Union Station
Union Station Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 board
- 70 Railroad discs (14 each in blue, green, black, orange, white)
- 30 Shares in 5 different colors
- 1 Dividend marker (grey)
- 5 Reference cards
- 10 Money Counter cards & 15 tracking discs (grey)
Feel free to use your own money - we highly recommend poker chips.
Setup
- Place the board in the middle of the table.
- Place the Dividend marker next to the 1 of the Dividends Paid track.
- Place each Railroad's discs, sorted by color, near their starting cities off the map.
- Take one of each Railroad's discs and place it next to the Railroad Value track.
- Take one of each Railroad's discs and place it on its matching starting space on the Chicago Union Station Co. track.
- Take one Share of each Railroad, shuffle them together face down. Reveal them one at a time face up in a column next to the board.
- Take the remaining 25 Shares, shuffle them together face up, and place them above the Offer Deck space on the board.
- Each player takes 2 Money counter cards and 3 tracking discs. Each player gets $30.
- Randomly determine a player to start the Initial Auction.
Initial Auction
At the start of the game, one Share of each of the Railroads will be Auctioned off. The topmost Share of the initial five opening Shares is auctioned first. Beginning with the starting player and continuing clockwise, each player must bid or pass. The minimum bid must be at least $5. If a player passes, they may not re-enter that Share's auction. Once all but one player passes, the player with the highest bid wins the Share, placing it face up in front of them. Adjust the Money counter track accordingly. Move the Railroad's Value disc onto the space on the Railroad Value track equal to the bid amount. If the value is above a dividend space, you do not pay out that dividend (discussed later).
The player who won the Share starts the bid for the next available Share, continuing the same process of selling and placing the Railroad Value marker for each Railroad. This continues until one of each Railroad's Shares has been Auctioned off.
In the rare instance that no player can make the $5 bid, the player who would have put the Share up for auction receives it for free. Set that Railroad's Share Value on the $5 space on the Railroad Value track.
After all Shares have been Auctioned off, move the top face-up Share from the Offer Deck above the +1 Share Value space. This Share is now available to buy. Note: Do not fill the entire offer row.
The Shares to the right of the Offer Deck are called the Offer. The Offer consists of up to three Shares that are available for purchase, one in each of the +1, +2, and +3 Share Value spaces. The face-up Offer Deck displays the upcoming Share that will be next to enter the Offer. That Share is never available for purchase.
The player who owns a Share of the lowest-valued Railroad takes the first turn. If there's a tie, the last person to win a Share from the lowest-valued Railroads is the start player instead.
Sequence of Play
Beginning with the start player and continuing clockwise around the table, each player performs one of three possible actions. The three actions are Buy Stock, Lay Track, and Sell Stock.
A player may only choose an action they are able to perform. In the extremely rare case that a player cannot perform any action, they must pass. However, players may not voluntarily pass.
Buy Stock
Choose one available Share from the Offer and place it face up in front of you. Find the Share Value on the Railroad Value track. Pay the amount of money equal to the Railroad's Value. Then, increase the Railroad's Value equal to the space it was purchased from (either +1, +2, or +3).
Next, move the top Share of the Offer Deck into the +1 Value space. If the +1 Value space is occupied, advance the Share in the +1 space into the +2 space, and the +2 Share into the +3 space.
Note: Shares never get pushed off the +3 Value space. If there is no unoccupied space, the Shares do not move and no new Share becomes available.
Chicago Union Station Co.
Each time a Share gets purchased during the Buy Stock action, move that Railroad's disc down to the next space in the Company. When a disc enters the fourth space, it no longer advances.
Immediately after all Railroads' discs have either entered into or passed through one of the spaces, a special dividend gets paid. Pay the amount of money to the right of the line all Railroads have crossed ($10, $15, or $20) to each Railroad's Shareholders, divided between the owned Shares, rounded up. Discarded Shares are never counted.
In this example, someone has just bought the first share of Green. This triggers a payout of $10 to every railroad. Once another share of Green has been bought, it will trigger a payout of $15 to each railroad, as every other company has already crossed that line.
Note: This does not trigger the Dividend Paid marker to advance.
Lay Track
Choose a Railroad that you own at least one Share in. You must place 2 track discs on the map for that Railroad.
All Railroads begin in Chicago. The first track from each Railroad must be placed directly adjacent to Chicago.
Each hex may hold up to 2 track discs. Once that limit has been reached, no additional discs may be placed in the hex. Subsequent track must be placed adjacent to previously-placed track from the Railroad. Tracks can always originate from Chicago, regardless of previously-placed track.
After laying track, move the top Share of the Offer Deck into the +1 Value space. If the +1 Value space is occupied, advance the Share in the +1 space into the +2 space, and the +2 Share into the +3 space.
Note: If the Offer Deck is ever empty when you Buy Stock or Lay Track, all Shares in the Offer still advance one space to the right, but never get pushed off the +3 Value space.
Destination Cities
Each Railroad has a different Destination City:
- Alton - Kansas City
- Burlington - Des Moines
- Milwaukee - Minneapolis
- PFW&C - Cleveland
- PRR - Pittsburgh
After reaching its Destination City, that Railroad can no longer lay track. Place its remaining discs (if any) back into the box.
Value Increase
Each time a Railroad places track in a Town (gold hex), the Railroad's Value increases by 2. Adjust the Railroad's Value marker.
Each time a Railroad places track in a City (other than its Destination City), the Railroad's Value increases by 3. Adjust the marker.
Each time a Railroad places track in its Destination City, the Railroad's Value increases by 5. Adjust the marker.
Sell Stock
Choose one Railroad you own Shares in to sell. You must sell all Shares you own of that Railroad. Find the Shares' Value on the Railroad Value track and take that amount of money for each Share. Then, lower the Value of that Railroad by one row.
Note: If a Railroad's Value marker is lowered into a gold Dividend Payout box on the Railroad Value track, it does not pay a Dividend. (We'll get to this in a bit.) A Railroad's Value marker can never go lower than 5.
Discard the sold Shares from the game.
After the 17th Dividend has been paid, players cannot sell Shares.
Dividends
Immediately after a Railroad's Value increases into or through a gold Dividend payout space on the Value track (except during setup), each Shareholder of that Railroad receives the Railroad's current value, divided between the number of Shares owned by players, rounded up. Adjust your money counters accordingly. Discarded Shares are never counted.
In the case that a Railroad's Value increases through 2 Dividend payout spaces, resolve each one individually. Then, increase the Dividends Paid marker one space on the track for each Dividend paid out. If it reaches the 20th Dividend space, the game ends immediately after paying out.
Ending the Game
The game ends immediately when one of the following occurs:
- All Shares have been purchased
- 20 Dividends have been paid out
- All 5 of the Railroads cannot lay any more track
Players add their money on hand to the individual Railroad Values of each of their owned Shares.
The player with the most money wins. Ties are possible.