First in Flight

Players take on the roles of early aviation pioneers and compete to design, test, and improve experimental flying machines. Each player maintains a deck representing a flyer design, using deck-building to add technologies, pilot skills, and allies while managing hidden flaws that can undermine performance. Flights are resolved with a push-your-luck, blackjack-style challenge: draw toward a target to set records and gain experience without exceeding safe limits and crashing. Between flights, players return to the workshop to refine their decks and upgrade designs, repeating the test-and-improve cycle to pursue greater achievements.

Players: 1–4 best 4
Playing time: 45–75 min
Age: 12+
Complexity: 2.3 / 5

7.9 on Ludoya from $40.15Aviation / FlightRaceTurn Order: Time TrackRondel

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About the game

Design: Ben Rosset
Matthew O'Malley
Art: Amelia Sales
Tomasz Bogusz

Expansions

See them in Ludoya

First in Flight: Pilot Pack2023

First in Flight: Richard Pearse Promo Card2023

First in Flight: Clement Ader Promo Card2023

First in Flight: Stunt Pack2026

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Full stats in Ludoya

46
Plays logged: 76
Players: 1h 30m
Average play: 40
In collections: 10
On wishlists

7.9/10

from 8 Ludoya reviews

Jonathan Allred9.0
The game was elegant and innovative at the same time. I really enjoyed a novel approach to scoring. Rather than the score being the cumulative points one acquires over the course of the game, the only thing that matters is the best "flight" you've made. It encourages risk and helps mitigate the runaway leader problem, while still not totally nullifying the benefits of early successes. Any game that can do something innovative while being a complete and pleasant game deserves high marks.
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