How to Play Snowdonia: Deluxe Master Set

Objective of the Game

In Snowdonia, players represent companies providing labor for the construction of the Snowdon Mountain Railway. Unlike other train games, you'll need to excavate your way up the mountain-side, as well as make and lay track and construct viaducts and stations. All of this happens in competition with the weather of the Welsh mountains and your fellow players.

You'll be assisted by a train and can collect essential materials from the Stock Yard. You will also obtain special work contracts that give you bonus points at the end of the game. Each turn, players allocate Labourers to specific tasks, such as getting supplies, excavating the mountain, making or laying track, building parts of stations, or obtaining lucrative contracts. Players use supplies to construct sections of the railway that will yield victory points once the route has been completed. Players can also buy trains to ship in extra Labourers and to improve their work rate. A player who completes contracts for specific work will gain bonuses at the end of the game.

The goal is to contribute more than the other players to the magnificence of the Snowdon Mountain Railway, earning the most victory points to win the game.

Preparation (Setup)

The following steps outline the setup for the default Mount Snowdon scenario. Any components not mentioned should be left in the game box.

1. GAME BOARD: Unfold the game board and choose either the classic or new board side. Both sides are functionally identical; your choice is purely aesthetic.
2. RAILWAY ROUTE — STATION CARDS: Take all Station cards with the Snowdonia icon and order them by the number in the top-right corner. For a 2-player game, Waterfall Station (2) is not used. For a 5-player game, Passing Loop (4½) is used. Starting from Llanberis (printed on the game board) and going clockwise, lay out the Station cards in numerical order from Two Viaducts (1) to Yr Wyddfa (7) in the Station and Track area, leaving space between them.
3. RAILWAY ROUTE — TRACK CARDS: Each Station card indicates (in the top-left corner) how many Track cards should lead up to it from the previous station. The Track card deck contains three optional-use cards (depicting numbers 0, 6, and 7 next to the shovel); you may include them for variety or return them to the box. Thoroughly shuffle the regular Track cards (brown backed, depicting a shovel symbol and brown Rubble cubes) and place the indicated number of Track cards, shovel side up. Adjust spacing between Station and Track cards for even distribution.
4. RUBBLE: Place Rubble cubes onto each Track card as indicated by the number next to the shovel. Similarly, place Rubble cubes on the Station cards in any boxes marked with a shovel.
5. START PLAYER: Randomly determine the first player and give them the Start Player token.
6. PLAYER PIECES: Each player takes all pieces of their chosen color. The 16 Ownership Markers per player are a fixed limit. If a player runs out, they cannot take ownership of any more Track cards or Building spaces.
7. LABOURERS: Each player keeps two of their Labourers in their personal supply for the first turn, placing the remaining Labourer at the Pub. The Labourer at the Pub is referred to as the Temporary Labourer.
8. SURVEYORS: Each player places their Surveyor on any empty space of the Llanberis Station.
9. ACTION AREA OVERLAY CARDS: The game board has pre-printed Action Areas for a 3-player game (marked A to G). If playing with 2, 4, or 5 players, take the applicable alternative Action Area overlay cards and place them over the pre-printed areas so that the number at the top of each Action Area includes the number of players. Set aside the special EXCAVATION Action Area overlay card; it is not used until later.
10. GAME MARKERS: Place the shovel-shaped Excavation Work Rate Marker on the space marked with a dot on the top Work Rate track. Similarly, place the track-shaped Lay Track Work Rate Marker on the space marked with a dot on the bottom Work Rate track.
11. CONTRACT CARDS: For a 2-player game, remove the two Contract cards marked "3–5" (cards 28 and 29). Thoroughly shuffle the remaining Contract cards and place them as a face-down deck on the indicated space.
12. WEATHER FORECAST: Take the top three Contract cards and place them face-down, one at a time, on the numbered spaces next to the Contract deck. These three spaces are referred to as the Site Office. On the back of each Contract card, you'll find a weather icon. Take a Weather disc matching the weather icon on the back of the middle (space "2") Contract card and place it on the middle space of the Weather Track. Repeat for the right-most (space "3") Contract card. Then, flip these three Contract cards face up. Snow discs are not used in the Mount Snowdon scenario.
13. TRAINS: Thoroughly shuffle the Train cards and place six Train cards face up next to the game board. These Trains form the Engine Shed. For your first game, it is recommended to only shuffle Train cards No. 1 L.A.D.A.S., No. 2 Enid, No. 3 Wyddfa, No. 4 Snowdon, No. 5 Moel Siabod, No. 6 Padarn, and No. 7 Ralph, which are all marked with "+2 = comes with N°1 L.A.D.A.S. SD031" in the bottom-right corner.
14. STOCK YARD AND SUPPLY BAG: Place 7 Iron Ore, 4 Stone, and 1 Coal onto their spaces in the Stock Yard on the board. Separate a number of resources (Iron Ore, Stone, or Coal) and Event cubes as indicated by the Supply Table (which specifies quantities for 2, 3, 4, and 5 players), returning additional resources and Event cubes to the game box. Place wooden markers (typically Coal, but can be other wooden markers) onto the Trains in the Engine Shed as indicated on each card. Place the remaining resources and Event cubes into the Supply Bag.
15. GENERAL SUPPLY: Place all other pieces next to the board to form the general supply.

Fluxo do Jogo

The game proceeds in rounds, which are repeated until the End of Game is triggered. Each round consists of the following phases:

1. Assign Labourers
2. Resolve Actions
3. Restock Contract Cards
4. Check the Weather
5. Restock the Stock Yard

1. Assign Labourers

Players take turns placing one Labourer at a time into empty Action Spaces. In clockwise order, beginning with the Start Player, each player places one of their Labourers from their personal supply onto any empty numbered Action Space in any of the Action Areas (A to G) on the game board. Players continue placing Labourers, one Labourer per player at a time, until every player has placed all Labourers from their personal supply.

Owning a Train often provides a way to gain an extra Labourer for the round. Typically, Train cards allow the owner to gain a Temporary Labourer by paying 1 or 2 Coal, though some Trains may specify different costs or special requirements. Before placing your first Labourer, if you own such a Train, you may pay the indicated cost to gain your Temporary Labourer for the round. When gaining your Temporary Labourer, take the Labourer in your color from the Pub and add it to your personal supply. This Temporary Labourer can be assigned to Action Spaces like any other Labourer.

For each of the Action Areas, before the first action is resolved for that Action Area, players may activate Contract cards. In clockwise order, beginning with the Start Player, each player may activate any number of Contract cards that reference the current Action Area in the bottom-left corner of the card. After a Contract card has been activated, turn it sideways to show that its effect has been used, but leave the card in your player area. The card effect lasts until the end of the current round.

2. Resolve Actions

Actions are resolved in a fixed order, from STOCK YARD (A) through MOVE THE SURVEYOR (G). All Action Areas are resolved in order, from A to G. Within each Action Area, resolve the Action Spaces one by one in numerical order. If you have a Labourer assigned to an Action Space, you must take that action. If you have two or more Labourers assigned to the same Action Area, then you must take the action once for each Labourer. After completing an action, return the Labourer to your personal supply. Temporary Labourers are returned to the Pub instead.

3. Restock Contract Cards

If any Contract card remains in the last spot (space "1") in the Site Office, place it face down onto the Contract card discard pile. Then, shift any Contract cards still left in the Site Office in the direction of the discard pile and refill any empty spaces with cards from the top of the Contract card deck so that the Site Office again contains three face-up Contract cards.

4. Check the Weather

If there is a Weather disc on the left-most space of the Weather Track (marked with "!"), return the disc to the general supply. Shift all Weather discs one space to the left on the Weather Track. Take a Weather disc matching the weather icon on the top (unrevealed) card of the Contract card deck and place that disc on the right-most space of the Weather Track.

Adjust the Excavation and Lay Track Work Rate according to the current weather (indicated by the space marked with "!"). The Work Rate Markers cannot move beyond either end of the tracks!

• Sun improves the Work Rate: Excavate +2 spaces, Lay Track +1 space.
• Rain decreases the Work Rate: Excavate -1 space, Lay Track -1 space.
• Fog prevents certain actions from being performed by the players (does not affect Events): Excavation and Lay Track actions cannot be performed this round. Do not adjust the Work Rate Markers. Instead, place a Weather disc on both the EXCAVATION and LAY TRACK Action Areas to show that Labourers cannot be placed there.

Thinner Fog Variant: For your first few games, if the current weather is Fog, place a Weather disc on only the last space of the EXCAVATION and LAY TRACK Action Areas. This way, Excavating and Laying Track will be possible during each round of the game, albeit for fewer Labourers.

5. Restock the Stock Yard

Each round, more raw materials arrive at the Stock Yard. Randomly draw a number of cubes from the Supply Bag and place them on the Stock Yard spaces according to type: Iron Ore, Stone, or Coal. The number of cubes to draw depends on the number of players, as shown on the board to the left of the Event Track. If there are not enough cubes in the Supply Bag, draw all remaining cubes.

If any Event cubes are drawn, place these, one cube per space, from left to right, onto the Event Track, beginning with the space immediately to the right of the last occupied space. As you place each Event cube, immediately resolve the Event associated with that space (before placing the next Event cube, if any).

Ações e Como Jogar

Whenever the game or rules instruct you to pay a resource, Iron Ore, Stone, or Coal should be returned to the Supply Bag. Every other piece (such as Rubble or Steel Bars) should be returned to the general supply.

A. STOCK YARD

Take up to 3 resources (max 1 Coal) and add them to your personal supply. From the resources available in the Stock Yard, take any combination of 3 Iron Ore and Stone. Alternatively, you may take 1 Coal and any combination of 2 Iron Ore and Stone.

If your Labourer is in the last Action Space of the Stock Yard, you also become the new Start Player. Take the Start Player token and place it in front of you. If no Labourer was assigned to this Action Space, then the current Start Player simply keeps the Start Player token.

B. EXCAVATION

The Excavation Work Rate depends on the current weather, indicated by the position of the shovel-shaped Excavation Work Rate Marker. Take from Track and Station cards a number of Rubble cubes equal to the current Excavation Work Rate, plus any bonuses from a Train you own or Contract cards you have activated, and add them to your personal supply.

You may not choose to take fewer Rubble cubes than this total (Excavation Work Rate plus bonuses), unless there is no Rubble left to excavate. If you need to take more Rubble cubes than what is left on the whole route, simply take all remaining Rubble cubes.

Rubble is excavated in a strict order "up the mountain." Rubble must always be taken from the first Track or Station card (with remaining Rubble) you encounter when moving "up the mountain" from Llanberis. You may not take Rubble cubes from a Station card until all Rubble has been removed from all Track cards leading up to that Station card. When taking Rubble cubes from a Station card, always take from the top-left-most Excavation space on the Station card first (left to right, top to bottom).

If you take the last Rubble cube from an Excavation space on a Station card, place one of your remaining Ownership Markers on that space. At the end of the game, you will score victory points as indicated for that space.

When all Rubble has been excavated, an extra Build Action Area becomes available. If, at the end of a round, there is no more Rubble available to Excavate, take the special EXCAVATION Action Area overlay card set aside during setup and place it over the EXCAVATION Action Area. For the rest of the game, an additional Build Action Space is now available in this Action Area.

C. WORKS

You can convert 3 Iron Ore into 1 Steel Bar or convert 2 Rubble into 1 Stone. Perform this conversion at least once and up to three times per Action Space. You may freely mix these conversions. For example: gain 2 Steel Bars and 1 Stone, or 2 Stone and 1 Steel Bar. Put the Iron Ore into the Supply Bag and take Steel Bars from the general supply. Return the Rubble to the