Railway Rivals
Railway Rivals Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
A game of skill for 3 to 6 players (or more on some maps). Age range: over 11; but best for adults. Duration: about 2 hours.
There are many different maps for "Railway Rivals," but they all use the same rules. Each player is the owner of a railway company. There are two distinct stages to the game: the Building Stage and the Operating Stage.
In the Building Stage, the players build their railway lines. They try to be the first into towns to gain money, and (more important) to build an efficient network linking as many towns as possible by the shortest routes. Unfortunately, hills, rivers and the other players get in the way!
In the Operating Stage, players race trains from town to town. They use their own tracks free, but must pay to use those of other players. First and second in each race earn revenue. Players can pay to build new railways, to earn more revenue. The winner at the end is the player with most money in the bank.
Components
A map, laminated with plastic to make it re-usable with suitable pens; the rules; 4 special washable marker pens; 6 train tokens in different colours; two dice (one normal; and one "average" — with faces marked 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5); 42 destination cards. Also needed for some maps: an ordinary pack of playing cards.
Preparation
Decide who goes first (e.g. by rolling the dice: highest goes first, and play passes to the left).
Each player in turn chooses a pen (only 4 are supplied with the set: other colours can be purchased, or 2 can use the same pen, marking their tracks with different types of line).
One player is appointed banker. He keeps account for all players on a sheet of paper, in plain view of other players who might like to check! (Alternatively, "money" can be used: we can supply a set of suitable "banknotes" in 8 denominations; but using money will slow the game somewhat).
A. The Building Stage
A1. Round 1. The first player rolls the average die, and displays it in front of him. This sets the building allowance for all players; e.g. a roll of 4 means each player can build 4 units of track (but less if rivers and hills have to be crossed). Each player, in turn, builds his track by marking it on the map in his own colour.
A2. Start points. The starting points are printed at the side of the map. Each player chooses one of these, which may be the same as, or different to, another player's.
A3. Building costs. Track is marked from the centre of one hexagon (hex) to the centre of the next, through the middle of a side. (Note: don't mark the track in a town hex as this may obscure its number.) Costs are shown in fig. 1: the broken line shows the extension. As you see, in open country or in a town the cost is 1 (figs 1a and 1b). Bridging a river costs 3 (fig 1e), and building into (or out of) a hill costs 3 (fig 1c). From hill to hill, or hill and river together costs 5 (figs 1d and 1f). A few maps have special features with building costs of 5 or 6. Important: these building costs are "paid" by the die roll; they do not count against the money in the accounts kept by the banker.
Fig. 1 — Summary of Building Costs
| Fig | Terrain | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | Open country | 1 |
| 1B | Town | 1 |
| 1C | Into (or out of) a hill | 3 |
| 1D | Hill to hill | 5 |
| 1E | Bridging a river | 3 |
| 1F | Hill and river together | 5 |
A4. Accounts. Each player starts with a credit of 20 points. The amount is not affected by the building costs in this first stage of the game, during which only 2 factors alter the accounts:
a. the first player to enter a town (not including the one he starts at) is credited with 6 points. Other players will not receive credits, but it is usually worth building to a town, or making a junction nearby, so that you can run trains to or from it in the Operating Stage.
b. building into a hex where another player already has track will involve payment to him.
A5. Payments to rivals. These are involved if you make a junction with his line (figs 2a and 2b) and if you build alongside his track (figs 2c and 2d).
a. Junctions. All lines in the same hex are considered to join there, even if they also make junctions in the hexes each side. Thus, in fig 3, payment is made for the junction in the "5" hex as well as in the "1" and "3" hexes.
b. Building alongside. You pay 2 per half hex — see figs 2d and 3. This is in addition to the 1 for the junction.
c. Towns. No payment is made to rivals, either for junctions or for building alongside, in towns (fig 2c). This may not be logical, but it does tidy up the map!
d. Special cases. A special payment of 3 points is made to the rival for building alongside him between 2 adjacent towns (e.g. Liverpool — Birkenhead on the London–Liverpool map). No junction payment is made in a foreign country, when you build across the border, as both lines are considered to make a junction with the "foreign" railway.
e. If there are already 2 or more other players in the hex, you have to pay all of them the necessary amounts.
Fig. 2 — Summary of Payments to Rivals
| Fig | Situation | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 2A | Junction | 1 |
| 2B | Junction | 1 |
| 2C | Junction in a town hex | 3 (no payment in the town itself; see A5c) |
| 2D | Building alongside | 5 |
A6. After round 1. Carry on in the same way, except that the die is rolled, and track marked first, by the player to the left of whoever went first last time.
A player can extend his track as he likes, making junctions and dividing his build allowance between 2 or more extensions, but all his track must be continuous; he can only build on from a hex in which he already has track. (But see the optional "leapfrog" rule, C3.) You can "save" part of the building allowance for a later round, but only for "special" builds costing 5 or 6 points.
Fig. 3
A row of hexes leading up to a Town hex, with building-cost numbers marked on each hex on either side: 1, 3, 5, Town (0), 3, 1.
* Instead of die-rolling, a special pack of 42 number cards can be used, as in B1b.
A7. End of the Building Stage. When only 3 towns do not have a railway serving them, the first part of the game is over — even if some players lose their turn.
B. The Operating Stage
Players now race trains between the towns. They take a train token of the same colour as their pen. They can build some extra track between races.
B1. Number of races. On most maps, there are either 21 races (42 destinations) or 26 races (52 destinations).
a. The 21-race maps. These have 42 destinations: 36 are towns, keyed by a 2-digit die number from 11 to 66; 6 are special destinations, usually foreign countries, or the edges of the map, or "any seaport." These are keyed by a single number, 1 to 6.
* For the first race, roll the normal die twice, find the town indicated (e.g. a "3" and a "5" — town 35) and place a spare token on it; repeat to find a 2nd town. This procedure is repeated for each race. For the specials, the die is only rolled once to find the special number. It is suggested that runs 4, 7, 11, 14, 18 and 21 are the special runs.
Each number is used once only. Note that more important places have 2 or more numbers. Some maps have a grid to keep track of the numbers used; also, you can cross off the numbers on the map itself when they have been used. If a number is rolled a second time, go on to the next number; e.g. 44 to 45; 46 to 41. If all the 40's have been used, go on to the 50's.
b. The 26-race maps. These have 52 destinations; each is keyed by a playing card symbol (more than 1 for important places). You will need an ordinary pack of playing cards. Just turn up 2 cards for each race. The "special" destinations are shown by card symbols just like the towns, so no special arrangements have to be made for "special runs."
c. Note that on all maps with "special destinations," there are usually different options; e.g. any hex over the border. Each player chooses the hex that suits him best, which may be the same as, or different from, that chosen by another player.
d. In both cases, the minimum run length is 3 hexes by the shortest route built by one or more players. If an illegal run comes up, replace the 2nd card or number with a new one. The unused number will come up later (put its card back in the middle of the unused stack).
e. If a legal run comes up, but cannot be done (e.g. one destination not yet reached by a railway) then it is held over till it can be run.
B2. Each player chooses whether or not to enter the race — richest declares first. Each states his route, which he cannot afterwards change, and places his train token at the start. Each player's route must be partly or completely over his own lines. Each uses his own track free, but pays 1 per hex to use another player's track. Permission to use other track is automatic — it cannot be refused, but the payment of 1 per hex is always made in full. The maximum payment to one other player is 10 points; but you can, for example, pay 7 to one and 5 to another. Destinations too far away can be reached either by joint runs or by exchange of running powers.
B3. Joint runs. Here, two players agree to act as a single company, and run one train. They share the expenses and payments equally, regardless of how much track of each player is involved. Their train runs over both their lines free. If there are any odd amounts, they benefit the poorer partner (e.g. receipts of 15 = 8 to poorer and 7 to richer).
B4. Exchange of running powers. This allows a player to pay more than 10 to another, if that other player is also paying him something, and the difference is not more than 10; e.g. A pays B 13 points, B pays A 8 points; the net payment is just 5 to B, so both can run. Each runs his own train, and the two do not have to follow the same routes.
B5. The races. Payments to use other tracks having been made, the race starts. It is a simple die race, using the average die (which reduces the luck element by over 75%). Each player in turn (richest first) rolls the die, and moves the number of hexes shown. Two or more trains can be in the same hex, and trains can pass each other. When entering a hill, take 1 off the die roll. This 1 is deducted only once, so if you roll 3 when you needed 4 to enter the hill, place your token on the hex side at the start of the hill.
When the first player reaches the destination, the others continue to roll and move. If 2 or more reach the destination on the same turn, then the winner is the "furthest past the post," i.e. the one who had most of his roll left after reaching the destination.
The winner receives 20 points, and the second 10, and the others receive nothing. These amounts are added to the accounts.
If two or more finish equally far "past the post," they share the prizes: — e.g. two equal first = 15 points each; One first and 3 equal second, 20, 4, 3, 3 (the 4 going to the poorest).
Repeat the procedure till all cards or die numbers have been used (except those in part e of rule B1).
B6. Extra building. After every two runs, players may build some more track; perhaps to reach more towns, perhaps to shorten their routes or perhaps to annoy someone else! Each in turn (poorest first) can spend up to 10 points on construction costs. The rate is the same as explained in rule A3, but now the cost comes off the accounts. Payments to other players (for junctions and building alongside) are as in rules A5, and are charged extra to the 10 building points, so the total amount taken off a player's credit may be more than 10 points.
B7. End of the game. After the last race, the winner is the player with most money to his credit in the accounts.
If time is short, players should agree before the start of the Operating Stage to have only 12 or 15 races.
C. Optional Rules
C1. Ferries. Some maps have ferry routes marked on them. The rules have varied over the years, but the standard procedure for all ferries now is:
a. a ferry can be bought by a player who has a rail line at the ferry port.
b. the cost is 6 — taken off the accounts — regardless of the length.
c. any other player can use the ferry, paying the owner 5, regardless of length.
d. the ferry cannot be used as a "bridge," to continue building your railway beyond the other ferry port, unless it is stated on the map that this can be allowed.
e. in races, a ferry is slower: take 1 off the die roll to embark, and to disembark, and for any turn which both starts and finishes at sea.
C2. Foreign countries. Unless it states otherwise on the map, you cannot build through a foreign country. Your line must stop in the first hex across the border. You can build more than one connection into that foreign country. (Note part d of rule A5.)
Several maps have "permitted builds" in foreign countries, shown by broken lines. Here, you can build along that route at the usual cost. Any part not built is considered to be built by a foreign railway — you can run over this foreign line for the usual payment. Track may not be built in foreign countries otherwise, except for the line stopping immediately across the border as already explained.
C3. "Leapfrog." This is a most important extra rule, which should be used for any very mountainous map (e.g. Scotland, Wales, Austria, Switzerland). It must be agreed at the start of the game.
This permits the breaking of rule A6 — there can be breaks in your lines. You can make "leaps" of up to 3 hexes along the track of another player. Thus, in fig 3, if you make a junction in one of the "3" hexes, you don't have to build alongside the other player to the other "3" hex; you pay him only for the 2 junctions in the "3" hexes, saving the payment of 9 points in between. In races, you pay the normal 1 per hex (3 in this case) to use his track in between the two junctions.
Each player is limited to two leaps over the lines of each other player. Thus, in a 4-player game, each can make up to 6 leaps.
If a later extension joins your two separated parts, you are not entitled to make an extra leap.
C4. Special rules. Some maps have special rules, e.g. for building the Severn Tunnel or the Forth Bridge. This will be explained on the map itself.
C5. Postal play. "Railway Rivals" is one of the three most popular games played by post. The cost is less than you think, by using small-circulation duplicated amateur "zines" which carry the game reports. At the time of writing, over 1200 gamestarts have been recorded, mostly in Britain, though the game is also popular in Germany, USA, Australia, etc. There are over 100 gamestarts a year in about 30 zines.
Postal rules are free for an SAE (Overseas: 1 IRC). Add extra postage (Overseas: 2 IRCs) if you want a sample "zine" as well. A postal game normally has 12 rounds, lasting over a year, and uses a paper map.
C6. Scoring system for the races. An alternative, but more complex system is that used in our "Bus Boss" game.
In this, every race is worth 30 points, which is shared between all entrants, as follows:
| No. of entrants | First | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two | 20 | 10 | ||||
| Three | 16 | 9 | 5 | |||
| Four | 13 | 8 | 5 | 4 | ||
| Five | 11 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | |
| Six | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
A player cannot run if his route is more than twice the distance of the shortest route used in that race.
Note that this system will add 15–30 minutes to the length of the game.
C7. RR for two players. RR isn't really a 2-player game, but one of the following methods can be used:
a. Each player runs two companies, each with its own colour. It is possible for both to enter a race, especially with exchange of running powers. The winner is the player with the highest combined score of his two companies.
b. There is an imaginary 3rd player. In the Building Stage, players take turns to build the 3rd player's tracks; but the third player makes payments for junctions, etc. only to the rival. In the Operating Stage, if only one player is in a race, then the other can enter the 3rd player; but again, payments for use of track are made only to the rival, not to the person entering the 3rd player. This system works very well, except that the 3rd player often wins!
Notes
The game was first published as a geographical simulation and teaching aid in 1973, in the form of a "Do It Yourself" kit of hexsheets and colouring instructions. The first printed maps appeared in 1977, followed by the first coloured and laminated maps in 1979.
Many maps have been designed; currently there are about 20 "official" maps, besides about 30 experimental half-size maps, some of which will become "official" maps later.
The maps are still designed as simulations; i.e. it is made easier for you to build the actual rail routes, so a study of a region's railway history will help you win.
Boxed versions of the game have been produced by Games Workshop (UK & USA), Schmidt (Germany — as "Dampfross" — "Game of the Year" in 1984), Selecta (Netherlands — "Tussen de Rails") and Alga-Brio (Sweden — "Rail").
Dampfross re-issued by Laurin, (now Queen) 1992.
Rostherne produce other good games too: ask about Bus Boss, Peninsular War, Pirate Island, Send, Slick and Winchester. The latest list is available free and post free (overseas: 1 IRC).
Rostherne Games are available at the best specialist games shops in Britain, or direct by post from Rostherne.
Agent in Germany: Welt der Spiele, Frankfurt. Agents may be appointed in other countries later.
The 5th edition rules incorporate suggestions from many people, among whom Margaret Finn, Albie Fiore, Brian Flatt, Richard Morris, Arthur Nunn and Ann Watts have been particularly helpful.
Rule disputes can usually be settled over the telephone.
Printed and published in Milford Haven, U.K., April 1990
Copyright © D. G. Watts, 1973 – 94
Rostherne Games, 102 Priory Road, Milford Haven, Dyfed SA73 2ED, U.K.
Telephone: (0646) 692752
Reprinted with slight changes (see rules B1e, C3) March 1994