Steel Driver Game Rules

I want to share with you the rules of a very exciting and fun game called Steel Driver. Have you ever played it before? If not, don’t worry! I’m here to explain it all to you.

So, let’s dive right in! In this game, each player takes turns driving a virtual train through different landscapes. The goal is to collect as many gems as possible while avoiding obstacles along the way.

To start, you’ll need a device, like a phone or tablet, that can run the Steel Driver app. Once you have it installed, you can begin playing.

When it’s your turn, you’ll have a few options. You can choose which track you want to drive your train on, and you can also decide how fast you want to go. But be careful! Going too fast might make it harder to collect the gems or dodge the obstacles.

Speaking of obstacles, there are a few different types you need to watch out for. There are rocks, which you’ll need to steer around. And there are also other trains on the tracks, which you’ll need to avoid colliding with. Oh, and did I mention the mysterious tunnels? Those can really throw you for a loop, so be prepared!

Now, let’s talk about the gems. Gems are the key to earning points in Steel Driver. The more gems you collect, the higher your score will be. And who doesn’t want a high score, right? So keep an eye out for those shiny little things along the tracks.

As you play, you’ll notice that the landscapes change. You might start in a lush green forest, but soon find yourself in a snowy mountain pass or a dry desert. Each landscape has its own set of challenges, so be ready to adapt your driving skills.

At the end of each turn, you’ll see your score and have the option to play again or challenge a friend to beat your score. It’s always fun to compete with others and see who can become the ultimate Steel Driver champion.

So, there you have it – the rules of Steel Driver. It’s a game full of adventure, strategy, and, most importantly, fun. If you’re ready for an exciting challenge, give it a try. Just remember to stay focused, collect those gems, and avoid those obstacles. Good luck, and happy driving!

In the game, the player who has the most money at the end is declared the winner.

Getting Ready

To set up the game, put the company control markers and share tokens into the company boxes, making sure the colors match.

So here’s what you need to do. Put the track link pieces in a pool next to the board. Do the same with the investment cubes and goods cubes. Easy enough, right?

Now, let’s organize the money. Just separate it into piles of the same amount. This’ll be your bank, so keep it by the board.

When you play the game, you need to show the order of play for each company. To do this, you place the company tokens on the Order of Play display. The tokens should be arranged in the same order as the company boxes, from left to right. To start the game, put one of the black game markers on the first space of the middle row.

Hey there! Did you know that the Active Player marker should be given to the youngest player? Pretty cool, right?

The Board

A Starting location, marked by a hexagon

When you start a railway company from this location, you get a profit. This profit is shown inside the hexagon. Exciting stuff!

B Regular location, marked by a circle

Building a route to this location will earn you a profit. The profit is shown inside the circle. These locations also have colors, which are important for the final profit determination phase. The color tells you which goods cube will be placed there. Pretty interesting!

C Company boxes

When you take control of a company, you put your investment cubes in the company box. These boxes are super useful because they can also hold share tokens and control markers. Handy, right?

Order of Play display

Let’s start by talking about the Order of Play display. The top row of the display shows the current order of play. To indicate which company is currently active, we can move one of the two black game markers along the middle row.

Now, when a company is no longer able to build any more routes, it must pass. And when it does, it moves its colored token to the bottom row.

Profit track

Next up is the Profit track. Each company has two tokens. One of these tokens should be used on the Order of Play display, and the other should be used on the Profit track. The Profit track shows how much profit a company has made in the current turn.

So, when a company connects to a new location, it moves its token up along this track. After profits have been paid out, the token is then moved back to the starting space, which is the zero space.

Potential route

Lastly, let’s talk about the Potential route. This is the route that a company can potentially connect to in the future. It’s like a pathway that the company can choose to take.

When it comes to laying a track on a potential route, it’s important to consider the number indicated on the route. This number represents the amount of investment cubes needed to build the track in that location.

How to Play

The game is divided into five turns, and each turn consists of the following phases:

1. Take Investment Cubes
2. Auction Control Markers
3. Build Track
4. Take Profits
5. End of Turn

After the fifth turn, there is an additional special phase called Final Profit Determination.

Phase 1: Take Investment Cubes

In this phase, you need to take a certain number of investment cubes from the pool. The number of cubes you can take depends on the total number of players in the game, as shown below:

In this game, each player starts with a certain number of investment cubes. The number of cubes you get depends on the number of players in the game. Let me break it down for you:

• If there are 3 players, each player gets ten cubes.
• If there are 4 players, each player gets eight cubes.
• If there are 5 players, each player gets seven cubes.
• If there are 6 players, each player gets six cubes.

If there aren’t enough investment cubes available for every player, you can use other colored goods cubes as substitutes. The color doesn’t matter, so just use whatever cubes you have.

Once you have your investment cubes, you get to keep them for future turns. There’s no limit to how many cubes you can keep, so hold onto as many as you want!

Now let’s talk about Phase 2: Auction Control Markers.

In this phase, we’re going to have a series of auctions to determine who will control each company. And here’s the interesting part – you’re going to bid using your investment cubes, not cash. So make sure you keep track of how many cubes you have, because you can’t hide that information from other players.

Hey there! Did you know that it’s important for everyone to know how much cash you have? Yep, that’s right! You should make sure that every player knows how much money you’ve got in the game.

Now, let’s talk about the active player. The active player is the one who has the Active Player marker. And guess what? The active player gets to make a choice. They can either put one of their Company Control markers up for auction or pass the Active Player marker to the player on their left. Pretty cool, huh?

If you decide to put a control marker up for auction, there’s one important rule to remember. You have to make the first bid on it. The minimum initial bid is just one dollar, but you can start with a higher amount if you want. The bidding will go on in a clockwise manner until the final highest bid is reached.

Oh, and here’s something to keep in mind. If you pass during the auction, you can’t join in again in a later round. So think carefully before you decide to pass!

When I win the auction, I get to control the company that the active player picked. I have to pay the amount I bid in investment cubes, and I put them in the box for that company.

When I take the control marker, I also get a share token in the same company. Once the auction is done, I pass the Active Player marker to the player sitting to my right.

Once I buy a control marker, I can’t auction it off in the same turn. That means there can be a maximum of six auctions, one for each company.

Because of this, each company can only give out one share token per turn. The Active Player marker might go around the table more than once.

If everyone decides not to bid on a control marker, or if all the control markers have been auctioned off, then the Active Player marker should be passed to the person on the left of the last player who put a control marker up for auction. Any control markers that are left over will stay in their respective company boxes.

It’s possible for a player to have control over multiple companies.

Example: I’m Don, the player in charge, and I’m deciding to put the green company control marker up for auction. Simon outbids everyone with a bid of six investment cubes.

He takes six of his investment cubes and places them in the green company box. Simon also gets the green company control marker and a green company share token. Now, I pass the active player marker to the player sitting on my left.

Phase 3: Build Track

Now it’s time for each company to spend its investment cubes for track building. The player in control of the company gets to decide where the track will go. We’ll keep going with this phase until all the companies have built as much track as they can.

At the beginning of this phase, make sure all company tokens are on the zero space of the Profit Level track. Remember to reset them to zero at the end of every turn.

In the game, companies take turns building track links or passing. The Order of Play display shows the order in which the companies take their turns. To keep track of the active company, we use a game marker.

Once a company has built a track link or passed, we move the marker one space along the track. This activates the next company in line.

After all the companies have had their turn to build or pass, we move the marker back to the first company, and the process starts again. We keep repeating this until all the companies have passed.

When it’s a company’s turn, they must build a track link if they have enough investment cubes. If they don’t have enough cubes, they must pass. Usually, the player in control gets to decide which route to build. But if there’s only one possible route, the company must build along that route.

When you’re looking to build a track in the game, keep in mind that it will cost you a certain number of investment cubes. This cost is determined by the potential route you choose. But here’s the catch – you can’t use your personal stash of investment cubes to pay for it. Instead, you’ll have to use the company’s investment cubes.

Before you can start building tracks, there’s another rule you need to know. The first time a company builds a track, it has to connect to a hexagonal location. In other words, it needs to start its network from a specific point.

Once you’ve built your initial track, things get a bit more interesting. From now on, whenever you build additional tracks, they must connect to locations that are already connected to your existing tracks. You can think of it as expanding your network. This means that your tracks always need to be contiguous – you can’t have separate networks. And here’s the twist: there may come a point where you can’t build any more tracks because the existing tracks don’t offer any available connections.

Hey there! Let’s talk about building track links and how they affect a company’s profit level.

When planning a route, you can only build one track link. Once it’s in place, you can’t move or remove it. And here’s the neat thing: when you connect a track link, the value of that location gets added to your company’s profit level!

Now, here’s an important rule: once a location is connected to your company’s network, you can’t add its value to your profit level if you connect to it again. No double-dipping, I’m afraid! However, if another company has already connected to a location you’re eyeing, you can still connect to it, but your profit level will still be adjusted by the value of that location.

When I first build a track link for my company, it becomes connected to two locations. Now, I have to make a decision because I can only add the value of one of these two locations to my company’s profit level. I get to choose which location I’m building from and then I add that value to my company’s profit.

It’s important to note that the income from starting cities is not considered profit. It’s actually used to cover the basic operating costs of the company. So, even if I connect to my company’s starting location with a new track build in a later turn, I won’t be able to make any profit from it.

Example: First, it’s my turn and I’m playing as the red company. I have the red control marker, which means I get to choose where the company will build. I decide to build between Baltimore and Pittsburgh. But here’s the thing, it’s going to cost me three investment cubes. So, I take three cubes from the red company box and put them back in the pool of cubes.

Now that I’ve built the track, I move the red token up to the $40 space on the profit track. It’s important to note that I couldn’t choose to add the value in Baltimore instead because I had to start the build from Pittsburgh.

But what happens if a company doesn’t have enough cubes to build a track? Well, in that case, it has to pass. Its token on the Order of Play display is moved to the ‘Pass’ row, going to the first empty space from the left. The order in which companies pass will determine the order of play in the next turn.

Example: So, here’s the deal. The green company, right? It’s already been activated twice and it’s managed to build two track links. But now, it’s facing a bit of a conundrum. You see, it only has one investment cube left, so it’s kind of backed into a corner. That means it has no choice but to pass.

When a company passes, its green token is moved to the first empty spot on the left of the Pass row. And since this green company is the first one to pass, it’ll be the first one to get activated next turn.

Now, here’s the thing. Those investment cubes that are left in the company box? They stay there. And guess what? They can still be used in the next turn. Pretty neat, huh? So, the Track Build phase comes to an end when every company decides to pass.

Transcontinental Link

This is a special rule for a unique event. During the game, there will be a continuous series of track links connecting San Francisco with New York. When this series of links is created, the companies involved will receive a bonus to their profit levels.

More than one company can be involved in building the transcontinental link. It’s highly unlikely that one company will be able to build it on its own.

The company that builds the track link and creates the transcontinental link will receive a $50 bonus added to its profit level. This bonus should be added immediately, along with the value of the location it just connected to. Every other company involved in creating the transcontinental link will receive a $30 bonus added to its profit level.

When it comes to creating a transcontinental link, it’s important to find the route that uses the fewest number of different companies. If there are multiple possible paths, I need to choose the one that uses the least number of track links belonging to those companies. If there’s a tie, each tied company will receive a bonus profit.

Once the transcontinental link is set up and the bonus profits are distributed, this event cannot happen again. The bonuses are only earned the first time the link is established.

Hey there!

Let’s dive into an intriguing scenario involving a captivating board game called Green. Green is a lively company that happens to have five investment cubes at its disposal. As the expert in charge, you now have a thrilling opportunity to create a transcontinental link.

There are two possible routes for this epic connection: Denver to Omaha or Denver to Kansas City. If you decide to build the Denver-Omaha route, Green will receive a generous $50 bonus for its profit level, while Red, another player in this exciting game, will get a $30 bonus. It’s worth noting that both the impressive Yellow and fearless Black companies can contribute by building the intermediate series of track links.

Since both companies contribute the same number of track links, they will each earn a $30 profit bonus. However, if you choose the Denver-Kansas City route instead, Green will gain a cool $50 bonus, and Red and Black will claim $30 bonuses.

Now, let’s talk about the audacious Purple company. It has the chance to contribute to the transcontinental link. However, it’s a bit more challenging for Purple as it would require four purple tracks to complete the link, compared to just three black tracks. As a result, the bonus goes to the daring Black company.

Unfortunately, Blue, the energetic company in the game, won’t be able to claim the bonus. Even though the link could be traced through her network, it would require more track links compared to the Red company’s network. But don’t worry, there’s still an opportunity for Blue to shine! If Blue had built the Buffalo-New York route and Green had built between Denver and Omaha, both Blue and Red, along with their equally amazing counterparts Yellow and Black, would receive a fabulous $30 bonus.

Step 4: Time to Cash In

Now that we’ve gone through the first three phases of our plan, it’s time to talk about something I bet you’re really excited about: taking profits! This is the phase where we cash in on our hard work and start reaping the rewards. And trust me, it feels amazing!

So, how do you know when it’s the right time to take profits? Well, as with everything in this process, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It all comes down to your individual goals and risk tolerance.

Here’s what I recommend: keep a close eye on your investments and set a target price at which you’re satisfied with the return. Once that target is reached, it might be a good idea to take some profits off the table.

Now, here’s a little tip for you: don’t get too greedy. It can be tempting to hold on for even higher returns, but remember, the market can be unpredictable. It’s better to secure some profits than risk losing everything.

Another thing to consider is diversification. As the saying goes, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It’s always a good idea to spread your investments across different assets and sectors. This way, if one investment doesn’t perform as expected, your other investments may help offset the losses.

Lastly, always keep in mind that taking profits doesn’t mean you have to cash out entirely. You can choose to sell only a portion of your investment and let the rest ride the market. This way, you secure some profits while still keeping some skin in the game.

So there you have it: the fourth and final phase of our plan. Remember, taking profits is an important part of the investment journey, and it’s something you should carefully consider. With these guidelines in mind, you’ll be well on your way to making smart and strategic investment decisions.

In the game, players now get money based on how well their companies are doing. This money is in the form of paper bills from the bank. It’s important to note that you only get money for the companies you currently control, not for any shares you gained in previous turns.

Think of this money as victory points – that’s all it’s good for. If you control multiple companies, you’ll get money from each one. It’s like a reward for your success.

Phase 5: End Of Turn

At the end of each turn, move your company tokens from the Pass row to the Order of Play row, keeping their relative positions. Reset all the company tokens on the Profit track back to zero.

When we finish a turn in the game, I get to keep any investment cubes that I haven’t used yet. And you know what? The companies get to keep their unspent investment cubes too. We put all the Company Control markers back in their boxes, except for the fifth turn, which we’ll talk about later. Pretty cool, huh? Now it’s time to start a new turn. Oh, and guess what? The game is close to ending after the fifth turn, but there’s no fancy Turn Track to keep count. We’ll just have to keep an eye on the number of shares left in each company. Once a company runs out of shares, that means the fifth turn just finished.

Alright, we’ve made it to the end of the game. There’s one more special phase that happens after the fifth turn. It’s called the Final Profit Determination. In this phase, we figure out the final value of each company’s shares. And guess what? We get cash for all the shares we have! How cool is that?

Hey there! Time to tidy up your investments. Take out any leftover investment cubes and put them back in your stash. From now on, we’ll be using those cubes as goods.

Now, let’s distribute the goods cubes. Place one cube in each spot that’s connected to a track. Make sure that the color of the cube matches the color of the location.

Now, let’s figure out who’s in charge of each company. The player who has the most shares in a company will be the one to take the corresponding Company Control marker. If there’s a tie, the player closest clockwise to the one who’s supposed to control that company (starting with them) will take the control marker.

For example: I have three red share tokens, so I’ll be the one to take the red control marker. Don and Simon both have two green share tokens, while Richard only has one. Richard was the last person to control the green company.

Don is sitting on the left side of Richard, so he gets to take control of the green company. If Simon had been the last person to control the green company, then he would have kept the control marker.

In the order of play for the companies, which we determined on the fifth turn, each company will get one goods cube. A company can only claim a goods cube from a location that it is connected to by a track link. The goods cube should be placed in the company’s box. The player who controls the company gets to choose which goods cube the company takes.

So, here’s what happens when a company runs out of cubes to claim. They have to take their token and move it to the Pass row. That’s how they signal that they can’t claim any more goods cubes.

Now, companies keep on collecting cubes like this until they can’t claim any more. That’s right, they just keep going until they hit a dead end.

But here’s the thing. The final profit for each company is determined by the cubes they manage to claim. And the value of those cubes depends on how many sets can be made with them. Oh, and by the way, a set consists of one to five cubes, but they all have to be different colors. No repeat colors allowed!

Now, to figure out a company’s final profit, you just add up the values of all the sets they made. Simple enough, right? Well, each set comes with its own value:

• A set with one cube is worth $10.
• A set with two cubes is worth $30.
• A set with three cubes is worth $60.
• A set with four cubes is worth $100.
• A set with five cubes is worth $150.

I’ll show you how to mark the final profit level of each company on the Profit Level track. Keep in mind that a company’s final profit can go over $200, which is the limit on the track. When that happens, use the company’s second game token to mark its total final profit.

Now let’s talk about the cash payment you’ll receive for each share token you hold. The amount you get will be the same as the final profit level of the company that gave you the share.

With all that settled, the game is finally over. The player with the most cash takes the crown as the winner. Oh, and just so you know, investment cubes don’t count for anything. In case there’s a tie, the player who controls the company or companies with the most goods cubes will be deemed the winner.

Remember: this final profit is only paid out for share tokens, not for Company Control markers.

Imagine this: I have this fantastic company called “The Yellow Company,” and they just scored some awesome goods cubes. Take a look at the ones shown above. They can be arranged into four sets, just like I show you here. Now, get ready for some impressive numbers!

When it comes to profits, The Yellow Company is on fire! We’re talking $100 for one set of goods cubes, plus an additional $30 for another set. And that’s not all! I’ll throw in an extra $10 for each of the remaining two sets, bringing the grand total to a whopping $150!

If you’re lucky enough to have a yellow share token, hold on tight because you’re about to receive some serious cash. How serious? Well, for each yellow token you hold, you’ll be pocketing $150! Not bad, huh?