Components

• 1game board
• 85 tracks
• 35 city cards in 5 colors
• 6start markers to mark the track networks
• 6 locomotives as scoring markers
• 1 starting player card 1game rules

Setup

• Place the game board in the middle of the table.

• Place 1 track as a barrier on the red double-line 1 on the scoring track. The barrier marks the game end.

• Place the remaining 84 tracks next to the board as a supply for all.

• Each player chooses a color, places the start marker in that color on the table before him, and places the locomotive in that color as a scoring marker on the engine house.

• With 2 or 3 players, remove the 10 city cards 2 (2 per color) marked with dashed borders and place them back in the box. They will not be used in the game.

• Shuffle all 35 (or 25) city cards and spread them out on the game board face-down as shown above 3. Each player takes 5 different colored cards (1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow, 1 green, 1 blue) and looks at them secretly. Set the untaken cards aside (face-down) to be used in the next round.

• Choose a starting player by any method you want. This player places the starting player card before himself on the table.

Object of the Game

Each player tries to connect his 5 cities with a network of tracks.

As soon as a player has done this, the round ends. The other players lose points. At the end of the game, the player who has the most points left is the winner!

Game Play

The starting player begins, and the others follow in clockwise order.

In the first turn, each player places his start marker on the track junction of his choice. This may be on a city. The start marker is the starting point for each player's track network.

From there, players build track:

Building Rules

Per turn, each player may lay either:

• 1 or 2 tracks on unoccupied single lines (over flat Land) A or

• 1 track on an unoccupied double line (as a bridge over a river B or as a tunnel through a mountain C )

Each player may play track only on the track network that is connected to his start marker. Thus, he must play next to his marker or next to track connected to his marker.

Each player must Lay at at least one track in each turn.

Notes:

• Players may connect their networks to others and then use the connected networks as their own (see example above).

• A player may lay track anywhere on his connected network.

• If a player lays two tracks, they may be placed together or in separate places in the network.

End of the Round

When all 5 of a player's cities are connected, the round ends. The player then shows his 5 city cards.

Exception: a player lays his 1st track (over flat land) and, thereby, connects the 5th city for one or more opponents. He may play a second track (on flat land), before the round ends.

Extremely rare: The round also ends when all 84 tracks have been laid.

Scoring a Round

At the end of the round, the players who did not connect all their cities lose points for each missing track to their unconnected cities:

• 1 minus point for each missing track over a single line (flat Land).
• 2 minus points for each missing track over a double line (river or mountain).

Notes:

• Players may use all tracks on the board (most favorable) when calculating their minus points.

• Players do not actually Lay missing track.

• For each minus point, a player moves his locomotive one space in the direction of the barrier.

• Locomotives may share the same space and may pass other locomotives on the scoring track.

Preparation for the Next Round

Remove all tracks from the board. Each player takes his start marker back. Shuffle the 35 (or 25) city cards as before.

Each player takes 5 different colored city cards as before. •The player with the starting player card gives it to the player on his Left, who begins the new round.

Only After The 2nd Round

If, after the second round scoring, the player with the Least points has 4 or more points, move the barrier to the right to a space that is two spaces from the locomotive of the player with the least points as shown below.

End of the Game

The game ends after several rounds when at least one player's Locomotive has passed the barrier. The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

If several players tie, they share in the joy of victory.

Continue Reading