Pan Am – The Unboxinating!
Today’s new game is a fun little thing from Funko and honestly, I only really know 2 things about Pan Am. One: they are the first airline I remember going out of business and Two: My mom had Pam Am stock in 1992. This game looks like a “make a route” sort of game so let’s take a look.
Number One: Taking a look at the box, I dig the giant PAN AM logo (see first image) and the inside has a nice spattering of tiny Pan Ams. I know what I’m getting into here – I am expecting air planes and possibly doing a kind of Ticket to Ride of the air.
On the back we have a parts list-BOOOO! Unless it’s also in the instructions? Oh hey, it is! Wooo! Oh wow, there is even a third parts list on the back of the instructions. I don’t think I’ve ever run into a game with 3 separate parts lists. Krazy.
OMG! Includes 52 [tiny] airplanes! I am excited by the promise of this game and it’s still just the outside of the box. I like the art here as well – clean and minimal and yes, it reminds me of the heyday of the “Golden Age of Travel” era.
Number Two: Parts! Planes! Cards! More cards! Even more cards! A Die! Chits! (Incidentally, the punch out cardboard chits are also wrapped in plastic, which is the first time I’ve run across that), and a giant map of the world board in Polar projection. Gotta say, this game is full of firsts. Incidentally, that map is HUUUUGE! In the pic above, the board is laid out on top of one of the game buckets and it covers it pretty much end to end…we are talking about 3 feet by 2 feet of virgin ground waiting for you to claim your air routes.
Number Three: A quick look through the directions and I am amused by the little inset help bits. I did not even register that the planes had little designators for how long they can fly. Funko could have just let you look in the directions to figure that out but instead, they mark the planes so you don’t have to. They are really making this simple to play.
Number Four: This die. The Pan Am logo proudly comes up on one face and the rest have a bunch of other symbols. The instructions say the different squiggles are different routes and the game board supports this idea. Maybe you roll the die and claim a route with the little Pan Am chits? Possibly. That will have to wait until I play the game.
Number Five: Where is the dark side of the unboxinating you may ask? Well I will tell you (don’t I always?). First off, although the punch outs are solidly attached to the jig but not so much so that there is a chance to shred the game pieces liberating them, (I have had that happen with other games; it is not pretty) it’s gonna take a bit of oomph to punch them out. When you do, you are going to get little bits left on the chits from the sprue points. Second, those engineer pieces just don’t scream ENGINEER to me. I thought they might be radar stations since those other sticky up bits are definitely airport control towers and the knobby sticky up bits are just as tall. But they are engineers. Okay then, if you say so. Thirdly, although I love the little plane pieces, they feel a little fragile to me. Maybe they aren’t but I was worried about breaking off plane wings putting the bigger planes back into the bags.
Lastly:
