Components
- 1 Game Board
- 5 Player Boards
- 162 Locomotives 52 Wooden Passengers
- 6 Tracker Disks
- 1 Hexagon
- 15 Player Disks
- 1 Round Marker
- Instructions
Setup
1 Place the game board in the center of the table.
3 Place the 6 Tracker disks and white Hexagon Tracker on their matching spaces on the counting chart on the game board.
4 Place the locomotives next to the game board.
5 Players choose a color and take the matching player board and player disks.
6 Players place one disk on each zero space on both money tracks.
7 Randomly place each player's third disk on the turn order track.
8 Place the round marker on the round 1 space.
Object of the Game
The game ends at the end of the 6th round. The player with the most money is the winner.
Game Play
The game is played over 6 rounds divided into 3 phases each:
Take a Share: each player must take a locomotive from the available supply as a Share of that Railroad's stock.
Build Railroad Track: each player may build Railroad track.
Ride the Rails: each player must transport a Passenger to a city, paying Dividends to Shareholders. Money is recorded by moving your disk on the track around the edge of the board.
Once the round is completed, turn order is adjusted, and, after each of the first four rounds, an additional Railroad is added to the game.
A. Phase 1: Take a Share
In reverse turn order, each player takes one locomotive of any available color and places it in the leftmost matching Railroad row on their player board. This is now a Share in that Railroad.
The icons to the right of the Round Marker (right) show which Railroads are available in each round. In the first round, only Red and Blue locomotives are available. You may build track for and receive points from that Railroad.
 Available locomotives are shown to the right of the Round Marker. |
B. Phase 2: Build Railroad Track
In turn order, players may place locomotives on the game board during their turn. The maximum number of locomotives a player may place depends on the number of players:
- 3 players - up to 8 locomotives
- 4 players - up to 5 locomotives
- 5 players - up to 4 locomotives
If a player builds track in a Mountain hex (or hexes), the total number of locomotives able to be placed by that player is reduced by one. The reduction is only ever one placement, no matter how many Mountain hexes are placed on in a turn.
- 3 players - up to 7 locomotives
- 4 players - up to 4 locomotives
- 5 players - up to 3 locomotives
If a player has already placed all but one of their locomotives in a turn, they are not permitted to place their last one on a Mountain hex, as this would exceed the reduced total of locomotives allowed.
The player must own at least one Share in a Railroad to build track for that Railroad. Players can place locomotives of any number of Railroads they own Shares in, as long as they do not place more than the maximum number.
In the first round of play, the Red and Blue Railroads are available.
The Red and Blue Railroads cannot begin in the same city and must start in one of the six multi-colored East Coast cities.
Placement Rules
The first locomotive of any given Railroad must be placed in one of the cities that displays its color.
Except for the first locomotive placed, each placed locomotive must connect adjacently to at least one of that Railroad's existing locomotives.
A Railroad may only have one locomotive in a hex. Each hex holds a maximum of two locomotives, except Chicago. There is no limit to the number of locomotives permitted in Chicago.
The six multi-colored East Coast cities (displaying Blue, Red, Orange, and Black Railroads) may only hold one locomotive-as indicated-and a Railroad may only occupy up to two of these cities.
There are reminders of these placement rules and restrictions on the board:
Additional Railroads
Each round, except for the 6th and final round, a new Railroad becomes available. Each Railroad's initial placement is different:
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In the second round of play, the Orange Railroad becomes available. This Railroad may start in any of the 6 multi-colored East Coast cities or in Chicago.
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In the third round of play, the Yellow Railroad becomes available. This Railroad must start in Chicago or in one of the three westernmost occupied cities. Prior to building, the westernmost city must have one, and only one, locomotive in the hex.
Chicago, as usual, may hold any number. Which cities are westernmost is determined the moment the first Yellow locomotive would be placed on the game board.
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In the fourth round of play, the Purple Railroad becomes available. The Purple Railroad must start in one of the four Purple & Black western cities.
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In the fifth round of play, the Black Railroad becomes available. The Black Railroad may start in any city that does not already contain 2 locomotives, or it may also start in Chicago.
Remember, if the Railroad's color is shown on a city hex, it means that Railroad can start their network on that city.
The only exception to this is the Yellow Railroad, which may be placed on one of the westernmost cities as described above.
Building Bonuses
Chicago: Whenever a player builds track in Chicago, they immediately receive $2. Record these on the track surrounding the board. This is also true when building track for the first time with a new Railroad.
If its initial placement is in Chicago, that player receives $2. Move that player's dollar marker up two spaces on the track.
$5 Cities: Each of the four cities with a green $5 banner immediately gives $5 to the first player to build track into that city. No bonus is given if another Railroad builds into the city, or if a Railroad starts in the city.
Transcontinental: The first player to make a Transcontinental connection-where a line of track comprised of different Railroads connects a West Coast Purple & Black city to one of the six multi-colored East Coast cities-immediately receives the Transcontinental bonus.
If the Railroads connect in a city hex, the bonus is $12. However, if the Railroads connect in any other hex, the bonus is $8. The Transcontinental bonus is only paid once and to the player who makes the connection.
C. Phase 3: Ride the Rails
In turn order, each player selects one Passenger and transports it from the city they are in to another city. The player decides the starting city (which must contain the Passenger) and the ending city.
The player must be able to trace a route of locomotives from the Passenger's starting city to their ending city via Links. A Link is a path of locomotives belonging to a single Railroad that connects two cities.
A player does not need to own Shares in a Railroad to use its Links, although using a Railroad's Link will give money to that Railroad's shareholders. The route may pass through multiple cities, and the Links can belong to any number of different Railroads.
No looping is allowed-each hex may only be visited once during the journey. Additionally, the player decides through which Railroad's Links the Passenger travels.
Every Railroad whose Links were used will pay out dividends. Each Railroad will pay out $1 for each Link used to every player per matching share that they own.
Example: If the Passenger passed through 2 Links belonging to the Red Railroad and 1 Link belonging to the Blue Railroad, every player who had at least one share in the Red Railroad would earn $2 for each Red share that they own and every player who had at least one share in the Blue Railroad would earn $1 for each Blue share that they own.
Finally, add the total number of Links traveled through for the entire journey and add 1. This is the number of cities visited, including the starting and ending cities. The player who transported the Passenger receives that number of dollars on the money track.
On Counting Link Dollars
When counting the number of Links, use the respective colored Tracker disks on the chart to easily keep track of the number of Links traveled through by each Railroad.
For each Link used on the journey, increase that Railroad's value by one. Every time you move a Tracker upwards, also move the hexagonal Tracker an equal number of spaces.
When you have finished moving all of the markers, the hexagonal Tracker will show how many dollars the active player earns from transporting the Passenger (the +1 is already added because the hexagonal Tracker starts on the one position of the track).
Each other Tracker will show how many dollars are paid to players for each matching share they have.
When finished, move the Tracker disks back to zero and return the hexagonal Tracker back to the 1 space.
If at any point a player's total dollars exceeds $100, move their second scoring disk to the appropriate space on the 100s money track.
End of the Round
Adjust Turn Order and Introduce New Railroads
The player with the least amount of money becomes first player for the next round. Adjust the order based on players' total dollar amounts, from lowest to highest.
The player with the most money will play last. In the case of ties, swap player positions. Adjust the turn order track on the game board to reflect the new turn order for the next round. Advance the Round Marker to the next round.
At the end of the first, second, third, and fourth rounds, an additional Railroad becomes available to obtain Shares in and build:
At the end of round 1, Orange locomotives become available.
At the end of round 2, Yellow locomotives become available. At the end of round 3, Purple locomotives become available.
At the end of round 4, Black locomotives become available.
End of the Game
The game ends at the end of the 6th round. The player with the most money, as indicated on the track around the edge of the board, wins the game. Ties are possible.
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