18US Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 General Course of the Game
    • 1.1.1 The Early ("Eastern") Period
    • 1.1.2 The Middle ("Western") Period
    • 1.1.3 The Final ("National") Period
  • 1.2 Game Components
  • 1.3 How to Win
  • 1.4 Player Etiquette
• 2. General Course of Play
• 3. Setting Up and Starting the Game
  • 3.1 Setting up the Game
  • 3.2 Eastern Railroad Convention (ERRC)
  • 3.3 Eastern Concessions
  • 3.4 Initial Stock Round
  • 3.5 Eastern Companies
  • 3.6 Initial Operating Rounds
  • 3.7 Stock Round
• 4. The Stock Market
  • 4.1 Shares, Share Certificates, and Limits on Ownership
  • 4.2 Movement of Stock Prices
• 5. Sequence of Play—Stock Round
  • 5.1 Selling Stock
  • 5.2 Buying Stock
  • 5.3 Starting and Floating a Company
  • 5.4 Change in Presidency
  • 5.5 Ending the Stock Round
• 6. Sequence of Play—Operating Round
  • 6.1 Buy Concessions
  • 6.2 Place or Upgrade Track
    • 6.2.1 Tile Placement and Tile Upgrades
    • 6.2.2 Junction Towns
  • 6.3 Company Conversion
    • 6.3.1 Eastern Companies
    • 6.3.2 Land Grant Companies
  • 6.4 Additional Token Placement
    • 6.4.1 Doubling ("x2") Tokens
    • 6.4.2 Bonus Tokens
• 7. Western Companies and Systems
  • 7.1 Western Railroad Convention (WRRC)
  • 7.2 Western Concessions
  • 7.3 Land Grant Companies
    • 7.3.1 Land Grants
    • 7.3.2 The "Crédit Mobilier"
    • 7.3.3 The "Golden Spike"
  • 7.4 Systems
    • 7.4.1 Forming a System
    • 7.4.2 Operating a System
• 8. Ending the Game
• 9. Rules Conflicts, Clarifications, and Support
• 10. Appendices
  • 10.1 The Eastern Concessions
    • 10.1.1 The Erie Canal
    • 10.1.2 The Customs House
    • 10.1.3 The Army Corps of Engineers (Eastern)
    • 10.1.4 The 2nd Bank of the United States
    • 10.1.5 The Baldwin Locomotive Works
    • 10.1.6 The South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company
  • 10.2 The Western Concessions
    • 10.2.1 The Mississippi River Bridge
    • 10.2.2 The Great Lakes Ferry
    • 10.2.3 The Army Corps of Engineers (Western)
• 11. Designer's Notes
  • 11.1 A "Word to the Wise"
  • 11.2 Major Issues in Designing the Game
  • 11.3 The Tiles
  • 11.4 The Trains
  • 11.5 The Companies
  • 11.6 Junction Towns
  • 11.7 Historical Notes
    • 11.7.1 The Land Grant Companies
    • 11.7.2 The "Crédit Mobilier"
    • 11.7.3 Freight Trains
  • 11.8 A Note on Geography
• 12. Tile Manifest

1. Introduction

18US is an "18xx" game set in the United States of America. I intend 18US to be a (relatively) straightforward (though advanced and sophisticated) game that uses relatively streamlined mechanics. However, many of these mechanics are quite different from the "standard" 18xx mechanics: I therefore advise caution, as well as a comprehensive reading of the rules. Furthermore, 18US — like most of my designs — rewards strategic rather than tactical thinking: it is therefore prudent to consider the long-term implications of any action you take in the game.

1.1 General Course of the Game

18US falls into three periods: a relatively munificent early ("Eastern") period, a relatively impoverished middle ("Western") period, and a final ("National") period in which the decisions taken in these previous periods will reveal whether the strategic depth of players' actions is consistent with their tactical brilliance.

1.1.1 The Early ("Eastern") Period

In this period, the players start in the early 1830s, huddled on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The territory of the U.S. itself barely reaches beyond the Appalachian massif. In this timeframe, the U.S. will expand past the Mississippi and the railroads will follow: first, crossing the Appalachian "fall line", and then advancing to the Mississippi river. This period concludes roughly around the time of the Civil War (the 1860s).

In this period, the Eastern companies are in play. They start out as "4-Share" companies and rapidly become "5-Share" companies. Tiles are yellow and (for Cities and "Junction Towns") green; the trains used are 2-trains, 3-trains, and 4-trains.

1.1.2 The Middle ("Western") Period

This period begins with the availability of the Land Grant companies, around the early 1860s. The East has been built out, and the U.S. is now composed of a densely populated Eastern seaboard area, a moderately-populated Midwestern inland region, and a few small possessions on the West Coast (California and Washington), separated from the rest by roughly 2000 miles of the "Great American Desert". The Federal government decides—for a combination of military, political, and economic reasons—to promote and underwrite one or more transcontinental rail links between the Mississippi and the West Coast. The U.S. government manifests this intent with the passage of the Transcontinental Railroad Act, signed—at the height of the Civil War—by President Abraham Lincoln.

In this period, the Land Grant companies enter play. Unlike the Eastern companies, they are somewhat constrained in their actions and will spend at least two Operating Rounds building a transcontinental connection. The Land Grant companies start out as "5-Share" companies and—once they have fulfilled their transcontinental connection obligations—convert to "10-Share" companies. Tiles are still mostly yellow and green: indeed, it is likely that the Land Grant companies will place more yellow tiles in this period than were placed in the entire Eastern region. The new classes of train are the first of the permanent (but specialized) trains, the 3E-trains and 2G-trains. Brown tiles become available, and thus, further development of the East becomes possible: this simulates the rise of industrial, urban America in the 1880s and 1890s. This period concludes roughly in the late 1890s.

1.1.3 The Final ("National") Period

In this period, we see the emergence of vast, transcontinental networks, extending "...from sea to shining sea". Not only is the rail network reaching maturity, but also companies may now join forces in a larger "System" — essentially a merger of two companies, allowing common use of assets such as trains and tokens.

Brown tiles are available, and gray tiles become available (in a few limited locations). The new classes of trains available are all permanent trains: first, the 4E- and 3G-trains; two smaller, less expensive train types — the 1H- and 2H-trains; and finally, the 5E- and 4G-trains.

This period begins in the late 1890s and concludes roughly at the end of World War Two (the late 1940s), when the automotive and aviation industries were finally able to make substantial inroads into both the passenger and freight traffic previously carried by the railroads.

1.2 Game Components

The game includes a Map, which includes a Stock Market chart and various additional play-aids; twelve company charters, each associated with four share certificates representing five shares (there are also some extra share certificates, marked "Exchange Share", for use in forming Systems); and twelve Concessions, each represented by a single card. There are also a number of train cards, each representing a train; track tiles; markers, mostly representing station tokens; and twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) in various denominations, which represents the amount of money in the Bank.

1.3 How to Win

Players win by having the highest net worth at the end of the game. Cash on hand and Concessions and stock shares owned add to net worth. Company-owned assets — such as company capital and trains — do not contribute to net worth.

1.4 Player Etiquette

Players should attempt to speed play as much as possible. In particular, players should try to determine what share to buy or what tile to place or upgrade during another player's turn.

A player must disclose his current cash and the current capital of any company he controls upon request by another player. Players should keep their personal cash in front of them, and should keep each of their companies' capital in the Treasury section of the company Charter. Place the company's trains in the train section of the company Charter such that they are all visible at a glance.

Each player should display his owned certificates in front of him and must reveal his holdings in a company on demand.

Corporate transactions are public knowledge, whether conducted between a company and the Bank, a company and a player, or two companies.

Players may engage in public, verbal discussions and enter into public, verbal agreements. Such discussions should be reasonably brief in order to speed play. Performance is not enforceable except by moral suasion: a player who has performed an action under such an agreement in the anticipation of future action by his partner has no other recourse if his partner reneges on the agreement. Secret discussions or agreements, whether verbal or written, are prohibited.

2. General Course of Play

Each player must buy an Eastern Concession during the Eastern Railroad Convention. Players may then start Eastern companies (or—if desired—buy additional Eastern Concessions) during the Initial Stock Round (and subsequent Stock Rounds). During the ensuing Operating Round, the first trains available will be 2-trains, followed by 3-trains and 4-trains: the rules refer to these as "Classic" trains. Companies may place both yellow tiles and green tiles.

Following the pair of Operating Rounds during which the Bank sells or discards the first 4-train, the players conduct the Western Railroad Convention. During the Western Railroad Convention, the players may buy Western Concessions. Once any player has bought the Pacific Railway Act Concession (P11), players may start Land Grant companies in the following Stock Round. During the ensuing Operating Round, the first trains available will be 3E-trains ("Express") and 2G-trains ("Freight"), followed by 4E- and 3G-trains, and finally, 5E- and 4G-trains. Once any company buys a 3E- or 2G- train from the Bank (not from the Pool or using the "buyer's remorse" trade-up rule), companies may place brown tiles.

Once any company buys a 4E- or 3G- train from the Bank, companies may place gray tiles and may buy 1H- and 2H-trains ("Commuter"), which count hexes rather than stations. Also, players may form Systems starting in the following Stock Round.

3. Setting Up and Starting the Game

3.1 Setting up the Game

Place the map flat between the players. Place one of the Round Markers (the white tokens with the BoxPok™ wheel) in the turn-order space marked "Stock Round". Place the other in the white phase-chart space marked "Eastern Railroad Convention". Place a station token (not one marked "x2") from each company on the map in the City circle marked with the company's herald. Note that these stations pre-exist the formation of the associated companies, and block routes.

Place a doubling token (marked "x2") from each Eastern company in the off-map box containing the company's herald and the "x2" and "5-Share" labels. Place one other token from each Eastern company in the off-map box containing the company's herald and the "10-Share" label. Place a doubling token (marked "x2") from each Land Grant company in the off-map box containing the company's herald and the "x2" and "10-Share" labels.

Each company in the game starts with five shares in four share certificates (a President's Certificate, worth two shares, and three single share certificates), and four station tokens, one of which — the "doubling token" — is marked "x2". In addition, each company has a marker to show its Current Market Value on the Stock Market, and a marker to show its current earnings on the Earnings Chart. NOTE: each company initially has a maximum of five playable shares.

Each company also has three single share certificates (marked "Exchange Share") and four additional station tokens (including a second doubling token) that only enter play if the company merges with a second company to form a System. At the beginning of the game, players should set all these additional share certificates and station tokens aside to avoid confusion.

Remove a single share certificate from each Eastern company and set them aside. These shares enter play when the relevant company connects to a Gateway City and declares itself at destination [6.3.1].

Place the remaining playable shares for each company in a stack, with the President's Certificate on top, showing its two-share side. Place the company charters near the play area within easy reach of the players. Note that the Land Grant companies only enter play after the Western Railroad Convention, and should initially be set aside.

Take the Eastern Concessions (P1 through P6) and place them in the Pool. Place one "+10" bonus token on the Erie Canal (P1) and one on the Customs House (P2). Take the President's Certificate of the Southern Railway and place it with the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company (P6).

Take the Western Concessions (P7 through P12) and set them aside. Place one "+20" bonus token on the Mississippi River Bridge (P7) and one on the Great Lakes Ferry (P8). Place the 4-train marked "Reserved for DRG" with the DRG Concession (P10).

Take the six Commuter trains (the 1H- and 2H-trains) and set them aside. Take the remaining trains and arrange them in order in a stack, with the lowest-cost (the 2-trains) on top and the highest-cost (the 5E- and 4G-trains) on the bottom. Place all the two-sided trains with their G-train side face down. Place the train stack near the play area within easy reach of the players.

Sort the Bank into denominations and place it near the play area within easy reach of the players. Distribute $200 to each player.

Randomly determine the initial player order using the markers numbered one through six. Reseating in player order is not necessary since the final seating order will be determined as part of the Eastern Railroad Convention. Give the Priority Deal marker to the first player, and begin the Eastern Railroad Convention.

3.2 Eastern Railroad Convention (ERRC)

The game begins with the Eastern Railroad Convention (ERRC). During the ERRC, the players must each buy an Eastern Concession using a simple competitive procedure (passing is not an option). Each player secretly writes down $0, $5, or $10, which is the amount he is paying for the right to choose an Eastern Concession (as an alternative, each player secretly puts zero, one, or two tokens in his hand: each token is equivalent to a $5 bid). The players then reveal their bids simultaneously and pay them to the Bank. The player with the highest bid then picks one of the Eastern Concessions and buys it, paying its face value to the Bank. In case of ties, the players pick in increasing order of player number, starting with player #1. If a player buys the SCCRR Concession, he sets the Starting Value of the Southern Railway and opens it.

Once the players have paid for their Eastern Concessions, redistribute the player cards. Give the "Player #1" and the "Priority Deal" markers to the player with the most cash remaining. Distribute the remaining player number cards in descending order of remaining cash. In case of ties, maintain the existing order of player numbers. This will be the player order for the remainder of the game: players may find it convenient to seat themselves so that move order is clockwise round the table.

The players now continue with the Initial Stock Round and may buy stock (or any unbought Eastern Concessions that are still in the Pool) in accordance with the newly established player order, starting with the player who has the Priority Deal marker. The rules refer to this as "Stock Round order".

3.3 Eastern Concessions

The Eastern Concessions represent large public or semipublic organizations that were significant at the dawn of United States railroading. A single player owns each Concession. Once a player buys an Eastern Concession, it remains his until it closes. Unlike in some games, companies never buy Eastern Concessions.

The Bank pays the income for each fixed-income Concession (P1 through P4 and P6) to its owner at the beginning of the Operating Round. The Bank pays the Baldwin Locomotive Works (P5) income each time a company buys a train from the Bank.

Each Eastern Concession allows an action (referred to as a "Bonus Action") that differs from the normal rules. In the case of Bonus Actions that benefit a single company (P3 and P5), the player exercises the Bonus Action on behalf of a company of which he is President during the appropriate step in its turn in the Operating Round. In the case of Bonus Actions that benefit all companies (P1 and P2), the player exercises the Bonus Action at any time during an Operating Round (even if he does not control a company).

All Eastern Concessions that are still operating close at the start of the Western Railroad Convention.

3.4 Initial Stock Round

During the Initial Stock Round, players may buy stock from the Bank. Starting with the player who has the Priority Deal marker, each player, in Stock Round order, may buy a single certificate (either the President's Certificate of an unopened Eastern company, or a single share certificate of an open Eastern company, or an unbought Eastern Concession) or pass. Players may not sell stock during the Initial Stock Round. This process continues until all players have passed consecutively. When all players have passed consecutively, the Initial Stock Round ends and the player who initiated the round of passes receives the Priority Deal marker. Move the phase-chart marker to the yellow and green space marked "2", and begin the first Operating Round (of two).

When a player buys a company's President's Certificate from the Bank, the company opens. The player establishes the Starting Value of the company by placing its Current Market Value token on one of the yellow highlighted values of his choosing on the Stock Market, and pays twice this amount from his personal cash to the Bank. The Bank now pays the company four times its Starting Value. The player then takes the company's charter and a second station token (not the one marked "x2").

3.5 Eastern Companies

The Eastern companies are the corporations that started the railroad era in the United States, and which later became important regional corporations. There are six Eastern companies, each of which starts in a City circle on the East Coast.

All Eastern companies start out as 4-Share companies, with four shares' worth of capital, their base station token and one additional station token (not the doubling ["x2"] token).

A 4-Share Eastern company that has a route to one or more of the four Gateway Cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, or New Orleans) that has an open doubling token space may convert to a 5-Share company during the conversion step of its turn in the Operating Round. It does this by placing a third station token—its doubling ("x2") token—in an open doubling token space of a Gateway City to which it has a route, and issuing an additional share to the Pool, for which it receives its Current Market Value from the Bank.

Alternatively, a 4-Share Eastern company may convert to a 5-Share company during the conversion step [6.3] of its turn in the Operating Round any time after the WRRC, even if it has no route to a Gateway City with an open doubling token space. If it does so, it issues its fifth share to the Pool, for which it receives its Current Market Value from the Bank, and receives a third (non-doubling) station token, which it may place in accordance with the normal rules.

A 5-Share Eastern company may convert to a 10-Share company during the conversion step of its turn in the Operating Round any time after the WRRC, thereby receiving five shares' worth of additional capital and a fourth station token. However, there are no associated playable share certificates. For game purposes, brokers underwrite the last 50% of the stock and then sell it to the public, and the associated shares play no direct part in the game.

A 4-Share Eastern company may convert to a 5-Share company and then immediately to a 10-Share company in the same conversion step, if both conversions are otherwise legal.

4-Share companies may only place yellow tiles or upgrade yellow tiles to green tiles. 5-Share Eastern companies and all 10-Share companies may also upgrade green tiles to brown tiles. 10-Share companies may also upgrade brown tiles to gray tiles.

3.6 Initial Operating Rounds

After the Initial Stock Round, players conduct two Operating Rounds. During these Operating Rounds, players may place yellow tiles or upgrade yellow tiles to green tiles.

3.7 Stock Round

A normal Stock Round follows the completion of the first two Operating Rounds. Players may now freely buy and sell shares of any companies that are operating. They may buy any Concessions that are still in the Pool. They may also start a new Eastern company from those that are still available.

4. The Stock Market

The Stock Market shows the current value of each company's stock. The values shown are the amount represented by a single share certificate. The spaces highlighted in yellow represent the possible Starting Values for companies: $65, $70, $75, $80, $90, $100, and $110. During the Initial Stock Round, however, only the Southern Railway can actually start at $100 or $110, as each player starts with $200 and must spend a minimum of $20 in the ERRC.

4.1 Shares, Share Certificates, and Limits on Ownership

Except for the Concessions, each company is represented by four share certificates: the President's Certificate, worth two shares, which variously represents anywhere from 50% down to 20% of the company, and three single share certificates, each worth variously from 25% down to 10% of the company. Each time a company issues shares, it receives capital equal to the value of the shares issued.

If a company merges with another company to create a System, its President's Certificate becomes worth four shares, and it receives three single share certificates that it exchanges for the shares of the other company during the merger. After forming a System, the share certificates other than the President's Certificate are single share certificates worth 5% of the System.

There are important distinctions between shares and share certificates. A single share of a company is worth anywhere from 25 percent down to 5 percent of the company, depending on the status of the company. The President's Certificate of a company represents two shares, while the President's Certificate of a System represents four shares. Players are limited in the amount of a single company's stock they can own:

• For 4-share and 5-share companies, players may own up to three shares (the President's Certificate plus one single share certificate).
• For 10-share companies, players may own all the playable stock (up to five shares).
• For Systems, players may own all the playable stock (up to ten shares).

For the purposes of certificate limits, only the number of certificates held is relevant. Each share certificate and each concession counts as a single certificate. Players are limited to owning certificates (not shares) in accordance with the following table:

Number of Players	2	3	4	5	6
Certificate Limit	19	13	10	8	7

Once a player buys a President's Certificate, he may never sell it, and consequently a President's Certificate may never enter the Pool except because of a bankruptcy. It may, however, be transferred to another player because of stock sales. A player who owns a President's Certificate may only sell sufficient shares to transfer it if another player (not the Pool) owns at least two shares (four shares for a System). All adjustments in share holdings are concurrent: hence, a player who owns a President's Certificate may always sell a number of shares sufficient to transfer the President's Certificate while leaving himself with exactly one share (up to three shares for a System) provided the sale is otherwise possible. A company or System may have any amount of stock in the Pool except for its President's Certificate.

4.2 Movement of Stock Prices

Current Market Values move because of several factors:

• If the President (not another player!) sells one or more shares of a company or System during a single Turn of the Stock Round, the Current Market Value of the company or System moves one space to the left. Sales by other shareholders do not affect the Current Market Value of a company or System.
• If a company or System operates and withholds its earnings or its earnings are zero, its Current Market Value is moved one space to the left.
• If a company or System operates and pays out dividends that are equal to or greater than its Current Market Value, its Current Market Value moves one space to the right. When making this comparison, consider the total company earnings, even if the company or the Bank receives part of the dividends.
• When a Land Grant company pays out its "Golden Spike" bonus, its Current Market Value moves one space to the right.
• Starting in Phase 5E/4G if a 10-Share company operates and declares a dividend that is equal to or greater than twice its Current Market Value, its Current Market Value moves two spaces to the right. Only 10-Share companies may double-jump in this manner: 4-Share companies, 5-Share companies, and Systems do not.

If a company's (or System's) token must be placed in a space which one or more other companies' (or Systems') tokens already occupy, it is placed at the bottom of the stack of tokens. This is true of Starting Value token placement as well as token movement for the reasons described above.

If a company or System does not operate, or operates and pays out earnings that are less than its Current Market Value, its Current Market Value remains unchanged, and it retains its relative position in a stack of tokens.

The lowest Current Market Value is $60. The highest Current Market Value is $400. A Current Market Value token that should move below $60 or above $400 does not move.

5. Sequence of Play—Stock Round

During a Stock Round, players may sell and then buy stock. Play begins with the player who has the Priority Deal marker and proceeds in accordance with the order determined at the end of the previous Stock Round (or — if it is the first Stock Round — at the end of the ERRC): this is referred to as "Stock Round Order". During each turn they take in the Stock Round, players may sell stock and then (if they wish, and can legally do so) buy stock, or they may pass. Players continue to take turns selling, buying, or passing until all players have passed consecutively. The player who initiated the final round of passes receives the Priority Deal marker, and the first Operating Round (of two) begins.

5.1 Selling Stock

During each of his turns in the Stock Round, a player may sell as many shares of stock as he wishes, subject to the limitations on selling President's Certificates. However, players may not sell stock of companies that have not yet operated (thus, players may never sell stock during the Initial Stock Round). Once a player has sold stock of a particular company or System, he may not buy stock in that company or System for the remainder of the current Stock Round. Players may sell shares of different companies or Systems in any order they choose.

Stock sales are always at the Current Market Value shown on the Stock Market. When selling more than one share of stock, the value received from the Bank is the same for all shares sold. When the President of a company sells shares, he receives the Current Market Value for all shares sold before the price drops.

5.2 Buying Stock

After selling all the shares he wishes to sell, a player may then buy one certificate. He may buy any certificate available, subject to limits on certificate and share ownership. Once a player has bought stock, he may not sell any more stock during that turn of the Stock Round: however, he may sell additional stock in a subsequent turn in the same Stock Round. Stock purchases are always at Current Market Value, and the player pays the money to the Bank.

When a player buys a company's stock for the first time, the President's Certificate must be the first certificate bought. Once a company floats or a System forms, players may only buy its stock from the Pool. Otherwise, there are no restrictions on stock buying.

5.3 Starting and Floating a Company

When a player buys a President's Certificate, he declares the Starting Value of the company, placing a token in the appropriate Starting Value (yellow highlighted) space on the Stock Market below any other tokens in that space.

• To float an Eastern (4-share) company, a player need only buy the President's Certificate, which is worth 50% of the company.
• To float a Land Grant (5-share) company, players (including the President) must buy the President's Certificate, which is worth 40% of the company, and one additional share, worth 20% of the company.

Once a company floats, the company operates in the ensuing Operating Round, and continues to do so (unless it becomes part of a System, or if its President's Certificate enters the Pool as the result of a bankruptcy). The President receives the company charter, either one (for a 4-share company) or two (for a 5-share company) additional tokens, and capital equal to the number of shares in the company multiplied by the Starting Value. Place any unbought shares in the Pool, whence players may buy them, subject to limits on certificate and stock ownership.

5.4 Change in Presidency

The President of a company is the player who owns the most shares of the company. If there is a tie between two or more players for most owned shares, the player who currently owns the President's Certificate is the President.

If at any time the President owns fewer shares than another player does, he must exchange the President's Certificate for two single share certificates owned by the other player (four in the case of a System). The new President receives the charter and all assets thereon. If two or more players are eligible to become President and have an equal number of shares, the player whose turn is the earliest in Stock Round order after the current President becomes the new President.

5.5 Ending the Stock Round

Once the Stock Round ends with a complete set of consecutive passes, give the "Priority Deal" marker to the player who initiated the complete set of consecutive passes, and begin the first Operating Round (of two).

6. Sequence of Play—Operating Round

There are always two Operating Rounds after every Stock Round: indeed, the game concludes at the end of the second of two Operating Rounds, once the Bank has broken [8]. At the start of each Operating Round, the Bank pays the owner of any active Concessions their fixed income. Then, each company that has floated operates in descending order of their Stock Market position. Companies whose stock tokens are collocated in a single space on the Stock Market operate in order from top to bottom.

Each company operates once during each Operating Round. When all companies have operated, players begin a new Operating Round or a new Stock Round, depending on the number of Operating Rounds already conducted.

Each company must conduct its operations in strict conformance with the order described below.

6.1 Buy Concessions

A company (or System) may buy one or more eligible Western Concessions (P7 through P9 and P12, [10.2]). To do so, the company pays the owner of the Concession (unbought Concessions in the Pool are "owned" by the Bank) the face value from its Treasury. The company now owns the Concession, receives its income (for fixed-income Concessions, this starts in the following Operating Round), and exercises its Bonus Actions. Once a company buys a Concession, it stays with it (or any successor System) until the end of the game, or until the Concession closes.

A company may own more than one Concession. A company may buy more than one Concession in a single Operating Round.

6.2 Place or Upgrade Track

Players place track by placing tiles on the map or upgrading previously placed tiles. At first, companies may only place yellow tiles or upgrade yellow tiles to green tiles (note that unlike in most 18xx games, green tiles are available from the start of the game). Once any company has bought the first 3E- or 2G-train from the Bank (not from the Pool, and not using the "buyer's remorse" trade-up rule), 5-Share Eastern companies and 10-Share Land Grant companies may upgrade green tiles to brown tiles. Once any company has bought the first 4E- or 3G-train, 10-Share companies and Systems may upgrade select brown tiles to gray tiles.

Companies must always upgrade tiles progressively: a company must upgrade a yellow tile to a green tile before any company can upgrade the green tile to a brown tile; likewise, a company can only upgrade brown tiles to gray tiles. A company may not upgrade a tile in the same operating round in which the company placed it.

Upgraded tiles must maintain all connections and track existing prior to the upgrade (including the track stubs leading west from Chicago and St. Louis). Remove the old tile from the map: it is now available for a company to use it again in an appropriate location.

Generally, each company may place one yellow tile or upgrade one tile each Operating Round. Each type of company has different additional restrictions as described below:

• A 4-Share Eastern company (and the DRG) may place a yellow tile or upgrade a yellow tile to green.
• A 5-Share Eastern company may place a yellow tile, upgrade a yellow tile to green, or upgrade a green tile to brown.
• A 5-Share Land Grant company must place one yellow tile, or upgrade one yellow tile to green, whether or not it has the necessary funds (performing Emergency Money Raising if necessary [6.9.1]). It may place up to three yellow tiles, or place up to two yellow tiles and upgrade one other yellow tile to green, if it has sufficient funds to pay the costs of doing so in its Treasury.
• A 10-Share company may place a yellow tile, upgrade a yellow tile to green, upgrade a green tile to brown, or upgrade a brown tile to gray.
• A System may place up to two yellow tiles, or upgrade a single tile to green, brown, or gray.

Certain hexes or hexsides have terrain features that carry associated costs:

• Mountains (small brown triangles) cost an additional $20 per hex;
• Mountain Ridges (dark brown hexsides) cost an additional $20 to place or upgrade a tile that completes a route through the Ridge; and,
• Mississippi River hexsides (medium blue) cost an additional $10 to place or upgrade a tile that completes a route across the River.

A company may normally only build or upgrade track that has costs associated with it if it has sufficient funds to pay the costs of doing so in its Treasury, or if the Army Corps of Engineers can absorb them. If a 5-Share Land Grant company has insufficient funds for a mandatory tile placement, the President must perform an Emergency Money Raising as described in [6.9.1].

6.2.1 Tile Placement and Tile Upgrades

The general rule for both tile placement and tile upgrade is that the new track created must extend a route of any length for the operating company. In the case of City tiles, the upgrade must extend or increase the dividend of a route for the operating company.

Once placed, a tile becomes part of the map and remains there until a company upgrades it to another tile. A company may not place or upgrade tiles in such a fashion as to cause any new track to run to an impassable hexside (marked with a thick black line) or off the edge of the map (i.e., where there is no hex outline).

Although there is a limit on the number of plain yellow track tiles (#7, #8, and #9) included with the game, this is not a hard limit. If necessary, borrow additional #7, #8, and #9 tiles from other games.

Certain hexes, marked with one or more City (O) symbols, or with a letter or group of letters, may only have specific yellow tiles (or — for pre-printed yellow City hexes — green upgrade tiles) placed on them. Companies may then only upgrade the green tiles placed on such hexes to specific brown upgrade tiles. A select number of Cities may then upgrade from brown tiles to specific gray tiles. Companies may not use any tiles other than those specified to upgrade these hexes. Companies may not use the specified tiles to upgrade any other hexes. For a detailed listing of City upgrade tiles, see the table labeled "The Cities" [10.3].

Most of the playable hexes start out as unimproved or plain (pale green) hexes, though a few have City circles printed on them. A company may only place a plain yellow track tile (#7, #8, or #9) on an unimproved plain hex without a City circle. Companies may then upgrade these yellow tiles to Junction Towns.

6.2.2 Junction Towns

A company may upgrade a plain yellow track tile (#7, #8, or #9) to a green Junction Town tile (#141, #142, #143, or #144). As with other upgrades, the Junction Town tile must maintain all existing connections, and the new track must constitute an extension of a route for the operating company. Creating a Junction Town requires the company to place a station token on the newly formed Junction Town: a company that has no station tokens it can place, or lacks the funds to do so, may not perform a Junction Town upgrade. Creating a Junction Town thus consumes both a tile upgrade step and a token placement step.

Because the tile placement and upgrade step is before the company conversion step, an Eastern company cannot convert to a 10-Share company and use its newly acquired cash or station token to create a Junction Town in the same Operating Round.

The company that creates the Junction Town must place a station token there when it performs the track upgrade. Note that this consumes the company's token placement step. Once Phase 3E/2G begins, 5-Share and 10-Share companies may upgrade green Junction Town tiles (#141, #142, #143, and #144) to brown Junction Town tiles (#145, #146, or #147). Once the Junction Town upgrades to brown, a second company may (but is not required to) place a station token there. Station tokens on Junction Town tiles do not block, and function as normal railheads (except that an E-train may not use such a station token as the only station on its route).

Green Junction Towns have a value of $10. Brown Junction Towns have a value of $20. Junction Towns do not count against the train Number if a Classic train (2, 3, or 4) scores them. Junction Towns do count against the Freight Capacity if a G-train scores them.

Any company may place a station token in the pre-printed Junction Town in hex B23, which is a non-upgradeable #142 tile. Any company may place a station token in the pre-printed Junction Town in hex B19, which is a non-upgradeable #3 tile (not otherwise used in the game). The pre-printed Junction Town in hex E10, which is an upgradeable #142 tile, starts with the DRG station token: once Phase 3E/2G begins, a 5-Share or 10-Share company may upgrade it to a brown Junction Town tile (#145, #146, or #147) and any company other than the DRG may place a token there.

6.3 Company Conversion

6.3.1 Eastern Companies

A 4-Share Eastern company may convert to a 5-Share Eastern company once it has a route that includes at least one Gateway City that has an open doubling token space. To convert a 4-Share company to a 5-Share company, the President places the company's doubling ("x2") token (its third station token) on a Gateway City that has an open doubling token space and to which it has a route. Each Gateway City has space for two Eastern companies' doubling tokens. Note that this consumes the company's token placement step. The Bank places the company's fifth share in the Pool and pays the Current Market Value of this share to the company.

Once a player has bought the Pacific Railway Act Concession, a 4-Share Eastern company may convert to a 5-Share Eastern company even if it has no route that includes a Gateway City with an open doubling token space. The Bank places the company's fifth share in the Pool and pays the Current Market Value of this share to the company. The company receives a third station token, which it may place as a regular (non-doubling) station token in accordance with the normal rules: take the company's doubling token from the display, flip it to its non-doubling side, and place it on the company charter.

A 5-Share Eastern company may convert to a 10-Share Eastern company once a player has bought the Pacific Railway Act Concession. When a 5-Share company converts to a 10-Share company, the Bank pays the company five times its Current Market Value, and the company receives its fourth (and final) station token, which it may place as a regular station token in accordance with the normal rules.

6.3.2 Land Grant Companies

A 5-Share Land Grant company must convert to a 10-Share Land Grant company once it has a route between its home City and one or more qualifying Cities as shown on its charter. When a 5-Share Land Grant company converts to a 10-Share Land Grant company, the Bank pays the company five times its Current Market Value. Then, the Bank pays the "Golden Spike" bonus to each shareholder and moves the company's Current Market Value token one space to the right. Finally, the President places the company's doubling ("x2") token (this will be its fourth and final station token) in an available doubling token space of a qualifying City to which it has a route. If there are available doubling token spaces in more than one qualifying City to which it has a route, the President chooses in which one to place the doubling token. Note that this consumes the company's token placement step.

6.4 Additional Token Placement

A company may place an additional station token, if it has one available, in any open City circle to which it has a route, on a hex in which it does not already have a station token. A City circle is a white circular space on a City tile. A company may place a station token regardless of what sorts of trains it owns (including none).

When a company upgrades a plain yellow track tile to a green Junction Town tile, it must place a token there.

The cost of a token placement is $20 per hex of distance from the company's nearest station token (whether in a City or a Junction Town), traced along the rail network (not "as the crow flies"). The company must immediately pay this amount from its Treasury.

A 4-Share Eastern company that has just converted to a 5-Share Eastern company must place its doubling ("x2") token in an available doubling token space of a qualifying City [6.4.1]. This token placement is free. Such a token does not occupy a City circle, but functions in all other ways as one of the company's station tokens.

A 5-Share Land Grant company that has just converted to a 10-Share company must place its doubling ("x2") token in an available doubling token space of a qualifying City [6.4.1]. This token placement is free. Such a token does not occupy a City circle, but functions in all other ways as one of the company's station tokens.

Normally, a company may never place more than one station token in its turn in the Operating Round (the home station token is in place at the beginning of the game, and does not count). This includes doubling ("x2") tokens. However, it is possible for a Land Grant company to create a Junction Town — in which it must compulsorily place a station token — and connect to a qualifying City, and therefore be required to convert to a 10-Share company—which requires it to place its doubling token. In such a case, the Land Grant company would be required to place two tokens in a single turn.

6.4.1 Doubling ("x2") Tokens

Each company receives a doubling token (marked "x2") as part of one of its conversions. Eastern companies place their doubling token when they convert to 5-Share companies. Land Grant companies place their doubling token when they connect to a qualifying City and convert to 10-Share companies.

Unlike normal station tokens, doubling tokens do not occupy City circles: place them in an available doubling token space of a qualifying City (on the off-map display) to signify this. The Gateway Cities — Minneapolis (B17), Chicago (D19), St. Louis (E18), and New Orleans (H17) — can each hold a maximum of two doubling tokens from Eastern companies and one doubling token from either the NP or SP. The display shows this by the dotted line separating the space available for Land Grant companies from the two spaces available for Eastern companies. The West Coast Cities — Seattle (A2), San Francisco (E2), and Los Angeles (G4) — can each hold a maximum of two doubling tokens from the ATSF, GN, TP, and UP.

When a 4-Share Eastern company converts to a 5-Share Eastern company, it places its doubling token free as part of its conversion. It may not place any other token that Operating Round.

When a Land Grant company connects to a qualifying City and converts to a 10-Share company, it places its doubling token free as part of its Land Grant fulfillment and conversion to a 10-Share company. If a Land Grant company upgrades a plain yellow track tile to a green Junction Town, requiring it to place a token there, and it is also required to convert to a 10-Share company, the Land Grant company must also place its doubling token in one of the qualifying Cities.

A doubling token doubles the value of the City with which it is associated for that company, and for any System of which the company becomes part. Other than this, and the fact that they do not consume City circles, doubling tokens act in all ways like normal tokens.

6.4.2 Bonus Tokens

Bonus Tokens permanently increase the value of the City in which their owner places them for all companies. A City may have more than one Bonus Token. The City value increases are cumulative.

A player who owns the Erie Canal Concession (P1, [10.1.1]) or the Customs House Concession (P2, [10.1.2]) may place the associated Bonus Token at any time during an Operating Round. The City he selects need have no connection to any other location, nor need the owner control a company. Placing the Bonus Token is free, and is in addition to any other token placement. Once placed, the token remains until the end of the game. The Bonus Token adds $10 to the value of the City in which placed. Placing the Bonus Token closes the Concession.

A company that owns the Mississippi River Bridge Concession (P7, [10.2.1]) or the Great Lakes Ferry Concession (P8, [10.2.2]) may place the associated Bonus Token during the owning company's token placement step. The company need not have a route to the City in which it places the bonus token. Placing the Bonus Token is free, and is in addition to any other token placement. Once placed, the token remains until the end of the game. The Bonus Token adds $20 to the value of the City in which placed. Placing the Bonus Token closes the Concession.

6.5 Train Operation and Earnings Calculation

A company that owns one or more trains now operates them and calculates the resulting earnings. A company must calculate the maximum possible earnings using all its trains (not necessarily the maximum possible earnings for any particular train if the company owns more than one train). Calculate earnings as follows:

• Each train other than a Freight train (2G, 3G or 4G) must operate on a route. A route consists of a continuous unbranched length of track, including on it a City or Junction Town containing the company's station token (not necessarily at the beginning or end of the route). In order to score revenue, the route must also contain one or more other Cities or Junction Towns (which may contain additional station tokens of the company).
• A train may not use the same track more than once.
• A train may not run more than once to the same City or Junction Town. However, companies treat separate City circles on the same tile as separate Cities: a train may run a route from New Orleans (H17-E) to Shreveport (H17-W) while its tile is still yellow or from New York (D25-N) to Philadelphia (D25-S) or Oakland (E2-N) to San Francisco (E2-S) while their tiles are still yellow or green.
• A train may always run to a City even if completely filled with other companies' station tokens. If the City has the company's or System's doubling ("x2") token in it, the train may also run through it.
• A train may not use track already used by another train owned by the same company or System in the same Operating Round. Provided it does not reuse any track, a train may run to or through the same Cities or Junction Towns as another train owned by the same company or System in the same Operating Round. A Freight train may not score a City or Junction Town already scored by another Freight train owned by the same company or System in the same Operating Round.
• Trains score all Cities included in the route for revenue. The train number is the maximum number of Cities that may be included in the route. Each City scores its printed value, plus the value of all Bonus (+10 and +20) Tokens. The City scores double this amount (including bonuses) if the company or System has a doubling ("x2") token in the City.
• A Classic train (2, 3, or 4) scores all Cities and Junction Towns included in the route, and (unless it also owns a G-train) the company receives a fixed Freight Bonus that varies by phase [6.5.1]. Each Junction Town scores its printed value. Junction Towns do not count against the train number. A route may both begin and end at Junction Towns.
• The Junction Town in hex B23 is a non-upgradeable #142 tile. The Junction Town in hex B19 is a non-upgradeable #3 tile (not otherwise used in the game). The Junction Town in hex E10 is an upgradeable #142 tile.
• An Express train (3E, 4E, or 5E) scores all Cities — but not Junction Towns — included in the route. An Express train that runs a "Coast-To-Coast" route applies a doubling bonus to any single City on its route [6.5.2].

The route value is equal to the sum of the values of all Cities and Junction Towns (if applicable) included in the route. The company earnings are equal to the sum of the value of all the company's train routes, including any applicable Coast-To-Coast and Freight bonuses.

6.5.1 Freight Trains and Freight Bonuses

Every company that owns one or more Classic trains (2, 3, or 4) and owns no Freight trains (2G, 3G or 4G) receives a fixed Freight Bonus, depending on the game phase:

• In Phases 2 and 3, the fixed Freight Bonus is a total of $20 per Operating Round.
• In Phase 4, the fixed Freight Bonus is a total of $40 per Operating Round.
• In Phase 3E/2G the fixed Freight Bonus is a total of $60 per Operating Round.
• In Phase 4E/3G the fixed Freight Bonus is a total of $80 per Operating Round.

A company (or System) that owns one or more Freight trains (2G, 3G or 4G) does not receive a fixed Freight Bonus. Freight trains count the value of Cities and Junction Towns in which the company has placed station tokens, and score a Freight Bonus that varies with the game phase for each station token.

Unlike other trains, Freight trains are not required to trace a route: however, they may not score any City or Junction Town in which the company does not have a station token, or which another of the company's Freight (not Classic, Commuter, or Express) trains has already scored in the same Operating Round. Using the company's Freight Capacity is the easiest way to calculate the total Freight train score.

Each company (or System) that owns one or more Freight trains has a Freight Capacity. The Freight Capacity is the total of the train numbers of the company's Freight trains (e.g., a company with two 2G-trains would have a Freight Capacity of 4). The company adds the value of Cities (adjusted for Bonus Tokens and doubling ["x2"] Tokens) and Junction Towns that contain the company's station tokens, up to its Freight Capacity. Then, add the Freight Bonus, which is equal to the current per-token Freight Bonus, multiplied by the Freight Capacity, or the total number of station tokens the company has on the map, whichever is less:

• In Phase 3E/2G and prior, the Freight Bonus per station token is $30.
• In Phase 4E/3G the Freight Bonus per station token is $40.
• In Phase 5E/4G the Freight Bonus per station token is $60.

6.5.2 "Coast-To-Coast" Routes

Only Express trains (3E, 4E, and 5E) may score "Coast-To-Coast" routes. A "Coast-To-Coast" route must have one of the three West Coast City hexes (Seattle, San Francisco, or Los Angeles — flagged with a "W") at one end, and one of the five East Coast City hexes (Montreal, Boston, New York/Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Charleston — flagged with an "E") at the other. An Express train (3E, 4E, or 5E) running a "Coast-To-Coast" route scores any single City on the route at double value. If the selected City is already doubled by a "x2" token, it is quadrupled.

6.6 Dividend Payment

A company may pay out or withhold its earnings. If the company pays out its earnings, the Bank pays each player a dividend equal to the percentage of the company owned by the player. If required, round the player's dividends up to the nearest whole dollar:

• For a 4-share company, the player who owns the President's Certificate receives 50% of the total earnings and the owners of the single share certificates receive 25% apiece.
• For a 5-share company, the player who owns the President's Certificate receives 40% of the total earnings and the owners of the single share certificates receive 20% apiece.
• For a 10-share company, the player who owns the President's Certificate receives 20% of the total earnings and the owners of the single share certificates receive 10% apiece. The remaining 50% goes to the public, represented by the Bank.
• For a System, the player who owns the President's Certificate receives 20% of the total earnings and the owners of the single share certificates receive 5% apiece (see [7.4.2] for how to do this). The remaining 50% goes to the public, represented by the Bank.

Shares in the Pool pay dividends to the company (or System). Treat the DRG as a 4-share company with two shares in the Pool. If required, round the company's dividends up to the nearest whole dollar.

If a company (or System) withholds its earnings, the Bank pays the entire earnings to its Treasury, including the amount that would normally go to the public and which the Bank would otherwise retain.

6.7 Current Market Value Adjustment

The President of the company adjusts the company's Current Market Value token [4.2].

6.8 Train Buying

If a company or System has operated in the current Operating Round, and if it has fewer trains than its train limit, it may buy a train from the train stack, from the Pool, or from another company, up to its train limit. All companies have a train limit of two throughout the game. Systems have a train limit of four.

A company always buys trains one at a time. To buy a train from the train stack or the Pool, it must pay the face value of the available train it wishes to buy to the Bank from its Treasury. If a player wishes to use the Baldwin Locomotive Works or Electro-Motive Division credit, it does so at this time: using the credit closes the Concession. To buy a train from another company, it must pay the other company a mutually agreed price, which may be as little as $1.

If a company buys a new type of train from the train stack, a new phase begins and any adjustments pertinent to that new phase come into effect immediately after the company buys the new train. However, buying a 2G-train from the Pool or converting a 4-train to a 2G-train does not trigger Phase 3E/2G: a company must buy a 3E- or 2G-train from the Bank in order for brown tile upgrades to become available. Note that — in the case of permanent (Express and Freight) trains — "type" refers to trains regardless of their designation: a 4E-train and a 3G-train are considered of the same type, as are a 5E-train and a 4G-train. Once any such adjustments are complete, the company may buy additional trains from the train stack, from the Pool or from another company, up to its train limit.

At the beginning of the game, the "Available Trains" are 2-trains. Once a company buys the last 2-train or the Bank discards it, 3-trains become available. Once a company buys the last 3-train or the Bank discards it, 4-trains become available. Once a company buys the first 4-train or the Bank discards it, the players conduct the Western Railroad Convention at the end of the current pair of Operating Rounds, after which 3E- and 2G-trains become available.

In the first Operating Round after the Western Railroad Convention, a company may convert a 4-train to a 2G-train by paying $250 to the Bank ("Buyer's Remorse"). In effect, the company trades the 4-train in for the 2G-train, receiving half the face value of the 4-train as a credit. Once the company has paid the Bank, flip the 4-train to its 2G-train side. This is the only time a company may trade one train in for another.

Once a company buys a 4E- or a 3G-train, place the six 1H- and 2H-trains in the Pool.

6.8.1 Commuter (1H and 2H) Trains

Commuter trains ("H-trains") become available after a company buys the first 4E- or 3G-train. Once a company buys a 4E- or a 3G-train, place the 1H- and 2H-trains in the Pool. H-trains are a low-cost alternative to other permanent trains (E-trains and G-trains). There are a total of six H-trains, which companies may buy as either 1H-trains or 2H-trains. This is an absolute limit on the number of H-trains available.

Unlike regular trains, H-trains count hexes rather than Cities: they score everything that is within the hexes to which they run. Their train Number defines their "range": this range shows the number of hexes, in addition to the base hex, to which an H-train may run. A 1H-train may run to a maximum of one additional hex from the base hex: a 2H-train, to two additional hexes.

The H-train's route must include a station token and then run a route to a maximum of one (1H) or two (2H) additional hexes. For a 1H-train, the additional hex must necessarily be one of the adjacent hexes, connected to its base. For a 2H-train, the hexes may both be adjacent, or the route may extend two hexes from the base, provided it is properly connected. This does not otherwise affect the restrictions on routes in [6.5].

6.9 Mandatory Train Buying

A 4-Share or greater Eastern company, a 10-Share Land Grant company, or a System that has operated in the current Operating Round must own a train at the end of its turn in the current Operating Round whether or not it has a route. If it has sufficient funds in its Treasury, it may buy any train or trains that are available from the Bank or the Pool, subject to its train limit. If it lacks sufficient funds to buy a train from the Bank, the Pool, or another company [6.9.2], it must perform an Emergency Money Raising [6.9.1]. Note that 5-Share Land Grant companies and the DRG are not required to own a train and therefore can never be in a "mandatory train buying" or "emergency money raising" situation.

6.9.1 Emergency Money Raising

If a company does not have sufficient funds to buy a train from the Bank, the Pool, or another company, the President must make up the difference from his own cash to allow the company to buy the next train available from the Bank. If he has insufficient cash on hand, he must sell sufficient stock to raise the difference. If the President owns the Baldwin Locomotive Works — or his company owns the Electro-Motive Division — he may use its 50 percent cost reduction value, but he is not required to do so.

The President may sell any stock he wishes to raise the required amount, subject to the normal limitations on stock sales. Since a player may never sell stock in a company that has not yet completed operating for the first time, the President may not sell stock in the operating company if it is the first Operating Round after it floats, or in any other company that has not yet operated at least once. The President may not sell sufficient stock in the operating company to cause a change in presidency. However, he may cause a change in presidency of any other company.

Note that — unlike in many other games — a company is never required to buy a less expensive train from the Bank or the Pool in lieu of a more expensive train, even if the company would have sufficient funds to buy the less expensive train without performing an Emergency Money Raising. As an (extreme) example, a company in a mandatory train buying situation in phase 5E/4G that had $200 would have the option of buying either a 5E-train, a 4G-train, or (if available) a 2H-train or a 1H-train, with the President contributing anywhere from nothing to $600, depending on which train he chose to buy for the company.

6.9.2 Train Buying from Other Companies

As an alternative, the President may buy a train from another company, at a mutually agreed price as little as $1, and up to all its remaining cash. If the company purchasing the train has no money at all, the President may use his cash on hand to make the buy, paying the other company up to the face value of the train he is buying. However, he may not sell stock to raise additional cash: the maximum he may contribute is the actual cash on hand he has at the instant he must buy.

A company that is in a mandatory train-buying situation may buy a train from a System only if it is not the System's last permanent train.

6.9.3 Bankruptcy

If after selling all the stock he can sell the President cannot raise sufficient cash to buy a train (or to pay for a mandatory tile lay), he is bankrupt. Place his remaining holdings in the Pool (the Current Market Value remains unaffected). Eliminate the player from the game and transfer the Presidency of any of his controlled companies or Systems to the next eligible player. The certificate limit remains unchanged.

If no such player exists (i.e., if no player holds two shares of one of the affected companies, or four shares in the case of a System), the company's (or System's) President's Certificate is placed in the Pool (this is a notable exception to the normal rule precluding a Presidency from entering the Pool). A player may buy the Presidency from the Pool at Current Market Value (that is, for either twice or four times the current price of a single share) in the next Stock Round.

As an alternative to buying the Presidency directly from the Pool, a player who owns at least one share, but fewer shares than required to become President may buy an additional share or shares (if available), and — once he has sufficient shares — perform a normal change-of-President exchange with the Pool.

In the case of a System, the player may buy up to the number of shares needed for the swap in a single transaction (e.g., if a player owned two shares of a System, he could buy two additional shares as a single transaction and then swap them for the System Presidency). If a player "trades up" in a single transaction in this way, he may do so notwithstanding the lack of individual share certificates in the Pool: in effect, he swaps his existing shares, plus the difference in cash, for the President's Certificate.

Players who own stock in such a company retain it, and its stock continues to count against their certificate limit: all of the company's existing assets (its station tokens, trains, and capital) remain in place, and the company's market value remains at its current level until a player controls it once again.

If the Presidency of the company for which the bankrupt player was buying a train shifts in this manner, its Treasury will contain the total amount raised by the now bankrupt President during his Emergency Money Raising. The new President must complete the Emergency Money Raising using his own resources and buy a train for the company.

6.10 Train Discarding

At the end of each pair of Operating Rounds prior to the Western Railroad Convention, the Bank removes the topmost train in the train stack and discards it to the Pool. This is not a train purchase for the purposes of the Baldwin Locomotive Works revenue. Note that if the discarded train is the first 4-train (i.e., no company had previously bought a 4-train), this rusts the 2-trains and implements the other effects of the phase change immediately: players conduct the Western Railroad Convention at the end of the current pair of Operating Rounds.

7. Western Companies and Systems

7.1 Western Railroad Convention (WRRC)

The players conduct the Western Railroad Convention (WRRC) after completing the pair of Operating Rounds during which any company bought a 4-train, or at the end of which the Bank discarded a 4-train. During the WRRC, players have the opportunity to bid for Western Concessions, though (unlike the ERRC) they are not required to. However, the game does not proceed to the ensuing phase — and players may not open any Land Grant company — until a player buys the Pacific Railway Act Concession (P11).

The player who has the Priority Deal marker must select one of the Western Concessions and offer it for auction. He may bid on it or he may pass. To bid on a Concession, a player must bid a non-negative multiple of $5 (including zero). Each player, in Stock Round order, may bid in turn or pass. Each subsequent bid must be greater than the last by a multiple of $5. Once a player has passed, he may not reenter the auction.

When all of the players have passed in sequence, the player who has the high bid pays the amount of his bid plus the face value of the Concession to the Bank, and takes the Concession.

The next player in Stock Round order after the high bidder now receives the Priority Deal marker, and must select a Concession and auction it off. This process continues until players have had the opportunity to bid on each Concession. If no one bids on a Concession when a player offers it for auction, the player places it in the Pool, and the Priority Deal marker does not move. In such a case, the same player would put up the next Concession and auction it as well.

Players may only use their cash on hand during the WRRC: they may not sell stock to raise additional cash. A player may never bid more for an item in total (that is, the sum of the face value of the item on auction and his bid) than his cash on hand. A player who cannot bid because he has insufficient cash must pass.

Once players have had the opportunity to bid on each Concession, players proceed to the Stock Round, during which they may buy and sell stock normally:

• If a player bought the Pacific Railway Act Concession, players may now open any of the Land Grant companies. Players may buy any unsold Concessions from the Pool. Flip any unbought 4-trains to their 2G-train side and place them in the Pool: the next train in the train stack will be a 3E-train.
• If no player bought the Pacific Railway Act Concession, none of the Land Grant companies may open, nor may the players buy any Concessions from the Pool. Any unbought 4-trains continue to be available. The Bank no longer discards a train after each pair of Operating Rounds. The players must conduct a second session of the WRRC after the next pair of Operating Rounds. This process continues until a player buys the Pacific Railway Act Concession.

7.2 Western Concessions

The Western Concessions represent large public or semipublic organizations that were of significance in the Western railroading era. A single player or company owns each Western Concession. Except for the Pacific Railway Act Concession, once a player buys a Western Concession, it remains his until the end of the game, or until he sells it to a company or System.

Unlike the Eastern Concessions, companies and Systems may buy certain of the Western Concessions (P7 through P9 and P12) from their owners, if the owner gives permission, or (if not owned) from the Pool. Buying a Western Concession takes place at the beginning of the buying company's turn in an Operating Round. The company pays the face value of the Western Concession from its Treasury to the Concession's owner (or, if unowned, to the Bank).

If a company or System buys a Western Concession, it remains the property of the company (or of a System of which the company later becomes part) until the end of the game (though exercising its Bonus Action may close it earlier). Once a company or System buys a Western Concession, it provides its income to the company or System, rather than to the player.

The Bank pays the income for each fixed-income Concession (P7 through P9 and P11) to its owner at the beginning of the Operating Round. The Bank pays the DRG (P10) income during its turn in the Operating Round. The Bank pays the Electro-Motive Division (P12) income each time a company buys a train from the Bank.

Each Western Concession allows the owning player (or company) some action (referred to as a "Bonus Action") that differs from the normal rules. Exercising the Bonus Action may close the Western Concession. If a Western Concession's owner does not exercise its Bonus Action, it remains open until the end of the game.

7.3 Land Grant Companies

In order to connect the West Coast to the rest of the Union, the Federal Government enacted legislation (the Pacific Railway Act) encouraging companies to build across the "Great American Desert". Among the many incentives provided, perhaps the most interesting were the land grants: substantial grants of (otherwise worthless) land along the path of the railway, whose value would only increase if the railroad completed its transcontinental connection. In the game, these are the "Land Grant companies". There are six Land Grant companies, four of which start in Gateway Cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans) and two of which start in West Coast Cities (Seattle and Oakland).

Players may start Land Grant companies once a player has bought the Pacific Railway Act Concession. Land Grant companies start out as 5-Share companies, and become 10-Share companies when they complete their Land Grant.

Each of the four Land Grant companies that start in a Gateway City has two hexes to the west of its base City reserved. These are marked with the company's herald. Until such a Land Grant company floats, other companies may not build in those hexes. Players should note that these hexes collectively preclude any Eastern company from laying track in the West until at least one such Land Grant company floats and gives permission. Once such a Land Grant company floats, its President may allow other companies to place specific tiles in its reserved hexes. Once such a Land Grant company has operated, there are no longer any restrictions on building in its reserved hexes.

7.3.1 Land Grants

The Land Grant companies whose home station token is in a Gateway City must connect to a West Coast City. Conversely, the Land Grant companies whose home station token is in a West Coast City must connect to a Gateway City.

Land Grant companies need not own a train until they have converted to a 10-Share company. A Land Grant company that has not converted to a 10-Share company can never be in a "mandatory train buying" or "emergency money raising" situation.

All Land Grant companies start as 5-Share companies. To float a Land Grant company, players must own three shares of its stock (including the two shares represented by the President's Certificate). When a player buys the third share of a Land Grant company, the Bank pays the company five times its Starting Value, and the company receives two additional station tokens, which it may place anywhere on the map during its turn in the Operating Round, in accordance with the normal rules.

Each Operating Round, a 5-Share Land Grant company must place one yellow tile, or upgrade one yellow tile to a green tile, whether or not it has the necessary funds, and may place up to three yellow tiles, or may place up to two yellow tiles and upgrade one yellow tile to a green tile. Except for the reserved hexes, there are no restrictions on 5-Share Land Grant company tile placements. 5-Share Land Grant companies are limited to upgrading yellow tiles to green tiles: unlike 5-Share Eastern companies, they may not upgrade green tiles to brown tiles. If a 5-Share Land Grant company has insufficient funds for a mandatory tile placement, the President must perform an Emergency Money Raising as described in section 7.9.1 [printed as "7.9.1" in the source; the Emergency Money Raising rule is 6.9.1].

Other companies may assist a Land Grant company to extend its Land Grant. Such assistance is subject to the normal tile placement and upgrade rules, and neither the Land Grant company nor the other company receives any "Crédit Mobilier" or "Golden Spike" benefit (see below). As long as they remain 5-Share companies, Land Grant companies are not required to own a train.

When a 5-Share Land Grant company has established a route between its base City and at least one of its possible destinations, it must convert to a 10-Share company during the conversion step of its turn in the Operating Round. If the Land Grant company establishes the route in its own tile placement and upgrade step, this will be the immediately following step in its current turn. If another company establishes the route on its turn, the Land Grant company may place up to three yellow tiles, or may place up to two yellow tiles and upgrade one yellow tile to a green tile in its own turn, and must then immediately convert to a 10-Share company in the ensuing conversion step.

It is possible for a Land Grant company to float with its Land Grant already complete without needing to place or upgrade any tiles. In such a case, the Land Grant company would convert to a 10-Share company at its Starting Value in its initial Operating Round.

10-Share Land Grant companies may upgrade green tiles to brown tiles and upgrade brown tiles to gray tiles.

7.3.2 The "Crédit Mobilier"

Until it has established a route between its base City and at least one of its possible destinations, a Land Grant company may place up to three yellow tiles instead of the normal limit of one, or place up to two yellow tiles and upgrade one yellow tile to a green tile. A Land Grant company that places or upgrades more than one tile pays $40 from its Treasury for each tile it places (including the first):

• If a Land Grant company places or upgrades a single tile, it incurs no additional cost.
• If a Land Grant company places two yellow tiles, or places one yellow tile and upgrades one yellow tile to a green tile, it must pay $80 from its Treasury to the Bank.
• If a Land Grant company places three yellow tiles, or places two yellow tiles and upgrades one yellow tile to a green tile, it must pay $120 from its Treasury to the Bank.

These costs are not terrain costs and therefore the Corps of Engineers (P9) may not absorb them.

The Land Grant company treats these payments as a form of revenue. When calculating the company's earnings, add the total amount of these payments ($80 or $120) to the regular earnings (which may otherwise be zero!). When the company "earns" money by this means, it is required to pay out its earnings as dividends and may not retain. This means that even in its first Operating Round — when it has no train — the company's Current Market Value should not fall back. As with normal earnings, if the combined earnings are equal to or greater than the company's Current Market Value, the company's Current Market Value increases.

7.3.3 The "Golden Spike"

When a Land Grant company converts to a 10-Share company, its shareholders receive a special bonus from the Bank. This is referred to as a "Golden Spike" (referring to the golden railroad spike used to complete the first transcontinental connection at Promontory Point, Utah, symbolically linking East and West), and represents the substantial bonus payouts that these companies made to their senior shareholders, using the completion bonuses they received from the Federal government.

The Golden Spike bonus is a function of the number of yellow track tiles placed by the Land Grant company in the course of building its Land Grant. When the Land Grant company floats, the President places its doubling token in the $60 ($10) space on the Stock Market (the parenthesized value — also known as the "Red Zone value" — is always $50 less than the corresponding Stock Market Value). For each yellow track tile (including extra tiles from Bonus Actions) that the Land Grant company places, move the doubling token one space to the right. Adjust the token each Operating Round until the Land Grant company has established a route between its base City and at least one of its possible destinations, or until Phase 4E/3G begins, to a maximum "Red Zone value" of $75.

The token does not advance for upgrades, tiles placed by other companies, or tiles placed after Phase 4E/3G begins. When the Land Grant company converts to a 10-Share company, the "Red Zone value" on which the doubling token rests represents the amount the Bank pays per share to each current share's owner. Land Grant companies must pay out their Golden Spike bonuses and may not withhold them, although, as with normal dividends, shares in the Pool pay their Golden Spike bonus to the company Treasury.

When a Land Grant company pays out its Golden Spike bonus, its Current Market Value token moves one space to the right on the Stock Market. This movement occurs during the company's conversion step, prior to the earnings and payout steps: thus, a company could move twice on the Stock Market in a single Operating Round.

7.4 Systems

Starting with the Stock Round following the purchase of the first 4E- or 3G-train, players may form Systems from pairs of connected 10-Share companies they control. Systems are 20-Share companies with 10 playable shares, including a President's Certificate worth 40 percent of the System, or 20 percent of the playable shares. Unlike other company conversions, a player creates a System in a special phase prior to the Stock Round, rather than during the Operating Round.

7.4.1 Forming a System

A player may only form a System from two 10-Share companies, of both of which he is President. A route must connect the two companies, or the companies must have collocated station tokens on the same tile, and at least one of the two companies must own a permanent train (in practice, this means at least one train other than a 4-train). Also, the President must have sufficient cash on hand to pay the difference in price between the Current Market Value of his shares of the lesser-valued company and those of the higher-valued company.

Systems form immediately prior to the forthcoming Stock Round. Players form Systems in Stock Round order, beginning with the player who has the Priority Deal marker, and continuing in Stock Round order until all players pass consecutively. However, the Priority Deal marker does not move during the System formation phase. Once all players have passed consecutively, the Stock Round begins.

To form a System, the President of the two companies starts by discarding the President's Certificate of the lower-valued company, and flipping the President's Certificate of the higher-valued company to its four-share side.

Starting with the System President and continuing in Stock Round order, each player that owns shares of the lesser-valued stock must now pay the difference in share price to the Bank — in effect, each player exchanges his lesser-valued shares, plus the difference in price, for the higher-valued shares. For the President, this includes the two shares formerly represented by the second company's President's Certificate. Use the three single share certificates of the higher-valued company marked "Exchange Share" to replace the three single share certificates of the lesser-valued company. Players must settle their accounts with their cash in hand: they may not sell stock to do so. In particular, a prospective System President who lacks the cash in hand to settle the difference for his own account may not form the System. Players other than the System President who cannot or choose not to make up the difference must sell their entire holding in the lesser-valued company to the Pool, receiving the Current Market Value of the shares sold from the Bank: this does not affect the System's Current Market Value.

The System inherits all trains, station tokens (including both doubling tokens, if applicable), Concessions, and capital belonging to the two companies. Replace the station tokens of the lesser-valued company with the additional tokens of the higher-valued company. Note that a System may own up to four trains rather than the maximum of two for a company, and will therefore never need to discard any trains.

If there are any Cities or Junction Towns where the System has two station tokens, remove one of them and return it to the System. Doubling ("x2") tokens are flipped to their non-doubling side when returned to the System. The System may place such a token as a normal station token during its turn in the Operating Round, subject to the normal rules on placement of station tokens. If one of the locations where the System has two station tokens has both a normal and a doubling ("x2") token, the President of the System decides which to remove. Removing a normal station token restores an open City circle. Removing a doubling ("x2") token does not.

Once the exchange process is complete, set aside all components (charter, share certificates, and tokens) of the merged company: they play no further part in the game.

7.4.2 Operating a System

Systems are 20-Share companies. The President of a System may own all its playable stock.

Each Operating Round, a System may place up to two yellow tiles, or may place one yellow tile and upgrade one tile. A System may still place no more than one station token per Operating Round.

Although Systems shares are actually worth 5% of the System, it is simpler to calculate dividends for a System by dividing the earnings by two and treating each playable share as worth 10%. Therefore, when calculating a System's dividends first calculate the total earnings and then divide by two, rounding up: thus, earnings of $380 would translate to dividends of $190, or $19 per share, while earnings of $390 would translate to dividends of $200, or $20 per share.

Use the adjusted (reduced) amount to calculate whether the System's Current Market Value advances on the Stock Market: in the previous example, a System with a Current Market Value of $200 would advance with gross earnings of $390 (adjusted to $200) or more, but not of $380 (adjusted to $190) or less.

A System may own up to four trains rather than the usual two. A System may never sell its last permanent train.

8. Ending the Game

The game normally ends after the end of the last Operating Round of the turn in which the Bank runs out of money. This applies whether the Bank runs out of money during the Stock Round or during an Operating Round: in either event, complete the pair of Operating Rounds. All players receive all revenues earned during the final set of Operating Rounds. At the conclusion of the final Operating Round, players calculate their net worth as follows:

• Calculate the total value of all shares of stock held by multiplying the final market value by the number of shares held.
• Add total cash on hand. Add the face value of any Concessions in player hands.
• Ignore all assets (cash, trains, and Concessions) owned by companies (and Systems), as they do not contribute to a player's net worth.

The total is the player's net worth. The player with the highest net worth wins the game.

If all players but one have gone bankrupt, the game ends immediately and the sole solvent player is the winner.

9. Rules Conflicts, Clarifications, and Support

The complete set of rules consists of this rulebook plus any officially published errata. In the (hopefully unlikely) event of a conflict between the rules and the components, the rules take precedence.

[Support contact address and web/email details printed in this section are omitted.]

10. Appendices

10.1 The Eastern Concessions

10.1.1 The Erie Canal

The Erie Canal (P1—Cost $20, Revenue $5) provides the owner a +10 Bonus Token. The owner may place the Bonus Token in Montreal (B25), Albany (C24), or Detroit (C20) at any time during an Operating Round. The City he selects need have no connection to any other location, nor need the owner control a company. Placing the Bonus Token closes the Concession. Once placed, the Bonus Token remains in place until the end of the game, and every company benefits from the Bonus Token. If the owner does not place the bonus token before the WRRC, it is lost.

10.1.2 The Customs House

The Customs House (P2—Cost $40, Revenue $10) provides the owner a +10 Bonus Token. The owner may place the Bonus Token in Boston (C26), Baltimore (E24), Charleston (G22), or New Orleans (H17-E) at any time during an Operating Round. The City he selects need have no connection to any other location, nor need the owner control a company. Placing the Bonus Token closes the Concession. Once placed, the Bonus Token remains in place until the end of the game, and every company benefits from the Bonus Token. If the owner does not place the bonus token before the WRRC, it is lost.

10.1.3 The Army Corps of Engineers (Eastern)

The Army Corps of Engineers (Eastern) (P3—Cost $50, Revenue $10) reduces the terrain costs of a single company by up to $40 each Operating Round during the tile placement step of that company's turn in the Operating Round (not necessarily the same company each Operating Round). The Concession can absorb the costs of Mountains, Ridges, and Rivers. Absorbing terrain costs does not close the Concession. The Concession also allows a single company to place a single extra yellow tile at no extra cost during its tile placement step. Placing the extra tile closes the Concession. The Concession absorbs any costs for placing the extra tile, up to the $40 per Operating Round limit if not already reached.

10.1.4 The 2nd Bank of the United States

The owner of the 2nd Bank of the United States (P4—Cost $80, Revenue $15) may exchange for a single share from the Pool, either during the Stock Round or during an Operating Round. If he makes the exchange during the Stock Round, he does so during one of his turns in the Stock Round, and the Bonus Action is in addition to his normal turn. If he makes the exchange during the Operating Round, he does so during the turn of the company for whose share he wishes to exchange, between the earnings step and the dividend step. Exchanging for a share closes the Concession. If the owner does not make the exchange before the WRRC, the Concession closes without compensation to the owner.

10.1.5 The Baldwin Locomotive Works

The Baldwin Locomotive Works (P5—Cost $100, Revenue $20 per Train) — unlike the other Concessions — provides a variable income to its owner. Each time a company buys a train from the Bank (not the Pool or another company), the owner receives $20 from the Bank. The Baldwin Locomotive Works allows the owner to take a fifty percent (50%) reduction on the cost of a new train (2, 3, or 4) from the Bank for a company he controls during the train-buying step of the company's turn in the Operating Round. Taking the cost reduction closes the Concession, but the owner still receives the $20 income for this purchase.

10.1.6 The South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company

The South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company (P6—Cost $140, Revenue $20) comes with the President's Certificate of the Southern Railway. When a player buys the Concession, he sets the Starting Value of the Southern Railway. The Concession closes when the Southern Railway earns its first revenue.

10.2 The Western Concessions

10.2.1 The Mississippi River Bridge

The Mississippi River Bridge (P7—Cost $40, Revenue $10) provides the owning company a +20 Bonus Token. The owning company may place the Bonus Token in St. Louis (E18) or New Orleans (H17-E) during its token placement step. The company need not have a route to the City in which it places the bonus token. Placing the Bonus Token is free, and is in addition to any other token placement. Placing the Bonus Token closes the Concession. Once placed, the Bonus Token remains in place until the end of the game, and every company benefits from the Bonus Token.

10.2.2 The Great Lakes Ferry

The Great Lakes Ferry (P8—Cost $50, Revenue $10) provides the owning company a +20 Bonus Token. The owning company may place the Bonus Token in Minneapolis (B17), Detroit (C20), or Chicago (D19) during its token placement step. The company need not have a route to the City in which it places the bonus token. Placing the Bonus Token is free, and is in addition to any other token placement. Placing the Bonus Token closes the Concession. Once placed, the Bonus Token remains in place until the end of the game, and every company benefits from the Bonus Token.

10.2.3 The Army Corps of Engineers (Western)

The Army Corps of Engineers (Western) (P9—Cost $100, Revenue $20) reduces the terrain costs of the owning company by up to $80 each Operating Round during the tile placement step of the company's turn in the Operating Round. The Concession can absorb the costs of Mountains, Ridges, and Rivers (but not Credit Mobilier costs). Absorbing terrain costs does not close the Concession. The Concession also allows the owning company to place a single extra yellow tile at no extra cost. The Concession absorbs any costs for placing the extra tile, up to the $80 per Operating Round limit if not already reached. A Land Grant company counts this extra tile placement for the purposes of its "Golden Spike". Placing the extra tile closes the Concession. Otherwise, the Concession continues to operate until the end of the game.

10.2.4 The Denver and Rio Grande

The Denver and Rio Grande (DRG) (P10—Cost $150 to $220, Revenue variable) is a 13th company with certain special capabilities. In effect, the DRG is a permanent (non-convertible) 4-share company with two unplayable shares not represented by any certificates. Only a player may buy the DRG.

A player who buys the DRG sets its Starting Value (minimum of $75) and pays twice that amount to the Bank. The DRG starts with a station token in Denver (E10) and one additional station token.

If a Player buys the DRG during the WRRC, or from the Pool prior to Phase 5E/4G, the Bank pays four times this amount, less $300 (the price of a 4-train) to the DRG Treasury. The DRG begins operating with a 4-train, which consumes one of the two DRG train slots, which it may never sell, and which rusts normally when a company buys a 5E- or a 4G-train. This 4-train is in addition to the normal train mix.

If a player buys the DRG from the Pool in Phase 5E/4G the DRG starts with the full capital to which its Starting Value entitles it (four times its Starting Value), and no train. It may then buy a train (presumably from another company, or possibly a 1H or 2H from the Pool) during the train-buying step of its turn in the Operating Round.

Once a player owns the DRG he cannot sell it, and the DRG operates until the end of the game. The DRG scores at its Current Market Value per share at the end of the game. As with all Concessions, the DRG counts as a certificate for the purposes of the owner's certificate limit.

The DRG operates in the Operating Round in accordance with its Current Market Value. The DRG may place one yellow tile or upgrade a yellow tile to a green tile each Operating Round. If it has sufficient cash in its Treasury, it may place its station token in accordance with the normal rules. If it owns a train and a route on which to operate it, it may pay out its earnings or retain them. If it retains, the full earnings go to the Treasury. If it pays out, it pays half its earnings to its owner and retains half in its Treasury. If it pays out and its total earnings (not just the half it pays to its owner) are equal to or greater than its Current Market Value, it moves one space to the right on the Stock Market.

The DRG need never own a train. This means that the DRG can never be in a "mandatory train purchase" or "emergency money raising" situation. The only consequence is that the DRG continues to move down in price each turn it is trainless.

Except as noted above, the DRG operates as a normal 4-share company.

10.2.5 The Pacific Railway Act

Only a player may buy the Pacific Railway Act (P11—Cost $220, Revenue $20). When a player buys the Concession, he immediately takes the President's Certificate of the Land Grant company of his choice, for which he then sets the Starting Value. The Concession closes when the selected Land Grant company places its first tile.

10.2.6 The Electro-Motive Division

As with the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the Electro-Motive Division (P12—Cost $250, Revenue $25 per Train) provides a variable income to its owner. Each time a company or System buys an E-train or a G-train from the Bank (not the Pool or another company or System), its owner receives $25 from the Bank. If a company or System owns the Electro-Motive Division, it may use it to take a fifty percent (50%) reduction on the cost of a single new permanent train (E-train, G-train, or H-train). Taking the cost reduction closes the Concession, but the owning company or System still receives the $25 income for this purchase.

10.3 The Cities

Columns: x2 spaces are given as Eastern / Land Grant doubling-token spaces. "Printed" means the City value is pre-printed on the map at that tile level. The tile numbers are the legal upgrade tiles for each City.

Hex	Name	Region	Base (E/W)	x2 spaces (Eastern/Land Grant)	Qualifying Land Grant companies	Yellow	Green	Brown	Gray
D25	New York / Philadelphia	East Coast	Erie (N) / PRR (S)	-	-	Printed	242	245	247
E24	Baltimore	East Coast	B&O	-	-	Printed	207	-	-

† This tile must maintain the pre-printed track connecting to the west.

10.4 Phases of the Game: The Tiles

Tiles	Available
Yellow / Green	At start
Brown	Once any company has bought a 3E- or 2G-train from the Bank
Gray	Once any company has bought a 4E- or 3G-train from the Bank

10.5 Phases of the Game: The Companies

Company	Available	Conversion
Concessions (Eastern)	During and after the Eastern Railroad Convention	-
4-Share (Eastern)	After the Eastern Railroad Convention	-
5-Share (Eastern)	When the company claims a Gateway City	Mandatory
10-Share (Eastern)	Once any Land Grant company starts	Optional
Concessions (Western)	During and after the Western Railroad Convention	-
5-Share (Land Grant)	Once a player has bought the Pacific Railway Act Concession	-
10-Share (Land Grant)	When the company completes its Land Grant	Mandatory
20-Share (System)

10.6 Phases of the Game: The Trains

Train	Quantity	Cost	Available	Rusted By	Rusts
2	Up to 6 (1)	$100	At start	4	-
3	Up to 5 (1)	$200	After last 2-train is bought or discarded	4E or 3G	-
4	Up to 5 (1)(2)	$300	After last 3-train is bought or discarded	5E or 4G	2
3E/2G	Up to 6 (3)	$500/$400 (3)(4)	After the Western Railroad Convention	-	-

(1) Discard the topmost train in the train stack at the end of each pair of Operating Rounds.

(2) At the end of the pair of Operating Rounds in which a company buys (or the Bank discards) the first 4-train, discard any remaining Eastern Concessions and conduct the Western Railroad Convention. Once a player has bought the Pacific Railway Act Concession, flip any unbought 4-trains to their 2G-train side, and place them in the Pool.

(3) A combined total of six 3E- and 2G-trains are available. A 3E-train costs $500 and a 2G-train costs $400 ($250 with a trade-in). In addition, up to five 4-trains may enter play on their 2G-train side.

(4) During the first Operating Round after the Western Railroad Convention, a company may convert a single 4-train to a 2G-train by paying $250 to the Bank ("Buyer's Remorse"). In effect, the company exchanges the 4-train for a 2G-train, receiving a fifty percent (50%) credit on the $300 value of the 4-train.

(5) A combined total of five 4E- and 3G-trains are available. A 4E-train costs $600 and a 3G-train costs $500.

(6) A combined total of six 1H- and 2H-trains are available. A 1H-train costs $200 and a 2H-train costs $300.

(7) Unlimited 5E- and 4G-trains are available. A 5E-train costs $800 and a 4G-train costs $600.

11. Designer's Notes

With this game, I have come full circle to the source of my inspiration to try my hand at 18xx game design. In 1995, I attended RailCon in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The guest of honor was the highly reputed Federico Vellani, designer of 1841 and 1849. In addition to these previously-published products, Federico brought a couple of prototypes: one was 1827, a game set in the whole of the U.S., but — following an approach pioneered by Australian Design Group's World In Flames — using maps at two different scales, one for the East and one for the West. This struck me as fascinating but a bit unwieldy: but the other product he brought, 1827Jr, really fascinated me.

1827Jr. was a game set in the entire U.S., but on three map panels (well, the entire Northeast was an Off-Map Area, but hey...!). There were six stock companies: two in the East and four in the West. There were interesting Private companies: some that only companies could own. There were destinations: there were bonuses for connecting to the West Coast: there were "Prestige Items" that could substantially improve your routes. Very cool!

Alas, 1827Jr. — insofar as I am aware — is languishing somewhere in Federico's house, gathering dust. Undaunted, I engaged in "the sincerest form of flattery" — imitation — and came up with 18EU, recently published to mostly positive reactions. At some point during the process of developing 18EU, I wondered if I could take a whack at finishing up 1827Jr. — or at least coming up with my own version. My impetus for this became even stronger after seeing 1869TGS, 1862, and 1848: I thought, if it's possible to make games in all (or at least most) of the U.S. at those scales, surely it's feasible at a larger one?

The answer to that question — 18US — is in your hands.

11.1 A "Word to the Wise"

18US is a complex game, intended for advanced players: players who are new to the world of 18xx may rightly feel intimidated if this is your first such game. However, novice players have the virtue of their vices: they have no existing 18xx predispositions to unlearn, and are therefore less likely to make the sorts of errors that advanced players will make.

Advanced players, take notice: many of the assumptions you bring to this game from prior experience are wrong. If you try to play 18US without thoroughly reading the rules, you are very likely to make serious errors both in game mechanics and in overall strategy (and then complain that the game is "broken"!).

Those familiar with my previously published efforts (1826 and 18EU) will recognize that some of the concepts used in 18US are merely extensions of ideas I have used in prior games. Indeed, I freely concede that no single, individual rule in 18US is original: many—if not all—of the rules used here owe their genesis to other games, published and otherwise. I have attempted to recognize some of these authors and their products in the acknowledgments: if I have failed to cite you or an idea you see me using, feel free to contact me.

Conceptually, 18US is probably most similar to 18EU, with many of the concepts of 18EU taken to an extreme. Many Europeans, who already think of the United States itself in these terms, may nod their heads in amusement.

11.2 Major Issues in Designing the Game

As described below, the basic mechanics of the game fell fairly readily into place. As is often the case, it was balancing the game while keeping it interesting that posed a challenge.

The problem was in arranging for a start that was reasonably symmetrical (that is, each player had a reasonably comparable position at the end of the first few turns) and yet maintained a variety of plausible outcomes. At a certain point, it became clear that the original concept of the game, which had no Private Companies, made this problematic. In particular, a six-player game necessarily meant that all six Eastern companies would open in the Initial Stock Round.

I was obliged, in essence, to reinvent the concept of the Private Company (which, for a variety of reasons, I call a Concession) in order to recreate an "asymmetrical balance" in the game. Now, at most four Eastern Companies can open during and after the ERRC (including the Southern Railway, long viewed as the "runt of the litter"), and the rest subsequently. Furthermore, each player should have three shares (possibly including a President's Certificate) after the first "real" Stock Round (the one that follows the first two Operating Rounds), or their equivalent (Eastern Concessions P4 and P5).

Exacerbating these problems in the early game was an essentially "processional" development of the midgame, in which players' existing positions compelled them to bid for specific Land Grant companies. The rules that governed the Land Grant companies were much more restrictive, making the development of the trans-Mississippi network uninteresting. I also could not find a way to restore balance at the WRRC: it always seemed that several players were ahead at that point, and were able to translate that lead into a commanding one. Under the new rules, there seems to be less cash floating around at the WRRC, leading to harder choices, and the Western Concessions are there to soak up what excess there might be.

11.3 The Tiles

Perhaps the single most noteworthy difference between 18US and other games is that you can only upgrade plain yellow track tiles (#7, #8, and #9) to green dot Towns ("Junction Towns"). Indeed, this may be the only truly original rule in the game.

Originally, plain yellow track could not upgrade at all, and there were predetermined locations for the dot Towns. During the development, I decided that I could combine these ideas and create a more elegant (and arguably more historical) mechanism for the emergence of new centers of commerce and industry.

Junction Towns are somewhat different in 18US than are the Towns in most games: as traffic nexuses, they represent a focal point for emergent industrial or commercial activity, and the settlement that follows, rather than being obstacles to progress. Junction Towns generally form where one might intuitively expect them to, following a natural and historical developmental pattern.

Junction Towns also do not count against the train number, so there is no incentive to build around them. Also, the station tokens built there do not block trains from running past them, though companies may use them as a railhead. In effect, a station token in a Junction Town represents a substantial investment by the company in facilities dedicated to servicing the local industries. As examples, one may contemplate the very substantial works built in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Tennessee by (among others) the C&O, the N&W, the VGN, and the WM to serve the coal industry.

11.4 The Trains

One of the signature aspects of my designs is a focus on effective train management: ensuring that the right trains match up with the right companies. 18US is no different in this regard, and indeed, there are typically at least two (and — in the endgame — three or more) types of permanent trains available for purchase at any given time.

Companies may buy two types of permanent trains: passenger ("Express" or E-trains) and freight ("Goods" or G-trains). These trains run and score in essentially mutually complementary ways. E-trains (3E, 4E, and 5E) trace normal routes, ignore Junction Towns, and only score Cities.

G-trains (2G, 3G and 4G), on the other hand, do not have to trace routes, but can only score Cities and Junction Towns where the company has a station token. They also benefit from substantial station token bonuses.

In early versions of the game, G-trains had to trace their routes like all other trains. This was extremely onerous and made for a slow and tedious endgame. Even after I relaxed the track-usage requirements and allowed G-trains to reuse track, it was no simple task to run up to four trains on a System. However, I became aware of a more abstract approach from reviewing the rules to 18FB, Alessandro Lala's interesting game of railroading in southern Italy, and decided to use an analogous concept here.

In addition to these "long-distance" trains, the late game sees the emergence of commuter ("H" or "Hex") trains. H-trains score either two or three adjacent hexes: they find their best use in the Northeast (Boston-New York/Philadelphia-Baltimore) and Midwest (St. Louis-Chicago-Detroit) Corridors.

11.5 The Companies

The Land Grant companies originally had strictly predetermined land grant routes and destinations, which made for a somewhat stylized and repetitious midgame. Under the new rules for System creation (companies need now only be connected, not collocated, in order to form a System) and for track laying (including the concept of upgrading plain yellow track to a "Junction Town"), I was able to allow the Land Grant companies much greater flexibility in determining their routes and destinations.

11.6 Junction Towns

Junction Towns were another conceptual innovation that allowed me to "pare away" many of the restrictions on company operations I had heretofore included. There are now no pre-printed "dot towns" (except for two in the East that cannot be improved, added mainly to help out the companies on the Northern routes; and the erstwhile City of Denver): players must create their own Junction Towns (as I now call them), using their limited station tokens for the purpose.

The Marshalling Yard tiles from Chris Lawson and Steve Thomas' 1848 are, of course, the inspiration for the mechanics of the Junction Town, and its predecessor, the Resource Area.

11.7 Historical Notes

11.7.1 The Land Grant Companies

The Land Grant companies received substantial grants of financial and non-financial assistance from the Federal government—including a variety of quasi-sovereign powers—intended to facilitate the building of one or more trans-continental railroad connections.

11.7.2 The "Crédit Mobilier"

The directors of the UP and CP developed an elaborate scheme to extract profit from the construction phase of the first transcontinental railroad. They did this by setting up a dummy corporation—the "Crédit Mobilier"—as the general contractor for the railroads' construction and having the railroads pay inflated prices to this company. The directors then redistributed the excess via an elaborate scheme of kickbacks. The directors also spread around substantial amounts to various politicians to build and retain support for the project despite its substantial overruns. Although the crookedness of this scheme was undeniably on a vast scale, it also undoubtedly substantially accelerated the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

Creating a set of rules that would both replicate the effects of the Crédit Mobilier while having these effects neither unbalance the game nor produce an administrative headache was a substantial challenge.

11.7.3 Freight Trains

The trains represented in the game mostly reflect the high-visibility and prestigious passenger trade. However, the companies in the game also carried freight. In the 20th century, under increasing competitive pressure from automobiles for local and airplanes for long-haul traffic, many companies changed their emphasis from passengers to freight. At the dawn of the 21st century, the only surviving profitable United States rail carriers were exclusively involved in freight haulage. Passengers now account for less than one percent of United States intercity traffic (to put this in perspective, more people travel intercity in the United States on privately owned airplanes than by rail), and long-haul United States passenger trains are almost exclusively patronized by tourists and rail fans.

Players may amuse themselves by adding a new phase and train class to reflect the contemporary era: after the fifth 5E- or 4G-train, 5G trains become available for $800 apiece (use 2-trains for this purpose). 3E- and 2G-trains rust. Remove all Bonus Tokens and flip all doubling ("x2") tokens to their non-doubling side. There are no more "Coast-to-Coast" bonuses. A company or System may pay $200 to flip a 4E-train or 5E-train to its G-train side: alternatively, it may trade in a 4E-train or 5E-train for a 5G-train, receiving half the face value of the E-train as credit toward the purchase.

11.8 A Note on Geography

Creating a game map for the entire United States that is playable on four map panels is not without its challenges. At this scale, each hex is roughly 250 miles (400 klicks) across: necessarily, much fine detail is lost at such a scale. Nevertheless, I am pleased at how the map turned out. It was not clear that it would be possible to execute the game at a single scale, and I considered various alternatives beforehand. I thought of doing the cis-Mississippi and trans-Mississippi at different scales, somewhat along the same lines as Australian Design Group's magisterial game of World War Two, World In Flames: this was the approach Federico Vellani had planned for 1827, his "big" game of the whole United States.

Another possibility I strongly considered was a mini-map similar to the one in Lonny Orgler's 1854 (Austria). Finally, I decided to start with the whole U.S. on four map panels and see what I needed to change afterward. Much to my surprise, I was able to come up with mechanics that were able to represent both Eastern and Western railroading, at the same scale, and without the need for a plethora of fiddly rules exceptions. Indeed, the major design issues all revolved around the Western half of the map, not the East, which seemed to play out in a crisp and balanced fashion using essentially standard game mechanics.

The eagle-eyed observer will already have noted one of the choices I made at the outset: except for a number of Junction Towns limited by available station tokens (maximum of two per company), there are no upgrade tiles for plain track. While this seems counterintuitive at this scale, the reality is that there was little crossover between companies: everyone built and ran on their own track, and whatever inefficiency this redundancy may have caused was largely compensated for by the competitive pressures it brought to bear. For many years, the New York Central's Twentieth Century Limited and the Pennsylvania Railroad's Broadway Limited deliberately scheduled simultaneous New York (and Chicago) departures, and would "race" (each on their own tracks, of course!) to the other end!

12. Tile Manifest

Each row lists a tile, how many copies the game contains ("map" means a pre-printed hex on the map board, not a counted tile), and its legal upgrades. Upgrade tile numbers are shown. Hex types for unnumbered pre-printed tiles are described by color and printed label.

Tile	#	Legal Upgrades
Pre-printed light-green map hex (no yellow track)	map	401, 447
Pre-printed light-green map hex (no yellow track)	map	5, 6, 57
Pre-printed light-green map hex (no yellow track)	map	7, 8, 9
Pre-printed yellow City hex labeled SF-O	map	243
Pre-printed yellow City hex labeled NY-F	map	242
Pre-printed yellow City hex	map	207
Pre-printed yellow City hex	map	405
Pre-printed yellow map hex	map

Footnotes printed with the manifest: (1) With junction token (see [6.2.2]). (2) Only in CHI and STL.