Aeroplanes: Aviation Ascendant
Aeroplanes: Aviation Ascendant Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 46 Unique Aeroplane Cards
- 130 Airport Tiles — covering 3 Eras
- 96 Passenger Tiles — valued 1-3
- 40 Excess Passenger Tiles
- 30 Advantage Tiles — 6 each of 5 types
- 5 Home Airport Tiles
- 5 Player Aid Cards
- 1 First Player Die
- 3 Risk Dice
- Bonds in 3 denominations
- 15 Engine Failure Tiles
- 1 Cloth Bag
- 5 Victory Point Tokens
- 2 Game Tokens
- 1 Game Board
Setting Up the Game
A. Place all of the passenger tiles in the bag. Draw and place one passenger tile in each passenger space of the passenger waiting area at the top left corner of the board. If you draw a tile with a wild icon on it, place it to one side and draw another tile. Continue to draw passenger tiles until all passenger spaces are full. Afterwards, place any wild-icon passenger tiles back into the bag.
Note: Do not place any tiles in the area marked "Passenger Overflow" (B).
C. Randomly determine the first player and give that player the first player die. Starting with the player counter-clockwise from the starting player (NOT the starting player), and going counter-clockwise around the table, select one set of airport tiles and place your HOME airport tile in an unoccupied starting city of your choice (London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Zürich or Rome).
Note: In a three player game, take 6 unused airport tiles, flip them over and block off the squares marked 4/5 at all six starting cities (they are out of the game).
D. Place the bonds to one side to form a bank. The excess passenger and engine failure tiles can be placed here too.
E. Place the advantage tiles in piles of the same type and place them in numerical order beside the board.
F. Place one of the two black tokens on the '1' space of the era track. Place the other in the subsidy box.
G. Arrange the cards in order going from 1 to 46. You can find a card's ID number, which is colored according to era, at the upper right. Place the first 12 on display. Place the remaining deck, face up, beside the displayed cards.
H. Place the VP tokens on the 0 space of the VP track.
Object Of the Game
Over the course of three eras, you must grow your airline into the most profitable and far-reaching aviation enterprise in the world. You will earn victory points (VPs) by purchasing planes, building market dominating airports around the world, and transporting passengers profitably. The player that earns the most combined VPs in these endeavors wins the game. The key here is profitability—wasting plane capacity and a lack of airport service is costly. Manage both most carefully and you will win the game.
Playing the Game
The game lasts for three eras. Each era consists of the following steps:
- Income
- Action Round
- End of Era Scoring
- End of Era Upkeep
Income
At the beginning of each era, first place eight £1 bonds and the black subsidy token into the subsidy box on the game board. Next, you (and every other player) each receive some money.
In the first era, you each receive £12 in bonds, plus or minus the amount indicated on the game board beside your home airport. So, if you start in Paris (-1), you receive only £11; if you start in Berlin (+2), you receive £14.
In the second era, you each receive £22 (unmodified).
In the third era, you each receive £32 (unmodified).
Any money that you do not spend during an era is carried over to the next era.
Action Round
If you are holding the first player die, you are the first player. Play begins with you, and proceeds clockwise around the table until everyone has performed one action—then a new first player is determined.
Determining new First Player
Once all players have performed one action, the first player rolls the first player die. Pass the die left by the number of players equal to the die roll.
Note: When you are the first player and roll, it is possible for the die to travel all the way around the table and you could be the first player again!
Example: You are playing with three other players. As the starting player, you roll the die. If it's a 1 the player immediately to your left will receive the die and become the new first player.
If it's a 4, the die will pass around the table and come back to you (hooray!).
The action round continues until one player chooses to (or is forced to) take the black token from the subsidy box. When this token is taken, the action round ends immediately. Remaining players do not take further actions this round.
Perform End of Era Scoring and Upkeep, and proceed to the next era (or end the game if you are in the third era).
Available Actions
You MUST perform one action when it is your turn. The five available actions are:
- Buy one aeroplane card
- Place airport tiles
- Claim one passenger tile
- Buy advantage tiles
- Take a subsidy
1. Buy One Aeroplane Card
To buy an aeroplane card, choose an aeroplane card from the cards displayed beside the board. You may buy the lowest numbered card at face value. You also may buy a card with a higher number if you wish. For each aeroplane card you skip over, add £1 to the price of the card you take.
When you buy an aeroplane card, immediately place a number of your airport tiles onto the card (as indicated on the card).
Note: It is important to place the correct type of airport tile onto the card, as there are three different types of airport available (Stage I, II, and III), depending on the aeroplane tiles you obtain.
Once you have taken your aeroplane card, draw the next one from the deck and add it to the card display (remember to keep them in numerical order).
You may have as many aeroplane cards as you wish in your possession. However, the number of airport tokens you can place is limited to your 27 airport tokens (9 each of Stage I, Stage II and Stage III). This means that you may buy an aeroplane for its passenger capacity, even if you do not have airport tiles to place on the card.
Each aeroplane card shows: the cost to purchase, the name of the aeroplane, the number of the aeroplane, a long-distance icon (if any), the quantity and Stage of airport tiles to place on the card, the VPs this aeroplane earns, and the passenger capacity of the aeroplane.
Note: The background color of the aeroplane cards indicates which Stage airport they come with: yellow for Stage I, green for Stage II, blue for Stage III.
2. Place Airport Tiles
You may, but are not required to, place all of the airport tiles you have in your possession during a single action. Be aware that placing an airport on riskier routes may end your turn prematurely (see New Connection Risk below).
Normally, an airport tile can only be placed in a destination with a direct connection to a destination where you have an existing airport. Occasionally, you may build in a destination two connections away by using a long-distance aeroplane (see Long-Distance Aeroplanes below).
Special Connections
North America, Casablanca, Cairo, and the Middle East, are considered to be connected to all destinations in Europe and have a special connection icon coming into them. It is important to note, however, that you may not connect "backwards" to Europe from these destinations. So, building from Paris-Cairo and Stockholm-Middle East are allowed, but Cairo-Paris and Middle East-Stockholm are not allowed.
Long-Distance Aeroplanes
You CANNOT complete a connection that has a long-distance symbol on it (e.g., Ethiopia-India), unless you use an airport tile from one of your long-distance aeroplanes. Long-distance aeroplanes have a long-distance symbol on the front of the card.
In addition to its use on long-distance routes indicated on the map, a long-distance aeroplane allows you to "skip over" a destination on a connection to establish a new airport farther away than usual. For example, if you already have an airport in Frankfurt, you can use a long-distance aeroplane to establish a new airport in Madrid by "skipping over" Paris.
New Connection Risk
Before you can establish a new airport at a destination (but not when you upgrade one), you may have to test the new connection by rolling the three risk dice.
If your plane's route is a single white connection (Vienna-Warsaw, for example), no risk die roll needs to be made.
If the link is a single red (e.g., Persia-India) or single black (e.g., Persia-Burma) connection, you must roll all three risk dice to see if you are successful in establishing the connection.
The sum total required for establishing a red connection is 12 or more. The sum total required for establishing a black connection is 14 or more.
IMPORTANT: when rolling the risk dice, an engine-failure result is NOT counted as a "1." Instead, it indicates an engine failure (see Engine Failure below) and is not counted in your total. So, a roll of 3, 5, engine-failure is a sum of 8 and 1 engine failure. You can cover any shortfall in your roll by paying for the difference (£1 per missed point), and/or use a daring pilot advantage tile (see Buy Advantage Tiles below).
The risk for long-distance connections is greater when "skipping over" destinations. Any additional white connections, as well as both red and black connections, must be rolled for; e.g., if you fly along two red connections, then you roll twice—once for each route.
If you fly along two white routes, you only roll for the second white route (needing to make a sum of 10). If you flew first along a red route and then a black route, you would have to roll first for the red and then for the black route.
New Connection Risk Requirements
| Connection | Rolls* | Results Required |
|---|---|---|
| white | none | none |
| white + white | 1 | (10+) |
| white + red | 1 | (12+) |
| red | 1 | (12+) |
| red + red | 2 | (12+, 12+) |
| red + black | 2 | (12+, 14+) |
| black | 1 | (14+) |
| black + black | 2 | (14+, 14+) |
| black + red | 2 | (14+, 12+) |
| ‡ Java-Australia † | 2 | (12+, 12+) |
| ‡ Dakar-So. America | 2 | (14+, 14+) |
| ‡ Europe-No. America | 3 | (14+, 14+, 14+) |
* Remember, each "roll" on this chart requires you to roll all three risk dice.
† This connection does not require a long distance plane.
‡ The cross bars on the connections to these destinations are used to denote how many rolls are required for these dangerous routes. They do not equate to "skipped" cities.
New Connection Risk Modifiers
If there is already an opponent's airport tile at the destination you choose for your new airport, it is easier for you to place your airport. If this is the case, add 2 to the sum of your risk dice roll for that connection (e.g., you only need a 10+ on a red connection to be successful). Also, if there is an opponent's airport tile at a destination you are "skipping over" as part of a long-distance connection, you get +2 to your roll for the first half of the connection as well.
If you fail a roll and decide not to pay for the shortfall, you must return the airport tile to its aeroplane card and your turn ends immediately.
You may abort a multi-step roll at any time you wish. You lose all advantage tiles and bonds spent up to that point, but you may return the airport tile to the card you removed it from. This ends your action, and no further tiles may be placed on this action.
Engine Failure
Each engine-failure result you roll on the risk dice when trying to establish a new connection forces you to take an engine failure tile. If you take a fourth such tile, your attempt to establish the connection has failed, and the following things occur:
- You immediately lose the airport tile you were trying to place (return it to your supply). You may use this tile again if you buy another corresponding aeroplane card.
- Discard all of your engine failure tiles.
- Your turn is over. You may not place any more airport tiles during this action.
It is possible to get rid of engine failure tiles by choosing the engine maintenance special action (see Buy Advantage Tiles below). However, you may only do this at the beginning of your turn. Once you begin placing tiles, you may not use the engine maintenance advantage tile.
Example 1: You currently have an airport in Ethiopia and are attempting to build a new airport in East Africa via Kenya. The connections are red (+12) then red (+12). You must make two risk rolls of 12+ to succeed. However, there is already an opponent's airport tile in East Africa, which changes your rolls to 12+, 10+ to succeed. Your first roll is (2, 5, 4) = 11. You are short by one. You must now pay £1*, before continuing. Your second roll is (3, 4, engine-failure) = 7 and an engine failure. Put one engine failure tile in front of you. Then decide whether to pay the £3* difference.
Example 2: Using Example 1, if there is also an opponent's airport in Kenya, your two rolls need only be 10+, 10+ to succeed. Your first roll (11) is now a success. Your second roll (7 plus an engine failure) still costs you £3* for the difference to allow you to place your new airport.
* Any of the shortfalls can be covered by paying with bonds or by playing daring pilot advantage tiles.
Placing & Replacing Airport Tiles
Once your plane has overcome the risks, you may place an airport tile at the destination with the following restrictions:
- Each space in a destination may only contain one airport tile (Paris has 3 spaces, Warsaw has 2).
- You may place any of your available Stage I, II, or III airport tiles into an empty space at a destination.
- You may never have more than one of your own airport tiles at a single destination.
- If there is an empty space at a destination, you must place the airport in the empty space—you may not replace an earlier airport in this case.
- If the destination's spaces are full, you may replace any airport (an opponent's or your own) with any higher Stage airport (Stage I can be replaced by Stage II or III). To replace, remove the earlier Stage airport, return it to its owner, and place your later-Stage airport in that space.
- IMPORTANT: Your home airport tile may never be replaced!
Example: A new airport in Stockholm must be placed (empty space available). In Copenhagen any new airport must replace an existing one.
"The Americas" Bonus
Establishing intercontinental flights to "The Americas" was both a point of pride and marketability for early airlines. If you successfully place a tile in either of the Americas, you receive £3 and 1 VP immediately. The first two players to establish airports in North America each receive this bonus. The same is true for South America. If you replace a player's airport in these destinations, you do not receive this bonus.
3. Claim One Passenger Tile
Each passenger space (along the top left of the board) corresponds to one of the six starting cities (London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Zürich or Rome). The starting city for a passenger tile on the board is the same as the starting city that corresponds to the passenger space that the passenger tile occupies. So, a passenger tile in a Berlin passenger space is assumed to be a passenger in an airport in Berlin waiting to catch a plane to his/her destination.
Each passenger tile has a destination city, a capacity required value, and perhaps a victory point value. The passenger's destination is shown along with the required capacity (the capacity this tile uses on an aeroplane card) and the VPs the passenger earns (unavailable during era 1).
Note: The background color of a passenger tile denotes the region where its destination city is located.
When taking this action, you may claim one passenger tile. To claim a passenger tile from the waiting area you must have:
- An airport tile at the city corresponding to the passenger space that the passenger tile occupies.
- An airport tile at the passenger's destination.
- An aeroplane card with sufficient unused capacity to carry the passenger.
It is not necessary to have airports on connecting destinations in between. If a passenger tile's starting city is the same as its destination (e.g., a Berlin passenger in a Berlin passenger space), you only need an airport tile in its starting city to claim the passenger tile (imagine these are short local sightseeing flights).
Each aeroplane has a carrying capacity—the total number of passenger points that it can carry. Once an aeroplane has loaded its designated number of passengers it cannot carry any more. Planes may have passengers going to different destinations.
Note: You may place passenger tiles on aeroplane cards with airport tiles on them.
IMPORTANT: You may not split a passenger tile's required capacity between aeroplane cards. That is to say, a single passenger tile must travel on a single aeroplane card. If you do not have a plane with sufficient available capacity to carry the passenger tile, you cannot claim it.
Filling a plane to capacity benefits you during the End-of-Era scoring when determining income (and empty planes, or unused capacity on planes, count against your score).
Claiming Overflow Passengers
In the second and third eras there may be passenger tiles in the passenger overflow on the right hand side of the game board (see End of Era Upkeep below). To claim a passenger tile from the overflow, you only need to have an airport tile at the passenger's desired destination.
4. Buy Advantage Tiles
Buying an advantage tile costs £1 (paid to the bank). You may either take one tile of your choice, or roll the risk dice for the chance to claim two tiles.
If you choose to roll, you must roll all three risk dice. Choose two of them and use their results to take Advantage tiles. Advantages are numbered from 2 to 6 (see below). An engine-failure result is "wild" and may be used to take any available tile. It is possible that some or all of the results are unavailable; in which case, you could roll and get only 1 tile or even no tiles.
If all tiles of a given type are held by a player, that type is unavailable. Some types are not available in eras 1 and 2 (see below).
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DARING PILOT: Add three to your dice total when placing an airport outside of Europe. You may choose to use the pilot AFTER rolling the dice. You may use more than one tile to add to a single risk dice roll. Discard after using. Available from era 1 on.
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ENGINE MAINTENANCE: Discard all engine failure tiles. Playing this tile is a free action, but you may only do it at the start of one of your actions. You cannot use it once you have started to place airport tiles on the board. Discard after using. Available from era 1 on.
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INCREASED PRODUCTION: Place one extra airport tile on an aeroplane card you just purchased. You may only use one Increased Production tile per aeroplane card you purchase and you must have the tile in hand when you purchase the aeroplane. Discard after using. Available from era 2 on.
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NIGHT FLIGHTS: Claim one extra passenger tile if you choose to claim a passenger with your action. You may only claim this extra passenger tile within Europe. You may play multiple night flights tiles on your action. Discard after using. Available from era 2 on.
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RADIO BEACONS: Re-roll all three dice when attempting to place an airport tile. Ignore engine-failure results from your previous roll. If you have multiples of this tile you may continue to spend them and re-roll when attempting to place an airport tile. Discard after using. Available during era 3 only.
Advantage tiles are used when you take an action, and multiple tiles may be used at the same time if you wish (except as noted above). Once you use an advantage tile, place it back in the stock.
5. Take a Subsidy
Take a £1 bond from the subsidy box. Once there are no bonds left in the subsidy box, you must take the black token instead. Taking the token triggers the end of the current era. If you took the token, you receive the starting player die to begin the next era.