Rail Line
Rail Line Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 6 Locomotive figures (2 for each colour)
- 37 Railway cards (12 A cards, 25 B cards)
- 1 Starting Station card
- 1 Final Station card
- 4 Curve cards
- 1 Starting player card
- 3 Pencils
- 1 Pad of Record Sheets (additional sheets can be printed at https://na.albi.cz/rail-line)
Game Setup
- Give each player a Record Sheet, 2 Locomotives of the same colour and a pencil.
- The game begins with the player who last travelled by train. If you travelled together or don't remember, determine the starting player randomly. This player takes the starting player card and places it in front of them.
- First, the starting player chooses which side of the Starting Station card will be face up. Next, place the Curve and Final Station cards in the centre of the table according to the following layout. There should be space for exactly 8 cards between both station cards.
- Sort the Railway cards by their backs into two decks: Deck A and Deck B. Shuffle both decks.
- Deal each player 4 cards from Deck A (in a two-player game, return unused cards to the box). Then, draw 4 cards from Deck B face-up on the table to create the Railway card offer. Place Deck B face-down next to the playing area.
- Each player places both of their Locomotives on the Starting Station card, beginning with the starting player and continuing clockwise. Each player chooses one free track for both of their Locomotives to follow and places them on the corresponding starting space. Each track can only take the Locomotives of one player. Each player then marks the symbol depicted next to their starting space on their Record Sheet.
Game Objective
The goal of the game is to build a railway line that will connect the most attractive destinations in the most efficient way. The player with the highest score wins the game.
Course of the Game
Players take turns in clockwise order. On a player's turn, they must play one Railway card and may perform one Optional action.
Playing a Railway Card
The player selects one card from their hand or from the Railway card offer on the table and adds it to the last card connected to the starting station so that all three railway tracks connect (the card cannot be turned or rotated in any way). If the player played a card from the Railway card offer, replenish the offer from the B deck to 4 cards. Cards in hand are not replenished.
Moving a Locomotive
After adding a card each player moves their faster (in the first turn, or if both Locomotives are in the same distance, choose any of your two Locomotives) Locomotive along their own track that was extended by the newly played card.
Note: A player's faster Locomotive of the two is the one that is currently further away from the Starting Station. The slower Locomotive is the one that is closer to the Starting Station. If both Locomotives are the same distance, both are counted as faster and slower at that moment (and the player chooses one of them for the movement).
Marking Symbols
Each player must then mark on their Record Sheet the symbols of the stations to which they have moved their faster Locomotive. If there is no station on its track, the player marks nothing and the locomotive stands on the track on the last added card.
When the 8th card in the row is placed, players mark the symbols from the 8th card and then move their faster Locomotive to a station on the Curve card. They can perform the Move the slower Locomotive action for free (see Optional actions). After the Curve, players carry on to place the cards on the left side of the Curve card. After the second Curve, they place the cards on the right side.
The player always finds the row with the corresponding symbol on their Record Sheet and marks the leftmost unmarked box in that row. If all the boxes in that row are already marked, the player earns up to 2 Coins for each additional symbol of the same type (represented by Coin symbols at the end of each row). The player circles the Coins at the bottom of their Record Sheet. Coins can be used to pay for Optional actions or at the end of the game, where they are worth 1 Victory Point each. Used Coins are crossed out.
Note: Players mark the symbol markings simultaneously. If order is important, proceed clockwise from the starting player.
Example: Charles, playing red, connects a Railway card, moves his Locomotive along the track, and marks the next empty boxes for Forest and Sawmill symbols on his Record Sheet. Anne, playing blue, also moves her Locomotive and marks the next empty box of a Passenger symbol.
Optional Actions
After playing a card, the player may perform one Optional action before it's the next player's turn. Spent Coins are crossed off on the player's Record Sheet and cannot be used again. A maximum of one Optional action can be taken each turn.
Move the Slower Locomotive
Cost: 1 Coin
The player can move their slower Locomotive 1–5 stations and mark the symbol depicted on the station where their movement ended on their Record Sheet. If there are two symbols at a station, the player chooses one and marks it. Do not mark any symbols you passed along the way.
Note: In stations with this symbol (on Curve cards), players immediately perform this action outside their turn without paying a Coin.
Play a Second Railway Card
Cost: 1 Coin
The player may play a second Railway card from the hand or from the offer. The player lays out a card and all players move their faster Locomotive and mark the symbols of the stations they have moved to.
Discard a Type A Railway Card
Cost: free
The player may discard one Railway card A from their hand to gain 1 Coin, which they immediately mark on their Record Sheet.
Gain Any Symbol
Cost: 2 Coins
The player may spend 2 Coins to gain any symbol, marking an unmarked box in the leftmost position in the chosen row. This Optional action can only be performed once per game! Record the use of this Optional action by marking the appropriate box on your Record Sheet.
Three-Player Special Action
In a three-player game, each player has the option, four times per game, to give up a symbol gained on their opponent's turn, not marking it on their Record Sheet, and receive a Coin instead. This Coin is marked in the designated section of the Record Sheet.
End of the Game
The game ends when the last Railway card is played, connecting the Starting Station card with the Final Station card (a total of 24 Railway cards have been placed on the table). The game also ends when the B deck runs out. In both end-of-game cases, finish a round so that each player has the same number of turns before the game ends. If it is not possible to add a card when the final round is played, remaining players can play an Optional action.
Before the Victory Points are scored, each player, starting with the starting player, may still play one final Optional action (except for Play a Second Railway Card).
Players then add up the Victory Points on their Record Sheet. The player with the most Victory Points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most remaining Coins wins. If the tie persists, all tied players win.
There are two variants of Record Sheets in Rail Line that work slightly differently. Their specifics are described in the following passage.
Final Scoring
Players earn Victory Points based on the rightmost marked box in each row. Some boxes require additional conditions to earn Victory Points.
Record Sheet I
Passengers
Boxes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Coin symbol at the end of the row.
If a player has collected more Passenger symbols than any other player, they earn twice as many points. In case of a tie, no one gets twice as many points.
Boxes: −2, 4, 2, 8, 6, 13. Coin symbol at the end of the row.
Since the local Mail operates under its own unpredictable rules, letters sometimes get lost and score minus points. Pay attention to the boxes!
Coal, Iron Ore, Steel, and Factory
Layout: the Coal row has boxes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9 and two Coin symbols at the end of the row. Below Coal box 2 the chain runs Iron Ore 1, Steel 2, Factory 3. Below Coal box 4 the chain runs Iron Ore 2, Steel 5, Factory 8. Iron Ore, Steel and Factory each have one Coin symbol at the end of their row.
Some industrial sectors form interrelated chains. For boxes to be counted as completed, all the boxes above in the chain, indicated by arrows, must also be marked. The order in which the player collects these symbols does not matter: it is possible to mark Steel first and then Iron Ore or Coal later.
Forest and Sawmill
Forest row (A): boxes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Sawmill row (B): boxes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Each row has a Coin symbol at the end, and the scoring box is labelled A × B.
In this case, the numbers in the boxes do not represent the final Victory Points. The number of Victory Points for the combination of Forests and Sawmills is calculated by multiplying the numbers in the rightmost marked boxes. If you did not marked any boxes in any of the rows, you will get 0 points for the whole section.
Sugar Beet and Sugar Factory
Sugar Beet row: six boxes, all printed 0, with a Coin symbol at the end. Sugar Factory row: boxes 3 (below the first Sugar Beet box), 8 (below the third) and 22 (below the sixth), with a Coin symbol at the end.
Standalone Sugar Beet boxes do not score any Victory Points. Victory Points are only awarded for Sugar Factories – if the Sugar Beet box above is also marked.
Glassworks
Boxes: 1, 3, 6, 4, 2. Coin symbol at the end of the row.
Glassworks have no additional condition.
Coins
Each remaining Coin scores 1 VP at the end of the game.
Record Sheet II
The other side of the Record Sheet offers a more challenging variant for advanced players, including several special and new rules.
Passengers and Mail
Passenger boxes: −1, −2, −3, −4, −5, −6, −7, −8. Coin symbol at the end of the row.
Mail boxes: 5 (below Passenger box −2), 12 (below −4), 22 (below −6), 28 (below −7), 36 (below −8). Coin symbol at the end of the row.
Railways in the 19th century were primarily built for industry. Passenger trains alone were not profitable. However, if a postal car was added to the passenger train, profitability improved.
In this variant, the Mail is connected to Passenger boxes. Standalone Passenger symbols earn negative Victory Points. Only the rightmost Mail box with marked Passenger box above counts.
Coal, Iron Ore and Steel
Coal row: boxes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 16. Coin symbol at the end of the row. Two chains run down from the Coal row: below Coal box 2 are Iron Ore 0 and Steel 1; below Coal box 4 are Iron Ore 1 and Steel 3. Each of these columns ends in a purple marker with a Coin symbol below the Steel box. Iron Ore and Steel rows each have a Coin symbol at the end of the row.
If you check all the boxes in the chain (column), you get one Coin immediately. Circle 1 Coin at the bottom of your Record Sheet.
Forest and Sawmill
Forest row: boxes 1, 2, 4, 8. Sawmill row: boxes 1, 3, 6, 10. Each row has a Coin symbol at the end of the row.
The chain goes not only downward, but also alternately upward from the Sawmill to the Forest. The player can mark boxes gradually in the Forest and Sawmill rows independently. In the final scoring, only the rightmost boxes of an unbroken chain are counted.
Sugar Beet and Sugar Factory
Sugar Beet row: boxes 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 14, 18. Coin symbol at the end of the row. Sugar Factory row: boxes 1, 2, 4. Coin symbol at the end of the row. Red dashed lines with padlock icons sit between the Sugar Beet boxes (after box 1, after box 4 and after box 9).
To be allowed to mark boxes in the next section, the Sugar Factory left of a red line must be marked first.
Factory
Factory row: the first box is reached by one Coin (circled 1), and the next boxes are reached by 2×, 3× and 4× Coin symbols, giving the boxes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Coin symbol at the end of the row.
The Factory does not connect to the steel chain on this sheet. The more Factory boxes are marked, the more VP the player earns for some remaining Coins at the end of the game. The rightmost marked box indicates how many points you receive for your remaining Coins. The number to the left of the Coin symbol indicates how many Coins can be exchanged for these additional points. Extra Coins give you one point each.
Example: Charles has 5 remaining Coins at the end of the game, and all 3 Factory boxes are marked. Therefore, at the end of the game, he gets a total of 17 Victory Points for his Coins: 4 Coins are valued at 4 Victory Points each, the extra 1 Coin is valued at 1 Victory Point.
Transcription note: The Factory box labels above are read from the printed Record Sheet II image. The example is reproduced as printed, and its 3-box / 4-Coin wording does not map one-to-one onto the four labelled boxes; follow the printed sheet and the printed rule text.
Glassworks
Boxes: 1, 2, 3, and a box showing 8 / 4 marked with a star icon. Coin symbol at the end of the row.
The first player to mark all boxes gets 8 Victory Points, all others only a maximum of 4. If more than one player reaches the maximum in the same turn, they all get 8 points.