Airlines

About this board game

Airlines is a 1990 board game for 2–6 players that takes about 90 minutes to play. Its theme is exactly what its title suggests: players compete as majority stockholders in several highly abstracted airline companies.

The goal is to finish with the most valuable portfolio. Like the classic game Acquire, Airlines focuses on building company value while competing for the most influential holdings in those companies.

On each turn, a player chooses one of two actions. They can expand an airline and put stock into their hand, or play stock from their hand. Expanding an airline adds to its route or routes on the board and increases the company’s value.

• Expand an airline: add to its routes and increase its value while gaining stock for your hand.
• Play stock: place stock from your hand into play, preparing it to count toward your holdings.

The crucial twist arrives when a scoring card appears randomly. At that moment, only stock that has been played counts as a player’s holdings. Stock kept in hand does not count, making the timing of your actions central to building a valuable portfolio.

Airlines combines abstract airline expansion with majority-stockholder competition. Every route added can increase an airline’s value, while every decision about when to play stock affects which holdings matter during scoring.

With its straightforward two-action turn structure and changing scoring timing, Airlines presents a focused contest over airline value, played stock, and the most valuable portfolio at the end of the game.