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How to Play Sky Team Online

By the Tavernly team ·

Sky Team is a two-player cooperative dice game about landing an airliner; Luc Rémond designed this 2024 Spiel des Jahres winner. The official online place we found is Board Game Arena; we couldn't find a Steam, App Store or Google Play app. We make Wherrymere on Tavernly, a free browser alternative.

The short answer

  • Official browser play: Board Game Arena is free, and you do not need Premium.
  • Apps: We couldn't find a Sky Team app on Steam, the App Store or Google Play.
  • A bot teammate: Wherrymere on Tavernly lets you start a free game.

Which way is right for you?

Choose a route for your teammate and device.

You want to... Best choice
Play the official game Board Game Arena
Invite friends free, with no account Wherrymere on Tavernly
Play with a bot Wherrymere
Learn during a coached game Wherrymere
Play in a phone browser Wherrymere

Board Game Arena: Sky Team in your browser (free)

Board Game Arena lists Sky Team for exactly two players, with a 15-minute duration and a tutorial. The publisher links to this version. A free account is enough to join or open Sky Team tables. You do not need Premium.

You need: a free BGA account.

  1. Sign in to Board Game Arena.
  2. Open the game page. Use the Sky Team listing.
  3. Find or create a table. A free account can join or host.
  4. Invite your teammate. Sky Team takes exactly two players.

Is there an official Sky Team app?

We couldn't find a Sky Team app on Steam, the App Store or Google Play. The publisher’s page points to Board Game Arena and names no app.

A Sky Team alternative: Wherrymere on Tavernly

A Sky Team alternative

Wherrymere on Tavernly: play it free in your browser.

Wherrymere on Tavernly puts you and a teammate aboard a barge for a trip of about 15 minutes. You play free in a browser, with no account. It has the first harbour only, without other harbours, extra modules or expansions. Chat uses preset phrases, with no chat about numbers.

You need: a browser; both players must be 13 or older.

Play with a bot teammate

  1. Open Wherrymere on Tavernly. Find the “Play with bots” card.
The Wherrymere on Tavernly page offers Play with bots, With friends, At your pace and Beginner.
Wherrymere on Tavernly: four ways to start.
  1. Choose your bot teammate’s level. Select Easy, Medium or Hard. Medium is the default.
  2. Start your game. Press Play now.
  3. Complete the age screen if shown. Choose Month and Year, then Continue. A bot takes the empty seat within five seconds.

Play with a friend

  1. Open the friend setup. Press Start now under “With friends”.
  2. Create your two-seat table. Press Start a private table.
  3. Open the invitation. Press Share invite in the waiting room.
  4. Send your friend the link. Your friend joins in a browser.
A private Wherrymere on Tavernly waiting room, with an invite link and two seats.
Send your waiting-room invite before starting.
  1. Start when your friend is seated. Press Start now: bots take the empty seats.

Take your first turn

  1. Tap one of your dice. Your teammate’s remaining dice appear as a count, without their values.
Wherrymere on Tavernly in round 1, showing the river, barge sockets and remaining dice.
The river sits above the barge; your dice wait below.
  1. Tap a socket with a brass edge. These sockets accept your selected die.
  2. Place your die. Press Set down. Undo takes a die back.

What "Learn by playing" teaches

Press Learn by playing for a coached game with 15 steps.

  1. Bring the barge to its berth. You and your mate share one result.
  2. Watch the falling tide. The barge must reach the berth by low water.
  3. Clear a boat with the horn. The lesson’s fixed 3 clears a boat two reaches ahead.
  4. Balance the barge with trim. The lesson’s fixed 1 gives your mate a value to match.

The rules in two minutes

Plain word Wherrymere on Tavernly name
Round counter Tide
Distance track River, divided into reaches
Balance Trim
Speed Oars
Clearing the way Horn
Raising the low speed limit Fenders
Raising the high speed limit Sail, with reefs
Capping the final speed Lines
Changing a die value Brew and tea
Throwing unplaced dice again Lucky knot
Finish Berth
Two seats Skipper and mate
  1. Throw your dice. Each seat gets four secret six-sided dice each round. There are seven rounds, at tide marks 6 through 0.
  2. Place one die in turn. Use an empty socket that is yours or shared and takes the die's value. You cannot pass, and a placed die works at once. The skipper starts at marks 6, 4, 2 and 0; the mate starts at 5, 3 and 1.
  3. Balance the barge (trim). Fill both trim sockets; the barge leans toward the higher die by the difference. Equal dice change nothing; lean carries into later rounds.
  4. Set the speed (oars). Fill both oar sockets and add the two dice. Below 4.5 the barge stays. Up to 8.5 it moves one reach, and above 8.5 two reaches, one at a time. Fenders and reefs raise these limits.
  5. Clear boats (horn). Clear one boat from the reach your die’s value minus one ahead; a 1 clears your current reach. Empty reaches have no effect.
  6. Raise the speed limits (fenders and sail). Fill skipper fenders with 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6, in any order; each raises the low limit by one. Fill mate reefs in order with 1-2, 2-3, 4-5 and 5-6; each raises the high limit by one.
  7. Set the lines. Fill the skipper's line sockets in order with 2, 4 and 6. The last filled line caps the final speed. You need at least one.
  8. Make tea. Either seat can make one tea per die in three brew sockets, using any value; the pool holds three. Before placing, Tea up or Tea down spends shared tea to change a die by one, within 1 to 6.
  9. Spend a knot. Press Knot during your turn to throw both seats’ unplaced dice again, secretly. Receive knots at marks 6 and 2.
  10. End the round. After eight placements, the trim, oars, horn and brew sockets empty and the tide falls one mark. Fenders, reefs and lines stay filled. The barge must be at the berth when the tide reaches mark 0, and it does not move in the last round.
Condition What must be true
Clear river No boat remains anywhere on the river.
Fenders ready All three fenders are filled.
Sail ready All four reefs are filled.
Level trim The barge is level.
Safe final speed Speed does not exceed the last filled line; at least one line is filled.

You lose early by leaning three steps, leaving a reach holding a boat, passing the berth, missing mandatory sockets or arriving late.

Tips and warnings

  • Fill essentials. Each round needs both trim and both oar dice.
  • Read placed dice. Your teammate’s unused values stay hidden.
  • Watch your time. Each placement allows 60 seconds; the game places a die if time expires.
  • Use shared tea. You can spend tea your teammate made.
  • Check the result. The end screen marks all five conditions as pass or fail.

Warning: Never tell your teammate your numbers. Read what they place instead.

Questions people ask

Can I play Sky Team online for free?

  • Sky Team: Board Game Arena is free, and a free account can join or open tables. You do not need Premium.
  • Wherrymere on Tavernly: You can play free with a friend or a bot, with no account required.

Do I need to download anything?

Sky Team on Board Game Arena runs in your browser. Wherrymere on Tavernly also runs in a browser, so neither route needs a game download. Our Steam and US App Store searches found no Sky Team board game listing to install.

Can I play with a friend?

You can play Sky Team with a teammate through Board Game Arena. For Wherrymere on Tavernly, create a private table and send its invite link. Wait until your friend takes the second seat before starting; a bot takes an empty seat.

Can I play alone?

Wherrymere on Tavernly lets you take one seat while a bot handles the other. Choose Easy, Medium or Hard before starting your quick game. You remain one team, so both seats win or lose together. There is no personal score to beat.

Can I play on a phone?

Wherrymere on Tavernly runs in a phone browser. We did not test Sky Team on Board Game Arena using a phone, and we couldn't find a Sky Team app on the App Store or Google Play.

How many people can play?

Sky Team takes exactly two players, according to Board Game Arena and the publisher. Wherrymere on Tavernly also has two seats on one team. You can fill them with two people or one person and a bot; its private table has two seats.

Sources

Wherrymere is not affiliated with or endorsed by the owner of Sky Team. Sky Team is a trademark of its owner. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

If you want the physical game, here is Sky Team on Amazon.