I hate reading rulebooks and compiled this How to Play Sky Team Co-operative Board Game rules to help get your game started quickly with minimal hassle.
If you are looking for an overview, click here to get a quick summary of the gameplay, game mechanics, videos and find out what makes the game fun and suitable for you.

What is the goal of Sky Team

Players cooperate as pilots to land a commercial airliner at various airports. Players must manage speed, altitude, and approach, while coordinating actions silently after initial discussions.

Setting up your Sky Team Game

1. Place the Control Panel between the two players and place Airplane Axis disc, ensuring arrow is pointing to the black triangle
2. Place the Aerodynamics markers on the Speed Gauge: blue between 4 and 5, orange between 8 and 9.
3. Position the Brake marker to the left of the 2 on the Brake track.
4. Distribute dice: blue to the Pilot, orange to the Co-Pilot.
5. Insert the Altitude Track into top right slot of control panel until 6000 ft is visible.
6. Slide YUL Montréal-Trudeau Approach Track into top left control panel slot until icon is visible.
7. Place Reroll tokens on each reroll icon on Altitude Track.
8. Set Airplane tokens on the Approach Track as per the Traffic icons.
9. Create a reserve of Coffee tokens next to the board.
10. Each player takes a screen and reads the reminders inside.

Sky Team Gameplay

The game is played over 7 rounds, each round consisting of three phases:

Discuss Strategy and roll dice

• Discuss the plan for the round without referencing specific dice values.
• Players roll their 4 dice behind screens to keep them hidden from the other player.

Dice Placement

A) Current Altitude screen arrow indicates who starts. Players take turns placing one of their die on a Control Panel’s unoccupied space.

B) Pilot can only place dice on unoccupied blue spaces and co-pilot on unoccupied orange spaces on the Control Panel.

C) Respect number constraints indicated by space.

D) Majority of spaces have colour and/or number constraints.

E) Radio space have colour but no number constraints.

F) Concentration spaces have no constraints.

Key Actions

Placed dice produce different actions depending on the spaces they are placed and their values.

Axis

When second die is placed, compare value of both dice.

• Don’t move anything if both dice have the same number.
• If they have different numbers, turn plane the number of marks based on the difference of the 2 dice. Turn axis to the player who played the highest die.
• If Axis arrow reaches or passses X, the plane spins and you lose.

Engines and Speed

Once 2nd die is placed, add the 2 dice played onto Engine Spaces to determine your speed .

If the total:

• is smaller than the weakest(blue) of the 2 aerodynamic markers, leave the Approach Track in place

• is between the 2 markers, advance Approach Track one space

• is greater than the highest (orange) of the 2 aerodynamic markers, advance Approach Track 2 spaces

Collision’

One or more airplane tokens move into the current position, you still are alive.

If you advance the approach track and there are Airplane tokens in the current position, there is a COLLISION and you LOSE.

Overshoot

If you advance the approach track and the airport is in the current position space, you OVERSHOOT and LOSE.

Radio

• Pilot has 1 space to place radio die. Co-pilot has 2.
• Count the number of spaces on Approach Track starting with your Current Position
• Remove one Airplane token from that space.
• If you play a die with value 1, remove an Airplane from the Current Position space.

Landing Gear

• Place a die respecting the number constraint.
• The order of deploying your Landing Gear is not important.
• Slide the switch below your die to show the green light.
• Immediately advance the blue Aerodynamics marker one space.
• The Aerodynamics marker should be between the 7 and the 8 when all Landing Gear are deployed.
• Playing on a space with a green lighted switch has no effect.

Flaps

• Place a die respecting the number constraint.
• Deploy the Flaps in order, from top to bottom.
• Slide the switch below your die to show the green light.
• Immediately advance the orange Aerodynamics marker one space.
• The Aerodynamics marker should be just past the 12 once all Flaps are deployed.

Concentration

• The Pilot and Co-Pilot can place any die in any free space.
• Immediately place a Coffee token in one of the 3 designated spaces (max 3 tokens).
• Use Coffee tokens to modify the value of a die when placing it on the Control Panel.
• Each Coffee token adds or subtracts 1 from the die value.
• Return spent Coffee tokens to the supply.
• Any player can use Coffee tokens, regardless of who created them.
• Unspent tokens remain for the next round.
• Modifiers can change die values only between 1 and 6.
• Subtracting 1 from a 1-value die does not change it to 6, and adding 1 to a 6-value die does not change it to 1.

Brakes

• Deploy brakes in the final round.
• Place a die respecting the number constraint. The brakes must be deployed in order, starting with the 2 space.
• IMMEDIATELY advance the red Brake marker one space. The Brakes only have an impact in the game’s final round

End of Round

• The plane descends every round; 7 spaces on the Altitude Track mean 7 rounds in the game.
• After placing all 8 dice, you can speak again and follow these steps in order:
  • Advance the Altitude Track one space (1,000 feet).
  • Take back your dice.
  • If the Airport image is in the Current Position screen and the Airplane image is in the Current Altitude screen, proceed to the End of Game section.

Special Cases

Reaching the Airport Too Soon

This occurs when:

• The Airport image is in the Current Position screen.
• The Airplane image is not in the Current Altitude screen.

What happens?

• You are in a holding pattern over the airport.
• For the current and future rounds, you must try not to advance on the Approach Track.
• You can do this by reducing your speed (ensuring it is lower than what’s reflected on the speed gauge’s blue marker)

Not Reaching the Airport in Time

This occurs when:

• The Airport image is not in the Current Position screen.
• The Airplane image is in the Current Altitude screen.

What happens?

• You have crash-landed before reaching the airport.
• You have lost the game.

Final Round and End of Game

• The final round begins when:
  • The Airport image appears in the Current Position screen.
  • The Airplane image appears in the Current Altitude screen.

ENGINES

• Watch out: speed reading changes in the final round.
• When playing the second engine die, compare your speed with your brakes instead of Aerodynamics markers.
• Unlike Flaps and Landing Gear, you do not need to deploy all brakes.
• Brakes cannot be below 2, or the plane will be unable to stop on the runway and will crash.

FINAL TURN – LANDING

Victory Conditions

To win, at the end of the last round:

• All Airplane tokens must be removed from the Approach Track.
• All Flaps and Landing Gear switches must show green lights.
• The Airplane’s Axis must be horizontal.
• The plane’s speed must be less than the brake strength.

Follow these steps and communicate effectively to land your airliner safely and win the game. Happy flying!