Blue Skies Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal
• Definitions
• Airport Diagram
• Game Procedures
  • Procedure for Adding Passengers
  • Rules for Placing Gates
  • Shuffling the Demand Card Deck
• Game Board
• Charter Board and Income Track
• Setup
• Sequence of Play
  • 1. Each airline may buy new gates
  • 2. Each airline plays one demand card
  • 3. Draw demand cards to add additional passengers
  • 4. Each airline scores for all current passengers
  • 5. Check for end of game
  • 6. Check for government assistance
  • 7. Add local airline gates
  • 8. Pass the first player marker
• End of Game Scoring
  • Partial Scoring Example
• Winning the Game
• Acknowledgments
• Player Aid
  • Sequence of Play Summary
  • Procedure for Adding Passengers
  • Rules for Placing Gates
  • End of Game Conditions
  • Airport Diagram

Components

1. Game board
2. 59 Demand cards
3. 100 Player airline gate markers (20 for each of 5 airlines)
4. 5 Airline income track markers (1 each of the 5 airlines; with 3pt on the front side; USED on the back side)
5. 5 Airline score track markers (1 each of the 5 airlines; with +100 on the reverse side)
6. 10 Local Airline gate markers
7. 125 Passenger cubes (100 red, 25 green)
8. 1 Bag for the passenger cubes
9. 5 Airline Charter boards
10. 1 Score track board
11. 1 First player marker

This Rulebook

Goal

Players run major airlines, trying to serve the most passengers by setting up airport gates across the United States, buying out local airline gates, and working to develop regional dominance. The player who attracts the most business over the course of the game wins.

Definitions

AIRPORT: The board used to play BLUE SKIES shows 30 airports from 7 different regions of the United States. Most of the action in the game takes place around these locations. Demand for air travel is represented by passenger cubes (see PASSENGER below); passenger cubes are placed at these airports. Cards from the Demand Deck (see DEMAND CARDS below) indicate which airports get the new passengers. These cards can either be played from the deck or the players' hands to indicate which airport is going to be affected.

PASSENGER: There are 125 passenger cubes that are used when playing BLUE SKIES. These cubes represent new demand for air travel. At the beginning of each game, all cubes start in the bag. Every airline in the game has a chance to capitalize on this new traffic by placing gates at airports (see GATES below) to serve these passengers. Each passenger at a gate that is owned by an airline in the game is worth 1 victory point for that airline during scoring. The scoring procedure is described later.

GATES: Each airport has a number of spaces for gate markers. The number of spaces varies depending on the number of players in the game. Each airline in the game has 20 gate markers. If an airline places a gate marker at an airport, it will provide air service to the passengers who use that airport. A gate marker that is placed on an available gate space on an airport is considered a "gate" for the remainder of these rules. The procedure on how to place gates is described later (See Rules for Placing Gates – Page 3).

DEMAND CARDS: Each of these cards show an airport. New passengers are added to the airport shown on the card as described later (See Procedure for Adding Passengers - Page 3).

REGION: Regions are geographical sections of the United States. Each airport belongs to one or two regions. Each region will be evaluated at the end of the game, and the airlines that best serve each of the 7 regions in the game will receive bonus victory points.

Please note: The terms "player" and "airline" may be used interchangeably in these rules. If an airline owns something, the player controlling that airline also owns it and vice-versa.

Airport Diagram

• Airport – the airport code and city name.
• Region – the region the airport belongs to.
• Cost to add a Player Gate Marker – the number printed above each gate space.
• Gate Space – a space where a gate marker can be placed.
• Passenger Cube Spots – the small boxes on each gate space where passenger cubes are placed.
• Buyout cost to replace Local Airline Gate Marker – the number printed after "BUYOUT:" at the top of the airport.
• Regional Dominance value for each Player Gate marker at game end – the small number printed in the corner of a gate space.
• Number of Demand cards for this airport in the deck – the number printed after "CARDS:" at the top of the airport.
• Gate Spaces used for 3 and 4+ player games – the additional gate spaces marked "3" and "4+" that are only used in games with 3 or more, or 4 or more, players.

Game Procedures

Procedure for Adding Passengers

Whenever these rules state to add passengers (including during the initial setup which starts on Page 4), the procedure is as follows:

Draw passenger cubes from the bag one by one until a RED passenger cube is drawn.

If the airport being drawn for has only one gate, or no gates, those passengers are all placed in the cube spots by the first gate (or location for the first gate, if no gates are present). If there is more than one gate at the airport, the full set of passengers (both new and existing) is evenly distributed to the extent possible with the first remaining passenger placed in the leftmost gate, the second in the second gate from the left, and so on. Once placed on the board, the color of the passenger cubes does not matter.

Please note: There are four cube spots per gate shown on the board. This is not intended to be a limit. If more than four cubes need to be placed at a gate, place them near the other cubes.

Example: Houston has two gates and two passengers currently, one at each gate.

When passengers are added to Houston, two GREEN passengers are drawn before a RED passenger is drawn. With five total passengers, two are placed at each gate, and the fifth passenger is placed at the leftmost gate for a total of three passengers at that gate.

Rules for Placing Gates

The maximum number of gates in each airport depends upon the number of players in the game:

• 2 Players - 2 gates are available in each airport
• 3 Players - 3 gates are available in each airport
• 4 or 5 Players - 4 gates are available

Normally, the cost to add a gate is the number printed on the space. However, gates currently held by a local airline may be replaced by a player's airline gate for the buyout cost if one is listed. Any local airline gate located at an airport that has a buyout cost of N/A (Not Applicable) cannot be replaced (e.g., Atlanta). The local airline gate marker is returned to the supply.

Example: Boston currently has a local airline gate, and no others. A player wishing to place a gate there can place the second gate, at a cost of 2, or replace the local airline gate, at a cost of 4 which is the buyout cost for this airport.

Shuffling the Demand Card Deck

Whenever a card needs to be drawn from the demand card deck, and the deck has run out, all discards are shuffled to form a new demand card deck.

Game Board

The game board shows 30 airports across the United States (see Page 2 for airport detail), grouped into regions. Each region carries an End of Game Regional Bonuses box printed on the board near that region's airports, showing the bonus victory points available for regional dominance.

Charter Board and Income Track

Each player has a Charter board for the airline they will run during the game. This Charter board is used to assist the players and keep track of their airline's current income. Income is adjusted when passengers are gained or lost as a result of an action. The Charter board also has a summary of the sequence of play.

Setup

• Place the game board near the middle of the table. Place the Score track near the game board. Place all passenger cubes into the bag.

• Each player selects an airline, takes the Charter board, the matching gate markers, and score marker for that airline. The score marker should be placed on the 0 space on the Score track with the 100 side face down.

• Each player should place their airline income track marker on the 0 space of the income tracker shown on the airline Charter board with the 3pt side up. This is used to track the airline's current income to speed up play during scoring.

• The demand cards are shuffled, and 5 demand cards are revealed one at a time. After each card is drawn, add passengers to each airport as indicated by the demand cards, using the method described earlier (See Procedure for Adding Passengers on Page 3).

• Add one local airline gate marker to the leftmost available gate space for each unique airport that is drawn during this process. Every airport that has passenger cubes should now have one gate (even if the airport was drawn more than once).

• 3 additional demand cards are drawn for each player in the game:

  • 2 Players - draw 6 cards
  • 3 Players - draw 9 cards
  • 4 Players - draw 12 cards
  • 5 Players - draw 15 cards

  These cards are revealed one at a time; add passengers (using the same procedure that was used earlier in the setup phase) to each indicated airport.

  Important: Local airline gates are not added to these airports as a result of this step.

  All cards used to add initial passengers to the board are then used to form the initial discard pile.

• 3 demand cards are then dealt to each player. A first player is chosen by any agreed-upon method. This player is given the first player marker.

• Starting with the player to the right of the first player and proceeding counter-clockwise, each player chooses two gates to start the game. Any two gates with a total cost of 6 or less may be selected. The player places an airline gate marker from their airline on each gate that was selected to show ownership of those gates (See Rules for Placing Gates on Page 3).

  Please note: Instead of playing new gate(s), local airline gates may be replaced with player airline gates during this initial round at the airport's buyout cost.

  Players may spend less than 6 for these two gates, but they receive no benefit for doing so.

  Important: When a new gate is added to an airport that already has one or more gates, the passengers are immediately redistributed as described in the rules for adding passengers.

Sequence of Play

The game is played over a series of rounds until one of two game end conditions is met (See Check for end of game on Page 7).

Each round consists of eight steps:

1. Each airline may buy new gates
2. Each airline plays one demand card
3. Draw demand cards to add additional passengers
4. Each airline scores for all current passengers
5. Check for end of game
6. Check for government assistance
7. Add local airline gates
8. Pass the first player marker

1. Each airline may buy new gates

Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player's airline is given 6 points to spend on any combination of gates. Unlike during setup, there is no limit to the number of gates that may be purchased. There is no restriction on which gates an airline can buy. An airline can use this action to buy out local gates. They may even purchase two or more gates in the same airport. An airline is not obligated to buy any gates. If an airline does not spend its entire allowance, the airline's score is increased by one for each point that was not used. Players cannot spend more than 6 per turn by reducing their score on the track. Income is adjusted based upon passengers gained or lost as a result of the action for all affected airlines.

Example: Claire, running Blue Skies AirTrain, chooses to add a gate in Dallas (DFW) for 3, a gate in St. Louis (STL) for 2, and adds 1 to her airline's score.

Important: When a new gate is added to an airport that already has one or more gates, the passengers are immediately redistributed as described in the rules for adding passengers (See Page 3).

2. Each airline plays one demand card

Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player plays one demand card on behalf of their airline, adds passengers to the airport indicated, and then draws a replacement demand card. The player adjusts the income tracker for their own airline as applicable and reminds the other players whose income was affected by this play to do the same. The played demand card is placed on the discard pile.

Example: Claire plays a demand card for Orlando (MCO), draws two GREEN passengers (a and b), and then draws a RED passenger (c). She adds those cubes to the available gates in Orlando (a, b, then c) then draws a replacement demand card.

She adds 2 to the income level of Blue Skies Airtrain on its Charter board. The owner of the other airline, Royal Air, adds 1 to the income level on their Charter board.

Special Action: Once each game, instead of playing a demand card, each player's airline may do any or all of the following steps:

• Add passengers to any airport of their choice
• Discard any number of cards
• Refill their hand to 3 demand cards

After doing so, the airline's income track marker should be flipped to its other side (marked 'USED') to indicate that the Special Action has been taken by that airline.

3. Draw demand cards to add additional passengers

One demand card is drawn from the deck for each player in the game, and passengers are added to each airport indicated. These cards are then added to the discard pile. Each player should adjust the income tracker for their airline as needed.

4. Each airline scores for all current passengers

Each player adds their airline's current income to their score. If there is any question about an airline's income, recalculate it by counting the number of passengers beneath the airline's gates on the board. If an airline's score exceeds 99, flip that airline's scoring token to the +100 side.

Example: Blue Skies AirTrain has a gate in Boston (BOS) with one passenger, two gates in Orlando (MCO) with two passengers at one gate and one at the other, a gate in Washington DC (IAD) with no passengers, and a gate in Houston (IAH) with three passengers. This is a total of 7 passengers. The score marker for Blue Skies AirTrain is advanced by 7 on the Score track.

Note: Passengers at local airline gates are not scored for any airline.

5. Check for end of game

The game is over if either of the following is true:

• At least one airline's score has reached or exceeded 100

OR

• At least one airline has placed its final gate

If either (or both) of these conditions have occurred, proceed directly to the "End of Game Scoring" section. The game round does NOT continue.

6. Check for government assistance

Once per game, when an airline's score in the game reaches or exceeds 30 for the first time, all airlines which are behind the leader are given assistance to help attract additional passengers. Airlines that are leading or tied for the lead do not receive government assistance during this procedure. Once this government assistance procedure has been performed, this step is skipped for the remainder of the game.

First, each airline calculates how far behind the leader it is. For each 3 points behind – rounding up – the owner of the airline chooses a different airport to add passengers to using the procedure for adding passengers as described on Page 3. An airline may not pick the same airport more than once. The current first player performs this action if their airline is behind the leader. Then, proceeding around the table in clockwise order, each other player performs this action if they qualify. An airline is permitted to pick an airport that was chosen by another airline, but the same airline is not permitted to choose the same airport more than once.

Example: After scoring, SUNShine Airlines is leading at 31 points. This is the first time the lead score has reached or surpassed 30. Blue Skies AirTrain is at 27 points. Being 4 points behind, Claire, as the owner of Blue Skies AirTrain, must choose two different airports in which to add passengers; she chooses Washington DC (IAD) and Orlando (MCO). Had Blue Skies AirTrain been at 28 points, it would have only been 3 behind, and Claire would have chosen only one airport in which to add passengers.

After all airlines who qualify for this action have added passengers to the required number of airports, all players have the opportunity to discard any demand cards from their hands. The discard pile is shuffled with the remaining demand cards to form a new demand card deck, and each player's hand is refilled to three demand cards.

Example: Claire has cards for New York (JFK), Orlando (MCO), and San Diego (SAN) in her hand. Since her airline has no gates in New York or San Diego, she chooses to discard those demand cards. She receives two new demand cards as replacements, New York (JFK) and Dallas (DFW).

7. Add local airline gates

In order to assure that all demand for air travel is met, a local airline gate is added to all airports with at least one passenger and no gates currently placed.

Example: Philadelphia (PHL) has two passengers, but no airline has a gate in the airport. A local airline gate is placed in Philadelphia.

8. Pass the first player marker

The player who currently holds the first player marker now passes it to the player on their left.

End of Game Scoring

At the end of the game, each of the seven regions is evaluated, and airlines are awarded points based on their performance as compared to the other airlines in the game. These bonus points are added to the points that the airlines accumulated during the game.

To determine regional dominance, each airline totals the values of all of its gates in the region. The value of each gate is shown in the upper right corner of each airport.

The airline with the highest total value for the region receives the first-place bonus for that region, and the airline with the second-highest value receives the second-place bonus for that region. In case of a tie for first, the first-place and second-place bonuses are added and divided evenly among the tied players, rounding down if necessary. No second-place bonus is given in that case. In case of a tie for second, the second-place bonus is divided evenly among the tied players, rounding down if necessary.

In a 2-player game, there is no award for second place.

After all regions are scored, check the Charter boards for each airline. Any airline that did not use the special action to add passengers to an airport (i.e., its income track marker does not show the word "USED") receives a bonus of 3 points.

Please note that four airports – New York (JFK), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), and Los Angeles (LAX) – are considered to be in two different regions. They have the same value in each region.

Partial Scoring Example

In the Southeast region, Blue Skies AirTrain has two gates in Orlando (MCO) for 6 points (3 points each), a gate in Atlanta (ATL) for 6 points, and a gate in Dallas (DFW) for 3 points. This is a total of 15 points. SUNShine Airlines has two gates in Atlanta for 12 points (6 points each) and two gates in Houston for 6 points. This is a total of 18 points. No other airline has more than 9 points in the region. Because it has the most points in gates in the region (18), SUNShine Airlines scores 15 additional points. Blue Skies AirTrain has the second-most points in gates in the region (15) and scores an additional 6 points.

In The Northeast region, Cardinal Airlines has three gates in New York (JFK) for 9 points. Blue Skies AirTrain and SUNShine Airlines each have one gate in Boston (BOS) for 3 points each. Go Green Airservice and Royal Air each have one gate in Newark (EWR) for 3 points each. Cardinal Airlines scores 10 points; all four other airlines must split the second place bonus of 6 points, receiving a score of 1 point each for the region.

In the Southwest region, Blue Skies AirTrain has a gate in Dallas (DFW) for 3 points, a gate in Las Vegas (LAS) for 3 points, and a gate in Los Angeles (LAX) for 4 points. This is a total of 10 points. SUNShine Airlines has a gate in Los Angeles (LAX) for 4 points and two gates in Phoenix (PHX) for 6 points. This is a total of 10 points. No other airline has more than 9 points in the region. The first place bonus of 12 points and second place bonus of 6 points are added to get 18 and split evenly; both Blue Skies AirTrain and SUNShine Airlines score 9 points.

The scoring process continues for the remaining regions in the game.

After all seven regions are scored, players should check the Charter boards for each airline. All airlines that did not use their special ability to add passengers to an airport (i.e., their income track marker does not show the word "USED") receive a bonus of 3 points.

Winning the Game

The owner of the airline with the highest score wins the game. In case of a tie, the owner of the tied airline that placed fewer gates wins. If still tied, the owners of the tied airlines share the victory.

Acknowledgments

Design by Joseph Huber. Graphic Design and Illustration by Todd Sanders. Production Management and Rules Editing by Ken Hill. Additional editing by Joseph Summa.

Thanks to all of the playtesters, particularly Claire Brosius, Eric Brosius, Jeroen Doumen, Kate Fractal, Brian Hanechak, Andy Latto, Tom Lehmann, and Dan Miller.

If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, please write to us at:

Rio Grande Games, PO Box 1033 Placitas, NM 87043, USA

[email protected] www.riograndegames.com

©2020 Joseph Huber ©2020 Rio Grande Games All rights reserved.

Player Aid

Sequence of Play Summary

Each round consists of eight steps:

1. Each airline may buy new gates
2. Each airline plays one demand card
3. Draw demand cards to add additional passengers - one demand card from the deck per player in the game
4. Each airline scores for all current passengers
5. Check for end of game
6. Check for government assistance (once per game) - occurs the first time any airline reaches or exceeds a score of 30
7. Add local airline gates
8. Pass the first player marker

Procedure for Adding Passengers

Whenever these rules state to add passengers (including during the initial setup which starts on Page 4), the procedure is as follows: Draw passenger cubes from the bag one by one until a RED passenger cube is drawn. If the airport being drawn for has only one gate, or no gates, those passengers are all placed in the cube spots by the first gate (or location for the first gate, if no gates are present). If there is more than one gate at the airport, the full set of passengers (both new and existing) is evenly distributed to the extent possible with the first remaining passenger placed in the leftmost gate, the second in the second gate from the left, and so on. Once placed on the board, the color of the passenger cubes does not matter.

Please note: There are four cube spots per gate shown on the board. This is not intended to be a limit. If more than four cubes need to be placed at a gate, place them near the other cubes.

Rules for Placing Gates

The maximum number of gates in each airport depends upon the number of players in the game: 2 Players - 2 gates are available in each airport 3 Players - 3 gates are available in each airport 4 or 5 Players - 4 gates are available

Normally, the cost to add a gate is the number printed on the space. However, gates currently held by a local airline may be replaced by a player airline gate for the buyout cost if one is listed.

End of Game Conditions

The game is over if either of the following is true:

• At least one airline's score has reached or exceeded 100 or
• At least one airline has placed its final gate

If either (or both) of these conditions have occurred, proceed directly to the "End of Game Scoring" section. The game round does NOT continue.

Airport Diagram

• Airport – the airport code and city name.
• Region – the region the airport belongs to.
• Cost to add a Player Gate Marker – the number printed above each gate space.
• Gate Space – a space where a gate marker can be placed.
• Passenger Cube Spots – the small boxes on each gate space where passenger cubes are placed.
• Buyout cost to replace Local Airline Gate Marker – the number printed after "BUYOUT:" at the top of the airport.
• Regional Dominance value for each Player Gate marker at game end – the small number printed in the corner of a gate space.
• Number of Demand cards for this airport in the deck – the number printed after "CARDS:" at the top of the airport.
• Gate Spaces used for 3 and 4+ player games – the additional gate spaces marked "3" and "4+" that are only used in games with 3 or more, or 4 or more, players.