Sky Team review – a soaring success of a board game

Sky Team turns one of life’s most stressful experiences – landing a plane – into a one-of-a-kind board game that’s equal parts tense and ridiculous. Limited communication rules play co-pilot to the edge-of-your-seat thrill of rolling dice. The result? A standout tabletop title that we’ve not been able to put down since its release back in 2023.

A full Sky Team review was warranted, given my high praise. Plus, we’ve recommended it as one of the best couples’ board games around, and it might even make its way to our best board games list. If we’re going to hype Sky Team up that much, we better show our workings.

What is Sky Team?

Sky Team is a two-player board game where one person acts as a plane’s pilot and another its co-pilot. Each has their own set of dice, which are rolled in secret each round. Players then take turns placing these dice to complete certain actions, each of which helps ensure that the plane lands safely.

That’s not all there is to it, of course. Players are only allowed to discuss their plans before the dice are rolled for a round, and they’re never allowed to be too specific about numbers. You can share your desire to tilt the plane’s axis towards a certain player, but you can’t ask your co-pilot to place a high or low die (or one of a specific number) in the associated slot.

Once the dice are rolled, the rest of the round is played in silence. To poke another stick in the spokes of your bicycle, there are limits on what dice can be placed where. Some activities can only be performed by a certain pilot, while others can only be completed by placing a die with a specific number. Additionally, some activities must be completed in a particular order.

In order to safely land a plane, the pilots must:

• Have a perfectly level axis
• Have cleared all other planes from the approach track
• Have turned on all switches for the landing gear and flaps
• Have the approach track and the altitude track reach their last box in the same round

However, there are several ways for the game to end – and the plane to crash – immediately:

• If the axis tilts too far to the left or right
• If both engine dice aren’t placed before a round ends
• If both axis dice aren’t placed before a round ends
• If the approach track progresses while there is still an airplane in its current position
• If you reach the airport before reaching the correct altitude
• If you reach the correct altitude before reaching the airport on the approach track
• If you fail to reach an engine speed below your brakes value when trying to land

Sounds stressful? It is, but in the most delightful way. You’ll fail often as you get to grips with all the plates you must spin, but a successful landing is immensely satisfying.

Who is Sky Team for?

Since Sky Team is exclusively a two-player game, we can only recommend it to hobbyists who regularly have time to game with one other person. It’s an excellent option for couples, flatmates, or family members who share a love of tabletop games. You might not have as much luck bringing it to a busy board game night – unless only one other person shows up.

Sky Team is also better suited to lovers of party games and lighter rules sets. Fans of heavy strategy board games may find Sky Team’s reliance on luck-based dice rolls frustrating, and its most intriguing feature is based on social interaction rather than pure strategic decision-making.

What’s good about Sky Team?

Despite how many things can go wrong during play, Sky Team is surprisingly easy to learn. It’s highly approachable, and it ups its complexity gradually, as further gameplay variants can be tacked on after your first successful flight.

Speaking of variants, there are a huge number included in the box. Traveling to different airports unlocks approach tracks and altitude tracks of varying lengths, and new scenarios can have one of four difficulty levels.

Some allow you to add one or two special ability cards, which offer small boons that’ll make your trip less turbulent. There are also six special modules that offer fresh obstacles to face from wind and ice to fuel leaks to inexperienced interns. Each makes the co-op game feel new and challenging again.

That being said, it’s important to emphasize just how smooth and enjoyable the core experience really is. Silent cooperation, especially when the odds are against you, leads to many nail-biting yet silly moments.

What’s bad about Sky Team?

Our only complaints are of the nit-picky kind. First is that the game’s components, while attractive and high-quality, can cause a bit of a headache. You’ll need to assemble the embossed boards yourself, and it’s not always intuitive how the sticky tape and folded edges go together. The final result is lovely, but we’ve seen plenty of people (ourselves included) stumble over this first hurdle.

Additionally, despite its many variants, repeat games of Sky Team can begin to feel same-y after a few flights. This is a fast-paced game that lasts around 15 minutes, so it’s not one that you can fill an entire evening with. Still, for a game you can pick up for around $30, we’d still say it’s excellent value for money.

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