Kansas Pacific Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Game Components
• Set-up
• Preparing to Play
• Playing the Game
• Possible Railroad Actions
  • Issue Share
  • Land Grant
  • Build Track
    • Track Limitations
  • Determine President
  • Go West
  • Pay Dividends
  • Check for End of Game
• Income Changes

Object of the Game

The object of Kansas Pacific is simple: each player tries to make as much money as possible as an investor or railroad president in the American West.

Game Components

• 1 Game Board
• 1 Rules Booklet
• Play Money: Taler with value of $1, $5, $25 and $100
• 3 Gone West cards
• 192 locomotives: 27 for each of the 6 railroads and 10 for each of the 3 Land Grants
• 36 Railroad Shares: 6 for each railroad (1 president's share and 5 standard shares)

Note: The locomotives represent track on the game board.

The game board includes the gameplay area (hexagons), the area for stocks of the six railroad companies (the railroad's treasury), the build track chart, the income per hex chart, the latest dividends paid track, and the railroad income track.

Set-up

Lay out the game board. Give each player play money.

• 3 players: $40 each
• 4 players: $30 each
• 5 players: $24 each
• 6 players: $20 each

The rest of the money is sorted by value and put aside. It forms the bank.

Next, place each railroad's shares in that railroad's treasury area (president's share on top). Place one locomotive on the corresponding railroad's starting hexagon (in color and with the railroad's initials), one locomotive of each railroad near the latest dividends paid track, and one locomotive on the income track at the current income level for that railroad:

• $2 for the Rock Island
• $2 for the M-K-T
• $2 for the Frisco
• $3 for the Santa Fe
• $3 for the Kansas Pacific
• $3 for the Missouri Pacific Railway

The rest of the locomotives are put in their respective railroad treasuries. Place the Land Grant locomotives next to the gameboard.

Preparing to Play

Before the actual start of the game, the railroad presidents for all six railroads are determined.

Randomly a first bidder is chosen. This player begins the bidding for the president's share of the Rock Island. Bidding proceeds clockwise around the table and may continue over several bidding rounds. If a player drops out of the bidding he may not reenter the bidding. Once a player has won the bid he must put the bid money at the Rock Island treasury and take the president's share of the Rock Island.

Bidding for the other railroads continues in the same way in this order:

• Santa Fe: The first bid is offered by the president of the Rock Island.
• Kansas Pacific: The first bid is offered by the president of the Santa Fe.
• Missouri, Kansas, Texas Railroad (M-K-T): The first bid is offered by the president of the Kansas Pacific.
• Missouri Pacific Railway: The first bid is offered by the president of the M-K-T.
• Frisco: The first bid is offered by the president of the Missouri Pacific Railway.

Note: A bid of $0 is allowed!

Note: If no one bids for a railway, the offering player gets the share for free and no money is put into the railroad's treasury.

Playing the Game

Kansas Pacific is played in turns. The railroads take turns in the following sequence until the end of the game.

1. Rock Island
2. Santa Fe
3. Kansas Pacific
4. M-K-T
5. Missouri Pacific Railway
6. Frisco

After all railroads have taken their turn, the Wall Street phase is performed. After that, the railroads resume taking turns.

Possible Railroad Actions

The president of the railroad takes the following actions in this order: Issue Share, Determine President, Land Grant, Build Track, Go West, Pay Dividends, Check for End of Game.

Issue Share

The president of a railroad may choose to issue a share of the railroad. Bidding starts with the president and continues clockwise. A starting bid of $0 is allowed! Bidding may continue over several bidding rounds. If a player drops out of the bidding he may not reenter it.

Place the bid money in the railroad's treasury and give the bidder a share of stock.

Land Grant

If the railroad has passed the land grant line, the president of the railroad may exercise the land grant option and purchase 10 additional locomotives for $30. The $30 must come from the railroad's treasury or the president's personal cash or a combination of the two. No railroad may exercise the land grant option more than once. In addition, in total only three railroads can do so!

If purchased, put the 10 land grant locomotives in the railroad's treasury. The railroad may build track using these locomotives in addition to any remaining original locomotives.

Example #1: The Rock Island has built track to the town of Norton and no further west. It is not able to purchase the land grant locomotives.

Example #2: The Rock Island has built track to the hexagon west (to the left) of the town of Norton. It is able to purchase the land grant locomotives.

Build Track

The president may have the railroad build track. Up to 8 track may be built. For each piece of track, place one locomotive into a hexagon. The costs depend on the length of built track:

• 1 track built - $1
• 2 tracks built - $3
• 3 tracks built - $6
• 4 tracks built - $9
• 5 tracks built - $13
• 6 tracks built - $18
• 7 tracks built - $26
• 8 tracks built - $39

The track building costs must be paid from the railroad's treasury. In order to build track, a locomotive from the treasury of the railroad is placed on the appropriate hexagon.

Example: The Santa Fe builds 7 track this turn. It has to pay $26 from its treasury to the bank.

Note: The track costs are also shown on the game board.

Track Limitations

• Only 2 different locomotives may occupy a hexagon.
• A railroad may not have two locomotives in the same hexagon.
• Each railroad may occupy only 1 hexagon of the 2 hexagon Topeka Metropolis.
• Each railroad may occupy only 1 hexagon of the 3 hexagon Wichita Metropolis.
• Track must be contiguous. "Branching" is possible, however, discrete disconnected track is not allowed.

Determine President

The player with the most shares in the railroad is president of that railroad. If the number of shares is tied, the existing president remains the president.

If another player has become the new president, they exchange one of their common shares with the player who held the president's share. The new president of the railroad completes the rest of that railroad's turn.

Go West

The president of a railroad with track on any of the westernmost hexagons of the game board may choose to have that railroad Go West. If he decides to do so:

• Add $20 to the railroad's income.
• Remove any unsold shares, locomotives and money from the railroad's treasury.
• Place a Gone West card on the railroad's treasury.

During the railroad's future turns, the only action performed is Pay Dividends.

Note: A railroad that has Gone West has no locomotives for the purposes of the end of the game conditions, see below.

Note: Kansas Pacific may end at the conclusion of any individual railroad's turn!

Pay Dividends

The railroad must now pay its shareholders dividends. To do so, divide the railroad's income by the number of sold shares (round up when necessary). This is the dividend paid per share to each shareholder from the bank. Record the dividend paid on the latest dividend paid track.

Check for End of Game

If:

• five railroads have no locomotives in their treasury, or
• four railroads are across the land grant line, or
• three railroads have Gone West, or
• 8 Wall Streets have happened,

the game is over.

In that case each player counts his personal money. The player with the most money wins. Ties are possible.

Income Changes

Entering towns and cities may increase the railroad's income. An income per hexagon chart is on the game board. When a railroad builds track into an Urban hexagon, the railroad gains income from the city. Most cities increase the railroad's income by 1 Taler. Some cities add more than 1 Taler to the railroad's income; the exact figure is printed in red in the hexagon. The additional income received is immediately added to the railroad's income on the Railroad Income track.

In addition, any additional income immediately changes the Income of players owning shares of that railroad. This is marked on the Player Income Track. The income changes are:

• Open - $0
• Small town - $1 (1 railroad in the hexagon) or $0 (2 railroads in the hexagon)
• Large town - $2 (1 railroad in the hexagon) or $1 (2 railroads in the hexagon)
• Small city - $2
• Large city - $3
• Metropolis - $6 for Topeka or $9 for Wichita

In some cases, entering a town may decrease another railroad's income. Small towns provide an income of $1 if only one railroad is in the hex. If two railroads are in the hex, $0 income is provided. Large towns provide an income of $2 if only one railroad is in the hex. If two railroads are in the hex, $1 income is provided.

Immediately, record any increases or decreases on the income track.