Age of Steam Expansion: Holland / Madagascar Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Madagascar (3-6 players, 4-5 recommended)
  • Basics
  • Setup
    • Example
  • Bad Actions
  • Track-Laying Costs
• Holland (3-4 players)
  • Basics
  • Setup
  • Track Laying
  • Actions and End of Round in a 3-Player Game
  • Variant

Madagascar (3-6 players, 4-5 recommended)

This expansion replaces the normal action selection with a different chart of actions, the Bad Actions. Instead of choosing a helpful positive action for the round, each player must deal with an action that hinders them.

Basics

This expansion uses a different chart of actions, called the "Bad Actions". Instead of choosing a positive action that is useful in the round, players are forced to deal with negative actions that get in their way.

Setup

The Bad Actions chart is printed beside the map. The first action is at the left of the first row, the second action is at the right of the first row, the third action is at the left of the second row, and so on, up to the eighth action at the right of the fourth row.

Not all Bad Actions are used each round. Only X+1 actions may be chosen, where X is the number of players. When there are fewer players, some actions must be locked at random each round. Lock them by placing grey discs on them.

To determine which actions are locked, roll as many six-sided dice as the number of actions to be locked, one die at a time. Counting starts from the first action. For example, if the roll is 3, the third action is locked. If more dice must be rolled, count on from the last locked action. The last locked action is marked by placing two grey discs stacked on it, instead of one grey disc, to show that it is the last one.

In the next round, the actions to be locked are again determined at random, and counting begins from the action that has two grey discs stacked on it.

Example

In a 5-player game only 6 actions can be chosen, so 2 actions must be locked. During setup the players roll 2 dice one at a time, and the results are 3 and 6. First, the third action is locked with one grey disc. Then the action 6 steps further on (that is, going once round the chart back to the first action) is locked with two grey discs.

Note: There is no restriction on using the grey town discs in this way. Age of Steam usually includes some spare town discs, but in games with fewer players 8 may not be enough. If you run out of town discs, use unused player-coloured discs or coin tokens instead.

Bad Actions

• Last Track Laying - A player who chooses this lays track last.
• Last Transport - A player who chooses this transports last.
• Locomotive + No Track Laying - A player who chooses this immediately raises their locomotive level by 1, but may not lay track this round.
• Urbanization + 1 Track - A player who chooses this may place a new city tile, but may lay only 1 track this round.
• Slow Engineer - A player who chooses this may lay only 2 track this round.
• Last Player - A player who chooses this must pass in the turn order auction of the next round.
• High Cost - A player who chooses this must pay $4 plus the normal track-laying cost of each hex this round.
• Single Transport - A player who chooses this may transport only once (that is, either transport one good or raise the locomotive level by 1, but only one of the two).

Track-Laying Costs

• Grassland: $2
• Hill: $3
• (Composite track costs are as normal.)

Holland (3-4 players)

Holland is the most urbanized and densely populated region of the Netherlands. Settling this wetland required the invention of the polder, a low-lying area enclosed by artificial dikes.

Basics

This map has three kinds of hex:

• Normal flat land - green
• Polder - turquoise
• Sea - blue

Setup

• Remove the yellow new cities. They are not used on this map.
• Place 2 goods on each city.
• (3 players only) Place 1 grey disc on the circle of round 5.
• (3 players only) Place 1 grey disc on either the Urbanization action or the Engineer action.
• (4 players only) Place 1 grey disc on the circle of round 4.

Track Laying

• Polder hexes cannot be built on until the round where the grey disc is placed is reached.
• The track-laying cost of a polder hex is $3 (the same as a river in the base game).
• Track cannot be laid on sea hexes.

Actions and End of Round in a 3-Player Game

In a 3-player game, at the end of the round, if the grey disc is on the Urbanization action, move it to the Engineer action. If the grey disc is on the Engineer action, move it to the Urbanization action. An action with a grey disc on it cannot be chosen.

Variant

During setup, place 1 good on each windmill hex. The track-laying cost of a windmill hex is $5. After polder hexes have become available for track laying, once any player lays track on a windmill hex, the good that was originally on that hex is placed on that track tile, and can be transported from then on.

The windmill hex is not a town or a city, so passing through a windmill hex during the transport phase does not increase income by 1.