Great Western Trail: Rails to the North
Great Western Trail: Rails to the North Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Additional game board (the extension board, placed above the base board)
- 8 private building tokens (2 double-sided tokens for each player)
- 6 new station master tokens
- 10 medium town tokens (2 of each type)
- 4 assist boards (1 for each player)
- 20 exchange tokens
- 60 trading posts (15 for each player)
- 4 player discs (1 for each player)
Setup
Set up the base game as usual, with one exception: skip step 2 entirely, because the station master tokens are placed later. Also make sure you leave enough room above the game board.
When you have finished setting up the base game, set up the expansion as follows:
18. Fold the additional game board and place it above the base game board, pushed up against it so that the line of new towns covers the line of base-game towns.
Make sure the red railway crosses on the additional board line up correctly with the red crosses on the base board.
19. Shuffle the 10 medium town tokens face down. Then take 6 of them and place them face up at random on the 6 medium town spaces of the additional board. Return the remaining 4 tokens to the box.
20. Add the 6 new station master tokens to the station master tokens from the base game and shuffle these 11 tokens face down. Place them face up, one at a time at random, on all 5 station master spaces of the base game board.
Then place one token at random, face up, on each of the 2 station master spaces of the additional board.
Finally, place the remaining 4 tokens face up to the right of New York City.
21. Place all exchange tokens to the left of the additional game board.
22. Each player then takes the following pieces in his or her colour:
- The new private building tokens are added to the other private building tokens. (As in the base rules, the private building tokens must lie with the same side up for all players. The players agree on which side before the game begins.)
- The assist board is placed below the player board, on the left.
- The additional player disc is placed on the space with the coloured circle on the assist board.
- 15 trading post pieces are placed in groups of 3 on all 5 bell spaces of the assist board.
Each player also takes one exchange token from the common supply and places it in front of himself or herself.
Gameplay
For the most part, the game is played according to the base game rules. The expansion adds a new action: "establish a trading post". This action can be performed as a single or a double assist action (because your assist board increases the number of possible assist actions to 6).
The left space of this assist action is open from the start of the game. The disc on the right space of this action can be removed in the usual way, but doing so costs 2 dollars.
Single assist action: discard 1 cattle card with a breeding value of 2 and perform the action "Establish a trading post" (see below).
Double assist action: discard 2 cattle cards with a breeding value of 2 each and perform the action "Establish a trading post" twice (see below).
Action: Establish a Trading Post
When you perform this action, take a trading post from the left-most occupied bell space on your assist board. Then place this trading post on a free trading-post space of any town square available to you.
A town square is available to you if at least one railway line connects it directly to:
- the Kansas City office, or
- a town where you have your disc, or
- another town square where you have a trading post.
Note that a connection counts as direct even if it passes through a railway junction.
Warning: you cannot place a trading post on a town square where you already have a trading post (that is, each player may place only one trading post on each town square).
Example: when Masha places a trading post, she has 3 options:
- town square A, because it is directly connected by railway to the Kansas City office;
- town square B, because it is directly connected by railway to St. Louis, where Masha's disc lies;
- town square C, because it is directly connected by railway to another town square where Masha has a trading post.
All other town squares are not available to Masha at the moment.
Once you have placed a trading post:
- If the trading-post space shows a cost, you must pay that cost to the bank before placing the piece there.
- If the space shows dollars, take that many dollars from the bank.
- If the space shows an instant action, perform it immediately or do not perform it at all.
Instant actions on trading-post spaces:
- Take one exchange token from the common supply and place it in front of you (see "Exchange tokens").
- Take one goal card from the base game goal cards.
- Move your certificate marker 1 space forward.
After you place a trading post, look at what type of town its town square belongs to. Depending on the town type, additional actions may be activated:
- Small town: if you place a trading post on the town square of a small town, no additional action is activated.
- Town at a railway station: if you place a trading post on the town square of a town at a railway station, you may immediately upgrade the attached station, following the rules for "upgrading a railway station" from the base game rules. The only difference is that the upgrade is offered when you place the trading post, not when you move the locomotive. If you do not upgrade this station immediately, you cannot do so later.
- Medium town: if you place a trading post on the town square of a medium town, the instant action shown on the attached medium town token is activated (see "Medium town tokens" below). You must perform this action or not perform it at all, with no possibility of performing it later.
- Large city: if you place a trading post on the town square of a large city, no additional action is activated. However, cattle can be delivered to each large city. Once you have placed a trading post on the town square of a large city, you will be able to make a delivery there later (see "Changes to action 5 (Delivery) when reaching Kansas City" below).
Note:
- Once a trading post has been placed on a space, it stays there until the end of the game.
- If you run out of trading posts on your assist board, you can no longer perform the action "establish a trading post".
Medium Town Tokens
The instant actions on medium town tokens are:
- Perform the action "hire one worker" at a discount of 2 dollars.
- Remove up to 2 cards from your hand from the game and return them to the box.
- Move your locomotive up to 3 spaces forward.
- Take either 5 dollars, or one cattle card with a breeding value of 3 from the cattle market for free and place it in your discard pile. If there are no such cattle cards in the market, you cannot choose this option.
- Perform the action "place one of your private building tokens on a building space on the game board". As usual, you need the builders required for the building, but you do not have to pay for this building.
Changes to Action 5 (Delivery) When Reaching Kansas City
When your cowboy reaches Kansas City, you perform all 5 Kansas City actions as usual, including delivery to one of the towns in action 5. However, this town may now be a town that is not on the main line of towns. It can be any large city on whose town square you have a trading post.
The rules for delivery to such a town remain the same as for delivering cattle to a town on the main line:
- The total breeding value of the delivery must be equal to or higher than the value shown on the town.
- When placing a disc, you must take into account the colour of the corners of the town spaces (white or dark).
- If the delivery activates an action, you must perform it immediately (see the next page).
The cost of delivery is paid according to the position of your locomotive. To calculate the cost of delivery to a large city, do the following: find the space on the railway line with the same number as the town you have just delivered cattle to. If your locomotive stands on that space or has passed it, you do not have to pay for the delivery. If your locomotive has not yet reached that value on the railway line, you must pay 1 dollar to the bank for each red cross located on the line between your locomotive and the space on the railway line with the same value as the town to which you are making the delivery.
Example: Masha makes a delivery to Minneapolis, which has a town value of 13. Her locomotive is on space 9 of the railway line. She must pay 3 dollars for the delivery, because there are 3 red crosses between her locomotive and space 13 on the railway line.
Remember that you cannot make more than one delivery to the same town. The only exceptions are Kansas City and San Francisco. Note that San Francisco is now located in the upper left part of the additional game board. New York City is now the last town in the line of towns, and a delivery there can be made only once.
New Delivery Bonuses
- If you make a delivery to Memphis, take a goal card from the face-up base game goal cards and get 2 dollars.
- If you make a delivery to Milwaukee, take a goal card from the face-up base game goal cards and get 3 dollars.
- As soon as you have one disc each in Columbia and St. Louis, take one exchange token from the common supply. At the end of the game you lose 5 victory points.
- The same happens when you have one disc each in Chicago and Detroit: take one exchange token from the common supply, and at the end of the game you lose 5 victory points.
- When you make a delivery to New York City, take one station master token that lies nearby and place it in front of you. If this token has an instant action, perform it as usual.
- Each time you make a delivery to Kansas City, you still get 6 dollars. But at the end of the game you lose 8 victory points for each of your discs in Kansas City.
- At the end of the game, San Francisco still gives you victory points for each disc placed on it. However, the number of points depends on how many bell spaces you have cleared on your assist board (see the next page).
End of Game
The end of the game and the final scoring take place as in the base game.
However, in step 3 of the scoring, note the following: if you have made a delivery to San Francisco, you must calculate how many victory points each disc there is worth. This depends on the fully cleared bell spaces on your assist board: each disc in San Francisco gives you 2 victory points multiplied by the number of fully cleared bell spaces.
Example: Masha has 4 trading posts left on her assist board, so 3 of her bell spaces are fully cleared. Both of her discs in San Francisco therefore score 6 victory points each (3 cleared bell spaces multiplied by 2 victory points).
New Components
Exchange Tokens
Each player starts the game with one exchange token and may get more during the game:
- Delivery reward
- Instant reward for placing a trading post
- Instant reward of a station master token
A player may also immediately take one exchange token from the common supply when:
- he or she clears the second bell space of his or her assist board (at the moment of placing the 6th trading post on the additional game board);
- he or she clears the fifth bell space of his or her assist board (at the moment of placing the 15th trading post on the additional game board).
How to use exchange tokens: exchange tokens are special, because they can be used in any number, at any moment of the game, even in the middle of an action or even when it is not your turn.
To use an exchange token, return it to the common supply next to the additional game board. Then take up to 2 cards from your deck and discard as many cards as you took.
Private Building Tokens
Note: the private building token 11 has already been released as part of the promo expansion "DSP-goodie box 2017". If you already have it, use only one building 11 for each player.
The new private building tokens are:
The private building tokens are identified by their printed numbers (11a, 11b, 12a, 12b). The two numbers in the top corners of each token are given in brackets.
- Token 11a (corner numbers 12 and 25): perform the action "remove a danger token".
- Token 11b (corner numbers 5 and 10): move your locomotive forward by as many spaces as you have danger tokens.
- Token 12a (corner numbers 3 and 4): for each fully cleared bell space on your assist board, move your certificate 1 space forward and get 1 dollar.
- Token 12b (corner numbers 3 and 4): get as many dollars as you have builders. Perform the action "place a trading post".
Station Master Tokens
The new station master tokens are:
1 permanent certificate. Individual objective at the end of the game: get 3 victory points for each 2 railway stations on which you have your discs.
Instant action: move your certificate 2 spaces forward on the certificate track. Individual objective at the end of the game: get 2 victory points for each of your private buildings on the game board.
Instant action: perform the action "place a trading post". Individual objective at the end of the game: get 5 victory points for each 2 exchange tokens that remain with you.
Instant action: take one exchange token from the common supply and place it in front of you. Individual objective at the end of the game: get 2 victory points for each zone on the additional game board in which you have at least one trading post. The additional game board has 6 divided, coloured zones in total.
Note: the following 2 station master tokens have already been presented as a small promo expansion. Even if you already have them, use only two different tokens.
- 2 permanent certificates. No individual objective.
- Instant action: get 12 dollars. No individual objective.