Barrage
148 questions players ask about Barrage. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-31.
Setup and Components
- Are there powerhouse spaces in the Mountains area?
- How many basins are on the map, and what counts as part of a basin?
- Does the Netherlands (Leeghwater) get a ? wild construction tile?
- In 2- and 3-player games, which action spaces do I block with neutral Engineers?
- Are the Technology tiles left out at setup revealed?
- Is the basic wild ? tile used when playing with the advanced Technology tiles?
- Which seating or color order applies in the introductory game?
- Which Executive Officer does Germany use in the introductory game?
- Should the 5th Player expansion's extra contracts be mixed into games with fewer than five players?
- What happens to unpurchased Patent Office tiles at the end of a round, and how do the levels enter play?
Income and Headstreams
- In round 5, can water from contracts or Water Management still go onto headstreams?
- Is the Income phase resolved simultaneously or in turn order?
- Do I have to place all the water from income, contracts or tech tiles?
- Can I decline energy-track steps that come from income, contracts or powerhouse bonuses?
- Do I collect every uncovered income each round, and do I also get it when it is uncovered?
- Does energy income from dams, elevations or conduits count as a production bonus?
Actions and Construction
- Can I build two bases, two powerhouses or both dam spots of my color in the same basin?
- Can I build the upper dam in a basin before the lower one?
- What does a free build from a contract or bonus cost, and does it spin the Construction Wheel?
- Does a contract's free Conduit of value 2 mean exactly 2 or up to 2? Is it optional?
- What does "free space" mean when a contract lets me place a structure?
- Can I build a Base on a red-outlined spot even if other spots are free?
- Can I build two Conduits of my color in the same basin?
- Can I build on or replace a neutral dam?
- Can I pass while I still have Engineers? What is the Bank for?
- Can I take a Construction action just to use a tile's bonus when I can't or don't build the structure?
Management Actions and Contracts
- If a contract's building reward can't be placed, can I still fulfil the contract?
- Are contract rewards optional, and do I get all the rewards shown?
- Can I resolve a contract's rewards in any order?
- Can I take the Water Management action and place zero Water Drops?
- Can I buy extra Machinery at the Machinery Shop by paying more, or repeat the action?
- Can the Contract Office take a National Contract, and do I need an Engineer for one?
- What happens if the contract stack I must take from is empty?
- When are Private Contracts refilled after the Contract Office action?
- Do unfulfilled starting contracts count toward the three-contract limit?
Production and Conduits
- Does it matter which spot you use within a powerhouse cluster for conduit connections?
- When fulfilling a contract, does the energy count only what I just produced?
- Can one production use water from two dams?
- Whose dam can I take water from when producing, and does the powerhouse need a conduit?
- What do I pay for using another player's Conduit, and when?
- Can one production fulfil more than one contract, or use energy from earlier productions?
- Are powerhouse production bonuses applied per drop or per action, and do they stack?
- Do powerhouse bonuses apply to energy from tech tiles, contracts, external works or the Wind Farm?
- Can energy shown with a white arrow fulfil a contract?
- In what order do water movement, energy, contracts and downstream flow resolve in a production?
Water Flow and Dams
- Can I use water I just placed on a headstream?
- Where does water go after it is used at a powerhouse?
- Does the order in which headstreams flow matter?
- How much water can a dam hold?
- Can water flow uphill along a pipeline or conduit?
- Does a dam on a red-bordered spot share water with the neutral dam below it in the same basin?
- Which Water Management drops flow immediately, and which wait until next round?
- Why is there no headstream water in round 5?
- What if the Water Drop supply runs out?
Scoring and Energy Track
- Can victory points go below zero in Barrage?
- Do I lose VP if my energy marker is behind the current round's bonus tile threshold?
- Do I get the full bonus tile reward if my marker is in the current round's section?
- Do bonus tile rewards count only this round's structures or the whole game so far?
- Do I get all the Credit bonuses I passed on the Energy Track, and is there a cap?
- Do I need to produce at least 1 energy to score the end-of-round points?
- Do the 6 and 2 VP for most energy depend on reaching the bonus tile threshold?
- How is turn order set when three or four players tie for energy?
End of the Game
- Do I need at least one qualifying piece to score an Objective tile, for example second place in a 2-player game?
- When scoring leftover machinery at the end, do I count pieces or their value?
- How are Objective tile points split when players tie?
- How does the "fewest structures in a region" Objective tile score, and does a region with none count?
- Do Private Buildings on red spaces count for the red-space Objective tile?
- How does the "bases connected to a powerhouse" Objective tile count, and is the English or Italian text right?
- Must a set of 5 leftover resources be all the same type?
- How does the "three structures in a basin" Objective tile count, and what is the maximum?
Executive Officers and Company Powers
- Does France's free 4 energy from its fourth conduit count toward contracts?
- Does an Executive Officer's starting special tile count as an Advanced Technology tile for bonus tiles?
- How does Japan's chained production work when drops pass through several dams?
- How does Germany's second production work?
- Does Germany's second production work if I build the third powerhouse during the same production action?
- How does France's -3 contract discount work?
- How does Victor Fiesler's minimum of 4 energy work with bonuses and maluses?
- How does Mahiri Sekibo's copy ability work: which officers, how often, at what cost?
- What does Anton Krylov's tile copy: the effect, the payment or the Engineers?
- Is Margot Fouché's private building a quick free action?
Solo Mode (Automa)
- When does the Automa take a Water Management action, and can it fill a neutral dam?
- When the Automa builds a dam and both the lower and upper spots are open, which does it use?
- Does the Automa build on red-outlined spaces, and what does it pay?
- How does the Automa handle coins, such as energy-track money or conduit fees?
- Which machinery does the Automa take when it gets a choice?
- Which contract does the Automa fulfil, and what happens when its contract pile runs out?
- Can the Automa use its Contract Office action even without a production ability?
- If the Automa can't build a Private Building, does it still build normal structures?
- How does the Automa pick a spot when several conditions apply?
- How do I read and resolve the Automa cards?
Barrage: The Leeghwater ProjectExpansion
- Are the orange Netherlands pieces for a fifth player, and can I use that board in the base game?
- Can The Leeghwater Project be played solo?
- What does "activated" mean for a Private Building, and when do I score its VP?
- How often can a Private Building be activated in a round?
- Do External Works rewards or free private buildings need Engineers, a Technology tile or Machinery?
- Does the Loan Agency need a second Engineer on External Works?
- Do External Works that give 6 energy get powerhouse bonuses or fulfil contracts?
- Can the Netherlands ability or the Cofferdam add water to a neutral or full dam?
- In two-player Leeghwater, what do the 3+ and 4 markings block?
Barrage: The Nile Affair ExpansionExpansion
- How does end-of-round Irrigation scoring work, including ties and two-player games?
- Do I need to produce energy to score Irrigation tiles?
- How long does a negative score from an Irrigation scoring tile last?
- When can I see the pattern of an Irrigation tile covered by another?
- Which dams can supply water for the Irrigation action?
- Can I place two Engineers on an Irrigation space, activate a tile twice, or do I need a dam for a contract tile?
Barrage: DuelExpansion
Barrage: The Geological FactorExpansion
- Do Geological Factor extra costs apply to free builds from contracts, External Works or tech tiles?
- On a conduit space with a cost modifier, do I pay the printed number or the conduit's level?
- Whose powerhouses does the Geological Factor's +4 powerhouse tile affect?
- Can The Geological Factor be used in solo Automa games?
Barrage: The Far CompaniesExpansion
- In Japan's chained production, does the water keep flowing through a dam that is already full?
- Where does Brazil's contract-fulfilling Engineer go, and can I fulfil two contracts with Luciani?
- Can Japan place a Base and an Elevation in the same basin, and do Elevations used as bases count for end-game scoring?