Overview

Airlines Europe is an investment and route-building game set in the dawn of European passenger aviation. Players compete as investors buying route licenses for various airlines and collecting shares, aiming to hold majority stakes in the most valuable airlines when scoring rounds occur. The player with the most victory points after three scorings wins.

Components

• 1 game board (map of Europe with scoring track)
• 3 scoring cards (gray backs)
• 112 share cards in 10 airline colors (gray backs): Air Amigos (16 yellow), Rio Grande Southern Europe (15 blue), Lucky Hans Airways (14 violet), Days Of Flying Wonders (13 red), Brooms Bewitched (11 black), Jolly Roger Airships (10 brown), FF Flys (9 green), It’s Funagain To Fly (9 orange), Flying Is Simply Fun (8 gray), White Winds (7 white)
• 112 airplanes in matching airline colors
• 20 company markers (2 per airline)
• 20 Air ABACUS share cards (red backs)
• 84 victory tokens (39x1, 20x5, 20x10, 5x50)
• 70 paper money (50x1 million, 20x5 million)
• 4 bonus connecting markers (orange, green, gray, white)
• 5 game summaries
• 1 rule booklet

Setup

1. Remove airlines based on player count: 5 players – none; 4 players – Air Amigos (yellow); 3 players – yellow + violet; 2 players – yellow + blue + violet.
2. Place game board centrally. Place one company marker on each participating airline’s home airport and one on the scoring track at the airline’s starting color space.
3. Place bonus connecting markers for the four smallest airlines (orange, green, gray, white) on their target cities.
4. Sort airplanes by color as supply.
5. Place victory tokens beside the board.
6. Choose a starting player who takes 1 VP; clockwise, each subsequent player takes 1 more VP than the previous (e.g., in 3 players: 1, 2, 3). Keep VP tokens face down and secret.
7. Bank: count out 30 million Euros per player total. Each player takes 8 million. Remove surplus cash from game if fewer than 5 players.
8. Place 20 Air ABACUS shares face down as a supply.
9. Remove 3 scoring cards from the share deck and set aside.
10. Shuffle all remaining share cards to form the share deck. Deal 5 face up to the stock market on the board. Deal 8 to each player as a secret hand.
11. Each player selects 2 shares from different airlines from hand, places them face down, then all reveal simultaneously – these form initial portfolios.
12. Build the share supply deck: take 10 cards from the deck, add 1 scoring card, shuffle (11 cards, bottom of supply). Set aside ~1/4 of remaining deck. Place a scoring card in the middle of the remaining stack, place the 3rd scoring card on top, then place the set-aside 1/4 on the very top.

Turn Structure

Players take turns clockwise. On each turn, the active player chooses exactly one of four actions:

• A) Buy Route Licenses + Take a Share
• B) Play Shares + Take Dividend
• C) Acquire Air ABACUS Shares
• D) Take Cash

A player may not select an action they cannot complete (exception: action D during bank bankruptcy).

Actions

A) Buy One or Two Route Licenses and Take a Share Card

• Buy an available route license on any route for any airline by paying the cost shown in the circle. Place an airplane of the airline’s color on that circle. Advance the airline’s company marker on the scoring track by the license cost.
• Restrictions: (1) Route must connect to the airline’s home airport via existing routes; (2) Must buy the cheapest available license on the chosen route; (3) Each airline may own only one license per route; (4) Cannot buy if all licenses on a route are taken; (5) Cannot buy if airline has no airplanes left.
• May buy a second license (same restrictions). After purchasing, take 1 share from the stock market or top of the supply deck. If taken from the market, immediately refill the market from the deck.
• Note: Even with 2 licenses purchased, only 1 share is taken.
• Bonus Connections: The 4 smallest airlines get a bonus for connecting their home airport to a target city (e.g., orange: Athens to London). When completed, advance the airline’s marker by the bonus value shown, then remove the bonus marker.

B) Play Share Cards and Take Dividend

• Play shares from hand to portfolio: either any number from one airline OR exactly one from each of two different airlines.
• Take 2 million Euros per share played as dividend.

C) Acquire Air ABACUS Shares

• Discard 1 share (from hand or portfolio) to take 1 Air ABACUS share, OR discard any 3 shares to take 2 Air ABACUS shares.
• Maximum 2 Air ABACUS shares per turn. Shares go to hand (must use action B later to add to portfolio).
• Air ABACUS has no airplanes or routes; its value is predetermined and rises each scoring.

D) Take Cash

• Take 8 million Euros from the bank.

Bank Bankruptcy (Special)

If the bank cannot pay: all players with more than 8 million reduce to 8 million, returning excess. Remove stock market cards, draw 5 new ones. Then the active player takes their cash.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Triggering Scoring

When a scoring card is drawn from the supply deck, give it to the left neighbor. Before scoring:

• Empty the Stock Market: Starting with the scoring card holder, each player takes 1 share from the market (clockwise, one each). Remaining market shares are removed; refill with 5 new cards.

Scoring Airlines

For each airline (starting from the most advanced on the scoring track):

• Players announce their portfolio holdings.
• Victory points are distributed per the scoring track area where the airline’s marker stands (e.g., 6-3-2-1-0 for 1st through 5th place).
• Ties: sum the tied positions’ points, divide equally, round up.

Air ABACUS Scoring

Scoring	Distribution
1st	4-2-1-0
2nd	8-4-2-1-0
3rd	16-8-4-2-1

Game End

The game ends immediately after the 3rd scoring. Highest VP total wins. Tiebreaker: most Air ABACUS shares. If still tied, shared victory.

If all airlines are blocked (no valid routes available), the game ends prematurely with one final scoring.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• 2-Player Special Rules: (1) Shares removed during game go to a face-down discard pile instead of the box. (2) Before the 3rd scoring, create a fictitious 3rd player’s portfolio from: unclaimed Air ABACUS shares, stock market shares, remaining supply deck, and the discard pile. Score as if 3 players.
• Remote connections (routes off the map edge) work like normal routes but are expensive and exclusive (1 license only).
• You do not need shares in an airline to buy route licenses for it.
• Share cards in hand are secret; portfolio shares are public. Players must always be able to see how many cards are in each player’s hand.
• Victory tokens are kept face down (secret).
• Cash is public information.

Player Reference

Action	Effect
A: Buy Routes	Pay cost, place airplane, advance marker. Take 1 share.
B: Play Shares	Add shares to portfolio. Earn 2M per share.
C: Air ABACUS	Discard 1 share → 1 ABACUS; or 3 shares → 2 ABACUS.
D: Take Cash	Take 8 million Euros.

Player Count Adjustments:

Players	Airlines Removed
5	None
4	Yellow
3	Yellow, Violet
2	Yellow, Blue, Violet