The brand new Pan Am board game will appeal to kids, and their parents who are aviation aficionados and Pan Am followers.
Attention, all travel lovers – especially those who adored the “golden age” of travel – when flight attendants wore white gloves – and not rubber gloves. Funko Games has just debuted Pan Am: The Game to quench your thirst for all-things Pan Am, and it goes on sale today, June 21, 2020, at Target.
Pan American World Airways ruled the skies and made travel more accessible without sacrificing glamour. In this clever game players take control of their own fledgling airlines and compete with Pan Am and others to build a business empire. You will outbid rivals for lucrative landing rights in exotic locales, buy planes with longer range to reach the far corners of the world, and use insider connections to advance your interests. As you bump up against the ever-growing Pan Am, you can sell your routes to the company to turn a tidy profit. It’s a game of global strategy that spans four decades of industry-changing historic events and technological developments, in which every timeline is different.
The gorgeously-designed game includes 52 airplane miniatures from four distinct airline eras, a game board with a unique depiction of global airline routes, random, game-altering historical events that provide a different play experience every time, and a fast-paced, fluid gameplay to keep all players involved throughout turns. Particularly striking is the gamebook with instructions, which is designed in a Sixties-era retro way. I’m also in love with the miniature Pan Am stock certificates!
I had lots of questions, so I posed them to Jay Wheatley, General Manager for Games, and Prospero Hall, the design studio.
Why did Prospero Hall want to design a Pan Am game in the first place?
We love the fascinating history of the Pan Am company, which had so many noteworthy business accomplishments. Then, on top of all that, the company had a distinctive sense of style and “cool factor,” making it all the more influential in pop culture. So, the business aspect brought strategy and competition, and the brand brought us gorgeous aesthetics, it was an irresistible one-two punch for a fantastic board game.
To what do you attribute the continuing popularity of Pan Am?
The company epitomized the luxury and glamour of intercontinental travel in the 20thcentury and therefore was an aspirational brand then, and that cachet remains to this day.
Why do you think Pan Am is so iconic?
It’s an example of a brand – like Disney or Nike or Apple – that combined business success and industry leadership with a distinctive and appealing branded lifestyle, elevating it to iconic status.
