Engine, Engine No. 9
Engine, Engine No. 9 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 16 locomotives - 4 in each of the 4 colours
- 1 game board
- 1 colour die
- 2 pipped dice
- 12 repair tiles (front and back)
- 3 shunting bridges
Aim and Idea of the Game
Each player has four locomotives. Three of them have to be moved to the finish line. In order to get there, players roll dice. But there are some things to beware of in this exciting race: Shunting bridges swing this way and that between different sections of the tracks and the locomotives bump into each other while shunting. All too quickly, a locomotive may end up off the tracks or in front of a buffer stop. But when the tracks are clear, you can move rapidly towards the finish line. The player who is lucky and skillful enough to take three of his or her four locomotives across the finish line wins the game.
Preparation
Place the game board in the middle of the table. Each player gets four locomotives of the same colour and puts them in front of him- or herself. Put the three shunting bridges between the sections of the track next to the corresponding buffer stops (blue with blue, red with red, yellow with yellow). It makes no difference which side of the shunting bridge touches the buffer stop. Leave the bridge area next to the starting squares free for now.
You will only need the 12 repair tiles if you are playing a variant with added tactical possibilities. If you are playing the regular game, leave them in the box.
The player who has last been on a train gets to go first. The other players then take turns in a clockwise direction.
Playing the Game
When it's your turn, roll all three dice at the same time. Then move a shunting bridge and finally advance one of your locomotives.
Moving a Shunting Bridge
The colour die determines which shunting bridge must be moved to the next free bridge area. Bridges can only be pushed straight onwards or turning to the left or right, until it is flush with a buffer stop again. Shunting bridges must not be taken off the game board.
Locomotives standing on the bridge get moved along with it. Please be careful moving the bridges, so that the locomotives don't fall off. Once you have moved a bridge, if a locomotive is no longer pointed towards the destination, turn it around.
Driving a Locomotive
Add the pips on both pipped dice together to determine the number of squares you have to advance one of your own locomotives next. Choose one of your four locomotives. Either start at one of the green starting squares or move one of your locomotives along its track toward the finish line. Each of the track squares counts as one movement, including the green starting squares.
It may (rarely) occur that one of the starting squares is blocked by another locomotive. In this case, you can only start your new locomotive from one of the other starting squares. If all three starting squares are blocked, you can only move one of the locomotives you already have in play on the board.
Nudging a Locomotive
It will often happen that the tracks are blocked by another locomotive. In this case, the locomotive in front is nudged on. Nudging means: The player who has been moving a locomotive has to stop in the square behind the one that blocks the way. The nudged locomotive moves the remaining number of steps as determined by the dice.
If the way of the nudged locomotive is blocked by another one, there is a chain reaction. Advance locomotives until all movement points have been used up.
The same thing happens when a locomotive starts out in a square right behind another one. This way, you can nudge on other players' locomotives or your own.
Shunting Accidents
If a locomotive hits a buffer stop or runs off the track, it has had a shunting accident. Whether it has been moved by its owner or been nudged by another locomotive does not matter.
A locomotive that has had a shunting accident is returned to its owner and can start again later in a new train. Any surplus movement points expire.
Rolling Doubles
If a player rolls a double (the same number of pips on both dice), he or she may choose to take one additional turn. If he or she decides to have a second go, he or she rolls all three dice again after the first turn is complete. Then, he or she has to advance the same locomotive as during the first turn. This can be risky, so players should consider well if they really want to take a second turn. If a player rolls a double on the second turn, he or she does not get a third turn.
Note: If a player has rolled a double on the first turn and his or her locomotive has a shunting accident, he or she can use the same locomotive again in the second turn, starting from any one of the starting squares.
The Finishing Area
Once you move one of your own locomotives on to one of the finishing squares, put it in an empty train shed at the destination station. Surplus movement points expire: you have managed to brake your engine, so you don't have a shunting accident.
However, if a locomotive is nudged against one of the buffer stops at the finishing squares by another player, it has had a shunting accident. It is then returned to its owner. The same thing happens if you nudge one of your own locomotives against a buffer stop at a finishing square. A nudged locomotive always has a shunting accident, as it doesn't have a driver who could have applied the brakes. Having your locomotive standing in the finishing area can be dangerous!
The End of the Game
The game is over as soon as a player has managed to put his or her third locomotive in one of the nine train sheds at the destination station. This player wins the game.
Variant
For a more tactical game, take the repair tiles out of the box and put them next to the game board. Every time a player has to take back one of his or her locomotives after a shunting accident, he or she also receives a repair tile from the pile.
At the beginning of your turn, you can now choose to return one of your repair tiles to the pile instead of rolling the colour die. If you do this, you get to choose the colour the die is showing. Then, you roll the two pipped dice, move the shunting bridge and then advance one of your locomotives.