OpenSky

In a Nutshell

Players select airports, build airline networks, and compete for passenger demand.

Every round represents one month. Passengers wish to travel between two airports, and airlines compete by offering fares. Airlines may also earn subsidies and increase revenue through ancillary fees.

The goal is to accumulate the most points by earning fares, collecting subsidies, and selling ancillary services.

OpenSky can be played by 2 to 4 players. The game takes about 30 minutes with 2 players and is suitable for players aged 12 and above.

Components

Shared Components

• Two-sided game board, with airport locations and permitted routes
• 6 Airport Callsign Chits: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot
• 6 Subsidy Cubes, one for each airport in play
• Month Marker
• 3 Passenger Dice, each showing all six Airport Callsigns (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot) on its faces
• 1 Price Sensitivity Die, numbered from 200 to 700

Per Player

• Airplane tokens:
  • 6 with 2 players
  • 4 with 3 players
  • 3 with 4 players
• 10 Fare Cards of the airline color: 2x200, 2x250, 2x300, 2x400, 2x500
• 3 Ancillary Chits, one of each type: seat selection fee, check-in fee, baggage fee
• 1 Flash Deal Chit
• 2 Regional Tokens, matching the airline color. These are multi-purpose cylinder tokens used as Hub Tokens in Europe or Cross-Border Tokens in North America.

Setup

The board is two-sided. Before setup, players decide which side to play, Europe or North America, and use the matching Regional Rule for that side throughout the game.

1. Setup starts with the youngest player and proceeds clockwise.
2. Each player receives their Airplane tokens.
3. Each player receives 10 Fare Cards of the same color.
4. Each player receives 3 Ancillary Chits and 1 Flash Deal Chit.
5. Each player receives 2 Regional Tokens of their airline color.
6. Players place the 6 Airport Callsign Chits on six airports on the board.
7. Place one Subsidy Cube on top of each selected airport.
8. Place the Month Marker on April.

Game Overview

The game is split into 2 seasons:

• April to October
• November to March

At the start of each season, perform a Network Planning Phase.

The calendar on the board shows a double arrow symbol to mark when aircraft must be reset.

Each month consists of three phases:

1. Marketing Phase
2. Pricing Phase
3. End of Month

The game starts with the youngest player and continues clockwise.

1. Network Planning Phase

Players operate flights by placing Airplane tokens on routes between airports.

Players place all Airplane tokens using a snake draft:

1. Starting with the youngest player and continuing clockwise, each player places half of their Airplane tokens, rounded up, on routes.
2. After all players have placed once, placement continues in reverse order.
3. Players continue placing Airplane tokens in snake order until all Airplane tokens have been placed.

There is no limit to how many players can fly the same route, and each player may fly the same route more than once.

Subsidies

The first airline to operate a route connected to a subsidized airport immediately collects that airport's Subsidy Cube.

• A route touching two subsidized airports may collect both Subsidy Cubes.
• Subsidy Cubes are kept by the player.
• Each Subsidy Cube is worth 50 points at the end of the game.
• Once collected, a Subsidy Cube is not replaced.

Subsidies are set and earned only once per game.

2. Marketing Phase

Each month, one player rolls the three Passenger Dice, starting with the youngest player and continuing clockwise each month.

Each die displays one of the six airport callsigns.

If two or more dice show the same Callsign, reroll only the duplicate dice until all three dice show different Callsigns.

Choose any two dice to determine the passenger market's Origin and Destination, also called O&D.

• If multiple choices are possible, the player who rolled decides which two dice are used.

Each passenger generated by the dice represents a passenger market rather than an individual traveler. Multiple airlines may earn revenue from the same passenger market when ties occur. This represents demand stimulation.

3. Pricing Phase

Determine Valid Itineraries

Players check whether they can transport passengers between the Origin and Destination.

A valid itinerary is a flight or a group of connected flights by the same airline.

Itinerary validity is determined as follows:

1. Non-stop itineraries are always valid.
2. One-stop itineraries are always valid.
3. Two-stop itineraries are valid only if no shorter itinerary is available at the table.
4. Additional-stop itineraries are valid only if no shorter itinerary is available at the table.

This check applies across all players, not per player. If any player can offer a shorter valid itinerary, longer itineraries are not valid this round.

Submit Fares

Players with valid itineraries may place one Fare Card face down.

Players may also choose not to bid.

All Fare Cards are revealed simultaneously.

The lowest valid fare wins. A tie for lowest means all tied players win.

Passengers prefer fewer stops, but one-stop itineraries may compete against non-stop itineraries if the fare is low enough.

A one-stop itinerary only wins against a non-stop itinerary if its fare is exactly half of the lowest competing non-stop fare or less.

If a one-stop itinerary qualifies under this rule, it may beat the non-stop itinerary because it is cheaper.

Flash Deals

After fares are revealed, any losing player, or any player currently tied for the lowest fare, may discard their Flash Deal Chit and submit a new Fare Card.

• The new fare must be lower than that player's previous fare.
• A Flash Deal can only be used once per game.
• Eligible players resolve Flash Deals one at a time, in turn order, not simultaneously.
• A Flash Deal's new fare only needs to beat that player's own previous fare. It does not need to beat the current lowest fare, so a player may Flash Deal and still lose.
• Flash Deals may continue as long as eligible players want to submit lower fares.
• The winner is determined only after no eligible player wants to submit another Flash Deal.

Ties

If multiple players are tied for the winning fare, all tied players win the passenger market.

• No Ancillary Chits may be added when there is a tie, whether or not Flash Deals were used.
• Each tied winning player keeps their winning Fare Card as points.
• Each tied winning player removes the Airplane tokens used for their winning itinerary from the board.

Ancillary Fees

If there is a single winning airline, that airline may add ancillary fees.

• The airline may attach any number of unused Ancillary Chits.
• Each Ancillary Chit adds 100 to the passenger's final price.
• Ancillary Chits remain attached to the winning Fare Card if the passenger accepts the final price.
• An Ancillary Chit is used up only if the passenger market accepts the Final Price. If the Price Sensitivity Check fails, the Chit returns unused and may be attached again later.

Final Price = Fare Card Value + Ancillary Chits

Winning Without Ancillary Fees

If the winning airline does not attach any Ancillary Chit, the passenger market is won automatically and no Price Sensitivity Die roll happens.

• The airline keeps the winning Fare Card, which counts as points at the end of the game.
• The Airplane tokens used for the itinerary are removed from the board.

Price Sensitivity Check

The Price Sensitivity Die represents the passenger market's maximum acceptable price.

If any Ancillary Chit is used, the winning airline rolls the Price Sensitivity Die to check if the passenger market accepts the Final Price.

If the result is equal to or higher than the Final Price:

• The passenger market accepts the offer.
• The airline keeps the winning Fare Card and any attached Ancillary Chits.
• These are placed face up on the table and count as points at the end of the game.
• The Airplane tokens used for the itinerary are removed from the board.

If the result is lower than the Final Price:

• The passenger market abandons the booking.
• The Fare Card and any attached Ancillary Chits return to the airline. The Ancillary Chits are unused again.
• The passenger market is offered to the next-best valid fare.
• "Next-best valid fare" means only fares already submitted face-down in that round's original Pricing Phase. No new fares can be submitted, and no Flash Deals can be used at this stage.
• If multiple airlines are tied for the next-best valid fare, all tied airlines win the passenger market.
• The next airline or airlines cannot add Ancillary Chits.
• The next airline or airlines use only the value of their Fare Cards. This does not trigger another Price Sensitivity Check.
• The next airline or airlines win the passenger market, keep their Fare Cards as points, and remove the Airplane tokens used for their itineraries from the board.
• If no valid alternative exists, the passenger market does not travel. No player earns points, and all involved Airplane tokens stay on the board.

Fare Cards After the Round

• A winning Fare Card is kept face up by the player as points. It is not returned to hand and is out of the game.
• A losing Fare Card returns to the player's hand and can be bid again in a future month.
• Players with losing fares keep their Airplane tokens on the board. The tokens remain available for future months.

4. End of Month

Move the Month Marker forward one month.

If March has ended, proceed to Final Scoring instead of starting a new round.

Otherwise, a new month begins.

Seasonal Reset

After October:

• Remove all Airplane tokens from the board.
• Players redeploy all Airplane tokens using the same Network Planning Phase placement procedure.
• Airport Callsign Chits and collected Subsidies remain unchanged.

Regional Rules

OpenSky is played on a two-sided board. Use the matching Regional Rule for the side in play.

Each player's 2 Regional Tokens are multi-purpose cylinder tokens in that player's airline color. In Europe, they are used as Hub Tokens. In North America, they are used as Cross-Border Tokens.

Europe

Each player's 2 Regional Tokens are used as Hub Tokens.

Hub Tokens are placed once per season, after the Network Planning Phase.

Each player places their 2 Hub Tokens on any airports on the board, with a maximum of one Hub Token per airport.

An itinerary may only connect through an airport where the connecting player has placed one of their Hub Tokens. Non-stop flights are not affected.

A one-stop, two-stop, or additional-stop itinerary that would need to connect through an airport without that player's Hub Token is not valid for that player.

An itinerary invalidated this way does not count when checking whether a shorter itinerary type is available across the table. It is simply unavailable to that player this round.

At the Seasonal Reset, when players redeploy their Airplane tokens, they may also move their Hub Tokens to different airports.

Rationale: low-cost airlines in Europe do not offer connections independently. They rely on airport partners to support transfers.

North America

Each player's 2 Regional Tokens are used as Cross-Border Tokens.

Airports on the board are printed in a country color.

A route between two airports of the same country color can be flown freely.

A route between two airports of different country colors needs one of that player's Cross-Border Tokens placed on it before an Airplane token can be placed on that route.

Place the Cross-Border Token during the Network Planning Phase, on the route, at the same time as the Airplane token.

A placed Cross-Border Token stays on its route for the rest of the season and only authorizes that player to fly it. Other players need their own Cross-Border Token to fly the same route.

With only 2 Cross-Border Tokens, a player can open at most 2 cross-border routes per season.

A player with both Cross-Border Tokens already placed can still fly any route within a single country color.

At the Seasonal Reset, both Cross-Border Tokens return to their owner and can be placed again on any cross-border route.

Rationale: North America is not an open sky. Capacity between countries is regulated.

End of the Game

The game ends at the end of March.

Players calculate their final score.

Fare Revenue

Total value of all won Fare Cards.

Subsidies

Each collected Subsidy Cube is worth 50 points.

Ancillary Revenue

Each attached Ancillary Chit is worth 100 points.

Final Score

Final Score = Fare Revenue + Subsidies + Ancillary Revenue

The player with the highest total wins.

Glossary

• O&D: Origin and Destination, the passenger market's starting and ending airports.
• Itinerary: The set of flights used to transport a passenger market.
• Flight: A single connection between two airports.
• Route: A pair of airports linked by a flight.
• Airport Callsign: One of the six airport markers identified by the aviation alphabet.
• Subsidy: Government support awarded to the first airline serving a designated airport.
• Fare Card: A card from a player's hand stating a fare value, bid face down during the Pricing Phase.
• Ancillary Fee: Additional revenue charged on top of the base fare.
• Flash Deal: A one-time discount allowing an airline to make a final lower offer.
• Regional Token: A multi-purpose cylinder token in a player's airline color, used as a Hub Token in Europe or a Cross-Border Token in North America.
• Demand Stimulation: The effect where multiple airlines may earn revenue from the same passenger market when tied fares create additional demand.