La Conquista del Oeste Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Game
• Game Components
• Explanation of the Board

The Game

From two to six players can take part, and victory goes to the player who first reaches the "points with a red circle" in their interior, located on the Pacific coast.

First, each player must obtain their "travel outfit," made up of oxen, weapons, provisions, and a wagon in the East, that is, in the green zone of the board. Afterwards, and already with their outfit, they venture into the red zone, the West, to reach their objective.

Game Components

• The board with a map of the United States.
• Two dice, which are always rolled together.
• Six pawns in colours, one for each player.
• A deck of "Opportunity" cards.
• A deck of "Incidents" cards.
• Eleven "Wanted" posters.
• Two templates with the components of the "travel outfit" (wagon, revolver, provisions and oxen).
• Six die-cut pieces of cardboard in the six colours of the pawns.
• Four different values of money.
• These instructions.

Explanation of the Board

The board has two zones, the civilised "East" and the savage "West," represented by circles and connecting lines, respectively in green and red. It has two types of markings and drawings: on one hand, those referring to estates and displacements, and on the other, those that indicate actions and possibilities to carry out in each circle (city).

• Names in the circles (red and green): these give the symbolic name of the city, town or village, and have no special relevance in the game.
• Green circles with a star: these are the starting points. When the game begins, all players roll a die and place their pawn according to the points obtained. (From 2 to 5 in Boston, from 6 to 8 in Norfolk and from 9 to 12 in Charleston.)
• Red circles with a large red dot in their interior: these are the arrival points. The player who manages to place their pawn first on one of these points has won the game.
• Red rectangles with the words "Incident" and "Opportunity": this is where the decks of the corresponding cards are placed, within reach of all players.
• Black line between Norfolk and San Luis: this simulates the railway. Any pawn located in either of these two cities, after paying 1,500 $, is placed automatically in the other. It may do this as its normal movement, before or after the journey by railway.
• Striped black circles: these are attached to a city and represent the prisons. When leaving them, the pawn is placed in the city to which the prison belongs.
• Striped blue circles: these are two very special prisons: one for the Indians in Liberty, the other for the wicked judge Roy Bean, "the law" to the west of Pecos.
• Red circles with an asterisk: these are the points where, upon arrival, the player landing there draws an "Incidents" card.

In addition to all these features there is a series of drawings that are always attached to a circle (city), divided into two types (see the drawings below).

[Caption on the page, as printed: "On 10 May 1869 the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railway lines meet at Promontory Point, joining the two coasts of the United States."]

The main rivers of the United States appear on the board. They have no bearing on the game, so they are not relevant to play.

Important: to avoid confusion between the six and the nine, both carry a dot at their lower part.

Drawings attached to cities

1. The four drawings that represent the four components of the "travel outfit," are: oxen, revolver, provisions and wagon. In the circles where there is any of these drawings, a player can buy or sell the item shown. Any acquisition or sale of part of the outfit must always be carried out before rolling the dice. Prices are governed by the yellow table located in one corner of the board, in which, for each item, the prices in the East and in the West are indicated. The figure without parentheses marks the purchase price, and the one with parentheses marks the sale price. Buying from the bank always requires paying the purchase price, and selling to the bank always means receiving the sale price. Operations of purchase and sale between players do not have fixed prices, and are valid at whatever figure is agreed between the parties. A purchase-sale operation between players is always voluntary, and a player may only sell what is demanded of them.

2. The other drawings indicate a possible action at that point, and are:

A/ Voluntary actions:

• Pickaxe and shovel crossed (place of work): a player who lands on this drawing may remain there without rolling the dice and, in exchange, receive 300 $ from the bank. This may only be done once in each turn of play. To work again in that same city, the player must leave it and come back to it.
• Two white and red "aces" (gaming table): this is where the games take place. Any player located on this point may organise a "poker game." The promoting player indicates to their companions that there is a game, and marks the amount to be bet, which may never exceed 1,000 $. Participants are admitted to the game, and once this is done each participant rolls the dice; the bank always takes part in all games, and the player who obtains the highest roll wins the whole pot. This means that the player can thus fatten their assets at the expense of the bank. In case of a tie, the dice are rolled as many times as needed until there is only one winner.
• Bank: every bank has a figure marked inside it, which represents the amount of its vault that it pays out if it is robbed. The procedure for a robbery is: the robber announces to the other players that they are going to rob the bank, and automatically a "Wanted" poster of 500 $ is drawn; the dice are rolled, and if they show "seven or less," the robbery has been successful and the amount marked on the bank's space is received from the bank. If the dice show "eight or more," the robbery has not been successful and nothing is received. In either case, it is mandatory to abandon the town where the robbery was attempted or carried out; if with the dice the movement corresponding to the pawn's prison circle cannot be reached, the pawn goes immediately to the nearest prison, and no bank may be robbed without having a "revolver" card.

(The source page break falls here. The item that opens the next page, which reads "Tira los dados, si obtiene 'cinco o menos'..." below, has no heading in the source and appears to continue the list of drawings above; it is transcribed as printed.)

• Unlabelled item, continued from the previous page: roll the dice. If the result is "five or less," the player receives 500 $ from the bank; otherwise the player pays the bank the same amount.
• Sheriff's star: indicates that in this town the Sheriff is corrupt and charges 500 $ for arriving in the town, or each time the player remains in it.
• Judge Roy Bean: to pass through the judge's circle it is necessary to bring the portrait of Lily Langtry; if the player does not have it, they are placed in his prison. When one leaves it, if one does not get the required movement with the first roll, one returns to the prison.

All actions that can be carried out in the towns must always be done before rolling the dice to move.

B/ Compulsory actions:

• Two green "aces": a rigged game place or "cardsharp" (Tahúr). Each time a pawn arrives at a "cardsharp" point, or each time that during a round of play it remains on a "cardsharp" point, the player holding the pawn must play a rigged game.

Wanted posters of more than 500 $ are used for those players who accumulate a reward greater than their capture, for which they will need to have carried out several "holdups" or "robberies."

When a player enters prison, all revolver cards and all "Wanted" posters they hold are lost.

Other game components

Besides the "Incident" and "Opportunity" cards, the game includes two templates with the pieces of the "travel outfit" components, which must be die-cut before playing. On one of these templates there are six round cardboard pieces, one for each colour of pawn. These circles resemble the colonist's "families." In certain game situations, the players are obliged to abandon them: the "family" piece stays in a city while the player goes to another city to fetch something missing from the outfit, and must always return to collect it before reaching the final point of the game. While the "families" remain on a point, they do not carry out the actions that the point requires; the normal pawn does those actions on its route.

Start of the game

Once the board is laid out, the "Opportunity" and "Incident" cards are shuffled and placed in two decks in the places indicated on the board.

Each player chooses a pawn of the colour they wish, and the dice are rolled, placing each pawn according to the score obtained on the corresponding starting space. The dice are then rolled again, and the game begins with the player who rolls the highest score, continuing the game to the right.

[Caption on the page, as printed: "Wild Bill Hickok, Jack Omohundro and Buffalo Bill."]

General rules

• One player acts as the bank and keeps control of the money, the equipment cards and the "Wanted" posters, also taking part as an additional player. The bank's role is exclusively to administer the money, to hand out and collect the "equipment," and to ensure the game runs smoothly.
• At the start of the game each player is given 1,500 $.
• The mandatory travel outfit consists of one card each of oxen, wagon, provisions and revolver. Without at least one of each of these four components, it is not possible to enter the red zone of the board.
• Each player may move their pawn between the circles in whichever direction they wish, but always following the lines that join those circles.
• On each space, the player occupying it may, if they wish, carry out what the drawings there indicate, but always before rolling the dice to move in the turn. As already explained, there are voluntary actions and compulsory actions, and the compulsory ones must always be carried out.

[Caption on the page, as printed: "The Arizona desert."]

• To buy oxen, wagons, revolvers and provisions, once the space bearing that indication is occupied, and before rolling the dice, the player gives the corresponding money to the player holding the bank, and the bank hands over the card for what has been bought.
• The same operation is carried out for sale, at the prices on the board: the player hands over the equipment card and receives the corresponding money from the bank.
• If there is a conflict between the "Opportunity" cards and these instructions, it will always be resolved according to what the cards indicate.
• Duels may be carried out either to capture a player who holds a "Wanted" poster, or to "steal" from another player any card of the "travel outfit." In both cases the two participants in the duel roll the dice, and the one with the higher score wins; in case of a tie the roll is repeated.

Duels

A necessary condition for a duel to take place is that both players are on the same circle; the duel may nevertheless be held either before or after the movement roll.

[Caption on the page, as printed: "Fife and drum band."]

The possibilities are:

A/ Duel to capture a player with a "Wanted" poster.

• The promoter of the duel must have weapons. If the attacked player does not have them, the duel is not held and the attacked player goes to prison. (The source's pronoun "éste" in this sentence is read as the attacked player.)
• If the attacker wins, they receive from the bank the reward indicated on the attacked player's "Wanted" poster, and the attacked player goes to the nearest prison, handing to the bank their "Wanted" posters and all the revolver cards they hold.
• If the attacked player wins, the attacker remains on the space for three turns without playing.
• An attempt to capture anyone who holds a "Wanted" poster can only be made by a player who does not hold one themselves.

B/ Duel to "steal" part of the "outfit" from another player.

• By the very act of attempting to "steal" part of the outfit from another player, the attempting player automatically receives a "Wanted" poster of 500 $.
• Only a player who holds a revolver card may attempt to "steal."
• Only one "travel outfit" card may be stolen per duel, and never a revolver card.
• If the attacker wins, the attacked player hands over the outfit card the attacker demands, and in addition is three turns without playing.
• If the attacked player wins, they receive from the bank the reward that the bank pays for the attacker. In addition, the attacker goes to prison, losing all the revolver cards they hold and handing over any "Wanted" posters they may also have, which frees them from those posters.

[Caption on the page, as printed: "General George Armstrong Custer."]

Therefore, in either of the two duel possibilities, a duel can only be promoted by a player holding a weapons card, and it is always lost, without even rolling the dice, if one does not hold one.

[Caption on the page, as printed: "Indian camp."]

• Prison (Cárcel): a player goes to prison when they lose a duel while holding a "Wanted" poster, or when, after attempting to rob a bank, they do not manage to escape, or when a player holding a "Wanted" poster voluntarily gives themselves up in a city that has a prison. In all cases, all revolver cards and all "Wanted" posters held are lost, it being understood that they go to settle their debts with the law.
• Leaving prison: a player leaves prison when, on a turn, the two dice show the same score. The pawn is then placed on the city's space, and the player rolls again for a normal move.
• A prison may hold several pawns at the same time.
• Indian prison (Cárcel india): a player goes there only when the corresponding "Incidents" card is drawn, and leaves by the same system as the previous one.
• Judge Roy Bean's prison (Cárcel del juez Roy Bean): a player goes there when they pass the square of Judge Roy Bean without holding the "Lily Langtry" card. From this prison a player may take part in the poker games organised by other players, or organise one themselves if they are imprisoned in Judge Roy Bean's prison.
• A player leaves Judge Roy Bean's prison by the same system as the others. However, if on the normal movement roll of the turn the player does not manage to leave the space, and does not hold the "Lily Langtry" card, they return to the judge's prison.

The rolls made by a player who is in prison, in order to leave it, are considered valid for drawing "Opportunity" cards in the manner indicated below.

[Caption on the page, as printed: "William Frederic Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill."]

• "Opportunity" cards: they are drawn when, on the movement roll, the dice show "three," "seven" or "eleven." They may be used at any moment, but always during the player's own turn. A player may not hold more than three "Opportunity" cards at the same time; if a player receives one more, they must place any one card at the bottom of the deck. With them, players may carry out exchanges (trueque) or purchases and sales. Whenever one of these cards is used, it is returned to the deck.

• "Incident" cards: they are drawn when the pawn lands on any space marked with an asterisk (so remaining on such a space for several turns does not draw further cards). The instructions shown on the card must be carried out at that moment.

• If, in the red zone of the board, a player is left without a complete "travel outfit" as a consequence of one of these cards, or because they have been robbed, they must place their "family" piece on that space, and with their pawn go looking for the items they lack. When they hold the complete travel outfit, they must return to the space where they left the family; once they have arrived there, the "family" piece is withdrawn and the game continues normally.

• "Opportunity" cards and "travel outfit" cards may be sold and exchanged between players at any moment and at any price.