Mini Rails Game Rules

Mini Rails Game Rules

Introduction

Welcome to the Mini Rails game! I’m here to guide you through the rules and help you get started. Mini Rails is a strategic board game where you play as entrepreneurs building railroad companies. Your goal is to invest wisely, connect cities with your railway lines, and earn the most profit. Are you ready to become a railroad tycoon?

Game Components

Before we dive into the gameplay, let’s take a look at the components of Mini Rails. The game includes:

• A game board: This is where you’ll be building your railway network.
• City tiles: These represent the cities where you can establish connections.
• Railway shares: Each player starts with a set of shares in different railway companies.
• Action cards: These cards grant you special abilities that can be used strategically.
• Money: You’ll need money to invest in railway shares and expand your network.

Gameplay

Now that we know what’s on the table, let’s talk about the gameplay itself.

Setup

At the beginning of the game, each player receives a starting set of shares and a certain amount of money. The city tiles are shuffled and placed face down, forming a supply. The game board is placed in the center of the table. Now we’re ready to start building our railway empires!

Actions

On your turn, you can take one of three actions:

1. Buy a railway share: You can invest your money in shares of railway companies. The value of these shares can fluctuate based on the actions of all players.
2. Establish a connection: You can connect two cities on the game board by placing one of your railway markers between them. This allows you to earn profit when cities are visited.
3. Draw an action card: You can draw an action card that gives you a special ability to use at a later time.

City Visits

When a city is visited, the players who have established connections to that city will earn profit. The amount of profit depends on the value of the shares they hold in the railway companies that serve the visited city. As the game progresses, players will expand their networks, connect more cities, and earn more profit.

Scoring

The game is played over a certain number of rounds, determined by the number of players. At the end of the final round, the player with the highest total score, including their money, shares, and network value, is declared the winner. If you’re looking for a challenging and immersive strategy game, Mini Rails is the perfect choice!

When you’re diving into the world of adventure with this game, you’ll find all the components needed to embark on a thrilling journey. Let’s take a look at what’s included in the box:

– 7 Map Tiles: These tiles will form the foundation of your game board, creating a unique terrain for your exploration.

– 6 Frame Tiles: Use these tiles to complete the borders of your game board, creating a cohesive and immersive experience.

– 1 Central Market Board: This board will serve as the hub of your trading activities, where you can buy and sell goods to fuel your adventure.

– 5 Player Profit Boards: Each player will have their own profit board to keep track of their earnings and progress throughout the game.

– 10 Player Action Tiles: These tiles will allow you to take various actions, strategizing your way to victory.

– 10 Player Order Markers: Use these markers to keep track of the turn order, ensuring fairness and transparency.

– 72 Train Company Discs: These discs represent the different train companies in the game, which you can invest in and control to gain advantages.

– 1 Cloth Bag: This bag will hold the various tokens and components needed for gameplay, adding an exciting element of randomness.

– Rulebook: The rulebook will guide you through the setup process and provide all the information you need to start playing.

With this comprehensive set of components, you’ll have everything you need to immerse yourself in the world of adventure and strategy. Get ready to embark on an exciting journey like no other!

1. Lay the 6 map frames next to each other, keeping in mind that they need to be connected on the same side (either Side A or Side B).

So, here’s what we do. We take that tile called “The Big City” (+5 hex) and we plop it right in the middle. Then, we scatter the other 6 map tiles around it, all random-like. These tiles are special since they’re double-sided, so they can be flipped around any which way.

Make sure to place the Market board close to the map so that everyone can reach it easily.

Depending on how many players there are, put the appropriate number of Company Discs in the draw bag. Also, place 1 or 3 Company Discs of each color on the starting hexes of the map, next to their corresponding frame colors.

When you play this game, you’ll need to gather a few things. First, make sure you have two order markers, one Profit Board, and two action tiles, all of the same color. These items are essential for playing the game effectively.

When we start the game, the player who just bought a train ticket gets to go first. Starting with that player and going in a clockwise direction, each person puts one of their markers on the leftmost spot of the order track. Then, going in a counterclockwise direction starting from the last player, everyone else puts their remaining marker on the leftmost spot of the top order track. So, for the first round, the order will be A, B, C, D, E, E, D, C, B, A.

Playing the Game

The game is made up of 6 rounds. Each round has three parts: the “Draw Phase,” the “Action Phase,” and the “Taxation Phase.” During the draw phase, players take tokens to refill the market board. Then, during the action phase, each player does two different actions. After everyone has finished their actions, one company gets taxed, and then the next round begins.

When I play this game, I get to have two chances to take my turn. But, interestingly enough, the order of turns can switch around each round.

Each player takes their turn based on the position of their player marker on the turn order track. It’s pretty cool because sometimes, I get to take two actions in a row!

Phase for Drawing

1. You’ll start by grabbing a certain number of Company Discs from the bag. The number of discs you’ll need is determined by the number of players. Take twice the number of players and add one. These discs will be placed on the market board, going from left to right on the market track.

In this game, all players start by placing their action tiles face-up on their Profit Board. It’s important to remember that each player must perform both actions, “Buy shares” and “Build tracks”, once per round.

During the Action Phase, players take turns starting from the owner of the leftmost marker on the order track. When it’s your turn, you choose one action to perform. Once you take an action, you remove the corresponding action tile from your Profit Board to show that it has been used.

On your turn, you begin by taking your marker and replacing a disc on the market track. This disc is then used to perform either the Invest or Build action. After your turn, the next player on the order track takes their turn.

One of the actions you can choose is to “Buy shares” from the company. To do this:

1. Remove your “Buy Tile” from your Profit Board.

When you want to buy stocks in a company, here’s what you do:

First, pick any disc available and replace it with the marker that represents your order.

Next, place the disc you chose on the “0” space of your Profit Board.

This step shows that you’ve purchased stock from the company you selected, and it allows you to keep track of how each stock performs when it’s moved.

Now you can start monitoring your investments and see how they grow!

Example: I’m going to explain how the game works. The first player to go is the Orange player, and they can take their turn since the leftmost marker on the order track is orange.

1 They decide to invest in the Red company, so they remove the invest tile from the board.

2 Then they take their order marker on the left and use it to replace a red rail disc on the market track. They place the order marker on the “0” space of their Profit Board.

The Orange player’s turn ends, and now it is the Purple player’s turn.

How to build tracks for the company

1. Remove your “Build Tile” from your Profit Board.
2. Choose any disc on the market track and replace it with your order marker.
3. Place the chosen disc on a hex next to a disc of the same color that doesn’t have any other disc on it.
4. When you build a certain type of hex, you need to adjust the positions of all stocks in this color on all players’ Profit Boards.
5. If the hex has white spots, it means there’s a profit. The relative value of all stocks of this company will increase by 1 for each white spot in the hex.
6. If the hex has red spots, it means there’s a deficit. The stocks will decrease by 1 for each red spot in the hex.

If the company you choose has no legal hex to be placed on the map and is completely blocked off, you must place the disc on its frame. This counts as a loss for the company, and the relative value of all stocks of this color decreases by 1.

You cannot place the disc on the frame if there is a legal hex on the map.

Example: 1 When I play as the Purple player, it’s my turn. 2 I get to build tracks for the blue company. 3 So, I pick up my marker and use it to replace a blue disc on the market track. 4 Next, I take the blue disc and put it on an empty hex that’s next to another blue track on the map.

When I placed it on a “Farmland” hex, all my blue stocks went up in value by 2. I had 1 blue stock, and the other player had 2. So, we moved all 3 blue stocks 2 spaces forward.

Example: It’s my turn as the Green player, and I want to build for the yellow company. But, uh-oh, there’s no space left on the map for them. So, I have to place the disc on the frame instead. Bummer!

Imagine this: the Green player has 1 yellow stock, and the Black player has 2 yellow stocks. All of them need to be moved 1 space backward.

The Taxation Phase

Now, here’s how taxation works: after each player has taken 2 different actions, there will be 1 company disc left on the market track. This company will be taxed, and its earnings will be protected.

1. First, move the remaining company disc to the empty space on the left side of the Taxed Area on the Market Board.
2. Next, adjust the player markers accordingly to fill in the empty space on the market track. This will determine the player order for the next round.
3. If there are still empty spaces left on the taxed area, start the next round.

Example: All players have taken two actions, so now the remaining company on the market track gets taxed. There is one white disc left, so it moves to the taxed area.

Next, each player marker to the right of the empty space moves one space to the left. The player order for the next round is Green, Black, Orange, Green, Purple, Purple, Black, and Orange.

End of the Game

The game ends after six rounds. All spaces in the taxed area will be filled, and all discs will be drawn from the bag.

First, you remove stocks that have been taxed, and then all players will add up the relative value of their remaining stocks to see who has made the most profit.

Since players take one invest action and one build action every round, at the end of the game, each player should have exactly six stocks on their Profit Board.

Scoring Example:

When the game ends, the companies that have paid taxes – Red, White, Tan, and Blue – are all removed from the negative zone. However, the Yellow and Gray companies, which did not pay taxes, are removed from the positive zone.

Afterward, each player calculates the total value of their remaining stocks. The Orange player has a total profit of +11, the Purple player has +7, the Green player has +6, and the Black player has +10. Ultimately, it is the Orange player who emerges victorious.