18EZ

18EZ Rulebook

Table of Contents

Setup and Share Dealing Rounds (SDRs)
Operating Rounds (ORs)
Appendix

1.1 Setup

Set the main map board in the center of the playing area, and the financial board next to it. At one end of the group of boards lay out the bank. The share certificates for the 6 major railroads should be set out near the bank. The Black Line Railroad shares should be placed alongside the other shares, but bear in mind that these are not available yet.

At the other end of the boards, lay out the tiles. Tiles should be separated into stacks of like-numbered tiles (i.e. all of the #8 tiles in one stack, all of the #9 tiles in another stack, and so on). With the game set up in this manner, players at one end can access the bank to assist players at the other end. Those players can, in turn, assist with tiles.

The train cards should be put in the bottom-right corner of the Map Board, in the appropriate boxes. Regardless of the number of players, use: 10 type 2s, 5 type 3s, 4 type 4s, 3 type 5s, and 2 type 6s. All of the type 8 cards are used, but bear in mind that the supply of type 8 trains is not limited to the number of cards included with the game. If more type 8 trains are required, you should use type 2 train cards to represent them.

Each player receives their share of the $1800 total starting cash (i.e. if there are 2 players, each receives $900; if there are 3 players, each receives $600; and so on). The table below is for the benefit of those who don't wish to do math.

Players	Certificate Limit	Starting Cash
2	30	$900
3	20	$600
4	15	$450
5	12	$360
6	10	$300

The Startpacket should be laid out on the playing area as shown in the example on page 3 of the rulebook.

The tokens numbered 1-6 should be placed in a hat, and each player draws one. Players are seated clockwise around the table in the order indicated by their token. The player drawing the lowest numbered token will be given the Priority Bid Card. This is the one random event in the game.

The game will begin with an auction of the private and minor companies, which are collectively referred to as the "Startpacket." The companies in the Startpacket will be available in the following order:

Private companies, in order:

Short Line Railroad
Harriot Milton Hotel
Metropolis Rapid Transit Authority
Obsidian Railroad

Then the Minor Railroads, in order:

Oneida Railroad
Twopelo Railroad
Mitsushi Railroad
Rockfourd Railroad

The first player is given the Priority Bid Card. He/she has the following options:

Purchasing the top available private company (in this case, the Short Line Railroad)
Bidding on another private, or minor company
Passing to the next player in line without taking any other action

ONE action may be taken on each turn in an SDR. Then each player in turn has the same options.

1.3 Bidding

Opening bids must be no less than $5 over the price printed on the card. Other players, on their turns, may also bid on the same company, but all bids must be no less than $5 above the previous high bid.

When a company that has been bid upon by only one player becomes available (i.e. the company before it in the Startpacket is sold), that company is immediately sold to the bidding player. This sale is special, and does not count as the player's turn. Play resumes with the player to the left of the triggering player.

When a company that has been bid upon by more than one player becomes available, a special auction round begins.

The correct layout of the Startpacket is shown in the rulebook's example on page 3.

1.4 Special Auction Rounds

Only players who have already placed bids on the company in question may participate in the special auction round. The bidding starts with the player to the left of the current high bidder, and continues until a winner is determined.

If the auction of this company makes another company available which has been bid upon, ownership of that company will then be determined immediately, in another special auction round.

Example (from the rulebook, three players, Tom, Dick and Harry; only the four private companies are shown for simplicity): On the first turn, Tom bids $85 on the Metropolis Rapid Transit Authority, Dick bids $155 on the Obsidian Railroad, and Harry bids $55 on the Harriot Milton Hotel. On the second turn, Tom bids $160 on the Obsidian Railroad, outbidding Dick; Dick bids $60 on the Harriot Milton Hotel; and Harry bids $65 on the Harriot Milton Hotel. On the third turn, Tom buys the Short Line, which triggers a special auction round for the Harriot Milton Hotel. Only Dick and Harry may participate in this special auction round. When that auction is complete, the Metropolis Rapid Transit Authority goes automatically to Tom, as he is the only player to have bid on it before it became available. Then there is a special auction for the Obsidian Railroad, after which the game continues with Dick. (The printed example also lists the individual auction bids and the resulting payments; the bid figures above are as given in that example.)

1.5 Completing the initial SDR

Once the Startpacket is sold out, a player on his/her turn may buy a Share Certificate for any of the six available railroads. The first Share Certificate available for each railroad is the President's Certificate. The President's Certificate represents two 10% shares. Every other certificate is a single 10% share.

The price of a given railroad's shares is determined by the President when he/she buys the President's Certificate. The price may be set at any of the six values outlined in red on the Financial board's Share Price Index (SPI). These values range from $50 to $100. The value chosen will be the Par Value for shares of that railroad. Bear in mind that the President's Certificate is two shares, so the player must pay double the par value.

When the President's Certificate for a railroad is purchased, one of that company's tokens will be placed on the appropriate space in the "Par Values" section of the Financial Board. This will be the price paid for all shares purchased from this company's Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Shares in the Black Line Railroad are not available for purchase at this point in the game.

Play continues clockwise around the table. Each player has the option of performing one of the following actions:

Buy a Certificate
Pass

1.6 "Floating" a Railroad

Before a railroad may operate, it must first "Float." In order to float a railroad, a minimum of 50% of the company's stock must have been purchased from the IPO.

1.7 Determining Presidency

The president of a railroad will be the player who holds the greatest percentage of the railroad's stock. In the case of a tie, the player with the President's Certificate will remain as the president. In the event that a player obtains a greater percentage of a company's stock than the current president, that player will become the president.

Whenever a player buys IPO shares, they pay the Par Value price for them.

When a Transfer of Presidency must occur, the incoming president will immediately give two 10% shares of the railroad in question to the outgoing president. In exchange, he/she will receive from the outgoing president:

The President's Certificate for the railroad in question.
The company's charter, and all of the railroad's property on it. This includes the treasury, all of the company's trains, and the additional station markers, if applicable.

On starting a company: when starting a new railroad, you have the option of choosing a low par value so that you can buy the shares more cheaply, or setting a high par value in order to have more money in the company treasury. Both are valid strategies. With a low par value, you can acquire your shares more quickly, but your treasury may run out sooner. With a high par value, your railroad will have more cash to start with, but it may take you longer to get enough shares to float.

On transfer of presidency: you remain the president unless someone manages to acquire more shares than you. If you have an equal number of shares (not certificates, shares; the President's Certificate is two shares), the current president keeps the job. If there is a transfer of presidency, the incoming president trades two of his/her 10% certificates for the 20% president's certificate. If this puts the outgoing president over the certificate limit, he/she needs to sell shares at his/her next opportunity.

No player may own more than 60% of any one railroad.

Each player is limited in the number of certificates they may own. (Note that a President's Certificate is one certificate, representing two shares.) The assets which will count against a player's certificate limit are:

Share certificates
Private companies
Minor railroads

1.9 Ending an SDR

An SDR ends when all players, in succession, have passed. The player that started that specific sequence of passes (i.e. the player to the left of the last player to perform an action other than passing) receives the Priority Bid Card. The Priority holder will have the first option in the next SDR. In effect, the next SDR picks up where the previous one left off.

If any railroads "floated" during the SDR, one of the company's tokens will be placed on the SPI within the red outlined area at the company's par value. The president will receive the company's charter, the company's three station marker tokens, and the starting treasury. All of the company's assets will be placed on the company's charter in the provided spaces.

The company's treasury is the property of that company, and not the president. The president's personal cash must never be mixed with any company's treasury.

Designer's example (determining priority): with three players, Tom buys a share, then Dick passes, and when Harry's turn comes he passes as well. Now it is back to Tom's turn. If he takes an action other than passing, it is guaranteed that the SDR will continue and he will get at least one more turn. If he passes, then all players have passed in order and the SDR is over. Dick is the first player to have passed, so she gets the Priority Token and has the first option in the next SDR.

1.10 Funding the Starting Treasury

Purchases made by the company are made from the company treasury only, and may not be subsidized by the president (except in the case of a forced train purchase explained later).

A major railroad's starting treasury is funded by the bank, and equals ten times their Par Value.

The starting treasury for minor railroads is the purchase price printed on the company's charter ($160). If the owner paid more than this amount for the railroad through bidding, the amount bid over the sticker price was merely paid to the bank in order to secure ownership in that company.

1.11 Subsequent SDRs

The priority holder has the first option in an SDR. In each turn of a share dealing round, a player may perform any one of the following actions:

Buy one share certificate
Sell one or more share certificates
Buy one share certificate, then sell one or more share certificates
Sell one or more share certificates, then buy one share certificate
Pass

In the same turn, a player may buy a share, then sell any number of shares, or sell shares, then buy a share. However, a player may not buy, then sell, then buy, or sell, then buy, then sell.

Designer's note: if you leave an SDR with enough money to have bought another share, you have probably made a mistake. That money will not gain value during an OR. The share you could have bought probably would.

1.12 Buying Shares

Shares may be purchased from the IPO for Par Value, or from the Bank Pool (if any are available there) for the current value, as indicated on the SPI.

1.13 Selling Shares

In a share dealing turn, a player may sell any number of the shares he/she owns in any number of companies at one time.

The selling player must declare the order in which shares are sold. Shares will be placed into the open market, and the bank will pay the current market value (as indicated on the SPI) to the selling player.

The president's certificate may only be sold if there is another player who holds at least 20% in that company. It will never actually go into the Bank Pool, as the next highest shareholder will become the president. The incoming president in this case would place two of his/her 10% share certificates in the Bank Pool, and take the President's Certificate in exchange.

If two or more players are tied for the greatest percentage, the next one to the left of the outgoing president will become the incoming president.

No more than 50% of any company's shares may be in the open market at any time, and shares may not be sold which would exceed this amount.

Once a player has sold shares, he/she may not buy shares in that railroad in the same SDR.

A player may not sell shares of railroads in which he/she purchased shares in the current SDR.

Designer's note: when a player sells shares, he/she will receive payment in the amount of the current value multiplied by the number of shares sold. Immediately following the sale, the share value token will be adjusted downward one space for each share sold, until the token reaches the bottom row. Example: a player selling four shares of the M&YR at a current value of $120 receives $480, and the token is moved downward. After three moves, the token reaches the bottom row, so it moves no farther.

Designer's note: although a player may only buy one share per turn, he/she may sell as many shares as desired, at one time. The player must declare in what order the shares will be sold, so that the movement of the share values will work out correctly.

Share values can be adjusted in the following ways in an SDR:

Down one row for each share sold by a player.
Up one row at the end of the SDR if 100% of the shares are in player's hands.

In either event, the token will only move until it reaches the top, or bottom row.

Any time a railroad's share value token is moved into a space that is already occupied by that of another railroad, the newly arriving token is always placed on the bottom of the stack.

Designer's example: BCRR, PS&W, BR&N and M&R all have the same value ($120). The M&R is the farthest to the right, and therefore will operate first. Then, moving to the left, there are two railroads in the same space. Since the PS&W is highest in the stack, it goes next. Next the BR&N, and then the BCRR will operate.

Operating Rounds (ORs)

There will be two ORs between SDRs. This is tracked with the round marker using the "Current Round" tracker in the lower left-hand corner of the board.

2.1 Sequence of play

Operating rounds proceed in the following sequence:

Private companies pay revenue to their respective owners.
Minor Railroads operate in numerical order.
Major Railroads, and the one System (Public Railroads) operate in descending order of share value, as indicated on the SPI.
- If two or more railroads have the same share value, those that are in the farthest column to the right will operate first.
- If two or more railroads occupy the same space, the highest one on the stack of tokens will operate first.

Designer's example: where the M&R, BCRR, PS&W, BR&N and others share a value, the M&R is farthest right and operates first. Moving left, the PS&W is highest in its stack and goes next, then the BR&N, and then the BCRR.

2.2 Sequence of a railroad operating turn

Build or upgrade track
Place station markers
Run trains
Distribute income and adjust share value
Buy trains

Most steps are optional, and may be skipped (the exceptions being adjusting share value, and buying trains if a public company is trainless; more on this later). However, all steps must be followed in this order, and so may not be returned to later if skipped. (For instance: a railroad may not buy a train, and then go backward through the sequence to operate the new train.)

2.3 Building track

The track on which trains operate is represented by colored hexagonal tiles. These tiles are placed on hexes on the hexagonal grid which is printed on the board. A railroad may lay or upgrade one tile per Operating Round (OR).

The hexes on the map, and the tiles, can be broken down into three basic categories: Large Cities, Small Cities, and open track. Cities are represented by circles on the map, and tiles. Small cities are small black circles, and large cities are large white circles (or are colored to match the railroad which starts in that city). Tiles may only be placed onto hexes of the same type (i.e. only large city tiles may be placed on large city hexes, only small city tiles on small city hexes, and only open track tiles on open hexes).

Initially, only yellow tiles are available, but those tiles may be upgraded in later phases of the game to improve the routes of the track, and the value of the cities (more on this later). The first tile laid on any unimproved hex must always be yellow.

The city of Metropolis, which is already yellow, may be upgraded to green when green tiles become available. Only tiles marked "Metropolis" may be laid on this hex. Metropolis tiles may only be used on the Metropolis hex.

The six red, off-board areas of the map are not considered playable hexes, and tiles may not be laid on them at any time.

If a new railroad's home city (identified by its logo and color) is unimproved (has not had a tile laid on it), the first tile laid by that railroad must be on their home city. The railroad's first Station Marker token is then placed within the white circle on the tile. Once placed, a Station Marker may not be moved for the remainder of the game.

In order for a company to lay additional tiles, it must be able to trace a legal route from its home station to the hex where the tile is to be laid. This route may not be interrupted by another company's Station Markers. The new track must constitute an extension of the railroad's existing track. The company may, however, extend their track beyond the capability of any of their trains to run. It is not required that the railroad actually use the track it has built on its turn. Track may never be built that would lead off of the hex grid at the map's edge, but it may dead-end within the hex grid.

Designer's example: an illegal upgrade is one that does not maintain the existing route.

2.4 Upgrading Track

As the game progresses, it becomes possible to upgrade track which was built earlier. When upgrading track, the original tile is removed from the board, and placed back with the other available tiles. Then the new tile is put on the board in its place. In Level 3, new colors of tiles become available as follows:

Once the first type 3 train is sold, green tiles may be used to upgrade yellow tiles.
Once the first type 5 is sold, brown tiles may be used to upgrade green tiles.
Once the first type 8 is sold, grey tiles may be used to upgrade brown tiles.

Note: no color may be skipped in the upgrading of track on any given hex. (For instance, a railroad may not replace a yellow tile with a brown one. A green tile must be laid first.)

When upgrading a tile, the routes of the original track must be maintained. (I.e. the new track may, and will, go in new directions, but must still go in all of the same directions as the tile being upgraded.) A table is included at the back of the book to show possible upgrades for each tile.

In order to upgrade a tile, the laying railroad must be able to trace a legal route to the hex in question.

When city tiles are upgraded, all Station Markers and tokens must be replaced onto the new tile.

The two pre-printed grey hexes may never be upgraded.

Designer's examples: an illegal upgrade is one that cannot upgrade from yellow straight to brown. A legal upgrade is shown in the rulebook's example. Two trains may run on the same section of track only if they do not use the same track; the junction in the center may be used by multiple trains.

2.5 Placing Station Markers

Each major railroad has three Station Marker Tokens which it can place on the map in order to service a wider area. The first one is free, but must be placed on the company's home city. The railroad must pay to place the others. Placing the second token costs $40, and placing the third costs $100.

In order to place an additional station marker, the railroad must be able to trace a legal route from its home city to the city where the token is to be placed.

There must be space available in the desired city to place a station marker. For instance, if there are two large circles on the tile for the desired city, there is space for up to two station markers.

A single railroad may not have more than one station marker on any given tile.

Station markers may not be moved, or removed from the board once placed.

If the desired city is the home city of a railroad that is not yet operating, that railroad must be left an open space for its station. No railroad may place a station marker that would prevent the unopened railroad from placing their station.

Once all of the available station marker spaces on a tile or city are filled, only the railroads which have station markers there may pass through (although other railroads may start or end their runs there).

The city will not be considered "blocked" unless the station markers have actually been placed. This is notable in the case of the home city of a railroad which is not yet operating. Until the railroad is open, and their token has been placed on the board, it will not be counted as a blocked city.

Minor Railroads, and the Black Line, do not have any additional station markers to place.

Designer's examples: in one example, the BR&N has placed a Station Marker in Metropolis; a player running a train to the west will be unable to run any farther than Purple Springs, because every available space for Station Markers (which in that case is one) is in use. In another example, Purple Springs has been upgraded so that there are two available Station Marker spaces; since only one of those spaces is covered, the BR&N may pass through Purple Springs freely.

2.6 Running Trains

Railroads generate income by running their trains between cities. A legal route is a continuous line of connected cities, at least one of which includes the running railroad's station marker. A legal route must consist of at least two cities (a start point and an end point). The maximum number of cities to which a train may run in a turn is equal to its type (i.e. a type 3 train may run to three cities, regardless of the distance between them, and so on). The following rules apply to tracing a legal route:

The cities on the route must be connected by track.
A train may not reverse direction during its run, or run again over any portion of the track which it has already used (although it may use multiple sections of track on the same tile).
If multiple trains are run, they may each run to the same tiles (including city tiles), as long as the two trains do not use any of the same track (although they may use separate sections of track on a tile).
No city along the route may be skipped (i.e. every city along the route must be counted).
A railroad may begin, and/or end its run on one or more of the red off-board locations, but they may not be run through.
Each city may only be used once by a single train.
No route may pass through any city which has all of its spaces for station marker tokens filled by other railroads' station markers, but it may begin and/or end its route in such cities.
A railroad may completely change routes from one turn to the next, as long as the new route is in compliance with all of the rules.

Designer's example (calculating the value of a run): suppose you have a type 4 train and you are running the PS&W. The game is in the green phase, so you have upgraded the tile on your home city of Purple Springs; Metropolis has not been upgraded. You may start your run in the off-board location called West. You don't necessarily need to start or end at your station. As long as you pass through your station during your run, it's perfectly legal.

The printed example runs the train as follows:

Stop 1: West (off-board location), value $30. Total so far: $30.
Stop 2: Purple Springs, value $30. Total so far: $60.
Stop 3: A small city, value $10. Total so far: $70.
Stop 4: Metropolis, value $30. Total for this train: $100.

Add up the runs for all of the railroad's trains in this manner, then total them all together. The sum is the railroad's income for the round.

Public railroads (Major RRs and the Black Line) have 3 options for the income they generate on their turn:

They may retain the full amount in their treasury.
They may pay that income as a dividend to the shareholders.
They may partially retain their income.

If a dividend is paid, each shareholder receives a percentage of the income equal to the percentage of the company's stock they own. (Income for shares that have not been sold from the IPO is paid to the company treasury.) The share value will increase, with the token moving one space to the right. If the token comes to the end of a row, follow the arrow up to the next row. If the value reaches $200, congratulations! (But it goes no farther.)

If a dividend is not paid, the share value will decrease, with the token being moved one space to the left. If the token comes to the end of a row, follow the arrow down to the next row.

If income is partially retained, half of the income will be paid to the company treasury, and the other half is split among the shareholders as normal. In the event that the income cannot divide equally, the odd amount will be paid into the company treasury. The company's share value token will remain stationary in the case of a half retention.

As minor railroads have no shareholders, they will split their income 50/50 with the owner (i.e. half goes into the company treasury, and half goes to the owner). This is the only option for distributing a Minor Railroad's income. They may not retain, or make a full payment.

Designer's note on retaining income: whenever possible, a railroad should pay a dividend. Do not retain income and drop the share value just because the treasury is getting low; only retain if you have a specific need.

Designer's example on paying dividends: the payout per share is the run income with a zero dropped. For example, a run of $100 pays $10 per share. Using a president holding 6 shares, a shareholder holding 3 shares, and a shareholder holding 1 share: the President receives $60, Shareholder 1 receives $30, and Shareholder B receives $10, for a total of $100 across 10 shares.

Designer's example on partial retention: with a run of $100, the first half ($50) goes into the company treasury and the other half ($50) is paid as dividends to the shareholders, which can be thought of as $5 per share. With a run of $90, $50 goes to the treasury and $40 is split among the shareholders, because $4.50 per share cannot be paid.

2.8 Buying trains, and the results of train purchases

As a company's last action in an operating round, it may choose to purchase trains. This option occurs after running trains. This means that trains bought may not be operated until the next operating round. Due to this fact, a railroad may not run trains in its first operating round in existence, and therefore it will not have income to pay a dividend. As a result, its share value token will be moved to the left.

Trains may be purchased from the bank, or the open market (if any are available there), for the full sticker price printed on the card. They may also be purchased from another railroad for any amount (at least $1 per train; it is a "buy trains" phase, not a "receive free trains" phase) agreed upon by the respective directors (which may be the same person). If a railroad is buying a train from another railroad, however, the sale must be done on the buying railroad's turn (because a railroad may buy trains, but may not sell them, as there is no "sell trains" phase). The sale of a train between companies must be announced, but the purchase price need not be disclosed.

Trains purchased from the bank must be bought in order. (I.e. the first type 3 train is not available until all of the type 2s have been sold. The first type 4 is not available until all of the type 3s have been sold, and so on.)

When the purchase of a train causes a phase change, the change affects all players. For example, when the purchase of the type 4 train triggers a phase change which makes the type 2 trains obsolete, all type 2s are immediately removed from play, without compensation.

Every major railroad which can trace a legal route is required to own a train at the end of its operating turn. If the railroad does not have sufficient funds in its treasury to purchase a train from the bank, or from another railroad, see Forced Train Purchases.

Level 3 Phase Chart

Train Sold	Changes
2	Train limit = Major 3 / Minor 2. Major railroads may buy private companies.
3	Scrap all Type 2 trains.
4	Black Line shares available next SDR. Black Line opens.
5	System train limit 4. Privates close. Scrap all Type 3 trains.
6	Train limit = Major 2 / System 3.
8	Scrap all Type 4 trains.

The tile-availability column of the printed Level 3 Phase Chart is graphic and is not reproduced here; the tile-color unlocks are stated in section 2.4 (green once the first type 3 is sold, brown once the first type 5 is sold, grey once the first type 8 is sold).

Designer's note on phase changes: all phase changes affect all players. For example, if Tom buys the first type 4 train, all of Dick's and Harry's type 2 trains will be scrapped, along with his. However, all players will be allowed to upgrade yellow tiles to green.

Designer's note on forced train purchases: the easiest way to make up your company's shortfall when making a forced train purchase is to take the company's entire treasury, add it to your personal cash, and then pay for the train from your pocket. The net result will be the same: the company will be flat broke, and you will have made up the difference from your personal cash.

2.9 Forced train purchases

If a public railroad does not have a train at the end of the buy trains phase of its turn, and it cannot afford to buy one from the bank or the open market, and no other railroad will allow it to buy a train from them for a price on which both parties can agree, the president will be required to assist the railroad in purchasing a train. This is the only situation in which a president may contribute any of his/her personal cash to subsidize a railroad's purchase.

The following rules apply to a forced train purchase:

The President may not contribute any more money than the exact difference between the price of the new train and the amount of cash in the company treasury. (I.e. the company treasury will be flat broke after the purchase.)
Only one train may be purchased.
The train purchased must be the cheapest available.
The train purchased may be purchased from another railroad, but the price must be less than the next cheapest available train. However, a railroad cannot be forced to purchase a train from another railroad.

If the president does not have enough personal cash to subsidize the required purchase, he/she will be forced to sell shares to make up the difference.

If the president of a railroad doesn't have sufficient funds to subsidize a forced train purchase, he/she must sell shares to raise the required funds. The forced sale occurs immediately, during the operating round. The following rules apply to forced share sales:

The President may sell shares in the railroad which requires a train, but not enough to trigger a transfer of presidency.
The President may sell enough shares in another railroad to trigger a transfer of presidency.
The player alone may decide which shares to sell. However, he/she may only sell enough shares to raise the required amount of money.

All normal rules for sales of shares and share value movement must be followed (with the exception of the prohibition on selling shares purchased in the current SDR, as the game isn't currently in an SDR).

Designer's note on the Black Line: if it is likely that you'll end up running the Black Line, you may want to ensure that whichever minor railroad(s) you're operating have at least one train that will not be scrapped right away, and that their treasury is holding some money. This will help the Black Line to be successful.

2.11 Bankruptcy

If a player cannot raise sufficient funds to subsidize a forced train purchase, even by selling all of the shares he/she is allowed to sell, he/she is declared bankrupt, and the game ends immediately.

2.12 Bringing the Black Line into service

Shares of the Black Line are not available for purchase until the SDR following the purchase of the first type 4 train.

At the end of the OR in which the first type 5 train is purchased, all of the Minor Railroads, and the Obsidian Railroad private company will merge into the Black Line Railroad. The conversion should proceed as follows:

The player who owns the Obsidian Railroad will exchange that card for the President's Certificate of the Black Line. That player is the President (for now), and should receive the Black Line charter, 4 Station Marker tokens, and $750 for the Black Line treasury.
The tokens marking Par Value, and the Current Value, will be set at $150.
The Minor Railroads, in numerical order, will now be converted as follows:
- Each Minor Railroad will turn over any trains it owns, as well as its treasury, to the Black Line.
- The Minor Railroad's single Station Marker token will be replaced with a Black Line token.
- The Minor Railroad charter will be exchanged for the Black Line share bearing that railroad's logo.
Presidency of the Black Line may change during this process, as normal (see section 2.5 on page 8).
Proceed to the next OR, or SDR, as normal.

Designer's note on the Black Line: if someone else will be the president, you may want to plunder your minor's treasury, and leave them trainless right before the Black Line opens. Use the sweat of the minor railroads to shore up your own railroads. After all, if you own 20% of the Black Line and 60% of another railroad, which do you want to make bigger runs?

2.13 Ending the Game

The game can end in one of two ways:

It ends immediately when a player is declared bankrupt.
If the bank runs out of money, the game will continue until the end of the current set of operating rounds. The bank will give out IOUs which will be figured into the players' totals at the end of the game. Players must keep track of the money owed to them by the bank.

In either event, the winner will be determined in this way:

Each player will total up the value of the stocks they own. They find the total by multiplying the number of shares of a railroad they own by the value of each share as indicated on the SPI, and adding these together.
To this total, each player will add the sum of his/her personal cash (including IOUs).
The money in the treasuries of the railroads of which a player is president does not count. Only personal cash.

The grand total is the player's net worth. The player with the highest net worth wins.

Designer's example (determining the winner), as printed:

Railroad	Shares @ Value each	Total value
Blue Line	6 @ $200	$1,200
Green Line	6 @ $150	$900
Red Line	4 @ $170	$480
Brown Line	2 @ $130	$260

Total stock value: $2,840. Cash: $1,846. I.O.U.'s from Bank: $100. Total net worth: $4,786.

Designer's note on the Short Line: the only way that the price of the Short Line Railroad will be reduced at the beginning of the game is if every player passes in succession before it is sold.

Appendix

Private Companies and their Benefits

Short Line Railroad (costs $20, pays $5). This company has no other benefits.
Harriot Milton Hotel (costs $50, pays $10). If this company is owned by a major railroad, that railroad may, at any point in its turn, place the Hotel Bonus Token on a city of its choice. The value of that city is increased by $10 for any of the owning railroad's trains that include it in their run. The Hotel token may not be placed in the red off-board locations. This token does not occupy the space of a station marker, and does not count toward the blocking of a city. Placing the Hotel token closes the Harriot Milton Hotel.
Metropolis Rapid Transit Authority (costs $80, pays $15). If a Major railroad owns this company, it may place a tile, and a station marker in Metropolis. Both actions are in addition to the railroad's normally allowed actions. When the token is placed, the Metropolis Rapid Transit Authority closes.
Obsidian Railroad (costs $150, pays $20). When the first type 5 train is purchased, the Black Line Railroad will be formed. At that time, the Obsidian Railroad card will be traded for the Black Line President's Certificate.

Private companies may be sold between players at any time, for any agreed upon price. Private companies (except the Obsidian Railroad) may be purchased from players, by major railroads during that railroad's turn in an operating round, but only after the sale of the first type 3 train. The price paid by a railroad may be as little as half, but no more than double the original price printed on the card. Private companies may not be purchased by a railroad from any other railroad.

Tile Manifest and Upgrades

Tile manifest (Tile ID # / quantity available):

Tile ID	Quantity
3	2
4	2
5	3
6	7
7	3
8	10
9	14
14	3
15	2
19	1
20	1
57	3
58

Section 2.4 refers to a table of possible upgrades for each tile, "included at the back of the book." That chart is not in the Level 3 PDF transcribed here, so it is not reproduced.

Certificate Limits and Starting Cash

Players	Certificate Limit	Starting Cash
2	30	$900
3	20	$600
4	15	$450
5	12	$360
6	10	$300

The Bank

Denomination	Quantity	Total
$1	30	$30
$5	20	$100
$10	27	$270
$20	30	$600
$50	20	$1,000
$100	20	$2,000
$200	10	$2,000
Total		$6,000