Empire Builder Rules

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Parts
• Board / Map
• Crayons
• Load Chips
• Cards
  • Demand Cards
  • Event Cards
  • Loco (Locomotive) Cards
• Preparation
• How to Play
• Building Railroads
• Initial Building Phases
• Special Cases
  • Limits on Building From Major Cities
  • Limits on Entry into Medium and Small Cities
  • No Credit/No Loans
  • Right to Enter Major Cities
• Planning Routes
• Hauling Freight
  • Starting Your Train
  • Running the Train
  • Renting Track
  • Picking Up Loads
  • Delivering Loads
  • Expanding Track
• Operations Example
• Event Card Effects
  • General Effects
    • Counting Mileposts
    • Half Rate
    • Lost Loads
    • Losing Turns
  • Specific Effects
    • Floods
    • Derailments
    • Rail Strikes
• How to Win
  • Courtesy in Play
• Variations
  • Mercy
  • Fast Trains
  • Fast Game
  • Special Tournament Rule — Time Limits
  • Crossgrading
  • Challenge Game
    • Open Contracts
    • Field Warehousing
    • Cost to Move
    • Cost to Load
    • Additional Trains
    • Reshuffle
  • Selling and Trading Track
  • The Circus
• Credits
• Quick Reference: The Start / The Finish
• Quick Reference: Available Loads & Cities
  • Available Loads
  • Cities

Game Parts

Empire Builder contains:

• 1 puzzle-cut board (map)
• 100 load chips
• 2 decks of cards—including:
  • 136 demand cards
  • 20 event cards
  • 12 two-sided loco (locomotive) cards
• 6 wipe-off crayons
• 6 pawns
• 1 pack of money
• 1 rules booklet (Now in your hands!)

If any of these parts are missing from your new game, please write (identifying the missing part) to:

Empire Builder Parts, Mayfair Games 8060 St. Louis Ave. Skokie, IL 60076. or send a message to [email protected]

Board / Map

The board shows a map of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The map has a grid of round, triangular, and star-shaped dots, called mileposts. The mileposts regulate rail building and train movement. In scale, they are approximately 30 miles apart. Different types of terrain are represented by different types of dots, as shown in the map key.

The map also shows 62 cities. There are 7 major cities—each is marked with a large red hexagon. Near each city are symbols representing the goods available for pickup in that city. The map also shows the approximate location of the seacoasts and major rivers that may affect the construction of railway lines. The locations of some cities have been moved slightly inland to ease play. The seacoast is identified by the sharp line along the coast. Players cannot build track across ocean inlets. These are indicated on the map by heavy black lines along the oceans and the Great Lakes.

IMPORTANT: The board is covered by a thin plastic coating to allow for easy cleanup between games.

Do not use abrasive cleaners to clean the board. Use a dry paper napkin or towel. Using water will not speed cleanup.

Do not use other markers than those recommended. Pencils, pens, regular crayons, and dry markers will permanently color the playing surface and ruin the board.

Whenever using any marker other than those provided, first mark the board away from the playing surface and leave it overnight. If the mark can then be wiped off without leaving a stain, the marker is usable. Each individual color has to be tested. Keep the special wipe-off crayons away from direct heat.

Always clean the board immediately after play!

Crayons

The special wipe-off crayons supplied with the game let players draw on the board during play and clean the board afterwards. Players should not use any marker other than those supplied unless it is first carefully tested for erasability on a section of the board away from the playing area. The crayons in this game are plastic based, not wax based.

Load Chips

Each load chip represents a load which can be carried on a player's train. To show that a load is being carried, place the load chip on the player's loco card.

The unused loads remain in the tray, where players can see what loads are available for pickup. When a player delivers a load, drops a load without delivering it for payoff, or loses a load due to an event card, the load chip is returned to the tray.

The load chips are limited to those provided in the game—additional load chips should not be made (except as replacements). Charts showing the loads available and the cities where they can be picked up are included for player reference at the center of this book.

Cards

There are three types of cards: demand cards, event cards, and loco cards. Before playing, the loco cards should be separated from the others and kept with the money. The remaining cards (the demand cards and event cards) are all shuffled together to make the draw deck. The draw deck is placed face down near the board, in reach of all players.

Demand Cards

Each demand card shows demands for three cities, and for each demand shows:

1. The city needing the goods (Omaha).
2. The money payable on delivery of the goods to that city (24 million).
3. The goods needed (Silver).

Event Cards

The deck has 20 event cards which can affect the play of the game. When drawn, event cards are immediately placed face up and shown to all players. The event takes effect immediately when drawn. The effects of each event card are described on pages 7 through 8. After the event is resolved, continue to draw until three demand cards are in hand. A player must always have three (3) demand cards. If a player has fewer than three demand cards, he must draw a replacement card immediately, whether or not it is his turn.

Loco (Locomotive) Cards

Each player has one loco card, showing the type of train, its maximum speed, and its load capacity. There are four different types of trains.

A freight may carry up to 2 loads and may travel up to 9 mileposts per turn.

A fast freight may carry up to 2 loads and may travel up to 12 mileposts per turn.

A heavy freight may carry up to 3 loads and may travel up to 9 mileposts per turn.

A super freight may carry up to 3 loads and may travel up to 12 mileposts per turn.

Each player starts with a freight. At the end of his turn, he may upgrade his train instead of building track. The upgrade costs 20 million for a fast freight or a heavy freight. If the player has a fast freight or heavy freight, he may further upgrade his train by paying 20 million for a super freight. When a player buys an upgrade, he takes the new loco card from the supply. The old locomotive is returned to the bank.

Preparation

The players sit around the board. One player acts as banker. He gives each player 50 million to start the game. The banker manages the available loco cards and load chips.

After shuffling, deal three demand cards face up to each player. Any event cards dealt are discarded and replaced until each player has three demand cards.

Note: Event cards are discarded only at the beginning of the game—event cards drawn later in the game are displayed and immediately take effect.

Each player now looks at his demand cards and finds the single largest payout for a demand. The player who has the largest single payout goes first (break ties based on the next largest payout).

Before beginning, each player should have:

• 3 demand cards (face up)
• 1 freight loco card
• 50 million in cash
• 1 pawn and 1 crayon of the same color

Before beginning play, shuffle the discarded event cards back into the draw deck, and place the draw deck on the board. If the draw deck runs out during the game, reshuffle the discard pile and form a new draw deck.

Note: To help locate the cities and sources of goods on the map, quick reference sheets are included on the middle four pages of this rulebook. Before your first game, you should remove these pages and cut (or tear) them into four separate half-page sheets.

How to Play

A game turn is divided into two phases:

• The first is the operations phase, where the player's train moves (paying user fees if needed), loads and unloads goods, and collects payoffs;
• The second is the building phase, where the player may spend up to 20 million either to build track or to upgrade his train.

Note: The first two turns for each player is devoted to building track—there are no operation phases during those turns (see page 5).

Instead of taking his normal turn, a player may discard his entire hand and draw three new cards, resolving and replacing any event cards drawn. Event cards drawn take effect immediately. A player who loses his turn because of an event card may not discard his hand during the lost turn.

A player ends his turn by paying the bank any money spent or by declaring that he not spending any money that turn. Then the player to his left takes his turn.

Building Railroads

During a player's turn, he may spend money to build track between mileposts on the board. When a player's track connects the appropriate cities, he is able to run his train on his track to deliver loads and make money.

A player builds his railroad by drawing a line with his color crayon from one milepost to the next. For each section of track, the player must pay the cost for the milepost to which he is building. For example, building from a clear milepost to a mountain milepost costs 2 million; building from a mountain milepost to a small city milepost costs 3 million.

Beginning Construction — A player may build track from any major city milepost or from any milepost to which the player has already built track.

Right of Way — Only one section of track may be built between any two mileposts.

Rivers — The cost for building track across a river is in addition to the regular building cost.

Lake Channels — A lake channel is a water course connecting 2 of the Great Lakes. The cost for building track across a lake channel is in addition to the regular building cost. The 9 legal lake channel crossings are marked in the diagram below by orange arrows.

Example: Blue builds westward from New York to Toronto—to four clear mileposts (1M each), to a clear milepost across a lake channel (1M+2M), and finally north into Toronto, a medium city (3M). Blue's total cost so far is 10M. He also builds south into Buffalo (3M) for a total of 13M.

Example: Yellow decides to build southeast from New York to Pittsburgh—first south into Philadelphia (3M), to two clear mileposts (1M each), into Washington (3M), to a clear milepost (1M), to a mountain milepost (2M), and finally into Pittsburgh (3M). Yellow's total cost so far is 14M.

Building Cost Examples

The cost for building to each milepost is:

Milepost type	Cost
Clear	1 million
Mountain	2 million
Small City	3 million
Medium City	3 million
Major City	5 million
River Crossing	+2 million
Lake Channel Crossing	+2 million

A player may not build across an ocean inlet (i.e., across a solid black ocean/lake boundary). Building across a river to a mountain milepost thus costs 4 million. See the illustration for more examples.

Initial Building Phases

The board begins without any track on it. At the start of the game, each player takes two turns with no operation phase to start building his rail empires. Each player may spend up to 20 million (of his initial 50 million) in each of his two turns to build track or upgrade his train.

For the first round, the first player takes his turn, and play progresses clockwise. After completing the first round, the player who played last in the first round goes first in the second round. The order of play then continues counterclockwise until the the last player (the original first player) takes his turn. (This is known as the Switchback Start.) From this point, players will take normal turns, starting with the first player, with play continuing in a clockwise direction.

Special Cases

When building track there are a number of rules that cover special situations.

Limits on Building From Major Cities

During his turn, a player may not build more than two track segments from major city mileposts. These mileposts may be from the same major city, or from multiple major cities.

However, a player may build an unlimited number of track segments into major city mileposts at a cost of 5 million each. With proper planning, players can avoid building track into major cities (and the 5M expense!).

Example: On his turn, Blue builds track out of New York to Buffalo (A). Blue also builds from New York to Philadelphia (B). Blue would like to build between New York and Boston (C), but unless he wants to pay out 5M, he should wait until his next turn because he has already built twice out of New York this turn.

Limits on Entry into Medium and Small Cities

Only three players may build track into a medium city (squares), and only two players may build track into a small city (circles). No player may build more than three track sections to a medium or small city. No track may be built which would prevent a second player from building at least one segment of track into a small city, or which would prevent a second or third player from building track into a medium city.

Example: (See previous diagram) Yellow would like build track into Pittsburgh from Washington (D). However, he may not do so because Green and Brown already have track running into Pittsburgh (E,F).

No Credit/No Loans

A player may not build track for which he cannot immediately pay. Track drawn which cannot be paid for is immediately erased.

Right to Enter Major Cities

Every player has the right to build at least one segment of track to each major city. No track may be built which blocks any player from connecting all the major cities. No track may be built in the red area of a major city.

Planning Routes

Before building any track, each player should look at the nine demands on his three demand cards—finding where the loads are available for pickup by looking on the chart and matching each of them to the corresponding city on the board. The player should then plan a route for his railroad to connect the cities where the loads can be delivered for payoff. The player begins to build track.

Important: Only one demand is filled on a demand card.

Note: To help locate the cities on the map, and where different demand goods may be found, handy quick reference sheets are included in the middle of this rulebook for use during the game. They are provided to help find the resources needed to fulfill demands.

Note: Keep in mind that a player will only be able to deliver one demand on each card. When filled, the demand card is discarded and replaced. So try and fill demands on more than one card if possible.

Hauling Freight

Starting Your Train

At the beginning of the game, a player may start his train (represented by his pawn) in any city on the map.

Note: A player must begin building track from a major city, but he may begin his train at the beginning of the game in any city.

Running the Train

A player moves his train by traveling on track built on the board and counting the mileposts reached, up to the maximum movement of the train. The speed for each type of train is shown on the loco card: freight and heavy freight locos may move up to 9 mileposts each turn. Fast freight and super freight locos may move up to 12 mileposts each turn. The type of milepost does not matter—each milepost costs one movement point to move to, regardless of terrain.

There is no limit to the number of trains that may end a turn on one milepost or use the same track. A player's train does not block another player's train movement; two trains may pass each other on the same track (it is assumed that there are sidetracks available for trains to pass each other).

A train may only reverse direction if it is in a city (including all major city mileposts). A train may change direction at a junction during its move. A train may change direction in this way as many times as a player wishes each turn, as long as it still has movement points remaining.

Each player may treat the red areas of the major cities as his track. This represents local belt or terminal rail systems. Any train may travel across the city using the red area as its own track. Loads may be picked up or dropped off at any milepost in the major city. The center milepost is counted for movement.

Renting Track

A player pays nothing to run his train on his own track. A player may run on an opponent's track, but must pay 4 million per turn to each opponent upon whose track his train will run. A player may not use an opponent's track unless he has the cash to pay before using it. These fees do not count toward the spending limit in the building phase of the turn.

Picking Up Loads

A load may be picked up by a train passing through a city where the load is available. If there is no load chip of that type available, then a player may not pick up that load until one is returned to the bank.

Trains may carry up to two or three loads, depending on the type of loco card the player has. The maximum number of loads that can be carried at one time is shown on the loco card. Trains may carry different types of loads, or multiples of the same type.

A train may pick up and carry loads whether or not there is a demand for those loads. It may be profitable to carry such loads in case a demand card for them is drawn.

A load may be dropped without payoff at any city. A player picking up or dropping off a load incurs no movement penalty and may still travel up to his full movement allowance. During the Operation Phase, a player may load, unload, and move his train any number of times in any order. Movement is limited only by the type of train and any event cards in play. A train may not move more than its maximum movement during the Operation Phase, regardless of the number of starts and stops it makes.

Delivering Loads

When a player delivers a load to a city with a demand for that load on one of his demand cards, the player must then:

1. Return the load chip to the stock of available loads.
2. Receive the amount stated on the demand card from the bank.
3. Discard the demand card. Only one load can be delivered for payoff with each demand card.
4. Draw a new demand card. If an event card is drawn, it takes effect immediately, and another card from the deck is drawn. The event may prevent the player from making other deliveries.

Important: Only one demand is filled on a demand card.

After delivery, the player continues his turn, including, if he can: delivering another load for payoff, dropping a load, picking up a load, and moving. The player may continue until his movement allowance is used up.

When making multiple deliveries to the same city, each load must be resolved separately. A player must complete all of the above steps for each load delivered, before making the next delivery.

Expanding Track

After finishing movement, a player proceeds to the Building Phase of his turn. A player may spend up to 20 million to build track or to upgrade his train. Adding new track follows the rules described on page 4.

Operations Example

1. Blue starts his turn with his "freight" train in Norfolk, along with the three demand cards (A,B,C) and the track shown below. Blue picks up Imports bound for Cincinnati (card-B) and moves 3 mileposts to Raleigh.

2. In Raleigh he picks up Machinery bound for Pittsburgh (card-A)—his train is full.

3. Blue moves 6 more mileposts to Pittsburgh and delivers his Machinery and collects 6M as indicated on card-A. He also discards card-A and draws card-D. His movement for the turn is over since his train may only move 9 mileposts each turn.

4. On Blue's next turn, he moves his train 6 mileposts to Cincinnati where he delivers his Imports and collects 11M as indicated on card-B. He discards card-B and draws another demand card (not shown). He picks up a load of Coal to take back to Raleigh (card-C).

5. Blue uses the rest of his movement for the turn to move 3 mileposts back towards Pittsburgh.

6. On Blue's next turn, he moves his train 3 mileposts to Pittsburgh where he picks up Steel which he hopes to eventually deliver to New York (card-D).

7. Blue uses the rest of his movement for the turn to move 6 mileposts to Raleigh where he delivers his Coal and collects 10M as indicated on card-C. He discards card-C and draws another demand card (not shown).

Event Card Effects

An event card takes effect immediately when it is drawn. Some event cards remain in play until the end of the drawing player's next turn (in the next round) and affect all players. Some events stay in play until the requirements on the card are fulfilled. Players must obey the directions on all event cards while they are in effect.

General Effects

Here are explanations of general effects that are common to a variety of event cards:

Counting Mileposts

Mileposts are counted the same way train movement is counted. To count mileposts from a major city, count from the city center and not from the outer mileposts. To count mileposts from a seacoast, count from the milepost nearest the seacoast.

Half Rate

When trains move at half rate, freights and heavy freights move 5 mileposts per turn and fast freights and super freights move 6 mileposts per turn. When an event card causes the drawing player's train (which had already moved) to move at half rate, or a player's train moves into an area of bad weather, the train's remaining movement is halved, rounding all fractions up.

Lost Loads

When a train loses a load, the player operating the train chooses which load is lost from those the train is carrying. The event card does not affect any loads picked up after the card is drawn.

Example event card — Earthquake: Each train within 3 mileposts of MEXICO CITY loses 2 turns and all loads. Each other train within 8 mileposts loses 1 turn and 1 load. No rail building is allowed within 10 mileposts.

Losing Turns

A player may not move his train, deliver or pick up any loads, or build track or upgrade a loco on a lost turn. A player may also not discard all his demand cards and draw new ones on a lost turn.

A player who draws an event card that causes him to lose his turn, loses the rest of the current turn and all of his next turn. For this reason, it is important to resolve any event drawn right away. If a player was trying to deliver two loads to the same city, and an event caused him to lose his turn after he delivered the first load, then he would have to wait until after his next turn before he could deliver the second load.

Specific Effects

Here are more complete explanations of effects of various specific event cards:

Floods

There are a number of flood cards in the deck. Each flood card indicates which rivers are flooded by that event. Flood cards have two effects:

1. All bridges built over the indicated flooded rivers are destroyed. Erase all the bridges over those rivers.
2. The rivers continue to flood until the end of the drawing player's next turn. No one may build any track over a flooded river, and no one may move his train over a flooded river, until the event leaves play.

Example event card — Flood: No train may cross the MISSISSIPPI, MISSOURI, or OHIO rivers. All bridges over these rivers are destroyed.

When a river floods, each player must be given an opportunity to rebuild his bridges once the flood ends. A player may not build where another player's bridge was located until after that player has had one turn to rebuild it.

Derailments

One of the greatest hazards to the railroads is the risk of derailment. Each derailments card lists a number of cities on the map. If a train is within 3 mileposts of one of the cities listed, the player owning the train must return one load of his choice that is on the train to the bank. The player also loses his next turn.

Example event card — Derailments: Any train within 3 mileposts of ATLANTA, DETROIT, NEW ORLEANS, BOSTON, BOISE, or HERMOSILLO loses 1 turn and 1 load.

Rail Strikes

A Rail Strike makes it impossible to pickup or deliver any loads at mileposts touching the affected border. Strikes last until the end of the drawing player's next turn.

Example event card — Mexican Rail Strike: No train in Mexico may move. No train may enter Mexico. No player may build track in Mexico.

How to Win

A player declares victory when he fulfills the following two requirements:

• Connect six of the seven major cities with one continuous line of track. This track can have any number of loops and branches, but must be unbroken.
• Have at least 250 million in cash at the end of his turn. Only cash is counted; the money spent on building railroads or upgrading locomotives does not count toward winning.

When a player declares victory, play continues until the current round ends, that is, once each player has completed an equal number of turns. If two or more players all declare victory in the same round, the one with the most cash wins. In the event of a tie, the cash requirement is raised by 50 million to 300 million. Play then continues, with all players still eligible to win. Both requirements still need to be fulfilled in order to win.

Courtesy in Play

A player's demand cards and loco cards (together with the load chips on the loco cards) must be face up in front of the player for all to see. A player need not show his money until after the Rail Tax event card appears, after which the amount of each player's money is also public information.

Variations

Here are some optional rules that players might want to try when playing Empire Builder. All players must agree to any optional rules that are used before the game begins.

Be Alert: Some of these optional rules radically alter the play of the game.

Mercy

Sometimes new players will find themselves trapped and unable to move or build to make money. Sometimes, the solution comes from merely discarding the player's hand and getting new cards; more often the position is untenable. To let the player continue enjoying the game, try one of these rules:

Borrowing — A player may take a loan up to 20 million from the bank. He must repay twice the borrowed amount as soon as he has the money to do so.

Late Payment of Use Fee — A player may use another player's track and pay the track usage fee from delivery payoffs obtained by delivering loads while on the other player's track.

Backtracking — A player may reverse his train's direction on any milepost (not just a city milepost) at the cost of losing one full turn. A train which backtracks can move in any direction in its next turn. A train may not backtrack when the player has discarded his cards during the same turn; a train may backtrack if it cannot move for any other reason (e.g., derailment). A player whose train backtracks while on an opponent's track is assessed the use fee for that turn.

Fast Trains

Note: Recommended for beginners.

New players (or old hands who want a quicker game) can play with fast trains. When using this rule, freight and heavy freight trains can move up to 12 mileposts per turn. Fast freight and super freight trains can move up to 16 mileposts. Half Rate is 6 and 8 mileposts respectively.

Fast Game

To speed up the play of Empire Builder, use the Fast Trains rule above and/or any or all of the following rule changes:

• Each player starts with 70 million and 3 pre-movement turns.
• Discard the event cards dealt during the initial deal; do not shuffle them into the deck.
• The Excess Profits Tax event card has no effect and is removed prior to play.
• Deal 5 cards to each player at the beginning of the game, replacing event cards normally. After completing the first 2 building turns, each player discards 2 demand cards, and then play continues normally.

Special Tournament Rule — Time Limits

During tournament play, it may be necessary to enforce a time limit for each game. All players should be made aware of the time limit before the game begins. If any player wins before the time limit is reached, then he is the winner. Otherwise, play continues until the stated time limit is reached. Once time has expired, play continues for one last round (so all players get an equal number of turns). The player who has a continuous line of track that connects six major cities, and who has the most cash on hand is the winner. If no player's track connects six major cities, the player with the most cash wins. If the tournament awards second or third place, then having a connection to six cities takes precedence over having the most money for those positions as well.

Crossgrading

A player may crossgrade from a fast freight to a heavy freight, or vice versa, for 5 million. When a player crossgrades, he may also spend up to 15 million to build track in the same turn. There is no limit to the number of times a player may crossgrade. Money spent on crossgrading does not count towards the upgrade to a superfreight.

Challenge Game

To create a more challenging game for experienced players, use any or all of the following rule changes:

Open Contracts

Whenever a player discards his hand, the discarded demand cards are not placed on the discard pile, but are placed on the board.

• These cards are open contracts available to all players. The first player to deliver a load on an open contract picks the card from the table, discards it, and receives the payoff for the delivery in the usual way.
• Only four open contracts may be face up on the table at any time; additional cards are immediately discarded.

Field Warehousing

Loads dropped off in a city without a payoff remain at that city for 4 turns. During that time, any player may pick up that load by passing through the city and picking it up normally. At the end of the dropping player's fourth subsequent turn, the load is returned to the tray.

Cost to Move

Each player must pay 1 million per turn that his train moves on its own track. The 4 million cost for moving on the other players' track remains the same.

Cost to Load

Each player uses one milepost of movement to pick up or drop off one load. For example, if a player both picks up 1 load and drops off 1 load or if a player picks up 2 loads, the player has used 2 mileposts of movement.

Additional Trains

Each player starts with two trains, a freight and a fast freight, which may be upgraded in the usual way. Both move and may move in the same turn. Players may (by mutual agreement) have four demand cards instead of three.

Reshuffle

When the "Tax" card is drawn, reshuffle the deck and remove the "Tax" card from the game.

Selling and Trading Track

Instead of building track, a player may purchase track from another player for whatever price both players agree to. The purchase may take place only in the purchasing player's turn. Players can agree to trade track for track, with no money involved. In both trading and selling, the selling player replaces his colored lines with lines of the new owner's color.

The Circus

At the start of the game, put the two Circus load chips in Tampa. A Circus remains in that city until it is picked up by a train. Any train in a city with a Circus can pick up the Circus load, but only if it has a demand card for the Circus.

Each demand card with a number divisible by 10 (e.g., 20, 30, . . .,110, 120, 130) is modified by changing the lowest-payoff demand(s); that demand becomes 20 million to deliver the Circus to that city.

The demand card then works normally, but when the Circus is delivered to a city, it remains there until picked up and delivered again. A player may not pick up the Circus unless he has a demand card for the Circus; however it may be dropped without payoff at any city, and if it is lost from a Derailment event card, it is placed at the nearest city.

Credits

Line Editor: Larry Roznai

Original Game System Developer: Darwin Bromley

Original Empire Builder Design: Darwin P. Bromley, Bill Fawcett

North American Rails™ Design: Joe Roznai, Bill Wordelmann, Elaine Henninger

Mexican Rails™ Design: Bill Fawcett

Rules Editors: Larry Roznai, Peter Bromley, Coleman Charlton

Cover Art: Stefan Sierhej

Graphic Design: Pete Fenlon, Peter Bromley, Morgan Dontanville, Drew Perkett

Production: Pete Fenlon, Coleman Charlton, Drew Perkett

The Team: Bill and Elaine Wordelmann; Marty McDonnell; Joe, Barb, Loren & Bridget Roznai; Sue Balmes; Brian Steffen; Don Glass; Jim Jewell

The Playtesters: Glen Johnson, Todd Johnson, Walter Smith, Forest Brown, Mariam McKenzie, Steve Courtemanche, Louis Newman, Simon Billenness, Steve Ivanwosky, Ig Lew, Bruce McIntyre, Steve Knight, Paul Gardner, Mike Johnson, Ty Hare, Craig Mills, Briane Moore, Kevin Stone, Conrad von Betxke, Mike Barno, Jeff Zarse, Trax readers, Trax Master Brux, dozens of loyal fans, and the entire staff of the old Mayfair Games.

Special Thanks: We at Mayfair would like to thank the loyal fans who continue to support the game system. Without you we would not have a chance to make these great games.

Quick Reference: The Start / The Finish

The Start:

• Starting Cash: 50 million
• Number of Building Turns: 2
• Switchback Start: Yes

The Finish:

• Ending Cash: 250 million
• Number of Major Cities Connected: 6
• Equal Turns: Yes

Building Costs

Milepost / feature	Cost
Clear milepost	1M
Mountain milepost	2M
River or Lake Channel	2M additional
Small city (maximum 2 players)	3M
Medium city (maximum 3 players)	3M
Major city (see rules)	5M

The cost for building track across a river or a lake channel is in addition to the regular building cost. A lake channel is a water course connecting 2 of the Great Lakes. The 9 legal lake channel crossings are marked in the diagram below by orange arrows.

A player may not build across an ocean inlet (i.e., across a solid black ocean/lake boundry). Building to a mountain milepost and crossing a river thus costs 4 million. See illustration below for further examples.

Special Note: During his turn, a player may not build more than 2 track segments from major city mileposts. When building out from a major city, the cost is based upon the milepost being built to. However, a player may build an unlimited number of track segments into major city mileposts at a cost of 5M each.

Copyright © 1982, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2008 Mayfair Games, Inc. "Empire Builder," the Mayfair Shield logo, and the round Empire Builder Brand Logo are trademark properties of Mayfair Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A.

Quick Reference: Available Loads & Cities

The rulebook's middle pages (printed four times, meant to be cut into separate half-page reference sheets for use during play) list every load type with its source cities and region, and every city with its map grid coordinate and the loads available there. Transcribed once below.

Available Loads

Bauxite (3): Memphis (Midwest)

Cars (3): Detroit (East), Toronto (East Canada)

Cattle (4): Billings (Mountain), Calgary (West Canada), Cheyenne (Mountain), Chihuahua (Mexico), Miami (Southeast), Regina (Mid-Canada)

Coal (3): Cincinnati (Midwest), Duluth (Midwest), Salt Lake City (Mountain), Santa Fe (Southwest)

Coffee (3): Veracruz (Mexico)

Copper (3): Phoenix (Southwest), Portland, OR (Northwest)

Corn (3): Des Moines (Midwest), Guadalajara (Mexico), Minneapolis (Midwest), St. Louis (Midwest)

Cotton (4): Dallas (South), Savannah (Southeast), Torreón (Mexico)

Fish (4): Boston (East), Hermosillo (Mexico), Norfolk (East), Portland, OR (Northwest), Tampico (Mexico), Vancouver (West Canada)

Fruit (3): San Diego (West), San Francisco (West), Tampa (Southeast)

Imports (4): Montréal (East Canada), Norfolk (East), Philadelphia (East), San Francisco (West), Veracruz (Mexico)

Iron (3): Birmingham (Southeast), Duluth (Midwest)

Lead (3): Boise (Mountain), Calgary (West Canada), Denver (Mountain)

Machinery (4): Boston (East), Buffalo (East), Cincinnati (Midwest), Jacksonville (Southeast), Juárez (Mexico), Knoxville (South), Raleigh (Southeast), San Diego (West), Toronto (East Canada)

Nickel (3): Sudbury (Mid-Canada), Vancouver (West Canada)

Oats (3): Fargo (Midwest), Omaha (Midwest), Winnipeg (Mid-Canada)

Oil (4): Dallas (South), Houston (South), Oklahoma City (Midwest), Tampico (Mexico)

Rice (3): Houston (South), New Orleans (South)

Sheep (3): Billings (Mountain), Salt Lake City (Mountain), Torreón (Mexico)

Silver (3): Durango (Mexico)

Steel (3): Birmingham (Southeast), Monterrey (Mexico), Pittsburgh (East)

Sugar (3): San Francisco (West)

Swine (3): Des Moines (Midwest), St. Louis (Midwest)

Textiles (3): Durango (Mexico), Monterrey (Mexico)

Tobacco (3): Raleigh (Southeast), Savannah (Southeast)

Tourists (3): Chicago (Midwest), New York (East)

Uranium (3): Regina (Mid-Canada), Santa Fe (Southwest)

Wheat (3): Guadalajara (Mexico), Oklahoma City (Midwest), Omaha (Midwest), Winnipeg (Mid-Canada)

Wood (3): Portland, OR (Northwest), Portland, ME (Northeast)

(#) — Number of loads available

Cities

City	Region, Grid	Goods available
Atlanta	Southeast, G-7	—
Billings	F-4	Cattle, Sheep (Mountain)
Birmingham	G-7	Iron, Steel (Southeast)
Boise	D-4	Lead (Mountain)
Boston	I-4	Fish, Machinery (Northeast)
Buffalo	H-4	Machinery (East)
Calgary	E-2	Cattle, Lead (West Canada)
Cheyenne	F-5	Cattle (Mountain)
Chicago	F-5	Tourists (Midwest)
Chihuahua	F-9	Cattle (Mexico)
Cincinnati	G-5	Coal, Machinery (Midwest)
Culiacán	Mexico, E-10	—
Dallas	G-8	Cotton, Oil (South)
Denver	F-5	Lead (Mountain)
Des Moines	H-5	Corn, Swine (Midwest)
Detroit	G-5	Cars (East)
Duluth	H-4	Coal, Iron (Midwest)
Durango	F-10	Silver, Textiles (Mexico)
Fargo	G-3	Oats (Midwest)
Guadalajara	F-11	Corn, Wheat (Mexico)
Hermosillo	E-9	Fish (Mexico)
Houston	G-8	Oil, Rice (South)
Jacksonville	H-8	Machinery (Southeast)
Juárez	F-8	Machinery (Mexico)
Kansas City	Midwest, G-6	—
Knoxville	G-6	Machinery (South)
Las Vegas	West, D-6	—
Los Angeles	West, D-7	—
Memphis	H-7	Bauxite (Midwest)
Mexico City	Mexico, G-12	—
Miami	H-9	Cattle (Southeast)
Minneapolis	H-4	Corn (Midwest)
Monterrey	G-10	Steel, Textiles (Mexico)
Montréal	H-3	Imports (East Canada)
New Orleans	H-8	Rice (South)
New York	H-4	Tourists (East)
Norfolk	H-6	Fish, Imports (East)
Oklahoma City	G-7	Oil, Wheat (Midwest)
Omaha	G-5	Oats, Wheat (Midwest)
Philadelphia	H-5	Imports (East)
Phoenix	E-7	Copper (Southwest)
Pittsburgh	H-5	Steel (East)
Portland, ME	I-3	Wood (Northeast)
Portland, OR	D-3	Copper, Fish, Wood (Northwest)
Raleigh	H-6	Machinery, Tobacco (Southeast)
Regina	F-2	Cattle, Uranium (Mid-Canada)
Salt Lake City	E-5	Coal, Sheep (Mountain)
San Diego	D-7	Fruit, Machinery (West)
San Francisco	C-6	Fruit, Imports, Sugar (West)
Santa Fe	F-7	Coal, Uranium (Southwest)
Savannah	H-7	Cotton, Tobacco (Southeast)
Seattle	Northwest, D-3	—
St. Louis	H-6	Corn, Swine (Midwest)
Sudbury	G-3	Nickel (Mid-Canada)
Tampa	H-9	Fruit (Southeast)
Tampico	G-11	Fish, Oil (Mexico)
Toronto	H-4	Cars, Machinery (East Canada)
Torreón	F-10	Cotton, Sheep (Mexico)
Vancouver	D-2	Fish, Nickel (West Canada)
Veracruz	G-12	Coffee, Imports (Mexico)
Washington DC	H-5	—
Winnipeg	G-3	Oats, Wheat (Mid-Canada)