Alpenglow

Alpenglow Rulebook

Table of Contents

How it Works

A game of Alpenglow is played over 2 rounds (called seasons). Start each season by setting your bus route. Choose stops at buildings which have skiers you wish to bring to your lodge. There are 4 types of skiers matching the 4 types of runs on the mountain: Green (Beginner), Blue (Moderate), Black (Expert), and Orange (Terrain Park).

During each season, players take turns picking up skiers and taking actions to build your ski area, play run cards, and add buildings to the village and ski areas, and open your ski area to allow skiers to hit your slopes. Collect money to keep building and Victory Points to inch towards victory.

After the second season, the game ends and all players count up Victory Points earned from chairlifts, buildings, huts, and completed goal cards. The ski area with the most VP's wins!

Buildings attract skiers to Alpenglow.
Your buses bring skiers to your Lodge(s).
Play Run Cards to assign runs on the mountain.
Chairlifts bring skiers to their desired runs.
Terminals show money or VP's earned.
Tip: Gain money early in the game to build chairlifts and buildings! Money is worthless at the end. Remember to collect Victory Points as you play; the ski area with the most wins!

What's in the Box

Game Board and this Rulebook
Deck of Goal Cards
Deck of Run Cards
16 Buildings
16 Vacant Lots
12 Resort Upgrades
7 Neutral Buildings
8 Village Squares
24 Terminals
10 Backcountry Tiles
6 Ski Area Boards
60 Coins
84 Ski Run Tokens in 4 Colors
104 Skiers and Boarders in 4 Colors
1st Player Token
Season Tracker
Score Tracker
9 VP Tokens
6 x Deed Tokens (per player)
Player Aid
Player Components (in 5 colors): 3 x Lodges, 3 x Huts, 5 x Buses, 4 x Double Chairlifts, 3 x Triple Chairlifts, 3 x Quad Chairlifts

Game components and design are subject to change and may vary from what is depicted.

Good to Know: Alpenglow is a game with many icons. Use your personal Ski Area Board and Player Aid as a reference as you play.

Player Setup: Prepare Your Ski Area

A. Ski Area Player Board: Choose a Ski Area Player Board then choose a color and set out your components. For beginner games, choose the side with a Resort Upgrade, otherwise choose the side with 3 empty upgrade slots. Bring your skiers here and place them in the Lodge as you collect them. Your player board includes a summary of turn actions available as well as costs for buildings and chairlifts.

B. Run Cards: Start with 5 random Run Cards. Draw cards at the end of each turn so that you have 5 cards. You can keep these public or private.

C. Goal Card: Draw two Goal Cards and choose one to keep, discard the other. Keep this secret, and complete it for VP's at the end of the game.

D. Deed: You have 6 tokens that you place on shared buildings you build in the village. Do this to get skiers, bonus actions, and VP's. The cost to build increases each season.

E. Chairlifts: You have 4 double chairlifts, 3 triples, and 3 quads. The number signifies the capacity of skiers it can carry each turn. Their cost depends on the capacity of the chair.

F. Money: You start with 4 coins from the supply.

G. Lodges: Place your 3 lodges on the three lodge spaces. As you build lodges, you open upgrade spaces.

H. Buses: Each turn you'll bring a bus from the village with skiers to your lodge. You choose a bus route and place these in the village at the beginning of each season (see Season 1 Setup for placement details).

I. Huts: You have 6 double-sided lodges [sic; huts] that provide bonus income each time a skier is delivered to them on the mountain. For your first game, leave the huts in the box.

Table Setup

Buildings: Place all 16 buildings out in the supply. You can stack them diagonally to make the skiers and names visible.
Neutral Buildings: Shuffle the 16 vacant lots, any 2 village squares, and 8 initial buildings marked with a flag and place them on the spots in the village grid. For your first game, leave the buildings and vacant lots in the box and use the buildings printed on the game board.
Shared Supply: Place money, run tiles (in 4 colors), and skiples (in 4 colors) in a shared supply next to the board.
Run Cards: Shuffle and place the deck face-down on the board. Place 4 run cards next to the deck, face-up. Replace face up cards in the display as they are drawn.
Score Markers: Place one score marker on the "Start" position of the score track for each player. Keep track of victory points earned here.
Season Marker: Place the season marker on Season 1 spot on the board.
Terminals: Randomly place the grey terminals (grey hex tiles) on the terminal spaces on the board. For your first game, leave the terminals in the box and use the terminals and values printed on the board.
1st Player Token
Resort Upgrade Buildings: Randomly draw 2 tiles for each player and place in the supply. Return the rest to the box.
Backcountry Tiles: Randomly draw 2 tiles for each player and place in the supply. Return the rest to the box.

Quick Start Guides

For your very first game, use the quick start cards as guides for your first two turns and learn the game by playing it. Each card includes setup instructions. Quickly find the matching cards for each player by finding run and goal cards marked with 1-4 in the bottom left corner.

Variable Setup

The buildings and terminals printed on the board are arranged for a balanced game. Add some spice to the game and randomize the neutral buildings, village squares, and vacant lots by shuffling them and placing them at random on the board.

You can also randomize the terminals. Filter out the terminal tiles with a white run card symbol on the back and set those 6 tiles in the supply. Then, randomly place terminals for all spots on the mountain. Return the remaining tiles to the box.

Season 1 Setup

Each player begins the game with a free 2-person chairlift on the mountain and their 5 buses on a bus route placed in the village. Start your game by choosing a starting player and give them the First Player token.

Build a lodge and your first chairlift. In reverse order starting with the last player, place a lodge next to a grey terminal on the edge of the mountain marked with an arrow. This will become your ski area base where skiers enter. Then, place a free 2-person chairlift connecting two grey terminal hexes. Multiple chairlifts may not occupy the same spot. (FYI: Only place lodges at the edge of the mountain. They show where skiers enter your ski area.)

Choose a bus route. Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, choose any 5 adjacent building spots for your bus route and place a bus on each of those spots. Your buses may be on vacant lots and on buildings already occupied by other players. You must form a route without gaps or diagonals, and you can't have more than one bus on any single building. (Illustrated route shapes: straight, turns, loop are allowed; diagonal, doubled up, and gaps are not.)

Once each player has placed their lodge, 2-person chairlift, and 5 buses on the board, the game is set up and the first player takes their first turn.

Turn Overview

During your turn, you will (1) return a bus from the village to your player mat (with any skiers or bonuses from its building), (2) play a run card, (3) choose one build action (optional), and (4) open your ski area to run your chairlifts (optional).

1. Choose a Bus Stop and Collect Skiers (Pick Up Skiers)

Start your turn by removing one of your buses from the village making the building it was on active. Collect skiers from the supply matching the run colors in the bottom right corner of the building and place the skiers in your Lodge along with your bus.

You can collect skiers from all types of buildings and vacant lots. If your bus stop is on the village square, take the action shown for the current season and collect no skiers. For player-built buildings, the owner takes the bonus skier and building action on their deed token. Some neutral buildings in Season 2 may have a fee to pick up skiers; you must pay the fee before collecting skiers.

Example: Purple on their turn chooses the Chapel building. They return the bus to their player board, take 1 blue and 2 green skiers from the supply to their lodge, and can take run card actions that require a Town building. Yellow gets the bonuses: collect 1 orange skier to their lodge and takes the bonus action (exchange two run cards from their hand) because they built and own this building.

2. Play a Run Card or Reset Your Hand

Playing Run Cards allows you to assign runs on the mountain (place run tiles) to which you can deliver skiers and take a variety of powerful actions.

Play a Run Card: Play a run card from your hand. First, place a run tile matching the card in any open white space on the mountain. Run tiles on the mountain are shared and can be used by any player. Then, optionally take the action listed on the card. Discard when done. See Mastering Run Cards and the Reference Sheet for action clarifications.

Example: The player would first collect a green run tile and place it on the mountain in any open spot. Then, they would optionally take the action. This card allows them to add 3 green skiers to their lodge if their active building is a Shop. (A card shows its Run Name and Type, which is the tile to place on the mountain, and its Action.)

Reset Hand and Gain 3 Coins: If you choose to reset your hand, discard all 5 of your run cards. Collect 3 coins and draw 5 new cards either from the deck or face up cards in the display.

3. Build

Choose one build action: build a building, build or upgrade a chairlift, build a hut, or build a resort upgrade. Building allows you to expand your ski area to attract and serve more skiers. You can build chairlifts and huts on the mountain, buildings in the village, resort upgrades on your ski area board.

Build a Building

Buildings are key in attracting skiers to ski areas on Alpenglow. Select one of the available buildings from the supply and place it on any vacant lot (space with only one skier icon on it) in the village. Then, place one of your deed tokens on it. If any buses were on that vacant lot, place them on the new building. You can not build on top of existing buildings or village square spaces. Buildings cost 4 coins in season 1, and 6 coins in season 2.

Buildings are first-come first-served and can not be replaced or removed. Every building is worth 6 VP and can be used as a bus stop for any player's buses. Only the owner of the building gets the building bonus.

Tip: Maximize the number of times you get the bonus on your building's deed tile bonus by building early and by choosing spots where buses are in the village (including other players' buses).

Build or Upgrade a Chairlift

Building and upgrading chairlifts expands your ski area, gains victory points at the end of the game, and allows you to deliver skiers to more runs. The capacity of the chair is how many skiers you can carry each time you open your ski area.

To build, place a chairlift connecting two terminals on the mountain and pay the cost for the type of chairlift you want to build. If you build to or from the edge of the mountain, place a lodge on one of the lodge spots. Every chairlift has a terminal at each end. These are the grey hexes on the mountain.

You can build anywhere as long as it is connected to the rest of your chairlift network on one end, and not in the same place as another chairlift. You can choose to upgrade a chairlift by replacing one of your chairlifts with one of a different type. Pay the full cost minus 2 coins when upgrading. At the end of the game, collect Victory Points for each chairlift you have on the mountain.

Example: Purple can build a chairlift in one of the three spots shown with checkmarks. They can't build where yellow already has chairlifts or any spot not connected to their existing purple chairlifts. They can, however, upgrade their existing Double chairlift to a Triple or Quad. Players can build to multiple lodges as long as their chairlifts are all linked.

Costs for Building:

Double: 4 coins; 2 skiers/turn; 4 VP
Triple: 7 coins; 3 skiers/turn; 6 VP
Quad: 10 coins; 4 skiers/turn; 8 VP

Tip: Each chairlift costs 1 coin each when you open your ski area so fewer high capacity chairs is more efficient than many small chairs.

Placing Lodges: Expand your capacity with lodges! When you build a chairlift to the edge of the mountain (a terminal with an arrow) you can place a lodge next to that terminal. Lodges serve as a reminder that skiers can enter your area from that terminal and unlock spaces for you to build Resort Upgrades in your ski area. You have 3 lodges but don't worry, skiers can enter your ski area from any edge terminal that your chairlift connects to.

Build a Hut

Optimize on-mountain income with Huts. Once built, Huts are buildings added to the mountain and give the owner bonus income when any player delivers skiers to them. Huts cost 5 coins, gain 6 VP each at the end of the game, and can't be moved or replaced. Each hut can accept skiers of the two colors on the tile. You may also make daisy chain deliveries through huts. See Examples: Delivering Skiers.

Build a Resort Upgrade

Resort Upgrades feature permanent powers that range from discounts and bonuses to special abilities and actions. Choose from the available face-up Resort Upgrades in the supply. Upgrade tiles may not be flipped or replaced once drawn during setup. They are built on unlocked slots on your ski area player board and become immediately available for the rest of the game. You may build 1 resort upgrade in each unlocked spot on your ski area board for a potential total of 3 in a game. Unlock spots by placing lodges on the mountain (see Placing Lodges).

Like regular buildings, Resort Upgrades cost 4 coins in season 1, and 6 coins in season 2 and can not be moved or flipped once built. They are not worth victory points at the end of the game.

4. Open Your Ski Area and Deliver Skiers

Opening your ski area for a day is a core part of Alpenglow and can be the most efficient way to gain money and victory points. Take skiers you have in your lodge and bring them to their desired runs with your chairlifts, get paid, then pay costs to run your ski area.

Opening your ski area and delivering skiers consists of 6 steps:

Choose Skiers to Deliver
Identify Runs Your Chairlifts Serve
Check Capacity
Place Matching Skiers onto Runs
Collect Income (coins or VP)
Pay Operations Fees

Choosing which skiers to deliver and where to deliver them is a key part of the game. Choose destinations based on the type of income (victory points or money) you need to grow your ski area.

1. Choose Skiers to Deliver: You can deliver skiers from your lodge on your player board and skiers that you gain from Run Card actions. When delivered, they are returned to the supply. Any skiers you can't deliver, or choose not to deliver, stay in your lodge until the end of the season, then are returned to the supply.

2. Identify Runs Your Chairlifts Serve: You may deliver skiers to matching runs served by your chairlifts. Runs must be assigned (one of the 4 types) and adjacent to terminals your chairlifts are connected to, or adjacent to a lodge terminal where you have a lodge. You may also deliver to runs that are daisy chained.

The three ways for skiers to get to runs:

Directly from your lodges: e.g., 1 green directly from their base.
From your lodge via your chairlifts: e.g., via the triple chairlift, 1 green, 1 blue, and 1 black.
Through same-color daisy-chained run tiles: e.g., up to 3 skiers ride the triple chairlift from the base to the mid-mountain terminal; they would choose 3 from the 7 possible runs in a circle of connected runs. They can't deliver to all 7 because the chair from their lodge can only carry 3.

Tip: Upgrade chairlifts connected to your lodges to increase capacity and deliver more skiers deeper into the mountain.

Tip: Each run is a single tile, not a string of them from top to bottom. Connecting terminals with the same colored runs is not required for skiers to be delivered.

Example: Purple can deliver 2 blue skiers from their base and up to 2 skiers via the double chairlift to the 4 possible runs in a circle. Yellow can deliver 3 green here because the greens are connected.

3. Check Capacity: Your chairlifts limit the capacity of your ski area. Each skier uses up a spot on each chairlift they ride. Skiers who access runs directly from a lodge don't count against the chairlift capacity. This resets each time you open your ski area.

When figuring out how many skiers you can deliver, start with the capacity of your chairlifts from your base(s). For example, a 2-person double can only take 2 skiers. Skiers can ride multiple chairlifts to get to their run however they use up chairlift capacity for each chair they use.

Double: 2 skiers/open
Triple: 3 skiers/open
Quad: 4 skiers/open

Example: Yellow has access to many runs but is limited by their chairlift capacity. They can deliver 2 greens from the lodge plus a total of 3 other skiers. This is because the chairlift from the lodge is a Triple and can only carry 3 skiers. Of those 3 skiers, up to 2 can reach the runs in the center of the mountain. The double chairlift is served by the triple from the base where the skiers come from.

4. Place Matching Skiers onto Runs: You may deliver any skiers you have in your lodge to matching runs served by your chairlifts identified above. Any skiers you can't or don't want to deliver will stay in your lodge. You may only deliver 1 skier to each run except for double runs, which you may place 2 skiers. Some terminals may also limit access.

5. Collect Income: Collect your lift fees for each skier as illustrated on the terminal where the skier got off the lift. Depending on the terminal type, you may collect money, VP, or other actions. See Terminals and Backcountry Tiles.

6. Pay Operations Fees: After you run your chairlifts, pay operation fees. The cost is 1 coin for every chairlift you have in your network, no matter how many chairlifts were used or how many skiers used your lifts. Pay your fees to the supply.

End of Turn

Draw Run Cards and Reset: Draw cards so you once again have a total of 5 run cards. You may choose from the face-up cards or from the deck. Reset the face-up supply when done. Clear any skiers from the mountain and return them to the supply.

Examples: Delivering Skiers

Simple Delivery Example: Yellow can deliver a blue and green skier from their lodge via the double chairlift. They can choose either 2 coins or 2 VP for each skier.

Choosing Terminals for Daisy Chained Runs: Yellow can deliver 3 greens: the first from their lodge, and the second and third via the double chairlift. The second and third choose income from the terminal at the end of the chairlift they used.

Deliver from Your Lodge: Yellow can deliver an orange skier directly from their lodge without a chairlift. They can choose either 3 coins or 1 VP for the skier in this case.

Deliver Along Multiple Chairlifts: Yellow can deliver a blue skier and orange skier from their lodge via both chairlifts.

Delivering to Huts: Huts are buildings that provide bonus income to their owners. Yellow can deliver a green skier to the yellow hut and gain income and the 1 coin bonus for their yellow hut. They can also deliver 2 blues to the red hut and the daisy chained blue tile. Red gains the 1 VP bonus.

Daisy Chained Runs: Yellow can deliver 2 green skiers. Skiers can access runs of the same type (color) when placed next to each other. Yellow can't deliver to the black run because the tile isn't connected with black run tiles to their chairlift.

Verify Capacity of Chairlifts: Yellow can deliver skiers to all of the run tiles in the example but is limited by their chairlifts (they have a double that can only carry 2 skiers from their lodge). They may choose up to two skiers to deliver.

Multiple Lodges: Yellow can use both chairlifts to increase capacity and deliver 3 blue skiers. The first and second use one chairlift and the third uses the other.

Compound Deliveries: Yellow can be creative in how skiers are delivered as their ski area grows. Build chairlifts to lodges and upgrade to increase capacity and deliver more skiers.

Season Structure and Scoring

End of Season 1

Now that each player has taken 5 turns and returned all buses from the village to their player boards, the first season ends and the following actions are taken:

Reset the Run Card display: Discard the 4 cards and draw 4 new cards from the deck.
Rotate the First Player Token: The player to the left of the previous first player will start Season 2.
Advance the season token to the second spot and flip starter buildings to the Season 2 side. If playing with the starter buildings printed on the board, place the matching Season 2 starter building on the matching spots.

Each player should take the following actions as well:

Refresh your hand (optional): Discard up to 5 cards and draw replacements from the deck. You should have 5 cards total.
Choose a new bus route: Just as you did before the first season, place your 5 buses on buildings. Do not place a chairlift.
Clear any skiers in your lodge. Any skiers not delivered must return home once the season is over.

Now, the new first player will take their turn and the game proceeds as it did during Season 1. Play until all buses are cleared from the village.

Game End and Scoring

The game ends once every player has taken 10 turns and the village is clear of buses. Add up points using the score track for the following:

As you Play: Skier Deliveries

Skier Deliveries: Each skier you choose VP income for is tracked as you make deliveries. The terminal adjacent to the run tile will state the value of VP's you get. If you choose money, you don't get VP's.
Resort Upgrades and Huts: Some resort upgrades and huts provide VP during the game. Resort upgrades are not worth VP at the end of the game.

At the End: Goal Cards and Chairlifts

Chairlifts: Each chairlift on the mountain at the end of the game is worth double its capacity (Double 4 VP, Triple 6 VP, Quad 8 VP). Chairlifts that were removed during the game are not included.
Buildings and Huts: Gain 6 VP for each building and hut you built in the village and on the mountain.
Goal Cards: If you complete the requirements on your Goal Card(s), gain the points listed on the card(s).

The winner is the ski area with the most points. In the event of a tie, the player with more money wins. Otherwise, money does not convert to Victory Points.

Goal Cards

Everyone starts the game with a Goal Card and some actions give you the option to gain additional ones. Use Goal Cards as a guide as you play for a competitive advantage. Most are conditional on more or less of a resource than all other players. A tie results in no VP's.

Liftie: Gain 5 VP if you have the most chairlifts at the end of the game.
Optimizer: Gain 10 VP if you have the fewest chairlifts at the end of the game.
Executive: Gain 8 VP if you have the highest capacity chairlift network at the end of the game.
Concierge: Gain 9 VP if you have all 3 of your Lodges connected to your chairlift network on the mountain.
Engineer: Gain 5 VP if your chairlift network is connected to 4 or 5 terminals. Gain 10 VP if your network is connected to 6 or more terminals.
Landlord: Gain 7 VP if you have the most buildings at the end of the game.
Negotiator: Gain 12 VP if you have the fewest buildings at the end of the game.
Developer: Gain 8 VP if you have built all 4 types of buildings by the end of the game.
Restauranteur: Gain 8 VP if you built all 3 of your huts on the mountain.
Athlete: Gain 5 VP if you completed 2 or more backcountry tiles.
Banker: Gain 8 VP if you have the most money at the end of the game.
Gnar Manager: Gain 8 VP if your chairlift network is connected to the most orange runs at the end of the game.

Mastering Run Cards

Run Cards are your most powerful tool to beat out competition as you grow your ski area. They let you assign runs on the mountain as well as taking dozens of different actions to help you get ahead. Listed below are all run cards and actions.

Every run card allows you to place a run tile on any open spot on the mountain. Place the tile color specified on the card. Then, optionally, take the action listed on the card.

Some run card actions are conditional on your active building (ex. If your last bus stop was a Shop). You don't need to own the building but it needs to be the building you collected a bus from on this turn to take the run card action.

Action types: "For each item you have, take the action/bonus" (example: for each chairlift, gain 2 coins). "If the condition is true, take the action/bonus" (example: if your bus stop is a Shop, add 3 Orange skiers to your lodge).

When playing the Discount Building and Chairlift cards, you can take this action as part of the Run Card turn action, then build again as part of your normal turn (allowing you to build twice in a turn if you have the money). When upgrading a chairlift, the discount is in addition to the upgrade discount (2 coins for the run card + 2 coins upgrade = 4 coins total discount).

Run Card Actions

Accounting Error: Collect both money and VP for each time you open your ski area this turn. For skiers delivered to Terminals with both money and VP, gain both twice.
Alpine Club: Place a hut on the mountain for 2 coins. You may replace a run with the hut.
Assign Runs: Place two runs of your choice on the mountain. This does not include double run tiles or backcountry tiles.
Avalanche Danger: Remove any ski run tile on the mountain. You may not remove huts or backcountry tiles but you may break a double run tile into two singles in this action.
Buddy Pass: If you are on another player's building, collect any two skiers and take the action on the building token. This includes any skier on the building token.
Change Building: Move any bus from any location in the village to any building, village square, or vacant lot.
Discount Building: Build a building or resort upgrade with a discount of 2 coins. Does not apply to huts.
Discount Chairlift: Build or upgrade (replace) a chairlift with a discount of 2 coins. You may not move or replace other players' chairlifts.
Double Action: If your bus this turn stopped at a Food building, play two additional run cards from your hand, then discard.
Double Skiers: If your bus this turn stopped at a Lodging building, gain the skiers on the building again. This includes any skiers on deed tokens you built.

Terminals and Backcountry Tiles

Every chairlift has a terminal at each end. These are the locations where skiers enter, pass through and exit your chairlifts to gain access to ski runs. When you deliver a skier to a run, you gain income from the terminal they entered the ski run from. Alpenglow has a variety of terminals, listed below.

Choose Money or Victory Points: Most terminals allow players to gain either money or victory points. You make the choice for each skier individually and can choose a combination (for example, Yellow could deliver 2 skiers through the 2 coins / 2 VP terminal: the first gaining 2 coins and the second gaining 2 VP).

Gain Money: Some terminals allow players to gain money and no victory points. Gain the amount shown on the tile.

Gain Money and Victory Points (BOTH): Some terminals offer both money and victory points. These can be lucrative locations on the mountain.

Controlled Access: Special controlled access terminals restrict skier access to certain types of runs. The ski run types marked with a red X are runs that are closed. Do not deliver these types of skiers through this terminal.

Backcountry Tiles

Backcountry tiles are not terminals but special run tiles that give a money, victory point, or other special bonus for the first player to complete the required delivery. There are two tiles available per player in each game and are first-come first-serve. Once completed, flip over the tile and it becomes normal runs any player can deliver skiers to.

Normal rules of delivery apply and backcountry tiles must be placed before you can complete them. You can't place backcountry tiles connected to any of your base terminals (skiers must use your chairlifts to gain access) and they must be placed in the backcountry (blue regions of the mountain). Flip over the tile once completed. Backcountry run tiles can be placed for free during the double run tile action.

1 - 4: Deliver 3 skiers of the matching color and gain either the victory points or money one time bonus. Bonus values vary.
5 - 7: Deliver one skier of all 4 types and take the one time bonus on the tile. Tile 6 allows you to place a new quad chair or upgrade one of your existing chairlifts to a quad for free. Tile 7 allows you to build a building or Resort Upgrade for free. You must have an unlocked space in your ski area board to gain a Resort Upgrade.
8: Deliver any 3 skiers and place a new triple chairlift on the mountain, or upgrade a chair to a triple.
9 - 10: Deliver 2 pairs of skiers matching the tile and gain either the victory points or money one time bonus.

Resort Upgrades Reference

Accreditation (3A/B, 4A/B): Gain an additional victory point for each skier of the displayed type when you deliver skiers. This happens for every skier of the matching color.
Alliance (10A): You may use another player's ski area when you open your ski area and deliver. That player gains 3 VP. You don't pay any operations fees for these deliveries but you may not use a mix of multiple ski areas.
Architecture (6A): When you build Buildings or Huts, pay 2 coins less. Does not apply to Resort Upgrades.
Buddy Pass (5B, 6B, 9B, 10B): When you gain a skier of the displayed type, gain one additional skier. This applies each of the turn actions (gain skiers, run cards) so the maximum possible number of skiers gained per turn is two. You can use this with building deed tiles when other players stop at a building you own.
Chamber of Commerce (8B): When your bus stops at a building owned by another player, take the bonus action as if it were your building.
Efficiency (7A): When you build or upgrade a chairlift, you may build/upgrade a second chairlift. If combined with the Discount Chairlift run card, the discount only applies to the first chairlift.
Engineering (5A): When you build or upgrade a chairlift, pay 2 coins less.
Facilities (11B): Anytime you deliver skiers to any hut on the mountain, gain the hut bonuses twice even if they were built by other players. For your huts, this allows you to gain bonuses for your huts a total of 3 times.
Locals Pass (9A): When you open your ski area, get a discount of 2 coins in operations fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can 2 chairlifts go in the same place on the mountain? No, only one chairlift can occupy each location on the mountain. Once built, chairlifts can't get removed so plan ahead if you are planning a route to a hot terminal on the mountain.

Can I move/replace/upgrade a building? No, once a building, hut, or resort upgrade is built, it remains in its location and can not be flipped over, replaced or removed.

Is upgrading a chairlift the same price as building a new one? You can upgrade for a 2 coin discount. The Discount Chairlift run card provides a further discount. For example, upgrading to a Quad would cost (10 coins - 2 - 2 = 6 coins).

Do I have to pay Operations Fees if I don't use all/any of my chairs? Yes, when you open your ski area, you open the entire area regardless of which chairlifts get used.

If I upgrade a double chairlift to a quad, do I get the 4 VP for the original double? Only gain Victory Points for the chairlifts on the board at the end of the game. Chairlifts that were removed or those prior to upgrade do not qualify for points.

Can I deliver skiers to runs and huts other players placed on the mountain? Yes, runs on the mountain are shared by everyone. You may also deliver skiers to any hut placed on the mountain. The hut owner gains the listed bonus from the supply.

Do I need to connect terminals with the same color runs? No, skiers only need the same color to access runs that are not adjacent to a terminal tile. You don't need to plan a way down to your lodge. Think of each run tile as its own complete ski run on the mountain.

Do normal delivery requirements apply to Backcountry Tiles and can I deliver directly from my lodge? You may place a backcountry tile anywhere on the mountain (including backcountry spaces with trees) however skiers must use one or more chairlifts to access the tile. Normal delivery rules apply and you gain VP/money for the skiers as a normal delivery.

Is there a top of the mountain? Alpenglow has an abstracted view of the mountain so there is no concept of up or down. Skiers can ski down from your lodge as well as down from a chairlift towards your lodge. Some skiers will ski in from both ends of a daisy chained run as well. This keeps the game simple and fun.

Keep it Fresh

Put all of the run tiles, skiples, money, and backcountry tiles into the supply tray for quicker game setup. Place all of each player's components into bags sorted by color (brown, purple, red, white, and yellow). Set aside the terminals, huts, starter buildings, vacant lots, village squares, resort upgrades, and backcountry tiles in bags. You'll use the ones printed on the board for your first game.

Randomize the Terminals and Buildings for future games. During setup, simply mix together all of the starter buildings, vacant lots, and Village Square tiles then fill the village with tiles for a more dynamic village. Return the rest to the box. Do the same with the terminal tiles to change the hot spots on the mountain.

The Backcountry Tiles and Upgrades in the Apres Ski expansion help you get ahead with one-time delivery bonuses and permanent asymmetric powers. You can choose to have all players start with one resort upgrade (printed on the ski area boards), or start with none for a challenge. Build Huts on the mountain to gain extra money and victory points.

Path to Victory

You will take 5 turns each season for 2 seasons in Alpenglow. The winner is the one with the most victory points from buildings, huts and chairlifts you build. You also gain points from opening your ski area to snowboarders and skiers. Earn and use money to build but remember: money doesn't convert to points at the end!

Your First Game

It takes a lot of work to grow the sleepy town of Alpenglow into a ski empire in just 2 seasons. Use the Quick Start guides to learn the game by playing!

Give each player a quick start guide. The front side of each card highlights setup for the game and the back includes your first two turns with explanations.
The guides include a special setup so that each player gets a different experience. Everyone should collect the goal card, run cards, and ski area board listed on their guide. Each player's starting cards have little black numbers in the bottom corner matching their guide number.
Red is the first player and will take their first turn. The second player is yellow, and so on. The quick start guides explain what to do and why for each of the actions helping you learn the game. They only cover the first two turns but you'll understand enough to play the rest of the game.
Watch what other players do on their turns. Each player will be trying out different actions and strategies for building their ski areas and setting up paths for victory. They may do actions you will want to do later in the game. This is part of the learning process!

Good to Know

Navigating Alpenglow requires becoming familiar with the main turn actions and the various actions related to buildings and run cards. Reference your Player Aid, Ski Area Board, and the Reference Sheet during the game for assistance decoding what symbols and actions mean.

The Reference Sheet has an overview of the 4 main turn actions and a list of all run card and resort upgrade actions. Some helpful sections in the rulebook include the 4 main turn actions, skier delivery examples, a list of all goal cards, and details about backcountry tiles.