How to Play Layover
A daily routing puzzle. Build a multi-stop itinerary to the day's end airport, clear three challenges, and fly cheaper and faster to push your score toward 100.
Build today's route →The rules
Layover hands you a start airport and a required end airport. You build the route in between, choosing a destination and a flight for each leg and chaining them together until you arrive. Along the way you try to clear the day's three challenges while keeping your spend and your flying time down.
- Chain legs to the end airport. Each hop is a real flight; keep going until you land where the day requires.
- Clear three challenges. Themes range across geography, airlines, aircraft, timing, airports, and distance.
- Mind the budget. Every leg costs money against a fixed budget.
- Mind the clock. Total travel time counts against a time cap.
How the /100 breaks down
- Challenges — up to 60. 20 points for each of the three challenges you pass (0, 20, 40, or 60).
- Budget — up to 20. (1 − spent ÷ budget) × 20. Spend nothing and you keep all 20; use the whole budget and you keep none.
- Time — up to 20. (1 − minutes ÷ cap) × 20. The faster your itinerary, the more of these points you keep.
Strategy tips
- Read all three challenges before you book anything — some are easiest to satisfy on a specific leg, so plan the route around them.
- Direct is usually cheaper and faster, but an extra stop can be worth it if it unlocks a 20-point challenge.
- Because budget and time scale linearly, shaving a little off each leg adds up — there is no "safe" threshold to coast to.
- Balance is everything: a perfect-score route clears all three challenges while still landing well under both the budget and the time cap.
FAQ
What is Layover?
Layover is a daily routing game. You build a multi-stop flight itinerary, hopping airport to airport until you reach the day's required end airport. The route that clears the daily challenges while spending less money and less time scores highest.
How is a Layover score out of 100 split up?
Sixty points come from challenges — 20 for each of the three you pass. Up to 20 more come from budget, scaling with how little you spend, and up to 20 from time, scaling with how fast you fly. The two resource scores are linear, not pass/fail.
What are the three Layover challenges?
Each puzzle draws three challenges from themes like geography, airlines, aircraft, timing, airports, and distance. Passing one is worth 20 points, so clearing all three is the 60-point core of a strong score.
How do budget and time affect my Layover score?
Budget scores (1 − spent ÷ budget) × 20, so spending nothing earns the full 20 and using the entire budget earns 0. Time works the same way against a time cap — faster routes keep more of the 20 points.
Is Layover free?
Yes. The daily puzzle is free to play. An account lets you save progress and appear on the leaderboard.