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Air Charter

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My Grandfather used to have this game – because he worked at Boeing. He made parts for the airplanes and loved everything about the air.

I used to get infected by his own enthusiasm, he loved it and I played it when I went to visit him.

Looking back now it’s extraordinary to think that this game was ever made. Now-a-days when we can make video games, they are all adrenaline fuelled shoot-em-ups or platform games that can be so real and exciting - the idea of creating a game for children based on air freight is baffling. Imagine the new Xbox had a new game based on Shipping, or the plastics trade between India and Africa? Never going to happen!

But I loved it. It was a very simple game. Invented and released in 1970 by Waddingtons, players take on the mantle of different air-freight companies trading cargoes between northern Australia and S.E. Asia.

To move you basically roll a dice, although there are rules for air-lanes, airfield circuits, load sizes and fuel consumption which makes everything a bit more tricky.

The game actually made me interested in becoming an air traffic controller for a while! I know I was totally sucked in.

Great fun, and almost informative too!

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Do You Remember Air Charter?

Do You Remember Air Charter?

  • Anonymous user
    on
    Still have this game from the 1970s and enjoyed playing it with my parents. Will get the game back out again soon to play at our caravan with our friends on the site there
  • Anonymous user
    on
    yes I remember it well, I still have my original game
  • Anonymous user
    on
    We had this game. I loved it. It was great fun loading your little pyramids of cargo onto the back of the plane and then flying round the far east! I used to play it with my mum and dad and you flew to exciting places on a map I didn't recognise, with names like 'Tashkent' which I thought was made up but I have since realised it does exist! Our pleasures were simple then. There would have to be a power cut before my kids would drag themselves off the xbox long enough to play a board game. Shame.
    • Anonymous user
      on
      We still have this board game and still play it! It teaches us something of our local geography and is fun and interesting to play.

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