Iberian Railways Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Game Components
• Game Board Notes
  • The Map
• Important Game Concepts
  • Building Railway Track
  • Loans & Interest
  • Insolvency
  • Income
    • Income Over $20
• Game Setup
• Sequence of Play
  • Take Action
  • Receive Income
  • Pay Interest
  • Pay Off Loans
  • Check for End of Game
• The Actions
  • Start a New Railway
  • Expand a Railway
  • Merge Railways
  • Purchase a Business Interest
• End of the Game
• Scoring

Goal of the Game

In Iberian Railways, three to five players compete to build railways to connect the many important cities in Spain and Portugal. Each player starts the game with no money. The railways must be financed by taking loans from the Bank of Madrid. The players need to plan their routes carefully to generate the most income. Players can also invest in local businesses that will pay out handsome bonuses once the railway reaches their locations. The player who best manages their railways will be victorious.

Game Components

1. 1 game board
2. 155 Railway Track cubes, 31 for each player
3. 5 Action Selection markers, 1 for each player (train)
4. 16 Business Interest cards
5. 5 Player Aid cards (double-sided, one for each player)
6. 1 Build Limit marker
7. Paper Money (40 x $1, 20 x $5, 20 x $10, 10 x $20, 10 x $50)

Game Board Notes

The game board shows Rivers, Hills, a Build Limit Track, Track Costs, and Hex Income, along with the Outer Madrid Hexes, the Actions Track, the Interest & Loans Track, and the Income Track.

The Map

The game board represents a map of the Iberian Peninsula, with the hexes colored to represent different areas of Spain and Portugal. Rural hexes are pale green and may contain hills or a river, while Urban hexes are represented with other colors: Towns are yellow, Minor Cities are purple, Major Cities are red, and Lisbon is blue. Madrid is represented by 6 white hexes surrounding inner Madrid.

Important Game Concepts

Building Railway Track

Players use cubes to represent the Railway Tracks that they build across the map. A player's cube in a hex denotes that they have built a Railway Track there. Any adjacent hexes with a cube of the same color are considered to be connected. A Railway may have only one cube in a given hex, and each hex may contain a maximum of two cubes, except for the white outer Madrid hexes.

Madrid is a special location. Each outer Madrid hex may only hold one cube; therefore, each Railway has the opportunity to build into one (and only one) of the six outer Madrid hexes. A player may build into only one white hex, they may not have more than one of their railways in the white Madrid hexes. No Railway may build a Railway Track on the inner Madrid hex.

At the beginning of the game, a player may build no more than three Railway Tracks on a single turn, as indicated by the position of the Build Limit marker on the "3" space of the Build Limit track (see "Game Setup", step 2). At the end of a turn in which any player builds at least one Railway Track, the Build Limit marker is moved forward one space. This permanently increases the number of Railway Tracks that players can build on a turn, up to a maximum of 8. It is not possible to build 9 or more Railway Tracks in a single turn.

The more Railway Track a player builds during their turn, the more it costs, and additional costs may apply; these costs are indicated below.

Building a Railway Track in a hex that already has a Railway Track in it increases the cost by $1. Building a Railway Track in a hex with a river also increases the cost by $1. Building a Railway Track in a hex with a hill also increases the cost by $1.

• 1 Track = $3
• 2 Tracks = $7
• 3 Tracks = $12
• 4 Tracks = $18
• 5 Tracks = $25
• 6 Tracks = $33
• 7 Tracks = $42
• 8 Tracks = $52

Additional costs: Second Railway in Hex +$1, Rural Hills +$1, Rural River +$1.

Loans & Interest

Players start the game with no money. Whenever a player needs money, they must take a loan from the Bank of Madrid; a player may take multiple loans during their turn.

For each loan a player takes, they receive $5, and their color cube is moved down on the Interest & Loans track one space. The number on the Interest & Loans track shows the Interest a player must pay during the "Pay Interest" step. Whenever a player pays off a $5 loan, their cube is moved up one space. The cost to pay off a $5 loan is $6. A player may only pay off one loan during their turn, not multiple loans.

EXAMPLE: Pete takes 6 loans and receives $30. His color cube is moved 6 spaces down on the Interest & Loans track, from the $0 box to the $7 box. Pete must pay $7 to the bank during the Pay Interest step. If Pete does not have $7, he requires another loan, takes $5, moves his cube to the $8 box, and now pays $8 to the bank for debt service.

Insolvency

If a player's loans reach the $25 interest box, they are insolvent. An insolvent player may not build Railway Track or purchase Business Interests. If an insolvent player's income at the end of their turn is less than $26, they are effectively removed from the game. That player's cube is removed from the Actions track, but any Railway Track they have built remains on the map; that player will not take any further turns for the remainder of the game.

Income

Players start the game with no income. Whenever a player connects a Railway to an Urban hex not previously reached by any of their Railways, their income is immediately increased. Adjust the player's cube on the Income track to reflect this additional income.

Income:

Urban Hex	1st Railway	2nd Railway
Town	$2	$1
Minor City	$3	$2
Major City	$4	$3
Lisbon	$5	$4
Madrid	$6 for all Railways	$6 for all Railways

Note: Track may not be built on inner Madrid.

Once a Railway has built into an outer Madrid hex, it is considered to be connected to Madrid and increases its income by $6, as shown above.

EXAMPLE: Rich (yellow) builds Railway Track starting in the white hex directly south of Madrid into Toledo. As Rich was the first player to build into Toledo, his income increases by $2 for Toledo and $6 for Madrid, for a total of $8, which he marks on the Income track. Rich moves the Build Limit marker forward one space on the track. On the very next turn, Dave (purple) builds starting in the white hex directly southwest of Madrid and into Toledo. Since Dave's Railway was the second to reach Toledo, he will receive an income increase of only $7 ($6 for Madrid, and $1 for Toledo). Dave also moves the Build Limit marker forward one space on the track.

Players are not required to start their Railways in Madrid, but new Railways must always connect at least one Urban hex into another. Apply the income from all newly reached Urban hexes to the Railway's income.

EXAMPLE: At the start of the game, Anna (green) starts her Railway in Lisbon and builds Railway Track to connect it to Setubal. The income for Anna's Railway is $5 for Lisbon and $2 for Setubal, for a total of $7. After building, she moves the Build Limit marker forward one space.

Income Over $20

If a player's income is over $20, leave their cube on the 20 space and use another of their cubes to record additional income. If the player has no other cube available, that player's income remains at $20; these rules also apply for incomes over $40 or $60. Note that running out of cubes will cause the game to end at the conclusion of the player's turn. (See "End of the Game".)

Game Setup

1. Place the game board in the middle of the table.
2. Place the Build Limit marker on the "3" space of the Build Limit track.
3. Place the 16 Business Interest cards face-up near the board. It may be convenient to place them close to their location on the map.
4. Give each player the 31 cubes of their chosen color; then they place one cube on the $0 box of the Income track and one cube on the $0 box of the Interest & Loans track.
5. Place each player's Action Selection Marker in the "Expand" box of the Actions track.
6. Determine the start player using any mutually agreed method.
7. Play now begins with the start player.

Sequence of Play

Take Action

On a player's turn, they must select one of the following four actions:

• START a new Railway
• EXPAND an existing Railway
• MERGE existing Railways
• PURCHASE a Business Interest

To select an action, a player must move their Action Selection marker on the Actions track; a player may not take the same action two turns in a row. The actions are explained in detail in the next section of the rules.

Players are not required to perform the action they select. They may instead do nothing. However, they must move their marker to a different Action space.

At the start of the game, all Action Selection markers are in the Expand box. Because the players do not start with any Railways, they must select Start or Purchase with their first action.

Receive Income

After a player completes an action, they receive income based on the position of their marker on the Income track.

Pay Interest

The player must pay interest on any outstanding loans they may have. The amount owed is indicated by the amount on the left side of the Interest & Loans track.

Pay Off Loans

Once interest has been paid, the player may pay off one loan for $6. After paying off a loan, they move their marker one space up on the Interest & Loans track to reflect the new number of loans they now hold (if any).

Check for End of Game

The player checks to see if they have any Railway Track cubes in their supply. If they do not, the game ends immediately. If they do, play then continues with the next player to the left.

The Actions

Start a New Railway

A Railway is defined as a set of Railway Track cubes that belong to the same player (i.e., color).

A new Railway must connect at least two Urban hexes in which the player has no existing Railway Track cubes. When a player starts a new Railway, none of the new Railway Track may connect to any of that player's other Railways. Immediately record the increase in that player's income that results from building this new Railway on the Income track (see "Income") and move the Build Limit marker forward one space.

EXAMPLE: Anna (green) decides to start a new Railway in Lisbon. She places a green cube in that hex and then places 3 additional cubes as shown to connect to Evora. As a result of this action, she must pay $18 to place the four Railway Track cubes. She immediately increases her income by $7 ($5 for Lisbon and $2 for Evora). She then moves the Build Limit marker forward one space.

Expand a Railway

A player's Railway can be expanded by building Railway Track that connects it to at least one new Urban hex (one not already connected to any of that player's Railways). Immediately record the increase in that player's income on the Income track (see "Income") and move the Build Limit marker forward one space.

EXAMPLE: Later, Anna decides to expand her Railway to Badajoz from Evora. She places 3 Railway Tracks in the hexes shown to make the connection. She pays $12 to place them and immediately increases her income by $2 for connecting to Badajoz. She then moves the Build Limit marker forward one space.

Merge Railways

Players may build Railway Track that connects two or more of their own Railways. Merging Railways will provide an additional $1 in income regardless of the number of Railways involved in the merger. This $1 increase in income is in addition to the income from any new Urban hexes that became part of the merge. Immediately record the increase in that player's income on the Income track (see "Income") and move the Build Limit marker forward one space.

EXAMPLE: Anna now wants to merge two of her Railways. There is one that runs from Lisbon to Badajoz via Evora and another that runs from Ciudad Real to Caceres. She places one Railway Track to connect the two green Railways. She pays $3 to the bank to place the Railway Track. She increases her income by $1 for completing the merger. She then moves the Build Limit marker forward one space.

Purchase a Business Interest

A player may purchase a Business Interest by paying the cost listed on that Interest's card. That card will remain face-up in front of the player until they either A) build Railway Track into the corresponding Urban hex or B) cannot build into that particular hex.

A player with a Business Interest must redeem it immediately upon building into the corresponding Urban hex; the player adjusts their income by the amount shown on the card and then turns it face-down. If the player has already built a Railway in the corresponding Urban hex, they redeem it immediately after purchase. If a player becomes unable to build into a hex for which they hold a Business Interest (e.g., because a second player builds in that hex), they must turn the card face-down without receiving any benefit.

End of the Game

The game ends at the end of any turn in which a player has used their last cube. Once the game is over, players must calculate their Victory Points (VP), as described below.

Scoring

Note: Ties are possible during scoring. If two or more players tie for any of the VP awards listed below, they all receive the listed VP. It is possible (however unlikely) that a single player can score for an award based on the evaluation of the Railways multiple times if they control multiple Railways that meet the scoring criterion. For example, if a player controls two different Railways that each connect the most Minor cities, the player would receive 2 VP.

Most Income — The player or players with the highest income each receive 1 VP. Once Income VPs are calculated, you may use the Income track to record players' scores.

Most Cash (minus unpaid loans) — Count each player's cash, minus $20 for each of their unpaid loans. The player or players with the most positive cash each receive 2 VP. If no player has positive cash, no VPs are awarded for this category.

Longest Run — The player or players who control the Railway with the longest continuous run of Track each receive 1 VP. A continuous run is defined as a set of Railway Track cubes of the same color that connect one hex to another hex on the game board. Any individual Railway Track cube may never be counted more than once in the same run. Do not count any Railway Track cubes that are part of a branch from the main run.

Most Towns — The player or players who control the Railway(s) connected to the most Towns (yellow bars) each receive 1 VP.

Most Minor Cities — The player or players who control the Railway(s) connected to the most Minor Cities (purple bars) each receive 1 VP.

Most Major Cities — The player or players who control the Railway(s) connected to the most Major Cities (red bars) each receive 1 VP.

Most Business Interests — The player or players with the most Business Interests each receive 1 VP. (It does not matter if the Business Interest was redeemed. Any purchased Business Interest counts for this award.)

The player with the most points wins the game. If multiple players tie for the most points, they share the victory.