Disney Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Contents
• Setup
  • Mine Setup
  • The Marbles
  • Player Setup
  • General Setup
• On Your Turn
• Card Actions
• Town Actions
• Upgrades
• End of the Game
• F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions)

Objective

Move your mine cart through the mine shafts of Big Thunder Mountain to pick or pan for gold. Sell the gold in town to upgrade your mining operations or earn points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins!

Contents

Mine Tray, Mine Cover, Mountain Peak, 4-Piece Game Board, 23 Marbles, 4 Mine Carts, 4 Locomotives, 4 Player Mats, Supplies Mat, 18 Upgrade Tiles, 20 Town Tokens, 62 Supplies Cards, 15 Town Shares Cards, 10 Fate Cards, 4 Reference Cards, Instructions

Setup

Mine Setup

1. Place the Mine Tray in the center of the play area and assemble the game board around it, as shown.
2. Place the Mountain Peak at the top of the mine, as shown.
3. Set the two red marbles aside. Mix up the other marbles and place them in the large basin behind the Mountain Peak.
4. Place the Mine Cover over the basin.
5. Drop one red marble into the basin. (Keep the other in the game box as a spare.)
6. Prepare the mine shafts by "running" marbles from the mountain—one for each player in the game. To run a marble, turn the Mountain Peak so the opening is facing the basin and a marble drops in. Then continue turning so the opening is facing the mine and the marble runs into one of the seven mine shafts.

The Marbles

(explained in more detail later)

• Water in the mine shaft makes it tricky to mine, but you can Pan for Gold! Or, you can Bail Water out of a mine shaft to earn Town Tokens.
• Fate awaits you in the mine! Will it be a natural disaster, a mining mishap, or a lucky find?
• Gold Nuggets are why you're mining this mountain! Each Gold Nugget is worth two Town Tokens or 2 points.
• Raw Ore isn't as valuable as Gold Nuggets, but it's still worth mining! Each Raw Ore is worth one Town Token or 1 point.

Player Setup

1. Each player chooses a color and takes their matching Mine Cart, Locomotive, and Player Mat, and a Reference Card. Place your mat in front of you with the circles and squares face up.
2. Each player also takes their eight Starting Supplies Cards. (The card fronts say "Starting Supplies" at the bottom and the borders match your mat.) Shuffle your Starting Supplies and place them in a face-down deck to the left of your mat. Then draw four cards from your deck to form your hand. You may look at your hand, but keep it secret from the other players.
3. Place your Mine Cart on the space in Town that matches your color and engine number.
4. Place your Locomotive on the start space of the score track.
5. Return any unused player components to the game box.

NOTE: All Supplies Cards have the same back because throughout the game, you'll get new Supplies to improve your mining operations and add them to your Starting Supplies!

General Setup

1. Separately shuffle the Fate Cards and the Town Shares Cards. Place them in face-down decks near the board.
2. Draw Town Shares from the deck—one fewer than the number of players—and place them next to the score track face down without looking at them. (For example, in a three-player game, place two Town Shares next to the score track.) These are a reward for striking it rich quick and scoring at least 20 points before the game ends!
3. Place the Supplies Mat below the score track. Shuffle the Supplies Cards (not including Starting Supplies) and place them in a face-down deck to the left of the mat. Draw three and place them face up on the mat to form the Market.
4. Separate the Upgrades Tiles by type and place them in face-up stacks near the board. (There are six types of Upgrades.) Then return tiles to the game box so each of the six stacks has one fewer tile than the number of players.
5. Place the Town Tokens near the board.

The first player to shout "Yee-haw" goes first!

On Your Turn

1. Run Marbles. Start every turn by running three marbles. To run a marble, turn the Mountain Peak so the opening is facing the basin and a marble drops in. Then continue turning so the opening is facing the mine and the marble runs into one of the seven mine shafts.

   FATE! If a Fate marble ever comes out of the mountain, finish running marbles, then flip the top Fate card from the deck and do what it says! After completing the card, drop the Fate marble back in the basin.

   If the basin is empty, don't run any more marbles. Drop the Fate marble back in the basin, and continue to step 2.

2. Play Cards. Play any number of cards from your hand one at a time, taking the actions shown on them. (Card actions are explained below.) Each image on a card lets you take that action one time. If there are multiple actions on a card, you may take them in any order. All actions are optional. After playing a card, place it face up in your discard pile to the right of your mat.

3. Draw. After playing the cards you want, you may choose to keep or discard each card left in your hand. Then draw from your deck until you have four cards in your hand.

   If you need to draw a card when your deck is empty, shuffle your discard pile and place it face down to the left of your mat to form a new deck. Then continue drawing. Each time you shuffle your discard pile, the new Supplies you've gained since your last shuffle will be added to your deck, improving your mining operations as the game continues!

Now it's the next player's turn!

Card Actions

Mine Cart (Move). Move your Mine Cart clockwise along the track up to the number of spaces shown on the cart. There are eight spaces on the track—seven mine shafts and Town. Any number of Mine Carts can be in Town, so each Mine Cart has its own Town space, which matches its color and engine number. When you move and count spaces, ignore the other players' Town spaces.

Mine Carts can move past each other, but if you end your move at a mine shaft where there's already a Mine Cart, that Mine Cart is bumped forward to the next space. If there's already a Mine Cart in the space, that Mine Cart is bumped forward as well, and so on.

NOTE: If a Mine Cart ever moves into Town, place it on its matching Town space. Mine Carts can never be bumped out of Town.

MOVE EXAMPLE: The yellow player plays a card and moves two spaces to get to the mine shaft with the Gold Nugget. They move past the gray Mine Cart and end at the mine shaft with the blue Mine Cart. The blue Mine Cart is bumped forward to the next space.

Pick for Gold. Take one Gold Nugget or Raw Ore from the mine shaft you're at and place it in your Mine Cart. This action cannot be taken if there is Water in the mine shaft.

Pan for Gold. Take one Gold Nugget or Raw Ore from the mine shaft you're at and place it in your Mine Cart. This action can only be taken if there is Water in the mine shaft.

IMPORTANT: Your Mine Cart can hold up to four gold (Raw Ore or Gold Nuggets). If your Mine Cart is full, you may not take a Pick for Gold or Pan for Gold action. You can remove gold from your Mine Cart when you're in Town—see Town Actions below.

Bail Water. Remove one Water from the mine shaft you're at, dropping it in the basin, and take one Town Token from the supply. Place the Town Token on an empty circle on your mat. You can have up to five Town Tokens at one time. Town Tokens are used to buy Upgrades and Town Shares when you're in Town—see Town Actions below.

Resupply. Take one of the face-up Supplies from the Market and place it in your discard pile. Then flip a card from the Supplies deck to replace it in the Market.

NOTE: Even though you can't use your new Supplies immediately, getting better Supplies will improve your mining operations as the game continues.

Crosscut Tunnel. Run one marble. Then you may move directly to the mine shaft it ran into, bumping any Mine Cart that's already there. If you ran a Fate marble, do what the Fate card says before choosing whether to move to that mine shaft. Then drop the Fate marble back in the basin.

Discard to Move. If a card has this action, you may discard the card to move your Mine Cart one space instead of playing the card for its other actions. You cannot discard a card that you've already played.

TURN EXAMPLE: The green player runs three marbles, then plays a Move card, but chooses to move just one space instead of two. Then she plays the Pan for Gold card to take one Gold Nugget from the mine shaft and put it in her Mine Cart. She doesn't have another Pan for Gold card, and she can't Pick for Gold when there's Water in the mine shaft. So she plays the card that lets her Bail Water, dropping the Water in the basin and taking one Town Token. She could move one space, but she chooses not to. Now that there's no Water in the mine shaft, she plays her Pick for Gold card to take the other Gold Nugget. She's played all the cards in her hand, so she ends her turn by drawing four cards from her deck.

Town Actions

Whenever a Mine Cart moves into Town, place it on its matching Town space. Whenever you are in Town on your turn, you can take each Town action one time. You may take them in any order and both actions are optional. After taking Town actions, continue your turn. You may take any remaining actions on the last card you played this turn, or play cards from your hand. It's possible to go to Town more than once in one turn.

Sell Gold in Your Mine Cart. You can sell any of the gold in your Mine Cart for Town Tokens or points! Each Raw Ore earns you one Town Token or 1 point. Each Gold Nugget earns you two Town Tokens or 2 points. Drop the marbles you sell back in the basin. Place any Town Tokens you earn on empty circles on your mat, and move your Locomotive along the score track for any points you earn.

Buy One Upgrade or One Town Share. Spend the number of Town Tokens shown on the tile or card. You can only buy one, not both.

When you buy an Upgrade, place it on an empty square of your mat. Upgrades cost between two and four Town Tokens, as shown on the tile, and each one gives you a new ability that you can use for the rest of the game to improve your mining operations—see Upgrades below.

When you buy a Town Share, draw the top Town Shares Card from the deck and place it in front of you face down. (You may look at it.) Town Shares cost two Town Tokens and each one is worth 1, 2, or 3 points at the end of the game.

EXAMPLE: The gray player moves to Town. He wants to buy the Refine Gold Upgrade, which costs three Town Tokens. He only has two on his mat, so he chooses to sell gold first. He sells his Raw Ore for one Town Token and his two Gold Nuggets for two points each. He drops the marbles back in the basin, takes one Town Token, and moves his Locomotive four spaces on the score track. Then he spends his three Town Tokens to buy the Refine Gold Upgrade and places it on his mat.

Upgrades

You may buy any Upgrade Tile as long as you can pay the cost and you don't already have that Upgrade on your mat. You can have up to three Upgrades at one time. If you want to buy a fourth Upgrade, first choose one of your Upgrade Tiles to remove from the game, returning it to the game box.

• Pick to Pan. You may take Pick for Gold actions in mine shafts that have Water in them.
• Refine Gold. All your Raw Ore are considered Gold Nuggets and can be sold in Town to earn two Town Tokens or 2 points.
• Steam Pump. When you take the Bail Water action, take two Town Tokens instead of one. You still can have only five Town Tokens at one time.
• Express Resupply. When you take the Resupply action, draw the new Supplies into your hand instead of placing it in your discard pile. You may play it on the current turn.
• Big Claim. When you take a Pick for Gold or Pan for Gold action, you may take gold from the mine shaft you're at or a mine shaft next to yours. You cannot use this ability when you're in Town. This ability doesn't apply to Bail Water actions.
• 5-Card Hand. At the end of your turn, draw from your deck until you have five cards in your hand, instead of four.

End of the Game

When a player's Locomotive reaches or passes the star space (20 points) on the score track, the game is almost over. That player immediately looks at the Town Shares that were placed next to the score track during setup and chooses one to take, as a bonus for striking it rich quick! Then they finish their turn as normal. Each other player takes one final turn, and then the game is over. During their last turn, if other players reach or pass the star space on the score track, they can also look at any remaining Town Shares next to the score track and choose one to take, until they are gone.

Final Scoring. All players sell any gold they have left in their Mine Carts, but earn half as many points as normal (rounded down). Then all players reveal their Town Shares and earn the points shown at the top of each card.

All players move their Locomotives on the score track to their final score and the player with the most points wins! In the case of a tie, the tied player with the most Town Tokens wins.

NOTE: If you get more than 25 points, place a Town Token under your Locomotive to show you're on your second loop of the score track. Then keep moving it for the number of points you earned.

EXAMPLE: When the game ends, Blue has 14 points on the score track, one Gold Nugget, one Raw Ore, and three Town Shares. First she sells her gold, earning 1 point (half of the normal 3 points, rounded down). Then she earns 6 points for her Town Shares. After moving her Locomotive, her final score is 21.

FOR A LONGER GAME: A player's Locomotive must reach or pass 25 points on the score track instead of the star space (20 points) to start the last round of the game and choose a Town Share.

F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q. Can I take one action on a card, then play another card, and then take the second action on the first card? A. No. You must play cards one at a time, taking all of the actions you want on that card before playing another card.

Q. Can I move some of the spaces for a Move action, then take a different action on the same card, and then move the rest of the spaces from the first action? A. No. You must take actions one at a time, moving all the spaces you want before taking another action. Some Supplies have two separate Move actions, giving you more flexibility to move to different spaces with one card.

Q. Can I Bail Water if I already have five Town Tokens on my mat? A. Yes. Drop the Water in the basin, but don't take any Town Tokens.

Q. Can I have more than four cards in my hand? A. Yes. If you have the 5-Card Hand Upgrade, you'll usually have five cards at the start of your turn. If you have the Express Resupply Upgrade, you'll put Supplies directly into your hand, so you might have five or more cards during your turn. There is no limit to the number of cards in your hand.

Q. Do I have to stop in Town? A. No. You may move past Town, just like any other space. Each player has their own Town space. Ignore the other players' spaces when counting your move.

Q. Can I take a marble from the mine shaft if there are other marbles closer to my Mine Cart? A. Yes. You can choose any marble in the mine shaft you're at, no matter how many other marbles are "in front" of it.

Q. Do Mine Carts ever move counter-clockwise? A. No. Mine Carts always move clockwise. If you ever bump another Mine Cart, they are bumped to the next space clockwise.

Q. I have the Big Claim Upgrade and my Mine Cart is at the last mine shaft before Town. Am I next to the mine shaft on the other side of Town? A. No. The mine shafts on either side of Town are only next to one other mine shaft.