Planecrafters

About this board game

Planecrafters is a competitive factory-building board game for 2–4 players, with games lasting about 60 minutes. Each player runs an independent operation devoted to building flying machines for Master Pennington B. Knickernacker.

The goal is to earn the most crowns, Crumplehorn’s native currency. Selling planes is the main way to make money, and better planes sell for more crowns. Employees also play a central role: although hiring them costs crowns, they can become valuable investments for a growing factory.

On every turn, players move through four distinct phases:

• Hire: Spend crowns to bring new employees into your factory.
• Acquire: Gather new parts cards from one of the parts depots.
• Flyer: Play parts cards into your factory to build your plane.
• Buyer: Sell the completed plane to Master Pennington.

Employees can speed up plane production, help you find better parts, sabotage opposing factories, or receive crowns from the bank. Choosing when to invest in workers and how to develop your supply of parts is essential as you compete with the other Planecrafters.

Your creations do not need to be beautiful—or even symmetrical—to satisfy Master Pennington. What matters is building an efficient and profitable plane-making operation while delivering aircraft to your buyer. With competition for the best employees, parts, and profits, every player is working to claim the money and prestige that come with victory.

Released in 2019, Planecrafters combines employee hiring, parts acquisition, plane construction, and sales into a focused contest for crowns. At the end of the game, the player with the most crowns wins.