Lama Express Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object of the Game
• Setup
• Sequence of Play
• End of the Game

Contents

• 2 trains
• 1 rules sheet
• 16 game pieces (Lamas), 4 each in yellow, pink, green and blue
• 1 colour die
• 1 game board

Board key: the station (Bahnhof) is each player's corner space; the boarding space (Einstiegsfeld) is the space in front of the station where empty cars stop to take on a Lama; the exit spaces (Ausstiegsfelder) are the three spaces in front of the station where cars with Lamas stop to let them out.

Object of the Game

The aim is to travel once around the game board with your Lamas and, as the first player, bring all of your Lamas home to your station.

Setup

Before the first game, carefully push the two trains out of the punch sheets.

Place the game board in the middle of the table.

Each player takes all 4 Lamas in the colour of their choice and places them on the matching corner space of the board, their station.

Place the colour die next to the game board.

Sequence of Play

The youngest player is the starting player. Play then proceeds clockwise. Before the starting player begins, he places the two trains on the tracks. The direction of travel of the trains is always clockwise!

One train is placed so that the tip of the locomotive touches the boarding space of your own station. The other train is placed in the same way in front of the boarding space of the station diagonally opposite.

(The rules sheet shows a diagram of the starting setup for 3 players. The caption reads "Starting setup with 3 players". The caption beside the player figures reads "The player with the green Lamas is the starting player".)

When it is your turn, roll the colour die. Then choose ONE of the two trains and push it forward until the tip of its locomotive touches the next track space that shows the same colour as the die.

If the chosen train is already standing in front of a track space of that colour, it must be pushed forward to the next track space of that colour. If that is not possible for one of the two trains, the other train must be moved.

Caution: a train is always moved forward and clockwise only. A train may never push the train standing in front of it.

BEFORE and AFTER the movement of a train, you may carry out the following three actions at any time, in any order, if they are possible, even when you are not the active player:

• Boarding: Whenever an empty car stops on the boarding space of your station, you may board one of your own Lamas into that car.

• Exiting: Whenever a car with one of your own Lamas stops, after a lap, on one of the three exit spaces in front of your house, you may let the Lama exit and place it in your house. If several cars with your Lamas stand on the exit spaces, all of them may exit at once. Caution: if you miss the chance to exit, you are out of luck, and your Lama must drive another lap!

• Stops and breaks: Whenever a car carrying a Lama of an opponent stops at a white arrow that points to a path with three Lama footprints, you may take that opponent's Lama out of the car and place it on the next free footprint, the one furthest forward. There the Lama must wait until its owner places it into an empty car again.

  It may happen that an empty car of the same train is standing on the corresponding re-boarding space. Then the owner may let the Lama board again immediately at the end of the path, provided no other Lamas are standing in front of it. If that is not possible, the opponent's Lama unfortunately has to pause involuntarily and wait for an empty car in another train. On such a detour, at most three Lamas may stand, one per footprint. If several Lamas are standing on the path, they re-board in order. As soon as a Lama has boarded a car, the other Lamas move up immediately.

Note: ALL OF THESE ACTIONS ARE ALWAYS PERMITTED, EVEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT THE ACTIVE PLAYER. So you must always stay alert, so that you do not miss any chance to bring your Lamas home even faster. Please note that a car has room for only one Lama. Lamas may board only an empty car, never the locomotive or the coal car. Move the trains carefully so that the Lamas inside do not fall over.

End of the Game

The game ends immediately when one player has brought all of their Lamas into their house. That player wins.

For a shorter game, you may agree before the start that only three Lamas need to be brought home to win.