Take Off!
Geography board game using cards and eight-sided dice.
Take Off! is a geography-focused board game that first appeared in 1988, created by Resource Games. Players use eight-sided dice to move their planes along color-coded lines on a map, matching the colors rolled. One die side, the "Jet Facet," lets a plane travel on any line regardless of color. Rolling a "Take Off!" face forces a player to draw a card and move a plane to the country shown. The objective is to fly from Hawaii to the opposite hemisphere—either from the Eastern to the Western world or the reverse. The game uses blue cards for the Western Hemisphere and brown cards for the Eastern Hemisphere.
In 2002–2003, updated versions of the game were released to reflect the early 2000s. The Vancouver Sun called it "Excellent for adults and children over the age of six." The Ledger-Enquirer gave it a B grade, noting that "with geography a weakness of Americans and an emphasis in schools, Take Off! has added appeal." In 1992, it was named one of the Canadian Toy Testing Council's Top Ten Award winners out of 1,500 evaluated toys and games. By 1999, Resource Games reported that over 250,000 copies had been sold.
- first_released
- 1988
- designer
- Resource Games
- genre
- Educational board game
- subject
- Geography
- notable_award
- Canadian Toy Testing Council Top Ten Award (1992)
Quick Facts
- Subject Name
- Take Off!
- Players
- 2-6
- Ages
- 6+
- Setup Time
- 5-10 min.
- Playing Time
- 60+ minutes
- Skills
- Geography, history
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Take Off! was developed by Resource Games and first released in 1988. The game uses blue cards for the Western Hemisphere and brown cards for the Eastern Hemisphere. Players roll eight-sided dice to move their planes along colored lines that match the dice colors; a wild 'Jet Facet' side allows movement on any line, while a 'Take Off!' face requires drawing a card and moving a plane to the country shown. The objective is to travel from Hawaii to the opposite hemisphere.
Reader's Guide
Take Off! gained recognition for its educational value in geography, a subject noted as a weakness among Americans and emphasized in schools. The Vancouver Sun declared it 'Excellent for adults and children over the age of six,' and the Ledger-Enquirer gave it an overall grade of B, noting its added appeal. In 1992, it was one of the Canadian Toy Testing Council's Top Ten Award winners out of 1,500 evaluated toys and games. By 1999, Resource Games reported that more than 250,000 copies had been sold. The game was updated in 2002-2003 for the early 2000s period.
Did You Know?
- Blue cards represent the Western Hemisphere; brown cards represent the Eastern Hemisphere.
- The dice include a wild 'Jet Facet' side and a 'Take Off!' face.
- The game was recognized in 1992 as one of the Canadian Toy Testing Council's Top Ten Award winners.
- By 1999, more than 250,000 copies had been sold.
More in Roll-and-move board games 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record