18Svea
18Svea Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board
- 1 train display and Open Market
- 1 revenue chart
- 12 strategy cards
- 3 strategy card markers
- 2 "Remove" markers
- 5 company charters
- 25 triangular shares
- 5 triangular tax reminders
- 40 track tiles
- 20 wood company tokens
- 16 wood trains
- 5 wood water terrain markers
- 1 round marker token
- 1 Central Station token
- 3 player aids
- 1 priority deal marker
- This rulebook
1 Introduction
A game of 18Svea takes place during a series of stock rounds (SR), when players manage their investments in the five companies; and operating rounds (OR), when railroad companies owned by the players expand their rail network, establish stations, run trains, and generate money for their shareholders. When the game ends after a total of four SRs and seven ORs, the player with the highest combined wealth in money and company shares wins.
The round tracker is used to keep track of the game's progress. At the end of each round (whether stock or operating), move the round tracker token to the next space and continue as indicated.
In these rules, specific operating rounds are referred to by number, for example "OR7" refers to the seventh operating round. Numbers appearing in brackets are references to sections of these rules.
18Svea is inspired by the fantastic 18XX train games originally developed or inspired by Francis Tresham and do not normally involve dice rolling or other random events during play. Apart from shuffling the deck of strategy cards and randomly determining the placement of an off-board connection, players must rely on their own ability to outwit and outmaneuver each other while playing 18Svea.
All information, such as players' money and strategy cards, and company assets, is public at all times.
2 Setup
- Place the game board on the table. Place the blue wood water terrain markers nearby.
- Place an upside-down station token in each respective company's starting station token slot ("Reserved" side up). These are marked with the companies' "+5" logos on the other side.
- Randomize the deck of twelve strategy cards. Deal six of them face-up amongst the players and set the rest aside.
- Set aside the small hexagonal shaped markers for use with the strategy cards. The two "Remove" markers are to be used as randomization aids as needed.
- Set out the company charters, and stack their stock shares nearby with the CEO's share on top and the respective triangular tax reminder nearby.
- Place the round marker in the "Deal Strategy Cards" circle on the round tracker.
- Place the train display, Open Market, and revenue tracker next to the game board.
- Place the sixteen wood trains sorted by color in their respective boxes above the train/phase chart.
- The players must provide a bank of money. A minimum of 2,000 is recommended. The currency in this game is Swedish Kronor (crowns).
- Take 240 crowns from the bank and divide it evenly amongst the players (120 crowns each if playing with two players, 80 crowns each with three).
3 Game Board
The game board is a map of Svealand with a hex grid overlay. Track tiles are placed on this grid.
- Cities are represented by circles in the hexes. Cities with a company logo in them represent the home city of that company. Circles also function as station token slots, and company station tokens [6, 9.5] will be placed in them.
- Black track connects some hexes around the edge of the map. This track is already built at the start of the game and is treated like normal track for all purposes.
- Triangles without a value and with a white/light green background are track dead-ends, and track may connect to them. These are also used with one of the strategy cards [12.8].
- Edges of the map without an off-board location, pre-built track, or a track dead-end may not have track running into them [9.4].
- Red, blue, and yellow off-board connections function as a stop [9.6.1]. Their value changes as new game phases [7] are reached (yellow/green/brown/gray/black). Two strategy cards give a bonus for blue and yellow connections respectively [12.1, 12.12].
- Thick blue lines between hexes are water crossings. It costs 5 crowns to build a connection across them [9.4.3]. As these are covered by tiles, use the wood water terrain markers as a reminder about this connection until it has been made.
4 Stock Market
The stock market is a grid used to indicate the current price of one share in a railroad company (known as the share price). Shares are always bought and sold at this price. Each company that has been started [8.4] will have a stock market token on the stock market. Its location corresponds to the company's share price.
The yellow spaces indicate the possible prices at which companies may be started; see [8.4] for details.
If a company's stock market token enters the blue top-right space, the game will end at the end of the current operating round, even if the game has not reached the end of the round tracker.
4.1 Stock Market Token Movement
A company's share price will change throughout the game, which is indicated by moving its stock market token. A token that is moved to a space already containing one or more tokens of other companies is always placed on the bottom of the stack, underneath the tokens already there. If a token needs to move up or down one or more rows, but cannot because it is at the edge of the market, it does not move. If the token needs to move left or right, but cannot because it is at the edge of the market, it moves up or down as indicated by the arrows.
4.2 Descending Share Price Order
The order that companies operate during an operating round is in descending share price order, which is the order of the companies determined by share price, from highest to lowest. The company with the highest share price is first, that with the next highest value is second, and so on. If two or more companies have the same value, the company with the stock market token furthest to the right is first. If two or more companies' tokens are in the same location, the company whose token is highest in the stack is first.
5 Strategy Cards
5.1 Overview and Uses
Strategy cards are distributed twice during the game as indicated on the round tracker. Players control the strategy cards they own, and any strategy cards assigned to companies of which they are the CEO. Strategy cards have three uses, as described below. Detailed information on each card is given in section [12].
5.1.1 Generate Income
Strategy cards generate income for the owning player or company at the start of each operating round as specified on each card. After the card's special action or ongoing effect is triggered [5.1.2], the card no longer generates revenue.
5.1.2 Special Actions and Ongoing Effects
Each card confers a special action or ongoing effect to the owning player or company, as described on each card. Special actions can be used once. Ongoing effects grant a bonus that persists over multiple rounds. After using an action or triggering an effect, turn the strategy card sideways to signify that it has been used. The card will now have a new initiative value, which is used to determine player order in stock rounds; see [5.1.3] for details.
Unless specified otherwise, players can use one or more strategy card actions and effects at any time during an operating round turn when acting as CEO for a company.
Some cards need to be assigned to a company in order to use their special action. Place them together with the company charter. This may be done at any time. A strategy card may be assigned to a company without using its special action immediately. In this case, the company collects the revenue from the card until its special action is used. Once a strategy card has been assigned to a company it may not be moved to another.
5.1.3 Determine Stock Round Player Order
The cards establish the player turn order before each SR. Turn order does not change even if control of a company, with associated strategy card(s), changes during that SR.
Add together the initiative values of the strategy cards each player controls. The player with the highest (combined) initiative acts first, followed by the second highest, and so on.
Example: If you control "Raising funds" and "Financial planning", your initiative is 8+12 = 20.
Cards that have been turned 90 degrees to the right (because their special action or ongoing effect was triggered) will have a lower initiative value, as shown on the right side of the card.
Example: When you have used both actions on the two cards in the example above, the total is 0 + 1 = 1.
In the event of a tie, the player controlling the strategy card with the single highest initiative goes first.
The player acting first takes the Priority Token. This token is double-sided: one with arrows pointing clockwise, the other with arrows pointing counter-clockwise. For two-player games the side chosen does not matter. For three-player games, use the side that indicates the direction of player order.
5.2 First Distribution: Deal Strategy Cards (DSC)
During setup, the strategy cards are shuffled and six of them are randomly dealt out amongst the players (three cards each for two players, or two each for three players). The remaining strategy cards are put aside until the Strategy Card Auction.
5.3 Second Distribution: Strategy Card Auction (SCA)
The Strategy Card Auction (SCA) takes place between the third and fourth operating rounds, as indicated on the round tracker.
- The players return all of their strategy cards (including cards owned by companies). Their effects are no longer valid for the previous owner, including the Central Station token.
- Shuffle all twelve strategy cards together. Remove six from the bottom of the deck.
- Deal the remaining cards face-up, one at a time, in a line.
- These cards are auctioned one at a time, starting with the first one revealed and then continuing down the line. To conduct the auction, the players secretly put the amount of money they wish to bid into their closed hand (or they can hold their hand behind their back). Bids must be made from the player's personal money. Players should make appropriate change available before bidding. Bids of 0 crowns are allowed.
- Once everyone has decided on their bid, they must reveal their bids simultaneously.
- The highest bidder wins the card and pays their bid to the bank.
- If there is a tie, the tied players repeat the bidding process and may add extra money to their first bid. If the second round produces one player who bids the most money, that player wins the card and pays the total bid to the bank. If the bid results in a second tie, the strategy card is removed from the selection process and can no longer be bought and all players keep their bids.
- Continue with the next card in the line.
A player that has won three strategy cards (2 player games) or two strategy cards (3 player games) is out of the auction. If there is only one player left, that player picks the remaining card(s) for free.
6 Railroad Companies
There are five railroad companies in which the players can invest by buying shares of stock. Each company has a total of five 20% shares: one CEO share and four regular shares.
A company is started immediately when the CEO share is bought by a player. The CEO share must always be the first one bought from a company. Once started, the company acts during ORs, and is controlled by the player holding the CEO share. The CEO share signifies that the holder is responsible for all decisions concerned with the company's operations such as choice of track tiles, planning of routes, placement of station tokens, payment of dividends, and so on.
Each company has a board called a "charter." Always keep company assets on or attached to the charter to keep them separate from the player's personal assets. Each charter is managed by the player who holds the CEO share.
Each company's home city is marked on the map by the company's logo.
Companies have four tokens. These are used in one of three ways.
- One token is placed face-down ("Reserved" side) on the company's home city during setup [2] and will become a station token (+5) when the company is started. Station tokens are used to determine where companies can build track [9.4], place other station tokens [9.5], and run trains [9.6].
- One (+5) token will be used as an additional station token [9.5].
- One will be used as a stock market token [4].
- One will be used to track the company's revenue on the provided chart [9.6.2].
7 Phases
The game proceeds through a series of phases, beginning in Phase 2. New phases cause some rules to be modified and new rules to come into effect, and may cause trains of a certain type to rust. All trains that rust are immediately removed from the game without compensation.
With the exception of Phase 2, phases are named for the latest type of train that has been bought. Phases change with the purchase of the first of a type of train: when the first 3-train is bought the game enters Phase 3, and so on. Buying trains is described in section [9.3]. Note that Phase changes affect all companies, not just the company that caused the change.
| Train/Phase | Price (SEK) | Qty. | Train limit | Trains rusted | Track tiles available |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 45 | 4 | 3 | - | Yellow |
| 3 | 75 | 3 | 3 | - | Yellow, Green |
| 4 | 110 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Yellow, Green, Brown |
| 6 | 145 | 2 | 3 | 3 | Yellow, Green, Brown, Gray |
(1) The 6+S trains run the same way as 6-trains, but the income from the first or last stop is counted twice.
Table 7.1: Train Costs and Phase Changes
8 Stock Rounds
In stock rounds, players pay taxes, and then have the opportunity to sell and buy shares, and to start new companies.
First, determine the player order based on initiative, as described in [5.1.3]. Players then pay taxes [8.1] in this order, and then will take a series of stock round turns, also in initiative order. In a stock round turn the active player may perform the following actions in this order:
- Sell any number of shares [8.2]
- Buy one share [8.3]
These actions are optional. A player may alternatively choose to do nothing and pass.
The stock round ends when all players have passed consecutively. This means that if a player takes any action, they are guaranteed another turn in the current round. A player who has passed on their turn may act on a future turn, so long as another player takes an action before then.
8.1 Paying Taxes
All players who own three or more shares in the same company must pay taxes to the bank. Players pay taxes in initiative order. The rate is 10 crowns for the third share, and 10 crowns more for each additional share.
| Shares held in a single company | Taxes paid per company |
|---|---|
| 3 | 10 |
| 4 | 20 |
| 5 | 30 |
Table 8.1: Tax Cost
The Tax Haven strategy card reduces this rate; see [12.11] for details.
Players who cannot afford the tax must immediately conduct emergency money raising [10].
8.2 Selling Shares
To sell shares, place any number of your owned stock shares in the Open Market. The bank pays the selling player the current share price times the number of shares sold. Move the company's stock market token down one row per share sold.
A CEO's share can never be sold to the Open Market, but see [8.6] for details on changes in CEO.
A player selling stock in multiple companies chooses the order in which they are sold. A player selling stock in a company may choose to sell some or all of their shares. A player may sell some of their stock in a company on one turn, and sell more shares in the same company on a later turn.
8.3 Buying Shares
On their turn, a player may buy one share from a company's charter or from the Open Market, paying the current share price. The following restrictions apply:
- The player may not buy a share of a company if they sold stock in that company earlier in the same stock round.
- Only one share may be bought on a turn.
- The share limit [8.5] must be respected.
- The first share of a company that is bought must be the CEO's share, as part of starting that company [8.4].
For shares from the company's charter, payment is made to the company treasury. For shares from the Open Market, payment is made to the bank.
8.4 Starting Companies
To start a company, first set the company's starting price (25, 30, 35, or 40 crowns) by placing one of its tokens on the respective yellow space on the stock market. The new CEO then takes the company's charter, and places all its shares and its station token on the charter. Then the new CEO pays the starting price for the CEO share to the company's charter, forming its initial treasury. All company assets must be clearly visible for inspection by other players at all times. Flip the company's station token on the map over to the "active" side with the company's logo and "+5" on it.
The company will begin operating in the next Operating Round.
8.5 Share Limit
The total maximum number of shares a player may own is 12 for a two-player game, or 8 for a three-player game.
8.6 Changes of CEO
A change of CEO happens if a player holds more shares in a company than the current CEO does. This can be the result of a share sale or purchase. The new majority shareholder exchanges one of their regular shares for the CEO share, and then takes the company's charter with its assets including any money, trains, shares and strategy cards.
A change of CEO can also happen if the existing CEO choses to sell one or more shares to the open market while another player owns at least two shares. The player holding the CEO share of a company cannot sell and exchange it with another player if no other player holds two or more shares in the company. The outgoing CEO announces the sale, exchanges the CEO share for a regular share from the new majority shareholder, and then sells their shares as normal.
8.7 End of Stock Round
The stock round ends when all players have passed consecutively. In descending share price order [4.2], check each company to see if all its shares are owned by players. If so, move its stock market token up one row; if the token is on the top row then it does not move.
Advance the round tracker's token to the next step and continue as indicated.
9 Operating Rounds
At the start of each operating round, strategy cards that have not yet been triggered pay their revenue from the bank to the card's owner (a player or a company). Then each company takes an operating turn ("operates") in descending share price order [4.2]. Companies are operated by their CEO, who makes all decisions on behalf of the company.
On their operating turns companies take the following actions, in this order:
- Sell shares from the treasury to the Open Market (anytime before step 5, run trains; optional)
- Buy trains (may be optional or mandatory)
- Lay or upgrade one track tile (optional)
- Place a station token (optional)
- Run trains (mandatory)
- Distribute earnings and adjust share price (mandatory)
Unless specified otherwise, players can use strategy card special actions anytime during an operating round turn when the player is acting as CEO for a company.
9.1 Routes
Routes are an important concept. They are used to determine where a company may play track tiles, place station tokens, and how it runs trains. A route of a company is a continuous length of track, including somewhere along it at least one city with a station token on it that belongs to the company. The following restrictions apply to routes:
- A route may only pass through cities where the company has a station token, where there are one or more empty station token slots, or where there is a face-down home token.
- A route may not reuse any segment of track; backtracking is not allowed.
- A route entering a city from any direction may exit by any other direction.
- A route may not pass through a given city more than once.
- A route may pass through the same hex multiple times over plain track, so long as no track is reused.
- Routes may begin or end at any off-board area or city, including cities fully occupied by station tokens of other companies.
- A route may not reverse direction at a junction.
9.2 Selling Shares
In order to raise new capital for a company, its CEO may decide to sell one or more shares from the company's treasury to the Open Market. This may be done at any time before running trains. The bank pays the company the share price times the number of shares sold. Move the company's stock market token down one row per share sold.
9.3 Buying Trains
The CEO can choose to either buy the cheapest available new train from the bank (exception: a 6+S train can be bought before a 6-train, see below), a train from the Open Market, or a train from another company (with that company's CEO's consent for an agreed price of at least 1 crown). To buy a train from the bank or Open Market, pay the cost from the treasury to the bank and put the purchased train onto the company's charter. The available trains and their cost is summarized above in Table 7.1.
When a train is bought from one company by another, the transfer takes place in the buying company's turn.
When all new 4-trains have been bought from the bank, both the "6-train" and "6+S train" trains become available for purchase, and can be bought in any order. A 4-train can be exchanged for a 6+S train for 110 crowns. If this is done, the 4-train is placed in the Open Market and may be purchased later.
A company can own a maximum of three trains.
A company must own at least one train by the end of this step. If a company does not own a train, and does not have enough money to buy the cheapest one from the bank or Open Market pool, it must sell shares until it can afford the cheapest train. If the company still does not have enough money after selling all of its shares, the CEO must give the company exactly enough of their own money to buy the train. If the CEO does not have enough cash, they must conduct emergency money raising [10].
9.4 Laying and Upgrading Track Tiles
The operating company may now build track by placing one yellow tile or upgrading one tile already on the board [9.4]. Tiles are placed in the hex grid. Yellow tiles are available for use throughout the game, and the other colors become available in later phases [7].
Please note that playing track tiles is optional. No company is obligated to lay or upgrade a tile if it does not wish, or cannot afford, to do so.
There are two types of track tiles: plain and cities. City track tiles have large circles (station token slots) and revenue values (in a small circle), and are used in hexes with cities (represented by a circle and the name of the city; see [3]). Plain track tiles are used everywhere else.
The number of track tiles is limited. If a player needs a tile with a track configuration that is no longer available in the pool beside the game board, it cannot be built. However, track tiles that are replaced on the game board when upgraded go back in the tile pool and can be used again.
Track may connect to the off-board areas, pre-built track, and track dead-ends around the edge. Tiles may never be placed in such a way that track runs against a blank hex side at the edge of the board.
9.4.1 Laying Yellow Track
Yellow track tiles are used to build track in hexes without any track tiles. The tile placed must extend a route of the company. Exception: a company may always place a yellow tile in its home station hex if the hex was previously empty.
9.4.2 Upgrading Track
Track tiles are upgraded by removing the previous tile and replacing it with a new tile of the next color in sequence: yellow to green, green to brown, and brown to gray. The removed tile is returned to the supply. The new tile must be of the same type (plain or city) as the previous. When upgrading a city, any station tokens present on the old tile are placed on the new tile.
In order to upgrade a tile, the company must have a route to some of the track on it. The upgrade must preserve all track segments on the tile being upgraded, that are connected at both ends to track in adjacent hexes or off-board areas. If a track segment is connected only at one end, that connection must be preserved, but the other end of the track segment may be redirected towards a different hex or off-board area.
Unlike most 18xx games, the following upgrade is legal, because the track on the green tile leading towards the south-east does not form a connection with track in the adjacent hex, and therefore may be redirected. (An illustration of a map section accompanies this rule in the printed rulebook.)
If such a tile is not available, no further upgrade can be made until such a track tile becomes available by replacing a used track tile elsewhere on the game board.
9.4.3 Costs
City tiles cost 5 crowns to place or upgrade. Building a connection across water costs 5 crowns. This is indicated on the game board. All tile costs are paid by the company building the track.
If the company does not have enough money available to cover the cost, and has no shares in its treasury to sell, the CEO can decide to contribute their own money to pay the remaining amount. If any CEO money is contributed, the cost is twice the normal price: city tiles cost 10 crowns. If the new tile crosses a river, the CEO pays 10 crowns.
9.4.4 The Black Tile
The black tile is different from the others in several respects. It can be placed on the board directly, or as an upgrade to any city tile regardless of color, as long as the rail connections are legal. If there are stations on the replaced tile, the player buying the black tile can freely decide how to place these on the black tile in the available slots. The tile costs 10 crowns to play, or 20 crowns if the CEO is contributing to paying the cost.
See [9.6.2] for information on running trains to the black tile.
9.5 Placing Station Tokens
Each company has one extra station token that may be placed in an open station token slot to which it has a route. A company may not have more than one station token in a given hex. Placing a station token costs the company 10 crowns. Please note, each station token increases the value of the tile they are placed on by 5 crowns. This includes the black tile.
If the company does not have enough money available to cover the cost, and has no shares in its treasury to sell, the CEO can decide to contribute their own money to pay the remaining amount. In this case, the company pays 20 crowns.
9.6 Running Trains
The corporation must now run its trains on train routes [9.6.1] to generate revenue and earnings [9.6.2]. To run a train, demonstrate the train route it will use to the other players and announce the route's revenue.
Each train may generally only be used once per OR:
- A train bought from another company may only be used in this OR if it has not been used by another company that owned it earlier in the same OR.
- If a company buys a train from the bank, it is always considered to be unused, even in the case of a 4-train that was upgraded and returned to the bank.
- If a used 4-train is upgraded to a 6+S train, the new 6+S train is considered new and can run as normal.
9.6.1 Train Routes
A train route is a type of route [9.1] on which trains run. In addition to the requirements specified under routes, a train route must begin and end at two different stops (cities and/or off-board areas), and include at least two different stops. A train route may only enter a stop once. Trains may not use any track segments used by any of the company's other trains in the same operating turn. Multiple trains owned by a single company may pass through and count a single stop if no section of track is reused.
The maximum number of stops to which a train can run is equal to the train's number. A 2-train can run to two stops, a 3-train up to three stops, and so on. The 6+S train can run up to six stops but generates extra revenue; see [9.6.2] for details.
9.6.2 Revenue and Earnings
The run's revenue is the sum of the values of all stops on the route, plus any bonuses. The company's earnings is the sum of the revenue of all its train runs. Players should track these earnings on the provided revenue chart.
The value of a city is indicated by a circled number in the city's hex (either on the board or the track tile). Each station token adds 5 crowns to a city's value; this bonus applies to all companies. The value of off-board areas is color-coded based on the current phase. Note that there are strategy cards that can increase the value of some hexes and off-board connections.
The value of the black tile is 10 crowns unless the active company has a station token on the tile, in which case its value is the amount indicated at that station token slot. This means that the black tile usually has different values for different companies. Other bonuses are also applied in addition to these values.
A CEO must run the company's trains for the highest possible earnings that can be demonstrated by any shareholder. However, if a player finds a way to earn a higher revenue than what the CEO found, they are not required to demonstrate it.
The 6+S trains run the same way as 6-trains, but the income from the first or last stop is counted twice (the "S" stands for Start/Stop).
9.7 Distributing Earnings
The CEO decides whether the earnings are paid as dividends or withheld in the company treasury. If a dividend is paid, the bank pays 20% of the total earnings to the owner of each share, and 20% to the company for each share in its treasury. No money is paid for shares in the Open Market.
Move the stock market token one space to the right if the earnings are less than twice the company's current share price. If the earnings are twice the current share price or higher, move the token two spaces to the right. If the stock market token cannot move further right, move it one space upwards instead if possible. If the stock market token cannot move further left, move it one space downwards instead if possible.
If the CEO chooses to withhold the earnings instead, the bank pays the total to the company treasury. Move the stock market token one space to the left.
9.8 Advance Round Tracker Token
After all companies have operated, advance the round tracker's token to the next step and continue as indicated.
10 Emergency Money Raising
A player may have to conduct emergency money raising to pay taxes [8.1] or to purchase a train for a company of which they are the CEO [9.3]. In either case the player must sell shares until they have enough money to cover the cost.
The following rules apply:
- The player decides which shares to sell and the order they are sold.
- The player must stop selling shares as soon as the necessary amount has been raised.
- Paying Taxes: the amount due is assessed before shares are sold. If after selling a player now owns only two shares in a company, they must still pay the taxes assessed at the start of the SR.
- Share prices are lowered as in normal stock sales, as described in [8.2].
- Changes in CEO take place immediately [8.6].
- Paying Taxes: If selling shares results in a change of CEO, the taxed player must still pay taxes owed before transferring the CEO share to the other player.
- Buying a Train: Sales may not cause a change in the CEO of the company that is attempting to buy a train.
If the player cannot raise enough money they are bankrupt. They must sell all of the shares they can, and then the game ends immediately.
11 Game End
The game ends at the end of OR7, or at the end of an OR when one or more company share prices reaches the blue top right corner on the stock market, or immediately if a player goes bankrupt [10].
When the game ends, players compare their total wealth by adding their money to the total value of their shares.
Example: Player A has 259 crowns in hand, four shares worth 70 crowns, and four shares worth 95 crowns. Their total wealth is 259 + (4×70) + (4×95) = 919 crowns.
The player with the highest total wealth wins. A bankrupt player's total wealth is always 0 even though they may have remaining shares that they were unable to sell.
12 Strategy Card Descriptions
This section describes the strategy cards in detail. The first initiative value given is for when the card's special action has not been used, and the second is for after the action has been used. See [5] for information on how strategy cards are used.
12.1 Blue Off-Board Contract
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 10 / 3
Ongoing Effect: The owning company gets a +10 crowns earnings bonus for each stop in a blue off-board location while running trains [9.6]. This bonus is added to the off-board value, so in the case that a 6+S train starts or stops in the off-board location and chooses to count that stop twice, the bonus is also counted twice.
12.2 Central Station
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 15 / 6
Special Action: When assigned to a company, place the Central Station token in a city hex. This token is double-sided, with each side conferring a different bonus. The token is removed from the map during the SCA and can be reused by an eventual new owner of the card.
The white "×2" side doubles the station token bonuses on the tile (from 5 to 10 crowns) [9.6.2]. When using this side, place the token on the relevant tile, beside the token slot(s).
The black "+5" side functions as an extra station for one company. It can be placed in any free station token slot on the board, even if that company does not have a route to the hex. The black side cannot be placed on the same tile as another station token from the same company. This token increases the city's value by +5 crowns as normal.
12.3 City Station Owner
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 14.5 / 2.5
Using two "Remove" tokens and the green 5 crowns marker, randomly select either Karlstad, Linköping, or Västerås. This happens as soon as the card enters the game, be it during the DSC or SCA. This selection only happens once; do not change the city if the card was dealt out during setup and then appears again during the SCA.
Ongoing Effect: When this card has been assigned to a company, all other companies must pay the owning company a fee of 5 crowns per train in order to run to or through the selected city.
12.4 Delayed Permit
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 1 / 8
Special Action: The special action depends on when the card was received:
- DSC: Before the start of the game, the owner may select one company which cannot be started before the second stock round ("SR2").
- SCA: Exchange this strategy card with any one of the six discarded strategy cards after the SCA.
12.5 Ferry Contract
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 12.5 / 8
Ongoing Effect: Must be assigned to a company. The owning company is paid 15 crowns from the bank for every new railroad connection built that crosses a water border, regardless of who built it. Place the blue "15 crowns" marker near the board as a reminder of this payment while this strategy card is in play.
12.6 Financial Planning
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 12 / 1
Special Action: Must be assigned to a company. One time, the CEO may decide to retain a certain amount of the company's income in the treasury and to pay the rest as dividends. The amount to be paid out as dividends must be a multiple of 5 crowns. Shares in the company will still pay to the company. The share price will increase because dividends have been paid (and may double jump if those dividends are high enough).
12.7 Infrastructure Push
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 14 / 5
Special Action: Subject to the normal tile laying/upgrading rules, the owning company may use this power one time to lay or upgrade one additional tile during its operation.
12.8 New Railroad Connection
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 9 / 7
When the card first enters play, use the two "Remove" markers and the red New Railroad Connection (NRC) marker to randomly select the location of the NRC amongst the three light green track dead-ends. Flip the NRC marker over to the blank side and place it beside the dead-end as a reminder that it is inactive and has no effect, but is assigned to that location.
This marker may be flipped to the active side replacing the selected track dead-end after the card has been assigned to a company. Once placed, this connection remains in place until the end of the game. All companies may run trains to this new connection.
SCA Ongoing Effect: The owning company receives a +10 earnings bonus when stopping at the NRC.
12.9 Political Influence
Income: 10 crowns, Initiative: 13 / 2
This card can be used in one of two ways.
- Special Action: Before collecting income, the owning player may immediately buy one share from the Open Market. In this case, instead of turning the card, discard it; it is no longer included in the player's initiative value. If this power is used before the SCA, place it with the other strategy cards that were set aside during setup for possible use in the SCA. If it is used after the SCA, remove it from the game.
- Ongoing Effect: Owning company ignores all water border costs on the game board during ORs and may place its second station token for only 5 crowns.
12.10 Raising Funds
Income: 0 crowns, Initiative: 8 / 0
Special Action: The special action depends on when the card was received:
- DSC: The bank gives the owning company a one-time payment of 25 crowns. May be used until the end of OR3.
- SCA: The bank gives the owning company a one-time payment of 40 crowns. May be used until the end of OR7.
12.11 Tax Haven
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 8.5 / 0
Special Action: Use this action for a one-time reduced tax payment [8.1] for holding 3+ shares in the same company/companies: 3 shares = 0 crowns, 4 shares = 5 crowns, 5 shares = 10 crowns.
12.12 Yellow Off-Board Contract
Income: 5 crowns, Initiative: 11 / 4
Ongoing Effect: The owning company gets a +10 crowns earnings bonus for each stop in a yellow off-board location while running trains [9.6]. This bonus is added to the off-board value, so in the case that a 6+S train starts or stops in the off-board location and chooses to count that stop twice, the bonus is also counted twice.
13 Variant Strategy Card Auction Options
The following variants may be used in lieu of the normal rules.
Blind Auction: Follow the procedure described in [5.3], but instead of dealing the remaining six cards to be auctioned out in a line (step 4), shuffle them into a deck. Auction the cards one at a time by revealing the top card from the deck, conducting a blind auction for it (as described in step 5), and then revealing the next card.
Option to Reuse Strategy Cards: Reuse the same six cards for the auction as were allocated in the game setup and with which the players are already familiar. Shuffle and deal them in a line and then follow the normal procedure.
16 Tile Manifest
Quantity of each track tile (tile numbers as printed in the manifest; tile artwork not reproduced):
| Tile | Qty | Tile | Qty | Tile | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 40 | 1 |
| 8 | 2 | 26 | 1 | 44 | 1 |
| 9 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 47 | 1 |
| X1 | 2 | 28 | 1 | X8 | 2 |
| X2 | 3 |