# Great Western Trail: Argentina

## General Info
- **Year Published**: 2022
- **BGG Rating**: 8.2
- **BGG Rank**: #195
- **Players**: 1-4 (Best with: 3)
- **Duration**: 75-150 min
- **Weight**: 3.91 / 5
- **Designers**: Alexander Pfister
- **Artists**: Chris Quilliams
- **Publishers**: eggertspiele, Arclight Games, Delta Vision Publishing, Ediciones MasQueOca, Galápagos Jogos, Ghenos Games, Lookout Games, Rebel Sp. z o.o., Yayoi The Dreamer, Zvezda
- **Categories**: Animals
- **Mechanics**: Deck, Bag, and Pool Building, Hand Management, Ownership, Set Collection, Solo / Solitaire Game, Track Movement, Variable Set-up

## Verdict
If you're a fan of complex eurogames with deep strategy, Great Western Trail: Argentina is a feast, maintaining the series' essence with worthwhile new features!Enhanced deck managementNew strategic pathsEngaging solo modeCrucial timing decisionsHigh replayabilityModerate learning curveLengthy playtimeCan be punishingHIGHLY RECOMMENDED

## Description
In Great Western Trail: Argentina, you step into the shoes of a vast estancia owner in late 19th-century Argentina. Your mission is to guide your cattle herd across the Pampas plains to the bustling Buenos Aires train station. The game retains the core essence of the original Great Western Trail, featuring deck management, the innovative rondel mechanism, and the ability to upgrade your personal player board, but introduces twists and new elements that make it a fresh and challenging experience. Get ready to meet farmers, a new type of worker who can be crucial to your strategy. The board presents branching paths, forcing you to choose between routes with buildings or those that pass by these new farmers. You can even use the 'strength' of your cattle cards to help them, earning grain – a brand new resource – which will be vital for boat and city tiles. Speed up your journey with shortcuts to Buenos Aires, but be careful: this might mean foregoing some valuable actions. The timing for delivering your cattle to the central station is more critical than ever, and generous bonuses await at the city's port tiles. While money might be easier to come by, new exhaustion cards, expanded action options, and shortcut management ensure the challenge remains high. And for those who enjoy playing solo, there's a solitaire mode where you can try to beat Pedro's score!

## How to Play
Objective of the Game
In Great Western Trail: Argentina, you play as the owner of a sprawling estancia in the Pampas. Your goal is to deliver cattle to Buenos Aires, ship them to Europe, and earn money and victory points along the way. The player who accumulates the most victory points at the end of the game wins.

Setup

  Place the game board in the center of the table.
  Shuffle the 8 station master tiles and place one face‑up on each of the five station master spaces. Return the remaining three tiles to the box.
  Place the 8 neutral building tiles face‑up on the eight neutral spaces of the board. If it is the first game, match each tile to its letter (A‑H); otherwise shuffle them randomly.
  Place the job market token on the top dashed round space of the job market.
  Take the 57 worker tiles and 51 farmer tiles, turn them face‑down, sort them by the letter on their back (A, B, C), and put each set into its own bag. Place the bags next to the board as the Buenos Aires supply.
  For each color area (green, blue, orange, yellow), place a farmer tile in the lowest numbered empty space of that area. If no space is available, return the tile to the box.
  Draw all worker tiles with an “A” on their back from the supply and place them in the job market row by row, starting at the space beneath the player‑count sign and moving rightwards until the last space left of the token is filled. The number of tiles placed depends on the player count (5, 8, or 11).
  Fill the six foresight spaces in Buenos Aires: draw two “A” tiles, two “B” tiles, and two “C” tiles, placing them face‑up on the corresponding spaces.
  Shuffle the 36 market cattle cards and place them face‑down as the cattle market stack. Draw 9, 12, or 15 cards depending on the player count, sort them by color, and arrange them face‑up in the order orange, yellow, red, blue, brown, purple.
  Place the 25 exhaustion cards face‑up to the right of the market stack.
  Shuffle the 24 objective cards and place them face‑down to the left of the board. Reveal four cards and display them face‑up as the general objective display.
  Draw five farmer tiles with an “A” on their back from the supply and place them face‑up on the board according to their color areas.
  Place the coins and exchange tokens within reach of all players as the bank.
  For each player: receive the player board of your chosen color, the player count tile, 14 cattle cards with your color’s sun, one exhaustion card, one worker tile of each type (gaucho, carpintero, maquinista, granjero), one engine placed on the starting gray building of the railroad track, one certificate marker on the top of the certificate track, one grain marker on the left of the grain track, and one estanciero placed on the horseman space in the lower left corner of the board.
  Determine the starting player. The starting player receives 7 pesos, 4 cards, 1 exchange token, and draws cards from their personal draw stack to fill their hand to the limit indicated on their board. Subsequent players receive 8, 9, or 10 pesos and 5, 6, or 7 cards respectively.


Game Flow
Play proceeds clockwise, with

## FAQ
### What is the average playtime for Great Western Trail: Argentina?
A game can vary quite a bit, but it generally takes from 75 to 150 minutes, depending on the number of players and familiarity with the game.

### How many players can participate?
The game is designed for 1 to 4 players, including a robust solo mode for those who prefer to play alone.

### Is it a very complex game for beginners?
Great Western Trail: Argentina is considered a medium-heavy game (3.91/5 on BGG). It has a learning curve, but for those with some experience in eurogames, it offers a rewarding complexity.

### What are the main differences from the original Great Western Trail?
Key novelties include farmers as a new worker type, the grain resource, branching paths on the board, exhaustion cards, and shortcuts to Buenos Aires, all adding new strategic layers.

### Are the components of good quality?
Yes, the Great Western Trail series is known for its high-quality components, featuring immersive artwork and durable pieces that enhance the gaming experience.

### Is it necessary to have played the original Great Western Trail to understand this one?
It's not strictly necessary, as it's a standalone game. However, familiarity with the basic mechanics of the original can make adapting to the new features easier.

### Who is this game most suitable for?
It's highly recommended for fans of strategic eurogames who enjoy resource management, deck building, and a good tactical challenge. If you liked the original GWT, you'll love the innovations here!

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