Holiday Games

Three game-show front ends for choosing a January 2027 European break for two. All read the same researched spreadsheet, so they always show the same prices.

• The Great January Getaway (/january-getaway) is a tongue-in-cheek Saturday-night prize show: conveyor belt, guess the price, Keep / Maybe / Bin and a Grand Final.
• Blind Flight (/blind-flight) is a retro dating-show parody. Each episode hides three destinations behind a screen. The host asks them questions, each traveller secretly picks one, and only then are they unmasked.
• The Great British Getaway Show (/getaway-show) is a late-1980s Saturday-evening game-show parody: a tile-flip picture reveal, higher-or-lower price duels, a dartboard of wildcards, private two-person ballots and a grand final.

All prices are indicative totals for two, observed on 23 October 2026. They are not live fares. Every price and link needs rechecking before you book.

Games on this site

The home page (/) lists every game. The January Getaway lives at /january-getaway, Blind Flight at /blind-flight and the Getaway Show at /getaway-show.

To add a game, give it its own folder under src/app/ and add an entry to src/lib/games.ts. Set comingSoon: true to show it on the home page before it is playable.

Running it locally

You will need Node 20 or later.

npm install
npm run dev          # http://localhost:3000
npm test             # data and logic checks
node tests/e2e/getaway-show.smoke.cjs   # browser play-through; needs `npm start` running and Playwright installed
npm run typecheck
npm run build        # production build, as Vercel runs it

Where the data lives

File	What it holds	How it changes
data/source/January_2027_Europe_Holidays_Updated_Flexible_Flight_Times.xlsx	The authoritative workbook	Replace it with a newer version
src/data/assumptions.json	Baggage per adult, transfers for two, observation date, travel window	Edit by hand
src/data/itineraries.json	Every flight-and-room combination, normalised	Generated by npm run import-data. Do not edit by hand
src/data/destinations.ts	Intros, highlights, cautions, typical January weather, photo paths, and which destinations appear in the show	Edit by hand
src/data/imageCredits.json	Photographer and licence for each photo	Edit when you change a photo
public/images/destinations/	Destination photographs (Wikimedia Commons)	Add or replace JPEGs

The importer reads two sheets:

• Viable itineraries: 20 priced trips and 25 scheduled but unpriced trips.
• Connections to verify: 16 destinations with a room quote but no established flights.

It recomputes each total as (fare per person × 2) + room + (baggage × 2) + transfers. It then checks the result against the workbook's own With extras / two column and warns about any mismatch. At present all 20 match to the penny.

A total is only produced when the workbook has a fare for those exact dates. Anything else has a null total. The site then shows "Flight price not verified" or "Needs manual review" and never borrows a price from another itinerary.

Updating a price

1. Edit the fare or room cell in the workbook's Viable itineraries sheet, or drop in a new workbook with the same sheet layout.
2. Run npm run import-data.
3. Run npm test. One test asserts that the recomputed totals equal the workbook's totals, so it will flag an edit made in only one place.
4. Update pricesObservedOn in src/data/assumptions.json if the observation date has changed.

Changing the extras assumptions

Edit baggagePerAdultGBP or transfersForTwoGBP in src/data/assumptions.json, then run npm run import-data. The importer will warn that totals now differ from the workbook. That is expected. The data test will also fail until the workbook column agrees, which stops the two sources drifting apart without anyone noticing.

Changing who is in the show

Each entry in src/data/destinations.ts has a role:

• main: on the conveyor belt and in the price round. The default itinerary must be priced; a test enforces this.
• mystery: the bonus round. These have no matched fare, so the reveal says "Flight price awaiting confirmation".
• extra: Sensible mode only.

The order of main entries is the order of the belt. A destination with several date or airport options gets one card with a date picker, not separate cards. Itineraries are attached automatically by destinationId. preferredItineraryId pins which one shows first; otherwise the cheapest priced option is used.

To add a destination, add a mapping in DESTINATION_IDS in scripts/import-holiday-data.ts, add an entry to destinations.ts, and rerun the importer.

The January Getaway price round

Both contestants guess every priced prize. Each types a masked guess for two and locks it in, then the other takes the phone. Either can be skipped, and the price can be revealed at any point.

Points scale with the price: within 5% scores 10, within 10% scores 6 and within 20% scores 3. The closest guess that does not go over earns 2 more, shared on a tie. Points are entertainment only.

On a phone, the reasons to go, the caution and the weather fold away until the price is revealed. You can open them at any time.

Saves from the one-guess version keep their revealed guesses and points. An unrevealed guess from such a save is dropped, as it was never locked in.

Photos

Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under CC BY, CC BY-SA or CC0 licences. Credits are shown on each photo and listed in the site footer. If a photo is missing or fails to load, the card shows a designed poster-style fallback instead.

Blind Flight

The brief is in docs/BLIND_FLIGHT_BUILD_BRIEF.md.

How a game runs

1. On the title screen you choose a two-person game (the default) or quick play, with optional nicknames.
2. The show has four episodes of three hidden contestants. Each new show shuffles the line-up: who shares a stage, the running order and the seats. The shuffle never puts two contestants from the same country, or from the same themed episode, on one stage. The shuffle is seeded and saved, so a reload keeps the same show. Shuffle the line-up on the episode list deals again before anything has been played. You watch each episode together: every contestant gives a one-liner, then answers the host's three questions. Answer n is clue n from profiles.ts.
3. When the host calls time, Traveller 1 picks one contestant in secret and guesses which city it really is, from four options. A right guess scores 4 points on the one-liners alone, down to 1 after all three questions. Traveller 1 then passes the phone. A full-screen cover hides the choice. Traveller 1 can change their mind until the phone is passed. Traveller 2 then picks from the same three.
4. The reveal unmasks the contestants nobody chose first, then anyone one of you chose, then a mutual choice. Each reveal card shows the photo, pitch, price and the awkward bit. Dates, flights, hotel, weather, links and the price breakdown sit behind "Full details".
5. Once everyone is unmasked there is a price duel over your date, whose price stays hidden until then. Each of you types a masked guess for two. Closest without going over scores 2, plus 1 within 5%. Unpriced dates have no duel, and you can skip it.
6. The episode ends with It's a Match! (you both chose the same contestant) or a Split decision. Choose again clears the choices and keeps the contestants unmasked and the points banked.
7. Results list the matches, the split decisions and everyone left on the podium. Anything can be reconsidered. A scoreboard runs throughout. Points never change a match.
8. The grand final (/blind-flight/final) starts with a second chance each: rescue one contestant nobody chose, or decline. Then you each choose the holiday in secret from everyone still standing. Agreement crowns the winner. In a split, the scoreboard leader may use a casting vote, or you can talk it over in the comparison.
9. The comparison shows two to four finalists side by side. You can copy, share or download a CSV summary, which leaves out nicknames.

Quick play has one shared choice per episode and produces a shortlist, never a "match".

"I refuse to participate in this nonsense" opens Sensible mode at /blind-flight/holidays. It lists every itinerary in the travel window with filters for budget, nights, airport, trip type, price status and route.

Routes

Route	Screen
/blind-flight	Title screen and mode choice
/blind-flight/show	All episodes and their outcomes
/blind-flight/episode/[id]	One episode: questions, secret choices, handover and reveal
/blind-flight/show/[id]	One contestant's full profile, once their identity is public
/blind-flight/results	Matches, split decisions and the scoreboard
/blind-flight/final	Second chances, the secret final choice and the winner
/blind-flight/compare	Grand final comparison
/blind-flight/contenders	More eligible contenders to add as a bonus round
/blind-flight/holidays	Sensible mode
/blind-flight/about	About these prices

Every route works on reload, with Back, and when opened directly. Pages that depend on the whole show say so until every episode is decided.

Where things live

File	What it holds
src/blind-flight/data/profiles.ts	Dating-show copy for each featured contestant: one-liner, three clues, pitch, awkward truth
src/blind-flight/data/episodes.ts	Episode titles, presenter lines and casts
src/blind-flight/data/copy.ts	Presenter copy bank and the host's three questions
src/blind-flight/lib/cast.ts	Which trips can appear, variants per destination, episodes and cautions
src/blind-flight/lib/cost.ts	Price breakdown and the quick-play duel badges
src/blind-flight/lib/state.ts	Game state, actions and selectors
src/blind-flight/lib/persistence.ts	Saving to localStorage, with a schema version and clean-up on load

Facts are not duplicated. Names, countries, photos, highlights, typical weather and cautions come from src/data/destinations.ts. Prices, dates, flights, hotels and links come from src/data/itineraries.json. Update a price once with npm run import-data and both games pick it up.

Changing the cast

• To change who is featured, edit the cast arrays in episodes.ts. Shuffled shows draw on the same twelve contestants and take their titles from mixedEpisodes. The themed episodes still run as written for a show started before shuffling existed. Each destination needs a profile in profiles.ts with three clues. A test checks this. Clues run from broad to a strong hint. No one-liner or clue may name a city or country in the show, or a landmark that settles the guess. A test checks this against a list of giveaways in tests/blind-flight.test.ts.
• A destination drops out of the show automatically if it has no trip in the travel window. An empty episode is skipped.
• Every other destination with an eligible trip appears under More eligible contenders. Adding one creates a bonus round. These arrive already revealed, with no clues.
• Trips from the Connections to verify sheet have no established flights. They appear in Sensible mode only.
• A destination with several date or airport options is one contestant with a "Pick your dates" switch.

Saved progress

State is saved under the blind-flight:v3 key with schemaVersion: 3. Saves from the old ballot version are ignored. A shuffled show saved before the balanced deal keeps its original line-up until it is reshuffled or reset. On load, anything unreadable, from another schema version, or pointing at a destination that no longer exists is dropped. Use Reset the whole show in the footer, or Start again on the title screen.

Two-person play works on one phone only. Nothing syncs between devices.

The Great British Getaway Show

The brief is in docs/GETAWAY_SHOW_BUILD_BRIEF.md. It is broadcast on GBC, the Getaway Broadcasting Corporation, a fictional channel. Round names, artwork, lettering and presenter lines are original.

How a game runs

1. The title screen offers Roll the titles, Skip the nonsense (the table) and What do these prices include?. A saved show offers Resume show and Start again.
2. Members of the audience: the two-person edition (default) or the quick edition, with optional nicknames.
3. Round 1, Catch a Flight. Twelve featured destinations, in a shuffled running order for each new show. Each hides a real photo under nine numbered tiles. Show me a bit more flips one tile, and every third tile adds a clue. Either traveller can buzz in once per picture and choose from four cities: the real one, one from the same broadcast group and two from the rest of the show. A right answer scores a point for each tile still covered: 9 before any tile is flipped, down to 1. A wrong answer locks that traveller out and leaves the picture up for the other to steal. Reveal the city works at any time. The info card gives three reasons, the catch, dates and flight evidence, and informal bookmarks.
4. Round 2, Play Your Flights Right. Six higher-or-lower duels along a price ladder of priced destinations. The ladder is shuffled for each new show, so different destinations meet in each duel. Traveller A calls higher or lower, then Traveller B calls without seeing A's call. The price appears once both have called, and a right call scores 3. Show both prices settles a duel with no points. Every reveal shows the total for two, a breakdown and the research date. A wrong guess eliminates nothing.
5. Round 3, The Holiday Bullseye. Six board segments, picked by button or by Throw the dart. Each pick brings on one or two destinations not yet shown, drawn at random, or says All prizes claimed. Wildcards can be added to the ballot with Total unknown showing. More destinations lists everyone else.
6. Round 4, The Nation Has Voted. Traveller A votes Yes, Maybe or No, locks in and passes the phone. Traveller B votes without A's votes anywhere on screen. The results stay sealed until Reveal the results.
7. Results: The public have spoken (Yes + Yes), A grower, not a shower (Yes + Maybe, Maybe + Maybe), Controversy in the studio (Yes or Maybe against No), Did not make it past the auditions (No + No) and Not voted. A missing vote is never a No. Either ballot can be edited privately.
8. Grand final, Here's What You Could Have Flown. Up to three finalists side by side, ranked by votes. You can reorder by cheapest, simplest journey, most time there, winter escape or cafés and culture; anything that cannot be compared is labelled. You choose the winner, which produces a printable certificate. Print, Copy comparison and Copy the shortlist all work offline.

The quick edition has one shared ballot and gives Favourites, Maybes and Passes. It never calls anything a match. It also has one shared buzz per picture and one shared call per duel.

Studio points, price duels and the dartboard never change the ranking. Only votes do. Each traveller's studio points show after each round and on the results.

A show saved before the buzzers keeps its revealed pictures and its tiles. Its old "We got it" points named nobody, so they are dropped. An old shared price call counts for both travellers.

Every stage has Previous, Skip round, Go to sensible comparison and Enough nonsense — see the table. The lightning button skips animations; the speaker button turns on optional sound.

Routes

Route	Screen
/getaway-show	Title screen and pre-show
/getaway-show/catch-a-flight	Round 1
/getaway-show/higher-or-lower	Round 2
/getaway-show/bullseye	Round 3
/getaway-show/vote	Round 4: ballots and handover
/getaway-show/results	Results
/getaway-show/final	Grand final and certificate
/getaway-show/holidays	Every eligible itinerary, sortable and filterable
/getaway-show/about	What the prices include

Where things live

File	What it holds
src/getaway-show/data/contestants.ts	Presenter setup, three clues, pitch and the catch for each featured destination; photo notes
src/getaway-show/data/show.ts	Broadcast groups, the price ladder, board segments and board tags
src/getaway-show/data/copy.ts	Presenter lines
src/getaway-show/lib/cast.ts	Which trips can appear, date variants, duel trips and board pools
src/getaway-show/lib/cost.ts	Price breakdown. Uses the workbook total once and never recomputes it
src/getaway-show/lib/matching.ts	The two-person outcome rules
src/getaway-show/lib/state.ts	Game state, actions and selectors
src/getaway-show/lib/persistence.ts	Saving to localStorage under great-british-getaway-show:v3, with clean-up on load
src/getaway-show/lib/summary.ts	Copy and share text

Facts are shared with the other games. Names, countries, photos, highlights and typical weather come from src/data/destinations.ts. Prices, dates, flights, hotels and links come from src/data/itineraries.json.

Changing the show

• To change the Round 1 cast, edit broadcastGroups in show.ts. Each featured destination needs a full entry in contestants.ts. A test checks that the clues never name the city.
• To change the price duels, edit priceLadder. Each card is compared with the one before it. Unpriced or repeated entries are dropped, so the number of duels follows the data.
• Board tags for "very old buildings", "possibly hypothermia", "I require sunshine" and "eat your way round" are in boardTags. "Cheap as chips" is worked out from prices (up to CHEAP_CEILING_GBP). "The curious wildcard" is every show destination with no priced trip.
• A destination with several date or airport options is one contestant with a Pick your dates switch. Changing dates resets any duel that destination is in. Votes stay.

Screenshots

Taken at iPhone width (375 px) by the smoke test: docs/screenshots/getaway-show/.

Title	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3

Handover	Results	Grand final

Deploying to Vercel

The app is a standard Next.js 15 App Router project. It needs no environment variables, database or API keys.

1. Push this repository to GitHub.
2. In Vercel, choose Add New → Project, then import the GitHub repository.
3. Accept the detected Next.js settings and deploy.
4. Every pull request then gets a preview URL. The production branch deploys to the main URL.

Saved progress

Each new game shuffles its running order: the conveyor belt and the mystery contestants here, and the Round 1 order, the Round 2 pairings and the board draws in the Great British Getaway Show. The shuffle is seeded and saved, so a refresh keeps the same order. It is fixed once anything has been judged or revealed. A game saved before shuffling existed keeps the workbook order until it is reset.

Guesses, decisions, the chosen dates, contestant names and settings are saved in the browser's localStorage. Nothing leaves the device. Progress survives a refresh but does not sync between phones. Use Reset the whole show in the footer to start again.

Accessibility and motion

• Sound is off by default and is synthesised in the browser. No audio files are used.
• The belt respects the device's reduced-motion setting, and the sparkle button in the header overrides it either way. With reduced motion the belt does not run on its own, and you move through it with the arrow buttons or the arrow keys.
• All controls are buttons or form fields reachable by keyboard, with visible focus rings and 44 px touch targets.

Known limitations

• Flight links in the workbook are mostly generic Skyscanner, Expedia route or FlightsFrom timetable pages, not dated deep links. The site labels them as such.
• Several priced fares were indexed or detailed quotes, not reconfirmed live availability. Flight times for most priced options were not recorded.
• Weather lines describe typical January climate from general knowledge. They are not forecasts.
• Points in the price round are entertainment only and do not rank the holidays.
• Independent voting on two phones, live fares and shared links are not built in any game.
• Eight unpriced Getaway Show wildcards (Santander, Istanbul, Alicante, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Barcelona, Geneva and Zurich) have no photo yet and use the designed poster fallback.
• The repository has no ESLint set-up, so there is no npm run lint. npm run typecheck and npm run build cover type and build errors.
• Blind Flight's clues and pitches are editorial copy checked against general knowledge, not against the workbook.