The Great Heartland Hauling Co.
The Great Heartland Hauling Co. Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 46 Freight Bill cards (15 each of soy beans and corn, 8 each of cattle and pig)
- 19 Fuel cards (10 each of Move 1, 6 each of Move 2, and 3 each of Move 3)
- 12 double-sided Location cards
- 1 Distribution Center card
- 8 Score/Cargo cards (2 each of orange, blue, white and natural)
- 4 wooden score trackers
- 4 wooden semi-trucks in four player colors
- 60 wooden Cargo Crate cubes (15 each of green soy beans, yellow corn, black cattle and pink pigs)
- 4 reference/variants cards
Game Set-Up
Four Players
Place the Distribution Center in the middle of the playing area. Shuffle the 12 Location cards and place with circle Location symbol side up randomly as shown at right.
Three Players
Remove 1 of each type of Location card (soy beans, corn, cattle, pigs). Shuffle remaining cards and place randomly as shown at right. Before the start of the first turn, the third player chooses one removed Location card and places it adjacent to any Location. The second player then does the same.
Two Players
Remove 1 of each type of Location card (Corn, Soy Beans, Cattle, Pigs). Shuffle remaining cards and place randomly as shown at right.
Then
- Place 5 Cargo Crates that correspond to the color of the Native Good on each of the Location cards. No Cargo Crates should be placed on the Distribution Center.
- Each player chooses a color and places their semi-truck on the Distribution Center. Players then take the corresponding Score/Cargo cards and place their scoring pawn on the number 5.
- Shuffle Freight Bills and Fuel Cards together and deal 5 cards to each player. Now form the Draw Pile: Place the deck face down and place the 3 top cards face up next to the deck.
How to Play
The player with either (A) the best mustache, or (B) the longest hair goes first. If one player has a very nice mustache and the other player has the longest hair, settle the issue with an arm wrestling match.
Turn Summary
A basic turn can be divided into three phases:
MOVE → TAKE AN ACTION → REFUEL (REFILL HAND)
Phase 1: Move
In this phase, players must choose one of the following:
A) Discard Fuel Card(s) and move exactly the number of spaces indicated on the card(s). (1 move = 1 Location or Distribution Center Card). Fuel Cards may be added together but players may never move more than 3 spaces per turn. When adding Fuel Cards together, the sum on the cards may not exceed 3.
Example: a Move 1 Fuel Card plus a Move 2 Fuel Card equals a three-space route from Start to Finish.
B) Pay $1 cash (adjust Score/Cargo card accordingly) to move 1 space, up to 3 spaces per turn.
Example: Pay $3 = 3 moves.
C) If a player runs out of cash and does not have any Fuel Cards in hand, then his truck is placed on the Distribution Center and he must take the Discard Action (see Phase 2, C).
NOTE: Players must choose to either discard Fuel Cards OR pay cash to move - they may not combine the two methods.
Movement (cont.)
- Trucks may move North, South, East, and West to an adjacent Loading Dock.
- Trucks may not move diagonally.
- Trucks may not backtrack over any Location Cards (or the Distribution Center) they pass in the same turn.
- Trucks may move through a space in which another truck is parked.
- Trucks may not stop on a space where another truck is parked. Trucks may also not stop at the Distribution Center. (Exception: See Part C of Phase 1)
- Trucks must move every turn, if possible.
Phase 2: Take an Action
During this phase, players must choose one of the following three actions each turn: Load, Unload, or Discard.
A) Load
Players Load their Freight Trailers by discarding any number of Freight Bills of one type and placing them face up in the discard pile. When Freight Bills match the Native Good of the Location, then the player adds one available Cargo Crate of that good to his Freight Trailer for each Freight Bill discarded (see below for when they are not Native). Each Freight Trailer may hold 8 Cargo Crates.
As the game goes on, Cargo Crates may accumulate at a Location that are not a Native Good (see Unload). These may be picked up by discarding two Freight Bills for every one Cargo Crate of that type to be Loaded.
NOTE: Players may only Load one type of good per turn.
B) Unload
Players Unload their Freight Trailers at Locations in order to earn cash (points) for Payment on Delivery.
Each Location has two small goods icons with numbers next to them. These represent goods in demand and the price paid for each Cargo Crate delivered there.
Players Unload Cargo Crates by discarding from their hand any number of Freight Bills of one type and placing them face up in the discard pile. The discarded Freight Bills must match goods of the Cargo Crates they have in their Freight Trailer and Cargo Crates may only be Unloaded at Locations that have demand for the goods. Players collect the cash indicated by the number on the goods icon for each Cargo Crate unloaded.
Example: goods unloaded — player receives $4 cash.
There may only be eight Cargo Crates at a Location at any one time during the game.
NOTE: Players may only Unload one type of good per turn.
C) Discard
Instead of Loading or Unloading, players may discard as many cards as they choose from their hand to draw new cards (see Refuel). To use this action, players must pay $1 cash and adjust their Score/Cargo cards accordingly.
Phase 3: Refuel
The player now draws cards from the supply until he has five cards in hand. Players may choose to draw from:
- The top of the deck
- From face up cards (refreshing empty spaces as they are taken)
Or any combination of the above two.
Refueling signals the end of the player's turn.
End of Game and Scoring
When one player reaches $30 or more cash on his turn ($40 in a 3-player game, $50 in a 2-Player game), the other players get one more turn and the game ends.
If any player has Cargo Crates in their Freight Trailer that have not been unloaded they must pay a penalty (adjusting their Score/Cargo card accordingly) for each remaining Crate. The penalty per cube is indicated on the Distribution Center.
The player with the most cash is the winner! In the event of a tie, the player with the least amount of Cargo Crates left in their Freight Trailer is the winner. In the event of a further tie, players share the victory.
Advanced Variants
SHORT HAUL - For a tighter game, players may only have 6 goods in their truck at a time.
FRESH START - Shuffle the Distribution Center in with the Location cards so it's placed randomly each game.
WAREHOUSE MIX-UP - During set-up, place 3 Native Goods and one of each of the demanded goods at each of the Locations.
ALTERNATE ROUTES - Each Location card has an advanced variant side, marked with triangle Location symbols. Players may use any number as long as no cards with Alternate Routes are adjacent.
The Alternate Routes variant sides contain map features that will affect movement into or out of a Location card from a certain direction. For instance, with the Roads Closed symbol on the Fort Lee Location card, no player may move from North to South or South to North between Fort Lee and Jericho.
| Symbol | Effect |
|---|---|
| Roads Closed (orange striped barrier) | No player may move into or out of this Location card from this direction. |
| Weigh Station (blue crate) | Players moving into or out of this Location from this direction must pay $1 cash for every Cargo Crate above four in their Freight Trailer. |
| Toll Road (dollar sign) | Players moving into or out of this Location from this direction must pay $1 cash. |
Credits
Game Design: Jason Kotarski
Artwork & Graphics: Chris Kirkman & Brian Buckley
Game Development: Cherilyn Joy Lee Kirkman, Chris Kirkman, Rob Seater
Key Playtesters: Jon Fairbanks, Michael Harrison, Lisa Kotarski, Darryl Silvestri, Daniel Solis, Tim Stevenson, Greg Tito
For more variants, a complete set of alternate map layouts, FAQ, and a tutorial, visit dicehatemegames.com