AMERICAN RAILS: a game for 3-5 players by Tim Harrison

SETUP: Place the game board on the table. (2) Place the cubes and shares for each company in their treasury and supply. (3) Place one cube from
each company’s supply on the zero space of the income track. (4) Place the 12 black development cubes in the development supply area. (5) Place
the black disc on the space marked 1851 on the year track. (6) Each player takes a summary card and an action marker of the same color. (7) A
randomly selected banker gives each player: $65 w/ 3 players; $50 w/ 4 players; $40 w/ 5 players

GAMEPLAY
INITIAL AUCTION ROUND: Auction off 1 share of each company: the banker selects one share from any company and puts it up for auction. He
then must bid or pass; the minimum bid is $10. Proceeding clockwise around the table, each player must offer a higher bid or pass. A player who
has passed may no longer participate in the auction.
The auction winner: (1) gets the share, (2) pays his bid into the treasury of the company of that share, (3) takes one track cube from the company’s
supply and places it on any unoccupied city on the map, (4) moves the company’s income marker to the number matching the full income of the city
hex the cube was placed in, (5) if not already there, puts his action marker on the lowest available number (topmost empty space) on the turn order
track, (6) selects one share from any of the remaining companies and puts it up for auction, and (7) chooses to bid or pass for it. If no one bids for the
share, it is permanently removed from the game. The last player to pass then selects a share from another company to auction. The preparation round
continues in this manner until one (and only one) share from each company has been put up for auction (six auctions). If any shares were not bid on,
the game will begin with fewer shares available to the players and fewer than six railroad companies present on the map. If any players end the
preparation round with no shares, those players, beginning with the banker and proceeding clockwise, place their markers on the lowest remaining
numbers on the turn order track.
GAME SEQUENCE: The game consists up to 7-rounds each consisting of 3 Action Phases, followed by a Dividend Phase.
ACTION PHASES & TURN ORDER: To begin each round, the player whose action marker is at the top of the turn order track (space #1) moves
his marker to an empty space in the first column of the action track. He then chooses whether or not to implement that action. The next player on the
turn order track then does the same, until each player has taken one action. For the second and third action phase, the player whose action marker is
closest to the top on the action track moves his marker to the right to an empty space in the next column of the action track, and chooses whether or
not to implement that action. The next player, again closest to the top on the action track, then does the same, until each player has taken an action.
DIVIDEND PHASE: After three action phases, the players receive a dividend for each share they own. The dividend payment is the current income
of the company as shown on the income track divided by the number of shares in the company that are held by the players, rounded up; unsold shares
and shares removed from the game are not counted. The money is paid to the players by the bank. After each company has paid its dividends, the
round is complete. If the game is not over, move the player action markers from the right column of the action track to the turn order track,
maintaining their relative order. Then, advance the marker on the year track by one space and continue with the next round.
THE ACTIONS: The following is a list of actions that each player may perform.
PASS: The player does nothing.
DEVELOP: The player takes a black development marker from the supply and places it on any undeveloped city where there is at least one track
cube of any color. A development marker adds $2 to the full value and $1 to the shared value of the city (see Company Income). Adjust the income
markers for companies with track in that city accordingly. Cities with black squares next to their income values (New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
Boston, and Chicago) cannot be developed.
FUND $5: The player takes $5 from the bank and adds it to the treasury of any one railroad company.
AUCTION A SHARE: The player selects one share from the supply of any company and puts it up for auction. He then must bid or pass; the
minimum bid is $10. Proceeding clockwise around the table, each player must offer a higher bid or pass. A player who has passed can no longer
participate in the auction. The winner of the auction takes the share and pays his final bid to the treasury of the company that sold the share. If no one
bids for the share, remove it from the game.
EXPAND 2 OR TAKE $2: The player takes an Expand 2 action (see Expand) or takes $2 from the bank and adds it to his personal holdings.
EXPAND: The player takes track cubes from the supply of one or more companies in which he owns at least one share – up to 2 cubes for Expand 2,
3 cubes for Expand 3, and 4 cubes for Expand 4 – and places them on the map. Each cube is placed on a hex adjacent to another cube of the same
color; all track cubes of the same color must be connected. A hex may never contain two or more cubes of the same color. There is no limit to the
number of cubes that can occupy a city or plains hex, but a forest or mountain hex may only contain 1 cube. More than one company may be
expanded by the same action. The player then takes the appropriate amount of money from the treasury of the company that owns each placed cube
and pays the bank. The terrain of the hex determines the cost per cube: Plains: $2 plus $2 per cube already in the hex Cities: $2 plus $2 per cube
already in the hex Forests: $3 (limit one cube) Mountains: $5 (limit one cube). For cities, development cubes are counted when determining the cost
to expand there. The entire cost of the track must be paid from the treasury of the company that owns it.
COMPANY INCOME: Companies increase their income by having their track connected to cities. The city's full value, on the left, is used if only 1
company has track in the city. The city's shared value, on the right, is used if 2 or more companies have track in the city. When the first track cube is
placed in a city, increase the income of the company that owns the track by the full value of the city. If a second track cube is placed in a city,
increase the income of the company that owns the new track by the shared value of the city. In addition, reduce the income of the company that
already had a track cube there by the difference between the full and shared values of the city. If more track cubes are placed in the city, increase the
income of the companies that own them by the shared value of the city. NOTE: A development marker adds $2 to the full value and $1 to the shared
value of a city.
INCOME BONUSES FOR SPECIAL CONNECTIONS: If the track of a company connects to both Chicago and New York, Chicago and Atlanta,
or New York and Atlanta, immediately add $10 to that company's income (in addition to the normal values of those cities). A company can only
receive a bonus once for each of the three possible special connections. Note: if a company’s track is connected to two of the cities, it will receive a
$10 bonus, but if it connects the third city, it will receive an additional $20 bonus (due to being connected to all 3 cities).

END OF THE GAME: The game ends when, after a dividend phase, any of these conditions have been met: (1) the year marker is on 1857, (2) all
of the shares have been sold or removed from the game or (3) a certain number of supplies (company and/or development) have 2 or fewer cubes
remaining: - 3 players: 3 supplies have 2 or fewer cubes - 4 players: 4 supplies have 2 or fewer cubes - 5 players: 5 supplies have 2 or fewer cubes.

Î The player with the most money wins the game. In the event of a tie, all tied players share the victory.