Levels
FARELINE, a free strategy game about running an airline, has five levels. Each level keeps every rule of the levels below it and adds its own. Ranked runs open the levels one by one: finish a run and the next level opens on that continent, and the same level on the next continent, 35 squares in all.
ON THIS PAGE
The levels side by side
| Level | Perk slots | Cards a hand | Take up to | MILES for a finished run | Rules it adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAILWIND | 5 | 5 | 3 | 20 | STANDARD RULES |
| CALM | 4 | 5 | 3 | 30 | CROWDED AIRPORTS, FOUR PERK SLOTS |
| CROSSWIND | 4 | 5 | 3 | 45 | ETERNAL PERKS |
| HEADWIND | 4 | 5 | 3 | 65 | SLOT SQUEEZE, SHORT LEASE |
| WINDSHEAR | 4 | 5 | 3 | 90 | NO ALTERNATE, WET LEASE |
MILES are paid for finishing a ranked or Daily run at that level.
TAILWIND
Level 1 of 5. The standard game:
STANDARD RULES
Five perk slots, five cards a month, and the cash box covers a miss.
CALM
Level 2 of 5. It adds to TAILWIND:
CROWDED AIRPORTS
Bases start at 75% of their slots and your HQ at 50%, and four won slot rounds take every airport to 120% (+17.5% a round at the HQ, +11.3% at a base). Crowding follows the field's size: an airport of 110 weekly slots or fewer starts where TAILWIND starts, the full crowding applies from 400 up, and every airport takes four equal won rounds to 120%.
FOUR PERK SLOTS
Your rack holds four permanent perks instead of five.
CROSSWIND
Level 3 of 5. It adds to CALM:
ETERNAL PERKS
30% of the permanent perks on the shelf arrive ETERNAL: once bought they can never be sold, and BOARDROOM COUP cannot take them. INAUGURAL FLIGHT retires on its own, so it is never ETERNAL or leased. The shelf at CROSSWIND: 30% ETERNAL, 70% plain.
HEADWIND
Level 4 of 5. It adds to CROSSWIND:
SLOT SQUEEZE
Airports start lower than at CROSSWIND: your HQ at 44% of its slots, bases at 66%. The same four won slot rounds still take every airport to 120%.
SHORT LEASE
15% of the permanent perks on the shelf come on a SHORT LEASE: fully seasoned, they pay their whole line from the first quarter and go back to the lessor after 5 quarters, with nothing refunded. Rare perks are never leased. The shelf at HEADWIND: 30% ETERNAL, 15% short lease, 55% plain.
WINDSHEAR
Level 5 of 5. It adds to HEADWIND:
NO ALTERNATE
In boss quarters your cash cannot cover a missed target. Miss the target in the last quarter of any year and the run ends, however much you have saved. In every other quarter your cash covers a miss, as it does at HEADWIND.
WET LEASE
30% of the permanent perks on the shelf come on a WET LEASE: one fifth of the price up front, then 45% of the going price in rent at every later shop visit. At each visit the shop shows its shelf first. Then you choose for every lease: pay the rent to keep it, or return it (its slot frees at once, nothing refunded). If you leave without choosing, the rent is paid when your cash covers it. If it does not, the newest lease goes back. The shelf at WINDSHEAR: 30% ETERNAL, 15% short lease, 30% wet lease, 25% plain.
The board target
The board target is one number a quarter, the same for every airline and every hub, at every level. It climbs every quarter and holds level into each boss quarter, where the boss adds its share. Your hub and the level decide how hard it is to reach, not what it is.
| Year | First quarter | Second quarter | Third quarter | Fourth quarter | Boss quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Q1 2 800 | Q2 12 000 | Q3 33 000 | Q4 70 000 | Q5 70 000 |
| Year 2 | Q6 129 000 | Q7 193 000 | Q8 299 000 | Q9 393 000 | Q10 393 000 |
| Year 3 | Q11 581 000 | Q12 777 000 | Q13 945 000 | Q14 1 130 000 | Q15 1 130 000 |
| Year 4 | Q16 1 540 000 | Q17 1 740 000 | Q18 2 020 000 | Q19 2 260 000 | Q20 2 260 000 |
| Year 5 | Q21 2 630 000 | Q22 3 220 000 | Q23 3 600 000 | Q24 4 130 000 | Q25 4 130 000 |
A violet edge marks the boss quarter. On top of the board target: 10% in a boss quarter, a boss's own extra, 1.0% of the board target for every base that does not fly, and BOARD CONFIDENCE if you bought it. See the books in the guide.