Railways of England and Wales — Rules Manual

RAILWAYS
of
ENGLAND
and Wales

Introduction

It is mid 19th century England....and the tramways that first
appeared to transport coal have since been upgraded to railways. Numerous
different companies using different railway gauges have connected
to villages, towns and cities across the country. Many mergers are
about to take place, and the Big Four will result. Do you have what it
takes to manage a railroad company? Will your company be the most
profitable?

Railways of England and Wales is an expansion map for Railways
of the World. You will need the pieces from Railways of the World
(track and city tiles, bonds, money, empty city markers, trains and
first player marker) to play Railways of England and Wales.

The basic gameplay has not changed from Railways of the World
except where noted. For basic rules questions please refer to the
Railways of the World rule manual. Any modification or change to a
basic rule is presented here.

Components

Gameboard The map of England and Wales in the mid 19th century.
The map is divided into hexes. Each hex may contain city, moun-
tains (brown) or open terrain (green). Water (blue) may be present
and barriers (black) may run along the sides of some hexes. The
barriers represent impassable terrain and therefore cannot be built
across. There are no ridges on this map.

Railroad Baron cards

George Stephenson
Gain 5 points if you are the
player connected to the most
cities at the end of the game.

George Hudson
Gain 5 points if you connect
Leeds & York to Bristol.

Railroad Operations cards

Tunnel Engineer
Play this card to stop 1 delivery
of any other player. The cube
stays in the city and that player
must then move it. The cube may
be stopped by the Inspector more
than once per game.

Railroad Inspector

Shares

Shares Issued box

Shares Issued

Available Shares box

Share markers

Company tiles

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Starting the Game

Return the Share certificates, markers, boxes and tiles to the
box. They are not needed in the basic game. Once the game-
board has been set up (cubes have been randomly placed in
the cities) players are each dealt two Railroad Baron cards.
Each player chooses one baron to be kept in front of the
player face down and places the other baron face down out
of the playing area. At the end of the game players reveal
their baron card and if a player has met the requirements of
the card, he or she then receives the victory points at that
time.

Gameplay

Hex Classification Mountain hexes are identified by a dot. If
a mountain hex contains water it still considered a mountain hex.
If a non-mountain hex has any water (blue) it is considered a water
hex and the building cost for the hex is $3000. If a hex does not
have a dot or water, it is treated as open terrain.

Major Lines Major lines are available throughout the game.
Major lines are identified on the board. As in the basic game,
once a major line has been completed by a single player it cannot
be scored by anyone else. It is recommended that the completing
player place a colored train from his/her supply on the major line
to note who completed it.

Tunnel Engineer - When a player chooses this card, he can use
the card during one future build. All mountains are half price for
that build ($2000 each).

Railway Inspector - When a player chooses this card, it goes
into his hand and is played during another player's delivery ac-
tion. The Railway Inspector prevents the delivery and the player
attempting to make the delivery loses that action. The cube that
was to be delivered remains in the original city. No player may
be stopped by an Inspector more than once per game. A player
who has been stopped by a Railway Inspector should display
this card face-up and upside down.

Ending the Game

The number of empty city markers that ends the game (same
mechanics as Railways of the World) depends on the number of
players:
2 Players: 9 Empty City Markers
3 Players: 11 Empty City Markers
4 Players: 13 Empty City Markers
5 Players: 15 Empty City Markers

Advanced Game - Share System rules

The advanced game introduces a share system into the game.
Players do not 'own' one company, they will have shares in a
variety of companies. The player with the most shares in a com-
pany controls it. It is best to think of yourself as controlling an
investment fund and having a particular interest in railways.

Each company has ten shares. A company's share price is set at
the beginning of the game. A company can raise money to build
track by issuing one or more of its shares.

The turn is divided into a number of phases. In the first phase
companies have three rounds to build track and move goods. A
company may build one or two links during a round. There is no
train limit when moving goods, but payment is one-time, not a
permanent increase of income.

In the second phase, the companies issue dividends to sharehold-
ers. Their share prices are adjusted according to the size of the
dividend.

In the third phase, companies can attempt to merge. The control-
ler of each company may propose one merger. If both companies
approve, the merger occurs. Part of the strategy in the game is
the setting up of railway companies to be merger targets to help
your main company grow its track.

Finally players get the opportunity to buy shares. This will allow
them to consolidate control in a company, or take control from
another player. The price paid does not affect the share price.

Company shares are kept on the Company tile, and a company's
controller can decide whether or not to issue those shares.

The game ends when a certain number of locations have been
emptied of cubes. The player with the most money at the end of
the game is the winner, with all shares being cashed in for their
present share price minus bonds outstanding.

Issuing Bonds Players may only issue bonds when cash is
needed to make a purchase or pay for a bid. Only the bonds
needed to make the payment may be issued. (For example if a
player has $0 and needs $16000 to build track, the player may issue
four bonds, but he or she cannot issue any more bonds in conjunc-
tion with this purchase).

New Operations Cards

Passenger Line - The first player to deliver 4 of the 6 goods colors
earns this card and the bonus points. To keep track, players place
goods cubes in front of them (1 of each color as the player makes
a delivery) until a player delivers a fourth color and then all cubes
that were in front of all players are returned to the goods bag.

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Starting the Game

Return the Railroad Baron cards, Railroad Operation cards,
New City tiles and Engine cards to the box. They are not
used in the Advanced Game.

Players start with $20,000 each, ($25,000 each if two or three
players). Randomly determine which player receives the 1st
player marker. Mark the share prices for each company with
one of its share markers (using the victory point numbers as
opposed to the payout numbers. This number represents the
share value in thousands of dollars). The starting share
price for each company is shown in its Available Company
Shares box. For each company, place 5
shares on its Available Company Shares box and the other 5
on its Company tile (III.1). Place a train of each color on the
zero space of the income track.

Now players take turns auctioning Available Company
Shares until each player has passed. The first player begins
by selecting a Company share to auction and announces his
starting bid. This bid must be at least the starting share price
for that company. In clockwise order players must either
bid a higher amount or pass and drop out of the bidding for
that company. The last player remaining pays his bid to the
company (i.e. puts the money on the Company tile), takes
a share from the Available Company Shares box, and takes
the Company tile (if he took control of it - see Controlling a
Company).

If the winner was the auctioneer, then the next player clock-
wise selects a Company share for auction and bids. Other-
wise, the previous auctioneer selects a Company share for
auction and bids.

A player can choose to pass instead of putting a share up for
auction. If a player passes this opportunity, he may neither
initiate nor participate in future auctions during setup. Repeat
until all players have passed their chance to start an auction.

Auctions proceed as above and continue until each player has
passed. Give the 1st player marker to the player to the left of
the last player to take a share.

Controlling a Company

A company is controlled by the player who has the most
shares in it. When a player controls a company he takes its
Company tile. A player only loses control of a company
when another player has MORE shares in the company than
he does, e.g. if a controlling player has the same number of
shares as another player then he will retain control of the
company.

When a player buys the first share in a company he immedi-
ately takes control of it.

III. 1

Money

Money placed on a Company tile belongs to that company. Money
held by a player belongs to that player. A player cannot move money
from a tile to his own holdings, nor can he do the reverse.

Issuing Shares

If a company needs money then it can issue one of its shares. The
share is moved from the Company tile to the Shares Issued box. The
company receives an amount of money equal to its present share
value. A company can only issue shares when it actually needs the
money. Money is required to build track and complete a merger. A
company cannot issue shares to gain money to pay a larger dividend,
(although any money left over from a share issue can be used to pay
dividends).

Bonds

If a company has issued all of its shares then it can take out bonds.
Each bond gives the company $5,000. $1,000 per bond has to be
paid during the Pay Dividends phase to the bank. A company can
repay a bond for $5,000 after paying interest during the Pay Divi-
dends phase. When a company takes a bond, place one of the bond
certificates on its company tile. The maximum number of bonds that
can be taken out by a company is equal to the number of complete
links it has, i.e. a company has to have collateral. Any unpaid bonds
at the end of the game reduce the company's final share value by 1
for each bond.

You may not issue bonds to pay dividends.

Playing the Game

A single turn consists of the followings phases:

1. COMPANY ROUNDS
2. PAY DIVIDENDS
3. MERGER PHASE
4. SHARES PHASE

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Company Rounds

The order of play for this phase is determined by share
price,
going from the company with the highest share price to the one
with the lowest. In the case of a tie the company on top of the
stack goes first, i.e. the company that was the last to move to that
share price.

When it comes to a company's turn, the controlling player
decides which action it will carry out. There are three possible
actions BUILD TRACK, MOVE A CUBE, and PASS, described
below.

1. Build Track
A company may build one or two links during the Build Track
action. The first link has normal terrain costs. The second link
costs $2,000 extra per hex in addition to normal terrain costs.

Each link can be as long as desired. A link must be completed
in the same action it is started. - i.e. no incomplete links are al-
lowed.

The first time a company builds, it may build from any city on
the board. All of its future builds must connect to one of its pre-
viously built links.

2. Move Cube
The controlling player may deliver a goods cube for the com-
pany. Many rules from the basic game apply: Cubes must stop
at the first city of color that matches the cube. Cubes must be
moved to a city that matches its color. No cubes move to light
grey cities. The first link used must belong to the active com-
pany. When the last cube is removed from a city, place an Empty
City Marker on the city.

A cube can be moved any number of links - there is no Engine
Level. A cube may be moved along different companies' tracks,
with the company owning the track moving its company income
marker (not its share marker) 1 space forward on the score track
for each link used.

A company must use a number of its own links equal to or
greater than all other company's links combined in that move.
(E.g. if the red company moved a cube and it used one green link
and two yellow links it would have to use at least three red links.)

3. Pass
The company takes no action.

Use an Empty City Marker to track the number of rounds com-
pleted. The phase ends after three complete rounds.

After all three company rounds, the companies collect income
based on their income marker (a train of their color) spot on the
score track. After income is collected, but before dividends are
paid, reset all company income markers to zero.

Pay Dividends

Order of play goes from highest share price to lowest share
price.

The company pays $1,000 for each bond it has. After this pay-
ment the controller may have the company repay any number of
bonds at $5,000 each. (In the unlikely event that the company
cannot pay for its bonds it must issue more bonds to pay the in-
terest due. Companies do not pay interest on these newly issued
bonds until next turn. If the Company cannot pay and may not
issue more bonds, it gives all of its money to the bank. It's share
price will go down by 2 because it may not pay a dividend.)

The controller of the company decides how much money the
company will pay out as a dividend.

If no dividend is paid out then share price goes down by 2.

If the dividend is half of the share price or less (but more than
zero) then its share price goes down by 1.

Note: a company's share price may never go below 1.

If the dividend is less than the share price but more than half of
it, then its share price stays the same.

If the dividend is equal to or more than the present share price
then divide the dividend by the share price and round down.
Increase the share price by this amount. Note: A payout may
never be more than 3x the share price. (Example: The black
company has a share price of 6. The controller issues a dividend
of $17,000. 17 divided by 6 (rounded down) is 2, so the share
price increases to 8.)

When the controller has determined the dividend amount, it is
distributed among the issued shares (i.e. those held by players as
well as those in the Shares Issued box). Divide the dividend by
the number of issued shares (round down). Each share gets that
amount of money - players take the money for their shares and
the bank takes the money for shares in the Shares Issued box. If
the money does not divide evenly among the shares, the bank
gets the remainder.

If a company is not controlled (i.e. no players hold shares in the
company), it pays no dividends and does not adjust its share
price.

After all dividends are paid, each player also takes $5,000 from
the bank.

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Mergers

Order of play goes from lowest share price to highest. The
controller may suggest a merger between the company and one
other company. Companies can only merge if they are con-
nected.

A vote is held to see if the merging company wishes to merge.
Each share in the merging company is worth one vote. Play-
ers reveal their votes simultaneously. In the case of a tie the
controlling player has the deciding vote. If this vote passes then
a similar vote occurs in the target company.

If both companies pass the merger suggestion then the merging
company must buy each available share of the target company
at its present share price plus $1,000. The merging company
may issue shares to do so. Shares in the Shares Issued box must
be purchased - this money goes to the bank.

The active company replaces each link control marker belong-
ing to the targeted company with one of its own. The targeted
company is no longer in existence. It may be brought back into
the game as a new company. Place five of its share markers
in the Available Company Shares box and the remainder on
its Company tile. Return the share price to its starting (setup)
value.

Shares Phase

Order of play goes clockwise from the player with the 1st
player marker.

A player can place one share up for auction. The share can ei-
ther be one from the Shares Issued box (Ill. 2) or one from the
Available Company Shares box (Ill.3). If the share was taken
from the Shares Issued box then the money paid for the share
goes to the bank (since the company already received money
for that share when it was issued by the controller). If the share
was taken from the Available Company Shares box, then the
money paid for the share goes to the company. The auction
process is the same as the one at the start of the game, with one
exception: The minimum bid is the current share price, not the
starting share price.

If a company has been knocked out of the game due to a
merger then it can be restarted in this phase. The initial share
price depends on its color.

The turn order marker is given to the player to the left of the
last player to win an auction.

(Ill. 2)
Shares Issued

(Ill. 3)
Available Company Shares

Ending the Game

The game ends at the end of the turn when a certain number of
cities are empty. The default value is 16. Players may wish to
use the empty city chart from the basic game, or agree to any
number at the beginning of the game.

If a company has outstanding bonds at the end of the game,
decrease its share value by one for each outstanding bond (to
a minimum value of zero). Players cash in their shares (at the
value of the share, not the payout number). The player with the
most money wins.

Example: Sean owns 4 shares in the Blue company, and 1 share
in the Yellow company. He has $12,000 in cash on hand. The
value of the Blue company is 14 and the Yellow company is 9.
The Blue company has 2 bonds issued. The Yellow company has
none.

12(blue price - bonds) x 4(blue shares owned) = 48,000
9(yellow price) x 1(yellow shares owned) = 9000
(cash on hand)=12,000

Total = 69,000

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Credits

Game Design by:
Martin Wallace

Additional developement by:
Sean Brown and Keith Blume

Cover art by:
David A. Oram

Map art by:
Paul E. Niemeyer

Edited by:
Matt Ackerson and Keith Blume

Introduction by:
Sue Waldbiesser

Playtesting:
Scott Russell, Kris Hall, Tom Hancock, Tim Myers, Rachelle Grein,
Aaron Kranz, Aaron Silverman, Paul Sauberer, Steven Zaloom,
Summer Jones, Yves LaFrance, Kurt Beade, Patrick Beade, (Juegos
de Mesa Costa Rica ) Luis Paulino Mora, Luis Carlos Hernández,
Rodrigo Vega, Alejandro Mora, Álex Fernández, Jeffrey Chaves,
Roberto Álvarez, (the Elgin Eagles) Ray Peterson, Todd "Matthew"
Sweet, Alan Reeve, (Six Feet Under) Ben Rhoads, Rich Waldbiesser,
Sue Waldbiesser, Matt Ackerson, (Rainy Day Games) Steve Ellis
and co. (Denver Train Gamers) Wayne Williams, Chuck Finger,
Chris Finger, and Jim Mcdaniels.

EAGLE GAMES
A FRED COMPANY
www.eaglegames.net
7

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RAILWAYS
of
ENGLAND
and Wales

ACTIONS
Build Track (up to 4 tiles-see costs below)
Urbanize (for a cost of $10,000)
Upgrade Engine (one level at a time-see costs on engine cards)
Deliver One Goods Cube
Select a Railroad Operations Card

COSTS TO BUILD TRACK
Open Terrain (green hex) $2,000
Water (if any water appears within the hex) $3,000
Mountains (a white dot appears on the hex) $4,000

EAGLE GAMES
A FRED COMPANY
www.eaglegames.net

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