The Amazing Powers of the Great Western Trail

The game is full of awesome abilities that let me do all sorts of things! The main way I can take actions is by using the special tiles on the game board. But sometimes, other things can trigger actions too, like delivering goods or using a special one-time ability.

No matter what triggers them, all of these actions are represented by these cool icons. Whenever I see the same icon, I know I can take that action.

Let’s start with some general info and explanations. Then, I’ll dive into the different actions I can take with the neutral building tiles, organized alphabetically. Once I have those down, I can use them as a reference for the private building tiles and objective cards.

General Info

In the world of actions, there’s a curious dynamic at play – a dance between requirements and rewards. These two elements are like yin and yang, constantly influencing each other. Requirements, often symbolized by red arrows or numbers, set the stage. They lay down the law and determine what must be done. Rewards, on the other hand, sport a different hue – green and white, like a symbol of success. They show the sweet fruits of our labor.

But here’s the twist: just because you fulfill a requirement doesn’t mean you have to claim the reward. That choice is entirely up to you. You can take it all, gleefully embracing the bounty, or leave it behind, relinquishing the spoils. The only exception lies when the reward is in the form of good old-fashioned Dollars. In that case, if you’re fortunate enough to receive such a reward, you must take the whole shebang.

When you see an action with red arrows on a card, you have to get rid of that exact card from your hand. Just put it in your personal discard pile. This is how you earn the reward shown next to the arrows. Remember, you can only do the action once, even if you have more cards that meet the requirement.

Hey there! I’ve got something important to tell you. So, listen up! If you want to understand cattle cards and how to interpret them, you’ve come to the right place.

First things first, let me give you some background info. Cattle cards are those cards that show information about cows. They can be identified by their color and breeding value.

Now, let’s break it down for you. When you look at a cattle card, there are a few things you need to pay attention to. One of the main things is the color and breeding value. These things will tell you a lot about the cow.

Keep in mind that not all cattle cards are the same. There are different colors and values that represent different things. So, it’s important to understand what each color and value means.

Once you’ve got that down, you can start interpreting the cattle card. It’s like solving a puzzle! You can look at the details and figure out what it all means. It’s pretty cool, right?

Remember, the cattle card is a tool that helps you understand the cow. It’s like a key that unlocks all the information. So, don’t forget to take a good look at it!

Alright, now that you know the basics, you’re ready to dive into the world of cattle cards. Have fun and happy interpreting!

• When you need to get rid of a card, just place it face up on your personal discard pile.
• When you gain some dollars, take that exact amount from the bank.
• If you need to pay a specific amount of dollars, simply return that exact amount to the bank.
• If you need to move your certificate marker forward, move it along your certificate track. You can move it as many spaces as the action icon shows. But remember, you can’t move your marker beyond your temporary certificate limit, which starts at 3.

When we talk about moving your engine a certain number of spaces, it means that your engine is being moved along the railroad track. It’s like your engine is taking a journey on the track! Let’s explore the actions you can take with the neutral building tiles in the game.

The Actions of the Neutral Building Tiles

Action: Hire One Worker

When you want to do this, all you have to do is pick one worker tile from the job market. You just have to pay the cost to hire that worker and put them on your player board.

Remember these rules:

• You can’t hire a worker from the row where the job market token is right now. You have to wait until the job market token moves.
• The cost to hire a worker is shown on the right side of their row. But this cost can change depending on the action icon.

Once you’ve paid for the worker, put them in your worker section. Remember to place them on the leftmost empty space in the corresponding row. It’s important to note that each player starts the game with one worker of each type (cowboy, craftsman, engineer), so the first space in each row is already taken.

If the space where you place the worker has an immediate action, you can choose to do that action right away or skip it. The icons for these actions should make sense once you’ve read the rules.

• If a row is already full, you can’t hire another worker of that type.
• At the end of the game, any worker placed on the fifth or sixth space of a row is worth 4 victory points.

What to Do: Add Your Special Building Tile to a Space on the Trail

When playing this game, you’ll come across an exciting moment when you get to enhance the trail with your own special building tile. It’s an opportunity to make your mark and contribute to the development of the game world. Are you ready?

To complete this action, you need to select one of your private building tiles and place it onto a designated building space on the trail. This can be quite a strategic decision, as it can affect your future moves and the overall outcome of the game.

Consider the available spaces on the trail and think about what would benefit you the most. Do you want to prioritize gathering resources, expanding your territory, or gaining special abilities? Each building tile offers unique advantages, so choose wisely!

Once you’ve made your decision, carefully place your chosen building tile onto the designated space. Take a moment to admire your contribution and imagine how it will impact the game as it progresses. Remember, your choice could shape the future interactions and strategies of all the players.

By placing your private building tile onto the trail, you’re not only showcasing your creativity and decision-making skills but also actively participating in the unfolding narrative of the game. Enjoy this moment and embrace the thrill of adding your personal touch to the game world.

Now that you understand the importance of this action, are you ready to make your move? With your carefully selected building tile, you have the power to shape the game and leave a lasting impact. Get ready to place your tile and take the game to the next level!

When I perform this action, I can choose one of the private building tiles above my player board and do one of the following:

• Place it on any empty building space on the trail OR
• Use it to replace one of my private building tiles that is already placed on a building space on the trail.

Just remember: The side of each building tile is the same for all players. I am not allowed to flip it to its other side.

Before I choose a building tile for this action, I must make sure of two things: a) that I have enough craftsman for it AND b) that I can afford to pay for that building tile.

Hey there! Let’s talk about these cool building tiles in the board game. Each private building tile in the upper left corner has a number on it. This number tells you how many craftsman you need to put the tile on the trail. You have a craftsman row in your worker section, right? If the number of craftsmen in that row is equal to or more than the number on the tile, you can place it on an empty building space on the trail. Just make sure you pay for it right away.

When you need to hire a craftsman for a particular building tile, it costs 2 dollars. But there’s another option. You can replace one of your existing private building tiles on the trail with a higher-valued private building tile from above your player board. Here’s how it works:

First, calculate the difference in craftsmen between the two building tiles. You only need to have enough craftsmen to cover this difference. Then, pay the difference in cost. Take the new building tile and put it in the place of the old one. Finally, remove the old building tile from the game by returning it to the box.

It’s important to note that you can only place your own building tiles on the game board with the neutral building tile “B”. The other way to do it is by using the immediate actions of your craftsman row. The advantage of these actions is that you only have to pay 1 dollar per craftsman instead of 2.

How to Get an Objective Card

Hey there! If you want to snatch an objective card, I’ve got you covered. Here’s what you need to do:

1. First things first, take a look at the general objective display. You can find it on the right side of the game board. Pretty hard to miss!
2. Now, you have two options. You can either pick one objective card from the general objective display, or you can draw the top card from the objective stack. It’s totally up to you!
3. Once you’ve made your choice, place the card face up on your personal discard pile. Keep in mind, the objective display will have an empty spot if you took a card from there.
4. If you snagged a card from the objective display, don’t worry! We’ll fill up the empty spot straight away. Just draw a new face-up card from the objective stack and put it in the vacant spot. Easy peasy!

If you’re wondering what objective cards are all about, flip over to page 15. It’ll give you the lowdown on their purpose. Happy gaming!

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Action: Move Your Engine Forward On The Railroad Track

I want to talk to you about a really important concept – moving your engine forward on the railroad track. This concept is key to understanding how to make progress in life. So, let’s dive in and explore it together!

You know, life can sometimes be like a railroad track. It’s full of twists, turns, and unexpected obstacles. But just like a train, it’s important to keep moving forward, no matter what comes your way.

Have you ever felt stuck in life? Like you’re not making any progress and things just aren’t going your way? Well, I’ve been there too, and let me tell you, it’s not a fun place to be. But here’s the thing – you have the power to change your direction and get back on track.

Moving your engine forward on the railroad track is all about taking action. It’s about making a conscious decision to push through the challenges and keep moving towards your goals. It’s about being proactive and not waiting for things to happen to you.

Now, I’m not saying it’s always easy. In fact, it can be downright tough at times. But when you take action and refuse to let obstacles derail you, amazing things can happen. You’ll build momentum, gain confidence, and ultimately reach your destination.

So, how can you start moving your engine forward on the railroad track? Well, it starts with setting clear goals. What do you want to achieve? Where do you want to go? Once you have a clear vision in mind, you can start mapping out your route and taking the necessary steps to get there.

It’s also important to stay focused and disciplined. It’s easy to get distracted or discouraged along the way, but if you stay true to your goals and keep your eye on the prize, you’ll be much more likely to succeed.

And remember, it’s okay to ask for help. We all need support and guidance from time to time. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others who can offer advice or lend a helping hand. Sometimes, a fresh perspective or a word of encouragement can make all the difference.

In conclusion, moving your engine forward on the railroad track is a powerful metaphor that can help us navigate the ups and downs of life. By taking action, setting clear goals, staying focused, and seeking support when needed, you can overcome any obstacle and keep moving towards your dreams. So, grab hold of that throttle and get ready to make some serious progress!

If you click on this action icon to move your engine, you can move it forward as many spaces as you have engineers in your engineer row.

When you move your engine, remember these rules:

• Only one engine can be on a space at a time, except for the starting space. So, when you move your engine, you have to ignore any space that has another engine on it.
• Along the track, there are turnout spaces that belong to train stations. Each turnout space is an extra space between the two spaces it connects. If you’re coming from a space with a switch, you can move your engine to the next numbered space or to the turnout space of a train station (as long as it’s not blocked by another engine).
• When you play the game, you can always choose to move your engine fewer spaces forward than you’re allowed to. But there’s a catch – once you decide to stop on a space, you lose any extra movement you had left. So let’s say you move to a turnout space to upgrade the train station, even if you could have moved more spaces, that action is finished.

Upgrading Train Stations

If you stop your engine on a turnout space of a train station, you have to make a decision right away – do you want to upgrade that train station or not?

Hey there! Just wanted to give you a heads up about upgrading train stations. Here’s the deal: you can only upgrade a train station if you haven’t upgraded it before. You’ll know if you’ve already done it because you’ll have one of your discs on it already. It doesn’t matter if your opponents have discs on it or not.

To upgrade the station, just pay the upgrade cost that’s right next to it. After that, place one of your discs on the station space. If there are already discs there, just put yours on top. Keep in mind that the station spaces have either white corners or black corners.

Just like with delivering to city spaces, you can place a disc with white corners on any station space. But a disc with dark corners can only go on a station space that also has dark corners.

Once you’ve placed your disc on the train station, check if there’s a station master tile right next to it. If there is, you can get that tile by choosing one of your hired workers to be the station master.

To do this, select one of your hired workers from the rightmost space of their row in the worker section. Take that worker tile off your player board and replace it with the station master tile. Then, place the station master tile face up next to your player board.

• Remember, you can only get a station master tile when you upgrade a train station. If you miss that chance, you won’t be able to get it later.

If you remove a worker from your worker section and uncover its immediate action again, you can perform that action the next time you place another hired worker on that space. Once a worker tile is placed on a station master space, it stays there for the whole game.

Each station master tile has two parts.

• The first part shows an action that needs to be taken immediately or a certificate which lasts.
• The second part shows how to gain more points in the end.

The last spot on the railroad track (spot 39) is special. When your engine reaches this spot, it stops moving (and you can upgrade the train station as usual). Then, you have to move your engine back.

You have to move your engine back at least one spot and can move it to any empty spot along the track (even a turnout spot). Once you’ve done that, you immediately get 3 Dollars. If you moved it to a turnout spot, you can immediately upgrade the train station as usual (using the money you just got).

Step: Trade With The Indians

When I choose to trade with the Indians, I pick a teepee tile from the Indian trade section and put it in front of me. The value of the money on the tile determines whether I’ll gain or have to pay money.

Hey, did you know that if there are no items available in the Indian trade section, you won’t be able to acquire a teepee tile? It’s a small but important detail to keep in mind while playing the game.

Take Action: Choose Between a Single or Double Auxiliary Action

Hey there! Let’s talk about the cool auxiliary actions in your player board. There are 5 different actions to choose from.

Each action has 2 spaces next to it for your discs. When both spaces are occupied, the action is locked and you can’t use it. But don’t worry, once at least one space is cleared, the action becomes available for you to use.

Single auxiliary action
Double auxiliary action

Gain 1 Dollar.	#image.jpgGain 2 Dollars.
Draw 1 card from your personal draw stack. Then discard 1 card.	#image.jpgDraw 2 cards from your personal draw stack. Then discard 2 cards.
Pay 1 Dollar and move your engine one space backwards. Then move your certificate marker one space forward.	#image.jpgPay 2 Dollars and move your engine 2 spaces backwards. Then move your certificate marker up to 2 spaces forward.
Pay 1 Dollar and move your engine one space forward.	#image.jpgPay 2 Dollars and move your engine 2 spaces forward.
Move your engine one space backwards. Then remove one of your hand cards entirely from the game (and thus your deck) by returning it to the box.	#image.jpgMove your engine 2 spaces backwards. Then remove 2 of your hand cards entirely from the game (and thus your deck) by returning them to the box.

When you need to move your engine in the opposite direction, you follow the same rules as moving forward. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:

• Even if a space is occupied by another engine, you can still move past it and go even farther backwards.
• If you reach a turnout space while moving backwards and decide to stop there, you can upgrade its train station as you normally would.
• Remember, this is a requirement, so you can never intentionally move fewer spaces backwards than you are required to.
• If your engine is on the starting space of the railroad track, you cannot perform any actions that involve moving your engine backwards.
• Keep in mind that your engine never turns around. It always faces forward, even while moving backwards.

Action: Purchase Cattle from the Cattle Market

So, here’s the deal. When you do this thing, you get to grab some fresh cattle cards from the market and put them in your own pile. But here’s the thing you gotta know – there’s no set number or specific types of cards you can get. It all depends on how many cowboys you’ve got in your cowboy row and how much dough you’re willing to part with.

Here’s the lowdown – the more cowboys you got, the more cards you can grab. Makes sense, right? And if you’re feeling extra generous with your cash, you can get even more of those tasty cattle cards. The choice is yours, partner.

If you’re only working with one cowboy in your cowboy row, your options are limited. You can either purchase a cattle card with a breeding value of 3 for 6 dollars or buy a “West Highland” cattle card for 12 dollars.

But if you have 2 cowboys, things open up a bit. Now you have more choices. You could buy 2 cattle cards, each with a breeding value of 3, for 6 dollars each. Alternatively, you could opt for a single cattle card with a breeding value of 3 for just 3 dollars.

Hey there! So, here’s the deal. When it comes to the Great Western Trail game, one of the key actions you can take is to buy cattle cards. These cards are super important because they have different values and abilities that can really help you out.

Now, the number of cowboys you have determines how many cattle cards you can buy. You can choose to use one cowboy per cattle card, or you can use multiple cowboys for a more valuable card. The choice is yours!

But here’s the catch – each cowboy can only be used once for this action. So, you need to think carefully about how you want to spend your cowboys and which cattle cards you want to buy.

If you decide not to use some of your cowboys to buy cattle cards, you have another option. You can use those unused cowboys to draw 2 cards from the market cattle stack and add them to the cattle market. This way, you can diversify your options and add more cards to choose from.

• For example, if you use 3 cowboys and pay 5 Dollars, you can get 2 cattle cards with a breeding value of 3 each.
• Or, if you use 5 cowboys and pay 8 Dollars, you can get 2 “West Highland” cattle cards.

See, it’s all about making smart choices and using your cowboys strategically. Don’t forget to think about your options and plan ahead. Happy cowboying!

If you want to buy cattle cards, they have to be available in the cattle market. You can buy fewer cards than you’re allowed. When you get a cattle card, put it face up in your discard pile. To remove a hazard, choose any hazard section and take one hazard tile. Pay the cost if there is one. Put the tile face up in front of you.

If you see an icon indicating no cost, you can take the hazard tile without having to pay anything.

• Every hazard tile has a number printed on it which represents the victory points. At the end of the game, you will earn those points.
• If all three hazard sections are empty, you won’t be able to obtain a hazard tile.