Despite being almost two years old, Sky Team is a board game with serious staying power. The two-player co-op is still winning awards in 2025, and it remains a top seller week-on-week (at least, according to BoardGameGeek). It’s also the perfect litmus test for any relationship. If you want to test the staying power of a budding new partnership, there’s no greater challenge than the board game where you land a plane.
For anyone yet to try this top-tier couples’ board game, here’s a quick synopsis. Sky Team turns you into the pilot and co-pilot of a commercial airline. The runway is fast approaching, and you must work as a team to safely guide your plane to the ground.
Mechanics-wise, this is done by assigning dice to different parts of a control panel. Some parts of the plane, such as the landing gear, need dice with specific numbers to activate. Others, like the brakes and flaps, must be activated in a specific order.
As you’re activating different bits of gear, you’ll also need to navigate around other planes in the sky. Oh, and you must keep the engine running and the plane level at all times.
Fail to maintain these crucial procedures, collide with another plane, or fail to activate all essential equipment before landing, and your plane is going to crash. It’s also possible to overshoot the landing and miss the airport – or land too early and crash in a field. There’s also an intricate brake mechanic that, if not performed properly in the last round, could cause you to – you guessed it – crash the plane.
Sound stressful? Good. One of the most important parts of a long-term relationship is understanding how your partner reacts to pressure. Do they respond to money troubles, work stress, or incredibly tense board games in a healthy way?
Things get more dramatic from here. In Sky Team, the pilot and co-pilot each roll their dice in secret, and once they’re rolled, they must take turns performing tasks in silence. The only time you’re allowed to communicate is between rounds before rolling your dice – and you’re never allowed to make plans by discussing specific die numbers.
There are several romantic lessons to be learned from this mechanic. Firstly, it shows how easily your partner can set and follow a boundary. No talking means no talking. Any mention of “we need a 6 here” or “I’ll use my weakest die there” is blatant cheating. How well can your partner stick to this boundary – and how do you feel if they break it?
A game where communication must be sparing also teaches you the value of what you say to each other. Every word – and sometimes even your body language – is essential for reaching your goals. Is your partner a good listener, and are they effective at making their needs heard?
Inevitably, things won’t go your way in a game of Sky Team. Someone won’t roll the exact dice you need, or they might not intuit what you need them to do most. Sometimes, a plane crashes.
What’s important is how you and your partner handle setbacks. Do you play the blame game? Are you able to laugh with each other when something goes wrong? Can you turn this into a learning opportunity for your next flight?
I’m pleased to say that my fiance and I have found our rhythm with Sky Team. We had a few rocky first flights, but we quickly figured out how to cooperate in silence. Personally, I think we’re ready to take this relationship to the next level: marriage, mortgage, and Sky Team’s ultra-difficult optional rules.
Like all the best board games, Sky Team is obviously about winning. The satisfaction you feel when a plane lands safely is immense. However, it’s also about the journey. As in love, Sky Team is about riding the bumps and celebrating the wins along the way. Oh, and having fun – if it’s not fun, why are you doing it?
If you like a different sort of mind games, be sure to check out the strategy board games we’d recommend. Or, if you want to get really romantic, we have a guide to the best sex board games, too.