Station to Station
Station to Station Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 4 starting Route cards (with red text)
- 32 standard Route cards
- 1 Game board
- 4 Player boards (one in each of the four colours)
- 32 basic Crew (with silver border)
- 24 skilled Crew (with gold border)
- 1 Crew Market board
- 60 Cargo tokens (15 grey Steel, 15 yellow Oil, 15 red Grain, 15 green Timber)
- 4 Caboose tokens
- 68 Station tokens:
- 36 Summer: 22 Orders (with the Order icon), 8 Railcars (with the 1x icon), 6 Supply (with the Supply icon)
- 16 Autumn: 12 Orders (with the Order icon), 4 Supply (with the Supply icon)
- 12 Winter: 12 Orders (with the Order icon)
- 4 Countdown (with the whistle back)
- 56 Cash tokens: 28 $1, 16 $5, 12 $10
- 4 Trains (one in each of the four colours)
- 8 Route markers (two in each of the four colours)
- 4 Score markers (one in each of the four colours)
- 4 Countdown tokens
- 36 Coal
- 1 Draw bag
Setup
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Place the Game board in the centre of the play area.
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Set the Countdown tokens to one side and separate the remaining Station tokens by season (Summer, Autumn, and Winter), then shuffle each stack separately. Randomly remove a number of tokens from each stack based on player count, placing them back in the box without looking at them:
Season Two players Three players Four players Summer 6 3 0 Autumn 8 4 0 Winter 6 3 0 Countdown 2 1 0 Note: Some Station tokens depict one season on the front, and another on the back. Group them by the season on their front side, which does not have a gold frame.
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Place the Summer Station tokens in the bag and mix them up. Place the Autumn, Winter, and Countdown tokens aside for now, they will be used later in the game.
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Shuffle the basic Crew cards and the skilled Crew cards separately to form two decks. Place the basic Crew deck and the skilled Crew deck face down on their respective draw pile space on the Crew Market board. Draw four cards from each deck and place them face up to fill each of the slots beside each deck.
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Place the starting Route cards aside for now, then shuffle the standard Route cards and place the deck beside the Game board.
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Arrange the Caboose tokens in a face up stack in descending point order, so that the most valuable token (10 points) is on top. Place this stack to the side of the board.
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Place the Cash, Coal pieces, and Cargo tokens off to the side to form a general supply.
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Each player chooses a colour and takes one Player board, one train, one Score marker, and two Route markers in that colour, as well as $8 and two Coal.
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Shuffle the four starting Route cards and randomly deal one to each player, returning any unused starting Route cards to the box. Place your starting Route card face up in one of your Route card slots on your Player board.
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Each player places their Score marker on the "0" space of the score track.
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Each player identifies their starting city by finding the train icon on their starting Route card. Place your Train on that city on the Game board, and a Route marker on that city on your Route card.
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Each player draws two standard Route cards, choosing one to keep and placing the other face up in a discard pile. Place the kept Route card face up in one of your Route card slots on your Player board, beside your starting Route card. If either listed destination on this second Route card also matches your starting city, place your other Route marker on that Route card to mark the city.
Game Overview
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player takes a turn, visiting the market, travelling to a new city, delivering cargo, and hiring crew members with unique abilities. A game of Station to Station is played over three seasons (Summer, Autumn, and Winter) and when the third season is over, the player with the most points is the winner.
Hi! I'm Elizabeth, and I'm here to help you run the best train network you can. Keep an eye out for me while reading the rules. I'll give you some advice when playing for the first time, and help you understand the trickier parts of buying Cargo, making deliveries, and hiring Crew members.
On Your Turn
Each turn is made up of five phases, which are completed in order:
- Market - Optional: buy Cargo or Coal from the market
- Travel - Move your Train to a new city
- Station - Visit the station in your new city to complete an Order token, collect a Supply token, collect a Railcar token, or take the Work action.
- Crew - Optional: hire a new Crew member, each with a special ability, or gain a Caboose
- Cleanup - Get things ready for the next player, or the new season, or end the game.
Market
This is an optional phase. In the Market phase you may choose from the three options below. You can do these in any order, and you can do them multiple times, or not at all:
- Buy Coal
- Buy local Cargo
- Buy imported Cargo
Buy Coal
You may buy as much Coal as you can afford and have space to store. Each Coal costs $3 and you can store up to 9 Coal on your Player board.
Coal is a very useful resource. You can use it to import Cargo that isn't available at the Local Market and to move your Train further in the Travel phase.
Gaining Coal
Whenever you gain Coal, take the Coal cubes from the supply and "load" them onto the Coal space on your Player board.
Each player has space to store 9 Coal. Any additional Coal gained when a player has already reached their 9 Coal limit is lost.
Buy Local Cargo
Each city has a Local Market, displaying Cargo that are available to buy.
You may buy as much Cargo from the Local Market as you can afford and have space to store. You can store up to 8 Cargo on your Player Board.
Cargo
There are four Cargo types in the game. They have a standard cost but some modifiers (such as Crew cards) can adjust that cost.
Cargo is always bought in pairs.
- 2x Steel: $5
- 2x Oil: $5
- 2x Grain: $3
- 2x Timber: $3
Note: Cargo is only purchased before the Travel phase. So plan ahead to make sure you bring everything you need.
Whenever you gain Cargo, take the Cargo tokens from the supply and "load" them behind your Player board's train engine.
Each player has space to store up to eight Cargo tokens. Railcar tokens and Cabooses do not count toward this limit. If you don't have space to store the Cargo you want to buy, you can discard Cargo from your Train to make space, or choose to take fewer Cargo. If you choose to take fewer Cargo tokens you still pay the full cost for the pair. You may rearrange Cargo on your Train in any order you wish.
Buy Imported Cargo
You may buy Cargo that is not available at the Local Market, but you must import it, paying a cost of one Coal for each pair of Cargo tokens you wish to buy, in addition to their normal cost.
You may use the Coal you bought this turn to pay the Coal cost for your imported Cargo.
Market Example: Jess buys two Oil (local Cargo) and two Grain (imported Cargo), paying for them by returning $8 and one Coal to the supply. Jess loads the Oil and Grain Cargo behind their train engine.
You'll need to buy Cargo and deliver them to new cities throughout the game. When you're buying Cargo, take a look at the Order tokens on cities adjacent to your current city and see which Cargo they want to have delivered.
Travel
The Travel phase has three steps which you must carry out in order.
- A. Move
- B. Check Route cards
- C. Check station capacity
A. Move
You must move your Train to a different city every turn, moving along the tracks by at least one space. You move one space for free but if you want to move additional spaces, you must discard Coal cubes equal to the number of additional spaces you want to move. You can never end your movement in the same city that you started your turn.
Cities and Tracks
Each city is connected to at least two other cities by tracks. To move between cities, you must travel along these tracks.
Travel Example: Sam (orange) starts their turn in New Orleans, moving to Oklahoma via Houston by spending one Coal. They then complete their Route card and, since they are ending their travel phase in the same city as another player (blue), they must repeat their travel phase. They move to St. Louis and end their movement.
If one of your opponents' trains is in an adjacent space, you might want to take advantage of the station capacity rule to move an extra space this turn!
B. Route Check
Now check your Route cards to see if your current city matches a city on one or more of your Route cards. If it matches, do one of the following:
- If your Route card doesn't have a Route marker on it: For each of your Route cards that show your current city, place a Route marker on the city on the card(s).
- If your Route card already has a Route marker on it: If your current city matches the other city, congratulations, you have completed your Route card!
Completing Route Cards
Return the Route marker to your supply and gain the points and reward shown at the bottom of that Route card, then discard the Route card and take a new one from the Route display, or one at random from the top of the Route card deck.
If you complete your starting Route card, keep it instead of discarding it, setting it aside to free up the Route card slot and taking a new Route card. The completed starting Route card counts as a Ticket on your Player board (as shown on the card) and is considered to be "wild." For more on Tickets, see the Crew section below.
Route Cards
Route cards give you rewards for travelling between two cities. You start the game with two Route cards, at least one of which already has a Route marker on it.
As you complete Route cards by visiting both cities, you'll be able to draw new Route cards from the Route display and Route card deck.
Cities can be visited in any order—they do not need to be visited in the order listed on the Route name.
You're already looking at which adjacent cities might want some of your Cargo but if you can't decide between them, consider if any of your options move you closer to completing a Route card as they can give great rewards once you've completed them.
C. Station Capacity Check
If your Train is on the same space as another player's train, repeat the Travel phase. Repeat the Travel phase as many times as necessary for you to end your movement on an empty space (with no other player's Train).
Station
Pick up the token that is in your new city and gain any bonus Coal from that city. You now have two options: take the action associated with your token, or work.
Bonus Coal
Some coastal cities—Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Charleston, and Miami—give one bonus Coal each time you take the token from the city. They are denoted by a wave symbol (and a Coal icon beneath the Station token) for reference.
Tokens
There are three types of station token that may be available at a city: Order tokens, Supply tokens, Railcar tokens.
Order Tokens Action
Order tokens show a cost in Cargo along the token's left edge and a reward in Cash, Coal, or points along the bottom edge.
To complete an Order token, you must return the Cargo shown on the token from your Player board to the supply. If you do this, claim the reward.
After an Order token is completed, it is now considered a Ticket. These are explained further under Crew, below. Flip the Order token to its Ticket side and place it on your Player board, in the space matching the region where your Train currently is. If there are already tokens in that space, stack the new token atop it.
If you do not have the required Cargo to complete an Order token, discard it by placing it back in the box and instead take the Work action.
Station Example A: Jess has just moved to St. Louis, picking up the Order token. They choose to fulfil the Order by discarding one Oil and one Steel from their train. They can either gain $8 and one Coal or gain 5 points. They choose to gain $8 and one Coal. They then flip the Order token to its Ticket side and place it under the 'S' section of their Player board because St. Louis is in the Southern region of the map.
Order Tokens and Seasons
As you progress through the game, Orders become harder to complete but also offer better rewards.
- Summer Order tokens always cost between two and four Cargo and give a choice of reward: Cash (and sometimes Coal) or points.
- Autumn Order tokens always cost between three and four Cargo and give a mixture of rewards: Cash & points or Coal & points.
- Winter Order tokens always cost between five and six Cargo and give points as a reward.
- Countdown Order tokens always cost between four and six Cargo of a single type and give points as a reward.
Order tokens are the main way of gaining points throughout the game.
At the start of the game you might want to get more Cash and Coal at the cost of points, but make sure you're fulfilling Orders for points too or you'll get left behind!
Supply Tokens Action
Supply tokens show a Supply icon in the top right and a reward along the bottom.
Unlike Order tokens, no payment is necessary to gain the rewards on a Supply token.
If you pick up a Supply token, gain the rewards shown on the token and then discard it by returning it to the game box.
Supply tokens give a variety of rewards including Coal, Cash, Cargo tokens, and points. For a full list of Supply tokens, see the Supply Tokens reference below.
Supply tokens provide easy instant bonuses, but since the tokens are discarded, they cannot be used as Tickets to hire Crew.
Railcar Tokens Action
Railcar tokens show a Cargo car, similar in appearance to a Cargo token. If you picked up a Railcar token from your city, hitch it to the end of your Player board train.
Railcar tokens provide a permanent discount when completing Order tokens.
Some Railcars show multiple Cargo. These still provide a discount of just one Cargo per Order, but they give you a choice of which Cargo you want to use for the discount. The 1x icon reminds you of the one Cargo per Order rule.
Railcars do not count toward your limit of eight Cargo Tokens.
Railcars are never discarded, and offer their discount for every future Order. The sooner you get them, the more useful they will be.
Work
Instead of using the token you picked up for its intended purpose, you may instead choose to discard the token (placing it back in the box), to Work, gaining one of the following rewards:
- two Coal, or
- $5, or
- one Coal & $2
If you choose to Work, discard the token by returning it to the game box.
Working can get you out of a tight spot if you don't have the resources you need to complete an Order and can't get to a Supply token or a Railcar token. However, working should almost always be a last resort, after all you're here to run a train network, not work for others!
Station Example B: Jess has just moved to Oklahoma, picking up the Order token. They cannot fulfil the Order because they do not have the correct Cargo. They instead choose to Work, gaining $2 and one Coal. They discard the token by returning it to the game box.
Crew
This is an optional phase. You may trade Tickets to take one of the following options once per turn:
- Hire a basic Crew member,
- Hire a skilled Crew member,
- Gain a Caboose.
Tickets
Tickets can be traded in to hire a Crew member or gain a Caboose. They can be found on completed Orders, hired Crew cards, and completed starting Route cards. When these rules refer to "discarding a Ticket" they mean discarding a completed Order, a hired Crew card, or a completed starting Route. Sometimes a Ticket from a specific region will be needed and where that is the case you must discard a Ticket from the correct region of your Player board. Your completed starting Route card counts as a "wild" Ticket, meaning you can declare it as the region of your choice when discarding it.
Tickets are sometimes shown on Crew member abilities, too. You can find a full list of Crew member abilities in the Crew Members reference below.
Crew Market Board
The Crew Market board has two sections; one for basic Crew (top row) and one for skilled Crew (bottom row). In each section, Crew members are randomly placed into a region. It will be important to consider these regions when hiring them, as it determines where they are placed on your player board, and the cost to hire them.
Hire a Basic Crew Member
Check which region you want to hire a Crew member from.
To hire the Crew member, either:
- Discard one Ticket from your Player board that matches the Crew member's region; or
- Discard any two Tickets from your Player board. They do not have to match the Crew member's region
Then, place the Crew member below your Player board in the Crew space matching the region of the Crew Market section they were taken from.
Replace the Crew member you took from the Crew Market with a new Crew member from the basic deck.
Hire a Skilled Crew Member
Check which region you want to hire a Crew member from.
To hire the Crew member, either:
- Discard one Ticket from your Player board that matches the Crew member's region and one other Ticket from any region; or
- Discard any three Tickets from your Player board. They do not have to match the Crew member's region.
Then, place the Crew member below your Player board in the Crew space matching the region of the Crew Market section they were taken from.
Replace the Crew member you took from the Crew Market with a new Crew member from the skilled deck.
Clarifications
- Your Train does not need to be in the same region as the Crew Member you are purchasing. The region of the Crew member market just shows which Tickets match each Crew member's region and the region space where that Crew member must be placed below your Player board.
- You can only purchase one Crew member per turn, and only during the Crew phase at the end of your turn.
Using Crew Cards
Each Crew card can be used only once per turn, at any time during your turn, though they cannot be used on the turn they are hired. Crew cards give ongoing abilities that change the rules of the game. Crew card abilities may be used regardless of which Crew space they are in, or the region your Train is in when you use the ability.
If you need help remembering when you've used a Crew card's ability, flip it over, rotate it 90° clockwise, or use some other way to show that it's been used. At the end of the turn, after the Cleanup phase, you should reset your Crew cards to show that they are ready to be used again on your next turn.
Crew Spaces
Unlike Order tokens which can be stacked in each region space on your Player board, you can only have one Crew member in each space below your Player board. If you have more than one in a space, you must immediately choose one to keep and discard the other.
Crew Example A: Sam wants to hire the basic Crew member from the West region of the Crew Market. They discard one token from the West region of their Player board and take the card from the West region of the Crew Market, placing it beneath the West region of their Player board.
In the rare instance that you do not have Crew cards to draw from to replace the Crew member you hired, gather all the discarded Crew cards of that type, reshuffle, and create a new card deck to draw from.
If you want to hire a Crew member but already have a Crew member in that region, you might want to consider using the current Crew member as part of the payment for the new Crew member (remember, each Crew member also counts as a Ticket), otherwise you will have to discard it.
Crew Example B: Sam wants to hire the skilled Crew member from the North region of the Crew Market. They discard one token from the South region of their Player board (1) and discard the Crew card from the North region below their Player board (2), then take the card from the North region of the Crew Market, placing it beneath the North region of their Player board (3).
Crew members provide useful abilities that will give you the edge over your opponents, especially if you can hire two or more Crew members that work well together!
You can see all the Crew member abilities in the Crew Members reference below.
Gain a Caboose
To gain a Caboose, discard one Ticket from your Player board from each of the four regions (as indicated on the back of the Caboose tokens). Then, take the Caboose token from the top of the pile and gain the points shown on it. Finally, hitch the Caboose to the end of your Player board train. You are limited to one Caboose on your Train. Your Caboose does not count toward your limit of eight Cargo tokens.
You probably won't want to think about gaining a Caboose until towards the end of the game. You may need to get rid of some Crew members to gain a Caboose, so you'll want to do it as late as possible. However, be aware that the sooner you gain a Caboose, the more points it's worth, so sometimes it can be worth losing one of your Crew members!
Cleanup
At the end of every turn:
Place a station token from the bag onto the empty city space of the map (this will always be the city where you started your turn).
If it is a Supply token or Railcar token, place it with its starting side face up (gold framed side face down).
Play then passes clockwise to the next player.
End of the Season
When the last Station token is removed from the bag, it's the end of the season.
Keep all Station tokens except Order tokens from the previous seasons on the map, but flip over all Railcar and Supply tokens that are on their starting side to their improved side (gold frame).
Gather the next season's Station tokens and place them in the bag, ensuring the contents are mixed.
At the end of each season, add the next season according to the order below:
Summer -> Autumn -> Winter -> Countdown
If the Countdown tokens go into the bag, this is your warning that each player has one final turn before the game ends!
Game End
When the final Countdown token has been placed on the board, the game ends immediately.
Score additional points for the following:
- Gain one point for every two Coal you have (0 points for one leftover Coal)
- Gain one point for every $4 you have (0 points for $3 or less leftover Cash)
- Cargo on your Train, completed Order tokens, and hired Crew members score 0 points.
The player with the most points is the winner and can boast the most legendary locomotive of all time! If players are tied, the tied player with the most Cash wins, followed by Coal. If still tied, those players share the victory!