Fair Play Rules
Headwinds is a game about outsmarting real people, and it only works when everyone plays straight. These are the ground rules for competing in a Headwinds world — mostly common decency, plus a few specifics that keep the competition fair for everyone.
- One airline per world, per player.
- One account per person — play as yourself.
- Treat every rival with respect.
- Compete hard, but compete fair — no cheats, exploits, or bots.
- Keep airline names, alliance names, and messages clean.
- The server is the referee, and its word is final.
One airline per world, per player
You get a single airline in any given world, and the game holds you to it. Running more than one airline in the same world — whether to gang up on a rival, funnel one carrier's growth into another, or stack an alliance — isn't allowed, and neither is using a second account to get around it. Play in as many separate worlds as you like; just keep it to one airline in each.
One account, and it's yours
Sign in as yourself and stick to one account. Don't share, sell, buy, or borrow accounts, and don't create extra ones. Your airlines are tied to your account so they follow you across worlds and devices — that only holds up when the account really is just you.
Treat other players with respect
Every rival is a real person. Compete with them, taunt them across the standings, undercut their fares — that's the game, and it's encouraged. Harassment, hate speech, threats, slurs, and personal abuse are not, whether in direct messages, alliance chat, or anywhere else players can see. If you wouldn't say it across a table, don't send it.
Keep names and messages clean
Airline names, alliance names, and anything else you type where others will read it should stay clear of hate, harassment, obscenity, and impersonation. Don't name your airline to attack another player, and don't pose as someone you're not.
Compete fair — no cheating
Win by flying a better airline, not by breaking the game. Don't exploit bugs or loopholes for an edge; if you find one, tell us so we can fix it rather than farming it. Don't use bots, scripts, or automation to play for you, and don't try to tamper with the game's data — a world's true state lives on the server, so there are no save files to edit anyway.
Don't spam
Messaging has limits — a cap on length and on how many you can send in an hour — to keep conversations useful and inboxes sane. Don't try to work around them, and don't flood players or alliance boards. Anyone you'd rather not hear from, you're free to block.
Deals are yours to keep — or break
Alliances, handshake truces, and carve-ups of the map are part of the fun, and the game leaves them up to you: it won't enforce a promise, and a rival is always free to walk away or turn on you. That's fair play, not foul. What crosses the line is using deal-making as cover for the conduct above — threats, harassment, or coordinating a second account.
Play like a good sport
Someone will always be ahead of you, and someday it'll be you ahead of them. Win without gloating, lose without lashing out, and help new players find their feet. A world full of good sports is a better game for everyone in it — including you.
If the rules get broken
Play that spoils the game for everyone else — cheating, abuse, or running multiple airlines in a world — can cost you your airline, your account, or your access to Headwinds. We'd far rather you just play well.
The fastest way to flag someone breaking these rules is the Report button in-game — it sends us the details along with who and where, so we can look into it. For bugs or anything else, the Discord is the best place to reach us.
Join a World — It's Free →