route cards not completed in your possession at the end of the game are deducted from your final total of glory points.

Delivery locations referenced on the Load and Objective cards: Airfield, Big Cities, Customs, Embassy.

Traveller VIP (Very Important Passenger): Some passengers are celebrities who not only bring you money but also fame. A VIP Traveller card is treated as a PAX on Board card: therefore, it takes a PAX slot (Load) in your plane's load. The objective is achieved as soon as your plane carries the passenger to the Big City designated on the card (he must be dropped off there): receive the money from the bank and earn the number of glory points indicated. We advise you to keep the completed Traveller VIP cards close to your cockpit, turning them over to distinguish them from any unfinished Traveller VIP cards in your possession.

The points of the unrealized VIP Traveller cards in your possession at the end of the game are deducted from your final glory points total.

In this example Anna May Wong must travel to Beijing. When the goal is reached, earn 3 glory points and $15,000.

Diplomacy: Delivering a diplomatic pouch on demand is another way to earn lots of glory points. Use your plane as a vehicle for secret political intrigue with Diplomacy cards! Each Diplomatic Bag card you drop into an embassy of the corresponding nation earns you glory points according to the scale indicated on the Diplomacy card. Warning: Do not discard a Diplomatic Bag card that you have delivered and that corresponds to a Diplomacy card in your possession: keep it near your cockpit, face down. If you fail to deliver at least one Diplomatic Bag card from the nation mentioned on the Diplomacy card before the end of the game, the number of points indicated for the first delivery is deducted from your final glory points total!

In this example, dropping off 2 diplomatic bags at Soviet embassies (red color) during the game will earn you 3 + 4 = 7 total glory points. However, if you have not delivered any Soviet diplomatic bags at the end of the game, you lose 3 glory points.

Description of the Load Cards (Cargo and PAX)

• PAX on Board: Deposit only in a Big City. Win $15,000 and then put the card in the discard pile.
• Fuel Can: You do not earn any bonuses. During a flight, you can discard this card instead of spending 1 point of your Fuel gauge.
• Mail Delivery: can be dropped off at any location (Airfield, Customs, Big City or Embassy). Win $5,000 and then put the card in the discard pile.
• Diplomatic Bag: Deposit only in an Embassy of the nation (color) indicated on the card. Win $20,000 then keep the card if you have the Diplomacy Objective card of the same nation, otherwise put the card back in its discard pile.
• Priority Letter: drop off possible in any location (Airfield, Customs, Big City or Embassy) with the obligation to deliver this card before the other Load cards (Cargo or PAX) loaded in your plane. Win $10,000 and then put the card in the discard pile.
• Smuggling Case: can only be deposited in a Customs office, it is a fraudulent delivery. A player draws a random card from your Load cards (including this one): if it is a Smuggling Case card, the customs officers fine you for transporting illegal goods! Put the card in the discard pile and pay $10,000 to the bank. Your turn ends immediately. If it's not a Smuggling Case card: phew, the customs officers consider everything in order! You win $30,000, put the Smuggling Case card in the discard pile and continue your turn.

Legend: Dice Meteo (Weather Dice)

• Clear Sky (CAVOK): -1 fuel
• Ice & Snow: -1 fuel, -2 endurance
• Rain: -2 fuel, -1 endurance
• Fog: -1 fuel, -1 endurance
• Headwind: -2 fuel
• Thunderstorm: -2 fuel, -2 endurance
• Tropical Cyclone: -3 fuel

Description of System & Crew Basic Cards

(cards marked Basic) - 4 copies of each

• Met Report ($5,000): System Basic card. During a flight, discard this card to place a die on a Clear Sky side (-1 Fuel).
• Copilot ($5,000): Crew Basic card. During a flight, discard this card to cancel the spending of 1 point of Endurance.

System & Crew Standard Card Description

4 copies of each

• Flight Engineer ($5,000, Permanent): Crew card. Once per flight: allows you to re-roll a green die.
• Radio ($10,000, Permanent): Crew card. Once per flight: allows you to re-roll a white die.
• Navigator ($10,000, Permanent): Crew card. Once per flight: allows you to re-roll a red die.
• Compass ($10,000, Permanent): System card. Once per flight: allows you to replace a WIND side of a green, white or blue die with its Clear Sky side (-1 Fuel).
• Gyroscope ($10,000, Permanent): System card. Once per flight: cancels the spending of 1 point of Endurance on a white, red or yellow die (Ad Austral extension).
• Autopilot ($60,000, Permanent): System card. Once per turn: increases the pilot's Endurance by +3.

Description of System & Crew Expert Cards

(cards with XP logo) - 1 copy of each

• Fuel Expert ($15,000, Permanent): Crew card. Once per flight: on a single die, transforms a -2 Fuel result into -1 Fuel.
• Meteorologist ($10,000, Permanent): Crew card. Once per flight: allows you to replace a WIND or STORM side with the Clear Sky side (-1 Fuel) of the dice concerned.
• Veteran ($40,000, Permanent): Crew card. Once per turn: increases the pilot's Endurance by +2.
• Flaps ($15,000, Permanent): System card. Increases the Cargo and PAX values of the aircraft by +1.
• Slats ($15,000, Permanent): System card. Increases the value of Crew by +1 and the value of System by +2.
• Cargo Door ($10,000, Permanent): System card. Once per flight: allows to deliver 2 Cargo cards (instead of 1).
• Auxiliary Tank ($5,000, Permanent): System card. Increases the Max Fuel value of the aircraft by +1.
• Air Stairs ($10,000, Permanent): System card. Once per flight: allows to deliver 2 PAX cards (instead of 1).
• Variable Propeller ($25,000, Permanent): System card. Once per flight: cancels the spending of 1 Fuel point if the flight is more than 3 spaces long.
• Altimeter ($10,000, Permanent): System card. Once per flight: allows you to replace a Fog side of a white, green or red die with the Clear Sky side (-1 Fuel).
• Wing Tanks ($10,000, Permanent): System card. Increases the Range value of the aircraft by +1.

Variants

Warbirds Variant

This variant changes the starting conditions of the game, and allows you to start the game with planes of technology levels 1 and 2. Add them to the pool of new planes, and start the game with planes 2 levels below the tech level on your pilot card.

Note: this variant can significantly lengthen the duration of a game.

Main Base Variant

Distribute the following number of City cards to each player:

Number of players	2	3	4
Number of cards	5	4	4

Put the cards not distributed back in the box as they will not be used for this game.

Each player secretly chooses a City card from the cards they have received: it will be its Main Base.

When all players are ready, they reveal their chosen card simultaneously. As in a normal game, each player wins the amount of money and the number of glory points shown on that card (move the cube of your colour on the score track to that point value).

Then each player discards one of the cards they still have in their hand, without revealing it. Put these cards back in the box as they will not be used for this game.

The remaining cards (6 cards for a 2 or 3 player game, 8 cards for a 4 player game) become the Hubs for that game.

Basic Beginners Variant

This variant offers a simplified version of the game rules, ideal for new players discovering Air Postal!

Set up the equipment as for a normal game, except for the following points:

• Leave the Operations board in the box, which is not used in a Basic game.
• Skip the steps related to the installation of the System & Crew Standard and Expert cards. Indeed, in a Basic game, only the System & Crew Basic cards are used.
• Set up 2 decks for the Objectives and Load (PAX & Cargo) cards: During the Basic game, cards are taken by the players directly from these 2 decks.
• Randomly determine a first player, the other players follow the clockwise order. The order of play remains the same throughout the game.
• Use the aircraft tiles on their Basic side: the Load value shown is the maximum number of combined Cargo, PAX, System and Crew cards that can be loaded onto that aircraft.

Game turn

On your turn, perform any one of the following 3 actions:

• Objectives: draw an Objective card and receive your Revenue.
• Maintenance: buy a new plane.
• Flight Ops: load your plane with Load cards, buy fuel (Fuel) or a Met Report, hire a Copilot, and perform flights.

The game turns are clockwise until one of the players initiates the last turn.

Action Objectives

You collect the Revenues shown on your Pilot card from the bank. Then draw 5 Objective cards, choose which one to keep and place the others in the discard pile face up. You cannot keep more than one, nor can you discard all of them. When the deck of Objective cards is empty, shuffle the discard pile to make a new deck.

Maintenance Action

You may purchase a new aircraft (new or second-hand):

• The difference in technological level between your current aircraft and the one you wish to purchase must be equal to or less than the technological skill value of your pilot.
• The bank pays you the resale price of your current aircraft, and then you must pay to the bank the purchase price of the new aircraft (or its resale price if it's a second-hand aircraft). If the new plane's Load value does not allow you to keep all the Load cards (Cargo, PAX, System or Crew), you must discard the cards you cannot keep on board your plane (put these cards in their discard pile).
• Install the Aircraft card you have just acquired in your cockpit, and place the card from the aircraft you have just sold on the second-hand aircraft pile.

Flight Ops Action

Draw 5 Load cards, place the cards of your choice in your plane, up to the Load value of your plane. Return any cards you cannot or do not wish to carry to the discard pile.

Please note: in compliance with the air mail policy, any Load card loaded on your plane must be delivered! This means that you can only dispose of a Load card by delivering it at the end of a flight (see Delivery). Note: the only exception to this rule is when you Change aircraft, if the Load value of your new aircraft is lower than that of the previous one (see Maintenance action).

Flight Interruption

In a Basic game, a Flight Interruption only leads to an Incident.

Solo Version

Setup

1. Choose a setup.
2. Designate one of the 4 pilots to play the Solo plane and choose one of the 3 other available pilots.
3. Place the city cards of the Hubs so that the distance between the Main Base city of the Solo plane and the first Hub is the shortest, then the same for the next Hubs. This way, you will create a route that represents a certain number of laps.
4. Place a number of cards corresponding to a 2-player game on the Operations board.

In this example, your opponent is Polina Osipenko, she starts the game from the city of Porto Novo. The nearest stopover city is Monrovia and then Malaga and so on.

How to Play?

Your turn will take place according to the usual rules. You can choose one of the 5 Ground Ops actions or the Flight Ops action.

Then the Solo plane flies directly to the next and closest city (Airfield, Big City, Embassy, Customs or Hub), without playing the dice.

The Solo plane does not manage:

• money
• the load
• the fuel level nor the range
• the technological level of the plane
• the endurance of the pilot

Each time the Solo plane reaches a Hub, it scores the points indicated on the corresponding City card.

Each time the Solo plane achieves a Great First, it scores the points indicated.

In this example, the game will last exactly 13 rounds. The Solo plane will score a minimum of 28 points, and a maximum of 35 points if the Solo plane is the first to achieve the 2 Great Firsts that are on its path.

End of the Game

The game ends immediately when the Solo plane reaches the eighth Hub.

You must have scored more glory points than the Solo plane to win.