Age of Steam Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Pieces
• Setting Up the Game
  • Map Setup
  • Player Setup
• Ending / Winning the Game
• Sequence of Play
• I. Issue Shares
• II. Determine Player Order
• III. Select Actions
• IV. Build Track
  • The Gameboard
  • The Track Tiles
  • Building Track
  • Restrictions
  • Completed Railroad Links and Unfinished Track Sections
  • Track Ownership
  • Replacing Track
  • Placing New City Tiles
  • Track Building Costs
• V. Move Goods
• VI. Collect Income
• VII. Pay Expenses
• VIII. Income Reduction
• IX. Goods Growth
• X. Advance Turn Marker
• Victory Point Computations
• Track Tile Reference
• Additional Map Rules
  • Western U.S.
  • Southern U.S.
  • Germany
  • St. Lucia
  • Barbados (Solo)
• Acknowledgements

Game Pieces

• 3 double-sided game boards
• 3 display boards
• 136 track tiles
• 8 New City tiles (1 red, 1 blue, 1 purple, 1 yellow, 4 black)
• 180 track ownership disks / player disks — 6 sets of 20 track ownership disks, 5 player disks, and 5 extra disks for use with expansions, in player colors blue, green, yellow, pink, gray, orange
• Money: 40x $1, 40x $5, 10x $25 chips
• 1 Turn Track marker
• 110 goods cubes (20 red, 20 blue, 20 purple, 20 yellow, 16 black, 14 white)
• 8 Town disks (white)
• 1 cloth bag
• 6 dice

Setting Up the Game

Lay out the game board (this example uses the Rust Belt map). Place the following items next to the board: the display boards, the money, the track tiles, 8 Town disks, the New City tiles, and the dice.

Place the Turn Track marker in the "start" circle on the Turn Track.

Put all the red, blue, purple, yellow, and black goods cubes into the bag. The white goods cubes are only used with the Southern US expansion. Draw cubes one at a time and place them in the Goods Display: fill the top row left to right, one cube per square, then continue filling each remaining row until every square holds one cube — a total of 52 cubes.

Map Setup

Now place the starting goods cubes on the map. Setup varies between maps; if you are not playing the Rust Belt map, use the setup rules for the map you chose.

• Randomly draw three goods cubes from the bag and place them in Pittsburgh.
• Randomly draw three goods cubes from the bag and place them in Wheeling.
• For every remaining city on the board, randomly draw and place two goods cubes.

Player Setup

Each player chooses a color and takes 25 round wooden disks of that color. Set 5 aside — they are only for expansions — leaving 20 in play, plus disks used on the display boards.

• Each player places a disk on the Engine Track in the "1 link" square.
• Each player places a disk on the Income Track in the "0" square.
• Each player rolls 3 dice. The highest roller places a disk in the "1st" place on the Player Order Track, the next highest in "2nd", and so on until every player has a disk on the Player Order Track.
• Each player places a disk on the first box (2 shares) of the Issued Shares Track and receives $10.
• Each player places a fifth disk near the Selected Actions display, to use later when choosing an Action.
• Each player keeps their remaining 20 disks in front of them. These are the Track Ownership Disks.

The game begins with the first step of the Sequence of Play, "Issue Shares".

Ending / Winning the Game

The game ends when the last turn is completed. The number of turns depends on the number of players and is shown on the Turn Track. For example, a 5-player game ends at the end of the seventh turn.

The player with the most Victory Points wins the game.

Sequence of Play

Each turn proceeds through these phases in order:

1. Issue Shares
2. Determine Player Order
3. Select Actions
4. Build Track
5. Move Goods
6. Collect Income
7. Pay Expenses
8. Income Reduction
9. Goods Growth
10. Advance Turn Marker

For the purposes of these rules and examples, players are assumed to be using the Rust Belt map. When using other maps, the specific rules for that map override these base rules.

I. Issue Shares

Players receive money in two ways: as income earned by their railroad, and by issuing shares. When a railroad issues a share, the player immediately receives $5 and advances that railroad's disk one space on the Issued Shares Track.

More than one share may be issued in a turn; each issued share gives $5 and advances the disk one space. A player may not issue more shares than the track allows over the course of the game.

Shares are issued in Player Order, starting with the 1st player, then the 2nd, and so on. A player is never required to issue any shares beyond the two they start with.

Example: At the start of a 3-player game, John (green) issues two shares, moves his disk to "4 shares", and receives $10. Dave (blue) issues one share, moves his disk to "3 shares", and receives $5. Pete (yellow) issues no shares and stays at "2 shares".

II. Determine Player Order

Slide the disks on the Player Order Track up, just above the printed circles. Players now bid for the new Player Order, beginning with the 1st player.

The 1st player may bid $1 or more to stay in the bidding, or drop out by moving their disk to the last position on the track. If they took the Turn Order action, they may instead say "pass" once and remain in the bidding. $0 bids are not allowed.

Each remaining player must either bid more than the previous bid or drop out (unless they took the Turn Order action, letting them "pass" once to stay in). Bidding continues until only one player remains.

• The first player to drop out moves their disk to the Last space on the Player Order Track and pays nothing, even if they had bid.
• The last two players still in the bidding both pay the full amount they bid.
• All other players pay half their bid, rounding up.

Example: Pete (yellow) was the 1st player and bids $2. Dave (blue), the 2nd player in this 5-player game, drops out; his disk goes to the Last space and he pays nothing. Vince (orange), the 3rd player, bids $3. Hudson (gray), the 4th player, drops out; his disk goes to the 4th position (ignoring the 5th space, since there are only five players) and he pays nothing. John (green), the 5th player, had chosen the Turn Order action, so he says "Pass" to stay in.

III. Select Actions

Seven special Actions are listed on the Actions Display. Players select Actions in Player Order by placing their disk on the track space. Each Action may be selected by only one player per turn.

First Move — Implemented during the Move Goods phase. Lets this player move goods first in both rounds of moving goods, regardless of Player Order.

First Build — Implemented during the Build Track phase. Lets this player build track first, regardless of Player Order.

Engineer — Implemented during the Build Track phase. Lets this player build four track tiles instead of just three.

Locomotive — Implemented immediately. Lets this player advance their Links disk one space on the Engine Track right away. The maximum is still 6 links.

Urbanization — Implemented during the Build Track phase. Lets this player place one of the New City tiles on a Town before building their track.

Production — Implemented during the Goods Growth phase. At the start of Goods Growth, lets the player randomly draw two goods cubes from the bag and place them on any two empty boxes of the Goods Display, one per box. (This action is pointless on the first turn, as there are no empty boxes yet.)

Turn Order (Pass) — Implemented during the Determine Player Order phase. Lets this player say "pass" once during the next Determine Player Order phase to keep their place in bidding without making a bid.

IV. Build Track

The Gameboard

The board is a hex map. Hex-shaped track tiles are placed on it to build track, forming railroad links between the cities and towns. Some hexes show mountains and rivers that increase the cost of placing a tile. The Great Lakes have no hexes, and track tiles may not be placed on them.

The Track Tiles

Track tiles show lines representing track. Most tiles show a simple straight or curved section. Some tiles are more complex, showing two independent sections of track that either cross (with a bridge) or coexist (no bridge). Some tiles show a Town printed on them — these Dedicated Town Track tiles may only be placed on hexes with a Town, such as Milwaukee.

When simple or complex track is placed in a Town hex, a Town counter (white wooden disk) is placed on the center of the tile. Towns connect all track that leads into that Town.

8 New City tiles are also provided. A New City tile is placed by the player who chose the Urbanization action, and may only be placed on a hex with a Town.

Building Track

Track is built in Player Order. A player may place (or replace) up to 3 track tiles. A player who chose the Engineer action may place up to 4. A player who chose First Build builds before the 1st player.

The very first track tile each player builds at the start of the game must be adjacent to a City, and one end of the track on this simple tile must connect to the City. City hexes show no track but are considered to connect from each hexside to every other hexside. All future track a player builds must ultimately connect to a City through that player's own track.

Both simple and complex tiles may be placed in a Town hex. A tile placed on a Town must either be a Dedicated Town Track tile or have a Town disk placed on it.

A railroad's track does not have to be fully connected: separate, disconnected links and sections between cities are allowed.

Restrictions

• A tile may not be built so that track runs off the grid — off the edge of the board or into a Great Lake.
• A tile may not be built so that its track directly connects to another player's track.
• A tile may not be built on a City hex.

Completed Railroad Links and Unfinished Track Sections

A group of track tiles connecting a City or Town to another City or Town is a Completed Railroad Link. A group of tiles may not directly connect a City or Town to itself.

A tile or group of tiles that does not connect a City or Town to another City or Town is an Unfinished Track Section.

Track Ownership

Track is owned by the building player, who places a Track Ownership disk on the Completed Railroad Link or Unfinished Track Section to claim it.

If an Unfinished Track Section is not extended by its owner during their turn (by placing a further track tile), their Track Ownership disk is removed and the section becomes unowned. Another player who extends that unowned section may claim it by placing one of their own Track Ownership disks on it. Redirection by itself is not an extension.

When an Unfinished Track Section is extended to a City or Town, it becomes a Completed Railroad Link, and the Track Ownership disk on it denotes ownership. Completed Railroad Links do not need to be extended to keep ownership — ownership is permanent.

Example: For his Build Track phase, Pete (yellow) places track A for $2, track B for $2, and track C for $3 (track C costs an extra dollar as it is the first tile placed in that River terrain hex), paying $7 total. He places his yellow Track Ownership disks. His track between Evansville and Cincinnati is a Completed Railroad Link; his track from Cincinnati toward Lexington is an Unfinished Track Section.

Replacing Track

A player may replace one track tile with another for crossing, coexisting, redirection, or entering a Town. Ignore terrain features when replacing — they do not add to the cost. A player may never modify existing track owned by another player, though they may replace a tile while maintaining another player's existing track. The added new track must connect to the player doing the replacing.

Crossing — A player may replace a simple track tile with a Crossing tile (two independent sections crossing with a bridge). It must be placed so it maintains existing track, and the new track must connect to the placing player's existing track or a City.

Coexisting — A player may replace a simple track tile with a Coexisting tile (two independent sections, no bridge). It must maintain existing track, and the new track must connect to the placing player's existing track or a City.

Redirection — A player may redirect a tile at the end of an Unfinished Track Section with a different tile if they own the track or it is unowned. Complex tiles must be redirected so existing track owned by others is maintained. Redirection is commonly used by players whose track has been blocked. Track in a Town may not be redirected, but usually may be upgraded to allow more connections.

Entering a Town — A player may replace a track tile in a Town with another tile, placed so it maintains existing track.

Placing New City Tiles

During their Build Track phase, the player who chose the Urbanization action places one of the New City tiles on any Town hex. The placement is free, and the player may still build 3 track. Remove any track tile previously on that hex, if one exists. New Cities may not be placed on other New Cities.

Track Building Costs

Placing:

• Simple track tile: $2 ($3 in a River hex, $4 in a Mountain hex).
• Complex Coexist tile: $3 ($4 in River, $5 in Mountain).
• Complex Crossing tile: $4 ($5 in River, $6 in Mountain).

Terrain surcharges are only paid when the first tile is placed on that terrain, not when the tile is later replaced or redirected.

• Placing a tile in a Town costs $1 for the Town plus $1 for every track leading to the Town. The cheapest Town tile is a Dedicated Town tile with one exit, at $2; the most expensive is a Complex track with a Town disk, at $5.

Replacing:

• Simple to Complex Crossing: always $3.
• Replacing a tile in a Town: $3, regardless of added connections.
• All other replacements: $2.

Redirecting:

• Redirecting any track tile: $2.

V. Move Goods

In Player Order, each player may move one goods cube; then, in a second round again in Player Order, each may move one more. A player who chose First Move may move a cube before the 1st player in each of the two rounds.

Goods must be moved along Completed Railroad Links so the cube ends at a City of the same color as the goods, and it may visit each City or Town only once. As soon as it enters a City of its matching color, it must stop. Goods may not move more links than allowed by that player's disk on the Engine Track. Once a cube finishes moving, it is returned to the bag of unused goods.

Each different Completed Railroad Link the goods travel over increases the income of that link's owner by 1 on the Income Track, recorded immediately. A railroad's income is a single running total carried over between turns. A player may use another player's railroad, in which case the link's owner gains the income. A railroad's income only decreases through insolvency (see Pay Expenses) or market attrition (see Income Reduction).

In one of the two Move Goods opportunities, a player may instead advance their disk one link on the Engine Track (maximum still 6 links).

Example: Pete (yellow) is 1st player, but Dave (blue) chose First Move, so Dave goes first. Instead of moving goods, Dave advances his Engine Track disk from 1 link to 2. Pete then moves the blue cube from Evansville over his single Completed Railroad Link to Cincinnati, moving his Income disk up 1. In the second round, Dave moves the blue cube in Cincinnati two links — Cincinnati to Indianapolis, then Indianapolis to Evansville — moving his Income disk up 2. Pete has no goods to move and declines to advance his engine, so he does nothing.

VI. Collect Income

Players now receive the income shown by their disk on the Income Track.

VII. Pay Expenses

Players must now pay expenses: $1 for every share they have issued (shown on the Issued Shares Track) plus $1 for every link their locomotives can traverse (shown on the Engine Track).

Each player pays expenses from their cash. If a player still owes after spending all their cash, they reduce their income by 1 for every dollar still owed, recording it immediately on the Income Track. If this drops a player below $0 income, they are eliminated from the game (insolvency): remove all their Track Ownership disks from any Unfinished Track Sections, and remove all their disks from the displays. (Their Completed Railroad Links remain, but they are not paid when goods move over them.)

VIII. Income Reduction

A railroad's income is reduced according to how high it is:

• Income over 49: reduced by 10.
• Income 41–49: reduced by 8.
• Income 31–40: reduced by 6.
• Income 21–30: reduced by 4.
• Income 11–20: reduced by 2.

IX. Goods Growth

The Goods Growth phase moves goods from the Goods Display onto cities on the board. The Goods Display is in two parts: the light section on the left is resolved first, then the dark section on the right.

If a player chose the Production action, then before the dice are rolled they may randomly draw two goods cubes from the bag and place them on any two empty boxes of the Goods Display, one per box.

Then roll dice equal to the number of players at the start of the game. For each column of goods in the Goods Display, take a number of goods cubes equal to the number of dice showing that column's number, and place them from top to bottom on the City matching the column's number. Goods are placed on New City tiles on the map, but not on New City tiles that are off the map.

Example: On the second turn of a 3-player game, 3 dice are rolled: 3, 3, 4. The cubes in column "3", boxes "1st" and "2nd", are placed in Kansas City. New City "A", placed during an earlier Urbanization in the Indianapolis hex, is on the map, so the cubes in column "A", boxes "1st" and "2nd", are placed on the New City "A" tile. In the "4" column, the "1st" box is empty from prior Goods Growth, so only the "2nd" box cube is placed in Des Moines. New City "B" is not yet on the map, so no cube moves to it. If more dice come up for a City than there are goods in that column, the extra dice are ignored.

X. Advance Turn Marker

Advance the Turn Marker on the Turn Track. After the last turn (for example, the 7th complete turn in a 5-player game), proceed to the Victory Point Computations. Otherwise, return to the Issue Shares phase and begin a new turn.

Victory Point Computations

• Players receive 3 Victory Points for every dollar of income shown on the Income Track.
• Players receive 1 Victory Point for each section of track that is part of a Completed Railroad Link. Sections of track are separated by the divisions between track tiles and between cities and towns.
• Players lose 3 Victory Points for every share they issued, as shown on the Issued Shares Track.

Money has no value at the end of the game. The player with the most Victory Points wins. Ties are possible (on the base Rust Belt map).

Track Tile Reference

Simple: 48x Straight, 7x Acute Curve, 55x Gentle Curve.

Complex Crossing: 4x Gentle & Straight, 3x Two Gentle, 4x Two Straight.

Complex Coexist: 1x Gentle Curves, 1x Left Gentle & Acute, 1x Right Gentle & Acute, 1x Straight & Acute.

Dedicated Town: 3x One Exit, 2x Three Exit Left, 2x Three Exit Right, 2x Three Exit (same half), 2x Three Exit ("Star").

Additional Map Rules

Western U.S.

Setup — Place 2 goods cubes in every city and one in each town. If a town is Urbanized, the good (if any) on the town is removed and returned to the bag. Each player begins with $20 and 2 shares issued (the extra $10 comes from your personal fortune as a Rail Baron).

Moving Goods — A good in a town may be moved to a City, just like a good in a City hex; it is not replenished. Moving a good from an eastern City to a western City (or vice versa) grants a bonus of $1 to one of the railroads traversed, chosen by the player moving the good. The eastern Cities are Duluth, Minneapolis, Des Moines, St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans (if Kansas City is urbanized, it counts as eastern). The western Cities are Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles (if Portland or San Diego is urbanized, it counts as western).

Building Track — Railroads must start at one of the starting western or eastern Cities (not Denver, Salt Lake City, or newly urbanized cities). Swamps and Rivers cost $4; Mountains cost $5. Until at least one starting western City connects to at least one starting eastern City, all of a railroad's track must be contiguous. The starting eastern Cities are Duluth, Minneapolis, Des Moines, St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans; the starting western Cities are Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. When a starting western City connects to a starting eastern City, a Transcontinental railroad is realized: if connected by one railroad, it gets an immediate +$4 income; if by two railroads, each gets +$2; if by more than two, the railroad placing the connecting tile chooses which two railroads get the +$2.

Victory — Ties are not possible. Tiebreakers, in order: Most Cash, then Most Track, then Die Roll.

Southern U.S.

Historical Context — The Southern US was an agrarian society, with Cotton the major bulk commodity shipped to foreign ports. The US Civil War occurs during Turn 4.

Setup — Place a white cube (Cotton) in every Town. Place 4 goods cubes in Atlanta; 3 goods cubes each in Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, and New Orleans; and 1 goods cube in every other City.

Actions — When a Town holding a Cotton good is Urbanized, the existing Cotton cube is placed on the New City.

Move Goods — A Cotton cube must end its movement when it enters one of the 4 major ports: Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, or New Orleans. A Cotton cube provides an additional bonus of +1 Income. Once delivered, the Cotton cube is removed from the game.

Goods Growth — On Turns 1–4, Atlanta always receives 1 goods cube each turn, drawn directly from the bag, in addition to any goods from the Goods Display.

Income Reduction — On Turn 4, Income Reduction is doubled.

Germany

Green Hexes — Green hexes are Foreign Terminals. They produce no goods and do not allow goods to pass through. Each accepts one type of good. During setup, place one goods cube in the white box of each green hex; this is the type of good that Foreign Terminal accepts.

Setup — Place 2 goods cubes in every city except Königsberg and Wien; Königsberg gets 3 goods cubes and Wien gets 4.

Actions — The Engineer action now allows one track tile to be placed at half cost, rounded up.

Building Track — A number in a square box is the cost to place a Simple Track tile on that hex. A track link may be built directly between Köln/Düsseldorf and Essen/Dortmund; the cost is $2 and a track ownership disk is placed on the white circle. This counts as one track for victory conditions and as one track tile placement during building.

Goods Growth — In addition to normal Goods Growth, Berlin always gets one goods cube, drawn from the bag.

St. Lucia

Age of Steam: St. Lucia is designed by Ted Alspach (Bezier Games) for two players only. All standard Age of Steam rules apply unless noted, as does the Sequence of Play.

Setup — Randomly place 1 cube on each plain green hex and each river hex on the board.

Determine Player Order — This phase happens before the Issue Shares phase. The auction for turn order is removed. Instead, randomly determine the first player for the first turn; turn order then alternates between the two players on later turns. The player whose turn it is to go first each round must pay $5. If they will not or cannot pay, the other player may pay $5 to go first instead; if that player also declines, the original player goes first for free.

Select Actions — The Production action is not available. The Turn Order action now lets the player who selected it be considered the first player in the next Determine Player Order phase; they still need to pay $5 to keep that privilege.

Build Track and Move (Deliver) Cubes — As track is built, place the cube for that hex on top of the just-built track. That cube may now be delivered to a city, even if the track it is on is not a completed link. These incomplete links still count toward income for the player who owns the track section, giving one Bonus income. If the cube rests on a crossing or double-track piece, the player whose track is used (chosen by the deliverer) receives the income for that section.

Goods Growth — This phase is skipped.

Game End — After the 8th complete turn (when the turn marker is on the 4-player end space), the game ends.

Barbados (Solo)

Age of Steam: Barbados is a solo game map designed by Ted Alspach (Bezier Games). All standard Age of Steam rules apply unless noted, as does the Sequence of Play.

Setup — Remove the purple cubes and New Cities E, F, G, and H from the game. Randomly place cubes in the top row of the (Left) light section of the Goods Display, 1–6 and A, B, C, and D (if a red cube comes out for A, or a blue cube for B, replace it with another cube). Randomly place one cube on each yellow city on the mapboard. (Easy variant for new or younger players: place two cubes on each yellow city.)

Issue Shares — Only one share may be issued per turn.

Determine Player Order — This phase is skipped.

Select Actions — The only available actions are Engineer, Locomotive, Urbanization, and Production. When an action is selected, place a player marker on it; it may not be selected again until the marker is removed. When all four have been selected, remove the markers. One action must be selected each turn.

Goods Growth — Roll 2 dice each turn.

End Game and Scoring — After the 10th complete turn (when the turn marker is on the 3-player end space), spend your cash to buy back all of your shares at $5 each. If you cannot buy back all your shares, you lose. Any money left over is your final score.

Acknowledgements

Age of Steam was created by John Bohrer. "Age of Steam" is a registered U.S. trademark used under license; the license for Age of Steam was granted to Eagle-Gryphon Games by Winsome Games. Artwork and graphic design for the Deluxe Edition by Ian O'Toole.