Cardboard Corner: Review of Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Airport Game

Eeeerrrwhoaaa… That was a child making a zooming airplane sound. Trust me. I know because I’ve played Richard Scary’s Busytown: Busy, Busy Airport (2011) many times with my kids, and every time it sounds like that.

A lightly competitive, children’s game, Busy, Busy Airport sees 2-4 players taking turns to load passengers into their airplanes for trips to various locations that have been scattered around your house, trying to collect the most souvenirs. Have the most souvenirs, or the most souvenir points (depending how “advanced” you want to play), and you win. Turns very simple, players roll two dice, and if lucky, face the choice of loading a passenger (or two, depending on the dice roll) or going to a location (or two, depending on dice roll) to drop off a passenger. Each passenger dropped off is exchanged for a souvenir. In the simple version, players can simply count souvenirs, the player with the most the winner. The more advanced game sees players counting the points on the souvenir cards, which are numbered 1-4. Players who arrive at a location naturally take the highest numbered souvenir(s) available in an effort to add to their points as much as possible.

Busy, Busy Airport is entirely appropriate for children as young as three (as long as they are able to focus for 15-20 minutes and have enough self-control not to handle the game roughly). Adults can easily work with young children to make the game appropriate for them, and in the process teach basic things like counting 1-4, taking turns, and memory. For more advanced brains, there is also the option of simple math (as described previously). There are also simple tactics. Should I go now with only two passengers, or wait until next turn to see if I can load one more for potentially a higher number of souvenirs? For adults it’s easy. But for small children such decisions help them understand luck, future planning, and the potential value of patience. In turn, children can teach parents how to properly make an airplane noise.

The components of Busy, Busy Airport are the definition of two-edged sword. At first parents will think: Wow, these are amazing! The passengers fit into the 3D airplanes. There is a cargo hold for souvenirs. The box doubles as an airport, complete with dice tower. Wow! But with time, the flimsiness of the components starts to show. After about thirty playthroughs, our planes are bent and unglued in certain places. The passengers and souvenirs have severely worn edges and are likewise bent. Again, the ideas behind them are fantastic. They feel great in the hand flying to different locations. They just weren’t made for the wear and tear four and five year olds are going to give them. It’s good consolation that despite being bent and falling apart, they still fly—imagination truly the only thing needed.

Regardless the component quality, Busy, Busy, Airport is a huge hit with our children. They love zooming around the house. Where is the forest? Where is the mountain? Collecting souvenirs most often takes a back seat to just good ol’ flying. My dear daughter, you dropped off your passenger, but did you remember a souvenir? No is a good answer here because it means she gets to fly back to pick it up. For kids, and the kid in you, the game comes highly recommended. Eeeerrrwhoaaa…