Mini Express: Map Pack 1 – Taiwan & United Kingdom Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Cloak & Dagger
  • Changes to Setup
  • Changes to Gameplay
  • Changes to Game End
  • Changes to Final Scoring
• Hustle & Bustle
  • Changes to Setup
  • Changes to Gameplay
  • Changes to Game End
  • Changes to Final Scoring
• Peak Steam
  • Changes to Setup
  • Changes to Gameplay
  • Changes to Game End
  • Changes to Final Scoring
• United Kingdom 1918
  • Introduction
  • Changes to Setup
  • Changes to Gameplay
  • Changes to Game End
  • Changes to Final Scoring
• Taiwan 1908
  • Introduction
  • Changes to Setup
  • Changes to Gameplay
  • Changes to Game End
  • Changes to Final Scoring
  • Notes for AI Bot

Game Components

• 1 x Double Sided Map (UK + TW)
• 1 x Track Length Extension board
• 6 x Debt Tiles
• 5 x Signal Tiles
• 3 x Limit Tiles
• 8 x Boom City Tiles (front side and back side)
• 1 x Imperial Seal of the Japanese Government
• 4 x Bonus Marker Tiles

Cloak & Dagger

Mini Expansion by Mark Gerrits

This mini expansion can be used with any map. Players begin the game with hidden Debt Tiles with negative influence. Use this mini expansion to introduce a dash of hidden information, spice up your negotiations, and add some fuzziness and tension to your games!

Changes to Setup

1. Each player randomly takes a Debt Tile, looks at it, and places it face down in front of them.
2. The Debt Tiles should be hidden at all times and may not be shown to any other player during the game.
3. Players are still encouraged to discuss and speculate on the contents without actually revealing their Debt Tiles to other players.

Changes to Gameplay

Nothing is changed.

Changes to Game End

Nothing is changed.

Changes to Final Scoring

Before Final Scoring starts, all players reveal their Debt Tiles and apply the indicated negative influence to their Player markers on the Influence tracks.

The rest of scoring is not affected.

Hustle & Bustle

Mini Expansion by Mark Gerrits

This mini expansion can be used with any map. Each player begins the game with one Signal Tile, which adds a dynamic turn order system. Conspire with players sitting across from you, and skip the player on your left's turn. This adds layers of depth to player interactions and negotiations.

Changes to Setup

Setup is the same as normal with the following additional steps.

1. Each player takes a Signal Tile and places it in front of them Green Light side face up.
2. The Start Player Token will be passed around the table to show who is the current active player.

Note: This mini-expansion does not work with Solo or 2-Player games.

Changes to Gameplay

Before your turn ends, perform the steps below to choose who will be the next player to take a turn.

1. After you have finished your action, flip your Signal Tile to the Red Light side.
2. Choose any player that has a Signal Tile showing the Green Light side to become the next player to take a turn.
3. If all players have their Signal Tile showing the Red Light side, all players (including you) first flip their Signal Tile to the Green Light side. Then, you choose an opponent to become the next player to take a turn.
4. Pass the Start Player Token to the next player, and end your turn.

Changes to Game End

Once the game end has been triggered, continue playing until all players have their Signal Tile showing the Red Light side. (If the player that triggered the end game condition was the last player to flip their card to the Red Light side, the game ends immediately.) After that, the game is over and Final Scoring begins.

Changes to Final Scoring

Only the tiebreaker conditions will be affected:

In case of a tie, the tied player with the fewest Shares wins. If still tied, the tied player whose most recent turn was earliest wins the game.

Peak Steam

Mini Expansion by Mark Gerrits

This mini expansion can be used with any map, and will increase the maximum length track of a company's network from 15 to 20. Now a company's shares could be worth more at the end of the game, so if a company is experiencing a runaway in bonuses, you might want to keep a careful eye on those share values!

Changes to Setup

Place the Track Length Extension board on top of the Tracking board.

Changes to Gameplay

A Company's Track Length marker may now reach up to 20.

Changes to Game End

Nothing is changed.

Changes to Final Scoring

Maximum possible value of each share tile is increased due to the Track Length Extension board.

United Kingdom 1918

Map Designed by Tony Boydell

Introduction

The Great War has finally ended. The economy of the United Kingdom is exploding with opportunity. Ferries to other countries are being negotiated. Harder, better, faster locomotives are being built. Construction of the London Underground begins to flourish. And rumors float about that Parliament will unite and condense the various railways to only a few. Opportunity awaits you in this bull economy, but can you build your railroad empire in time?

In the UK map, players can construct the London Underground, gaining both influence and trains. In addition, ferries are scattered around the island, allowing players to suddenly jump from one end of the map to another, or possibly even connect to another country for multiple wild influence. However, halfway through the game, gameplay becomes explosive as the train companies can build longer and faster routes!

Changes to Setup

The following changes are added:

1. On the Company Asset Board, place 5 instead of the standard 6 shares (for 3-5P games) on the available share space for each company.
2. On the Company Asset Board, place 2 white trains into the available track space for white instead of the normal 4 trains. The limit for white is 2 throughout the game.
3. Remove the 4 Demand Tiles with wild influence icons; they will not be used in this map. There are only 28 cities with Demand Tiles on the UK map instead of the standard 32 cities. Do not place Demand Tiles on cities marked with wild influence.
4. The White Company starts with a track length of 8 instead of the standard 0.
5. Place 1 White Train on the zero space of the Train Improvement Track located in the northeast section of the UK map.
6. The Brown, Grey, and Orange Train companies all start in London; place 1 Train from each Company there.
7. Drafting starting shares is done differently: (Same as TW Map) a. 2-player game: Prepare 2 each of the Brown, Grey, and Orange Share Tiles. Do not draft the White shares. The starting player separates the six shares into two groups of three; each group should have two shares of one company and one share from another company. The second player chooses one group for themselves, and then gives the other group to the starting player. b. 3-player game: Prepare 2 each of the Brown, Grey, and Orange shares. Do not draft the White shares. Each player will draft 2 tiles following the method from the normal rules (Snake draft/Catan style draft), and none will be left over. c. 4-player game: Prepare 3 each of the Brown, Grey, and Orange Share Tiles. Do not draft the White shares. Each player will draft 2 tiles following the method from the normal rules (Snake draft/Catan style draft), and 1 will be left over. Place the undrafted share next to the track length chart and increase the matching company's track length by 1.

Changes to Gameplay

The following changes are added:

• Building The Underground (White Company):

1. Build one White Train in one of the empty 6 hexes surrounding London.
2. Increase White's Track Length by the number on the hex the white train was built.
3. If another train company already has trains in the hex White is building track in, in addition to the normal track compensation, the active player building white increases their influence by one in each of the companies that already have a train present in the hex with the recently built white train.

Ada (red) decides to Build Track for the White Company, which can only be built on the hexes surrounding London. She chooses to build on the southwest hex, places a track from White Company's Asset Area there, and increases White's Track Length by 2.

Since the Orange and Brown Companies already have trains there, they both receive 1 Train from the general supply to their Asset area as Compensation. Then, Ada gains 1 Influence in both Orange and Brown.

• Investing in The Underground (Buying White Shares):

1. Players may take a White Share Tile following the normal rules, with the following exceptions: i. The White Company will always have a restock value of 1; it only adds 1 Train to their Asset Area each time someone takes a share tile. ii. The White Company will always have a limit of 2 trains in their Asset Area.

• Building over The Underground (White Company):

1. If another train company builds track on a hex that already has a White Train, add a White Train to their Asset Area as per the normal track compensation rules; however, remember that the white company will always have a limit of 2 trains.

• Connecting the Countryside:

1. Some cities on the UK map have 1-3 wild influence icons instead of Demand Tiles.
2. When building tracks into one of these cities, the active player gains the number of wild influence indicated on the destination city. The influence gained must all be in different colors; they cannot be of the same color.

• Ferry Lines:

1. Instead of laying track, a player may build a Ferry Line if the city they're building from is connected to an empty Ferry hex. i. If the destination city is already full, the player cannot build a connecting ferry to the destination city. ii. If both ends are occupied by the same company, then the Ferry Line can't be built by this company.
2. Add 2 trains to the Ferry hex. Each Ferry Line can only be occupied by one company.
3. Add 1 train to the destination city. Note: Thus, 3 tracks are needed for building Ferry Lines.
4. The Company building the Ferry Line increases their track length by 2.

Consider the unbuilt Ferry Line between Torquay and Hastings: Hastings is already full, so the Brown Company cannot build a Ferry Line from Torquay to Hastings. However, Torquay can still hold another Company, thus it is possible for the Gray Company to build a Ferry Line from Hastings to Torquay.

• Building Restrictions:

1. Some hexes have a red border line. Players are not allowed to build track crossing a red line. Players may build around the red line but may not build directly through it.

• Key to the City:

1. If a company that reaches a city that has a +1 bonus length icon, their Track Length is increased by one. Note: As with normal track length, this may be checked and updated anytime during the game.

• Faster Trains:

1. Each time a player Takes a Share from any Company (including White), add a White Train to the Train Improvement Track.
2. As soon as the 8th space of the Train Improvement Track is reached (a total of 8 Shares were bought in the game), the restock value of each train company increases from 3 to 4, and their limits increase from 5 to 6. This does not affect the White Company; their restock value is always 1 and their limit is always 2.
3. When the 8th share is bought, 4 trains (not 3) are added to the Asset Area of the Company. The change in restock values & limits happens immediately on the 8th share purchase.

• Notes for AI Bot

1. When the Bot is building for a company, and that company is able to build a Ferry, the Bot will have priority to build a Ferry.
2. If the Bot builds into a City with wild influence icons, the Bot gains 1 Influence in all four Companies instead.

Changes to Game End

Nothing is changed.

Changes to Final Scoring

Key to the City: Before final scoring, remember to check how many cities each company has reached that has a +1 icon, and adjust the Track Length marker if necessary.

Taiwan 1908

Map Designed by Jay Bernardo

Introduction

It is the dawn of the 20th century. From 1895 to 1945, Taiwan was colonized by Japan. In that time, Japan heavily invested in modernizing Taiwan's railway system around the island, with bold plans including building tunnels and tracks through mountains.

Investing in Japanese modernization comes with benefits, but the more you do business with Japan, the tighter the restrictions are in the game. Soon, you might find your influence in a company reduced to nothing if you're not careful!

In the Taiwan map, players work with the Japanese government (the white train company) to tunnel through mountains and create new, wild starting hexes around the map! However, with each interaction with Japan, the players are faced with more and more difficult challenges. Collaboration offers powerful rewards but comes with the risk of serious consequences.

Changes to Setup

The following changes are added:

1. On the Company Asset Board, place 5 instead of the standard 6 shares (for 3-5P games) on the available share space for each company.
2. Place 5 White Trains on the Company Asset Board instead of the standard 4.
3. The White Company starts with a track length of 4 instead of the standard 0.
4. Place one Limit Tile each on space 8 of the Brown, Grey, and Orange Company Influence Track—one Limit Tile per track.
5. Place one Brown, one Grey, and one Orange Bonus Marker tile on the zero space of the Connection Bonus Track located in the western section of the TW map.
6. Set aside the Imperial Seal token for now; it will come into play during gameplay.
7. Drafting starting shares is done differently: (Same as UK Map) a. 2-player game: Prepare 2 each of the Brown, Grey, and Orange Share Tiles. Do not draft the White shares. The starting player separates the six shares into two groups of three; each group should have two shares of one company and one share from another company. The second player chooses one group for themselves, and then gives the other group to the starting player. b. 3-player game: Prepare 2 each of the Brown, Grey, and Orange shares. Do not draft the White shares. Each player will draft 2 tiles following the method from the normal rules (Snake draft/Catan style draft), and none will be left over. c. 4-player game: Prepare 3 each of the Brown, Grey, and Orange Share Tiles. Do not draft the White shares. Each player will draft 2 tiles following the method from the normal rules (Snake draft/Catan style draft), and 1 will be left over. Place the undrafted share next to the track length chart and increase the matching company's track length by 1.

Changes to Gameplay

The following changes are added:

• Mountains:

1. The red spaces are mountains. Players cannot build track on or through mountains. The only exception to this is the white company. White is the only company that can build on the red mountain hexes via their special build action.

• Star City Connection Bonus:

1. At the end of the game during final scoring, if the Brown, Grey, or Orange Company is connected to 3/4/5/6 star cities, their respective track length marker receives an additional 1/2/3/5 to their overall length.

• Limit Tiles:

1. Limit Tiles can never reach TWO on the influence track; the lowest they can go is the THREE influence space.
2. Each Limit Tile represents the hard limit of influence players can have in each track. Players will never be able to reach the hard limit or pass the hard limit.
3. If the Limit Tile moves down and lands on a space with a player's influence marker, that influence marker would drop down to below the hard limit.

• Building Over White Tracks:

1. If one of the other 3 train companies builds track on a hex that already has a white train, add two white trains (instead of the standard one train) to the available track space on the Company Asset Board.

• Imperial Seal:

1. At the end of any player's turn, check who has interacted (Build/Buy) the most with the White Company, by having a higher total of White Trains and White Shares in front of them. Immediately pass the Imperial Seal token to them.
2. If any players have an equal total of white trains and white shares in front of them, they both/all share the Imperial Seal token.

• Buying White Shares:

1. Choose one of the Brown, Grey, or Orange influence track, and reduce your influence by one. Then, lower the Limit Tile on the chosen company influence track by one as well. Note: Players may not choose a color if they have 0 influence in that company.
2. Take one White Share Tile and decrease your influence in White Company as needed per the standard rules.
3. The White Company will have a restock value of 4 and a limit of 6 trains.

Claire (purple) decides to Buy a Share from the White Company. First, she decreases her influence in the Orange company from 3 to 2. Then, she lowers the Limit Tile on Orange from 7 to 6. The blue player Leon's influence in Orange was 6, but now is pushed down to 5 to tie with Bob (yellow).

Since there is 1 track in White's Asset area, Claire also needs to decrease her influence in white by 1, then she takes a White Share tile, then replenishes 4 tracks for the White Company.

Before Claire ends her turn, she checks the total number of White Trains + Share Tile in front of her. She is now tied with Bob, so both players share the Imperial Seal token.

• Building White Track:

1. Choose one of the Brown, Grey, or Orange influence track, and reduce your influence by one. Then, lower the Limit Tile on the chosen company influence track by one as well. Note: Players may not choose a color if they have 0 influence in that company.
2. Use White Trains in the available train space of the Company Asset Board to build track as per the standard rules (such as the shortest distance rule); however, white has a few more restrictions. i. Every time players build white track, white MUST build across exactly one unoccupied red mountain hex. ii. Every time players build white track, one city MUST be east of the mountain range and one city MUST be west of the mountain range. • Taoyuan (City ID: 2) can be counted as either east or west. iii. Every time players build white track, they MUST build from one occupied city (by any 4 colors) to an unoccupied city. You do not place a white train in the departure city. iv. White MUST follow the shortest distance rule with these changes: • You cannot take an alternate route; if the shortest path doesn't cross exactly one unoccupied red mountain hex, white cannot build that path. • White track may run parallel to another white track. • White track may never be built on top of white track.
3. As per the standard rules, the active player gains influence from the Demand Tile located in the destination city. Then, this Demand Tile is removed from the game.
4. Place a Boom City Tile on the destination city, and place the last white train of the build on this tile. Note: Boom City tiles are limited. If all 8 Boom City tiles have been used, players can no longer build with White.
5. This destination city is now a starting location for all train companies. (If the destination city is a star city, it remains a star city after the Boom City Tile has been placed on it; place the Boom City Tile Facedown.) Players never need to place a Brown, Grey, or Orange train on any Boom City Tiles.
6. Increase White's Track Length by the number of hexes used in the build as per the standard rules.
7. Then, add one Brown, Grey, and Orange train each to the Company Asset Board.
8. The active player takes one White Train from the general supply and places it in front of them where they would normally keep their shares. Regardless of how long the recently built track is, the active player only takes one white train from the general supply. i. This is used to track how many times each player built for the White Company. If the general supply is empty after the build action, use any suitable replacement to keep track.

Bob (yellow) decides to Build Track for the White Company. He needs to pick a pair of occupied & unoccupied cities that are on both sides of the mountain range, and he chooses to build from Dahu to Hualien.

There are 2 legal routes for the White Company to build from Dahu to Hualien, and Bob chooses the southern route to build using 4 White tracks. This route crosses over 1 Brown track, so the Brown Company receives 1 track compensation, in addition to the 1 each given to the 3 non-white companies.

When reaching Hualien, first the Demand Tile is removed and Bob receives the indicated influence. Then, a Boom City Tile is placed on the city hex, before placing the White track on top of it.

Since Hualien is a Star City (and now Brown, Grey, and Orange can all start building from Hualien), they all move 1 step up on the Connection Bonus Track.

Finally, Bob takes a White track from the supply and places it in front of him. He now has the most combined number of White Trains + Share Tiles, so he also receives the Imperial Seal token.

Changes to Game End

Nothing is changed.

Changes to Final Scoring

Star City Connection Bonus: Before final scoring, count how many star cities the Brown, Grey, or Orange Company is connected to. If they are connected to 3/4/5/6 star cities, their respective track length marker receives an additional 1/2/3/5 to their overall length.

Imperial Seal:

1. Before final scoring, the owners of the Imperial Seal token must increase one of their non-white influence markers by one space. This influence marker may move onto the space the Limit Tile is on. Note: If multiple players share the Imperial Seal token, this step is done in reverse turn order.
2. Then, the owners of the Imperial Seal token must decrease the other two of their non-white influence markers by one space. a. Players must choose a different color from the last step; they cannot choose the same influence marker to move up and then move it immediately back down, nor can they choose the same influence marker to go down twice. Note: If multiple players share the Imperial Seal token, this step is done in reverse turn order.
3. Influence can never go below zero. If on the rare occasion a player cannot decrease the influence marker by one space (due to it already being zero), their white influence marker is decreased by two spaces for each influence marker unable to be decreased.
4. Regarding the final overall score, if the player with the Imperial Seal token is tied for the highest overall score, they lose the tiebreaker and lose the game. In all other cases, follow the standard tiebreaker rules.

Notes for AI Bot

1. When the Bot interacts with the White company and needs to lower the Limit Tile on one of the other 3 colors, it will move the one where the Human player has a higher influence lead. If there is a tie, the Bot will move the highest Limit Tile.
2. If the Bot ends the game with the Imperial Seal, adjust its influence in the way that gains the most points over the Human player.