Age of Steam

Overview

Players build railroad networks across the American Rust Belt, shipping goods to matching cities to earn income. Each turn involves issuing shares for capital, bidding for turn order, selecting special actions, building track, and delivering goods. Players must balance debt (shares issued) against income, as insolvency means elimination. The player with the most victory points at game end wins.

Components

• 1 Game board (Rust Belt map with hexagonal grid)
• Goods/Actions display and Income Track
• Track tiles (simple and complex)
• New City tiles and Dedicated Town Track tiles
• 8 Town disks (white wooden)
• Goods cubes (multiple colors) and black cloth bag
• Player locomotives (20 per player) and 5 round disks per player
• Turn Track marker
• Money (bills in various denominations)
• Dice

Setup

1. Place game board, Goods/Actions display, and Income Track.
2. Place all goods cubes in the bag. Fill the entire Goods Display (52 cubes).
3. Place 3 cubes in Pittsburgh, 3 in Wheeling, 2 in each remaining City.
4. Each player takes 5 disks and 20 locomotives in their color.
5. Place 1 disk on Engine Track at “1 Link” and 1 on Income Track at “0”.
6. Roll 3 dice each to determine starting player order.
7. Each player places a disk on “2 shares” on the Issued Shares Track and receives $10.
8. Turn Track marker on start position.

Turn Structure

Each turn has 10 steps:

1. Issue Shares
2. Determine Player Order (bidding)
3. Select Actions (one special action each)
4. Build Track (up to 3 tiles)
5. Move Goods (2 rounds of movement)
6. Collect Income
7. Pay Expenses
8. Income Reduction
9. Goods Growth
10. Advance Turn Marker

Game length varies by player count (shown on Turn Track).

Actions

Step 1: Issue Shares

In player order, each player may issue additional shares. Each share grants $5. Maximum 15 shares total. Each share costs $1/turn in expenses (Step 7).

Step 2: Determine Player Order

Players bid for turn order starting with the current first player. Minimum opening bid is $1.

• First player to drop out takes last position and pays nothing.
• Subsequent dropouts pay half their last bid (rounded up).
• Second-to-last dropper pays full last bid and takes 2nd place.
• Final remaining player takes 1st and pays full last bid.
• “Turn Order” action holder may pass once without dropping out.

Step 3: Select Actions

In player order, each player selects one action (each taken only once):

Action	Effect
First Move	Move goods first in both rounds of Step 5
First Build	Build track first in Step 4
Engineer	Build 4 track tiles instead of 3
Locomotive	Immediately advance Engine Track by 1 link (max 6)
Urbanization	Place a New City tile on a Town before building
Production	Draw 2 goods cubes at start of Step 9 and place on Goods Display
Turn Order	May pass once during next bid for player order

Step 4: Build Track

Build up to 3 track tiles in player order (4 with Engineer action).

Track Costs:

Type	Cost
Simple track	$2
Complex (coexist)	$3
Complex (crossing)	$4
River hex	+$1
Mountain hex	+$2
Town hex	$1 + $1 per connected track side

Building Rules:

• First track ever built must connect to a City with a simple tile.
• Track cannot connect directly to another player’s track.
• Cannot build on City hexes or off the board.
• Unfinished tracks must be extended each turn or ownership is lost.
• Completed Railroad Links (connecting two Cities/Towns) are permanent.

Replacing Track: Costs $2-$3. Only the last tile of an unfinished section can be redirected. Terrain costs ignored when replacing.

Step 5: Move Goods

Two rounds of movement in player order. Each round, move one good (cube) along Completed Railroad Links.

• Goods must end on a City matching the cube’s color.
• A cube can enter/exit each City or Town only once per turn.
• Movement limited by your Engine Track level (1-6 links).
• Each link traversed earns +1 Income for that link’s owner.
• Instead of moving a good in one round, you may advance your Engine Track by 1.
• Delivered goods return to the bag.

Step 6: Collect Income

Collect cash equal to your position on the Income Track.

Step 7: Pay Expenses

Pay $1 per issued share + $1 per Engine link level. If unable to pay in full, reduce income by $1 per owed dollar. If income reaches $0 or below, you are eliminated (insolvency).

Step 8: Income Reduction

Income Level	Reduction
Over $50	-$10
$41-$50	-$8
$31-$40	-$6
$21-$30	-$4
$11-$20	-$2
$0-$10	None

Step 9: Goods Growth

Roll dice equal to starting player count. Each die result places goods from the Display onto matching Cities (and New Cities if on the board). Production action holder adds 2 cubes to Display first.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

At game end:

Source	Points
Income Track	+3 VP per dollar of income
Completed track sections	+1 VP per section
Issued shares	-3 VP per share

Cash has no value. Highest VP wins. Ties are possible.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Players start with 2 shares and $10.
• Insolvency (income at $0 or below during Step 7) means immediate elimination.
• New City tiles can only be placed on Town hexes (not Cities).
• When a Town has track placed on it, place a white Town disk on the tile.
• Goods cannot be moved unless they will end at a matching City.
• The 1-2 player game uses the Barbados/St. Lucia expansion map.

Player Reference

Turn Sequence

1. Issue Shares ($5 each, max 15)
2. Bid for Player Order
3. Select Special Action (1 per player)
4. Build Track (up to 3, or 4 with Engineer)
5. Move Goods (2 rounds)
6. Collect Income
7. Pay Expenses (shares + engine level)
8. Income Reduction
9. Goods Growth (dice roll)
10. Advance Turn Marker

VP Calculation

• +3 VP per dollar of income
• +1 VP per completed track section
• -3 VP per issued share