Next Station: London

Overview

Next Station: London is a flip-and-write game where players simultaneously draw Underground (metro) lines on personal maps of London. Over 4 rounds, each player draws one colored line per round using Station cards flipped from a shared deck. Points come from route coverage (districts x stations), Thames crossings, tourist sites, and interchange stations. The player with the highest total score wins.

Components

• 1 Pad of London maps
• 4 Colored pencils (purple, blue, pink, green)
• 11 Station cards: 6 Street cards (blue background) and 5 Underground cards (pink/yellow background)
• 5 Shared Objective cards (advanced module)
• 4 Pencil Power cards (advanced module)

Setup

1. Each player takes 1 map sheet and 1 colored pencil.
2. 3 players: Place the 4th pencil on the table between two players (used later).
3. 2 players: Place 1 unused pencil to the left of each player.
4. First game: Leave Shared Objective and Pencil Power cards in the box.
5. The last player to have taken the Underground is the controller for Round 1.

Turn Structure

The game is played over 4 rounds. Each round:

Phase 1: Identify Departure Station

Find the departure station matching your pencil color on your map.

Phase 2: Build Underground Line

The controller shuffles the 11 Station cards and places them face down. Each turn, the controller flips the top card. All players simultaneously draw a section on their map connecting to a station matching the symbol on the card. The round ends when the 5th Underground card (pink/yellow) is flipped – players draw one final section, then stop.

Phase 3: Score Points for Line

Calculate points for route, Thames crossings, and tourist sites.

Phase 4: Pass Pencils

Pass your pencil to the player on your left. Take the pencil from your right. The player to the controller’s left becomes the new controller. Begin the next round.

Actions

Drawing Sections (Construction Rules)

• The first section must start from your departure station and connect to a station matching the flipped card symbol.
• Subsequent sections extend from either end of your line to a matching station.
• Sections must be straight lines (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) following the grey potential lines on the map.
• Drawing is always optional; you may skip a turn.
• You cannot pass through a station already on the same line.
• You cannot draw a duplicate section between the same two stations.
• Sections cannot cross over previously drawn sections (any color).

Special Stations and Cards

Symbol	Effect
Central Station (?)	Connects to any card symbol; counts as a tourist site
Tourist Sites (compass)	5 stations with compass borders; score extra points
Joker Card	Player chooses any station symbol for this section
Railroad Switch	Controller immediately flips next card; players may start this section from any station on their line (creates a branch)

• Railroad Switch on turn 1 or 2 of a round is ignored.

Interchange Stations

From Round 2 onward, you can connect multiple colored lines to the same station. These score bonus points at game end.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Per-Line Scoring (each round)

1. Route: (Number of different districts) x (Largest number of stations in any single district) on this line.
2. Thames Crossings: 2 points per section crossing the Thames.
3. Tourist Sites: Cross off circles on the tourist site track for each tourist site on the line (max 10 total across all lines; scores range from 2 to 25 depending on total).

End-of-Game Scoring

1. Lines total: Sum all 4 line scores.
2. Tourist site points: Check the leftmost uncrossed circle on the tourist track.
3. Interchange stations:
   • 2-line interchange: 2 points each
   • 3-line interchange: 5 points each
   • 4-line interchange: 9 points each

Final Score = Lines total + Tourist site points + Interchange station points

The player with the highest score wins. Tiebreaker: highest single line score. If still tied, shared victory.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• 13 districts: 9 main districts + 4 secondary (corner) districts with 1 station each.
• 4 station types: Square, Triangle, Pentagon, Circle.
• Round end trigger: The 5th Underground card (pink/yellow background) ends the round.
• Solo mode: Place 4 pencils in front of you in chosen order. Play all 4 rounds using each pencil in order. Compare score to achievement table.
• Tourist site cap: Maximum 10 circles can be crossed off (max 25 tourist points).

Advanced Module: Shared Objectives

Draw 2 random Shared Objective cards; each completed objective scores +10 points. Examples: connect to all 13 districts, have 8+ interchange stations, connect all 5 tourist sites, cross Thames 6+ times, connect all 9 central district stations.

Advanced Module: Pencil Powers

Assign 1 random Pencil Power card per pencil. Each power is usable once per round:

• Treat any card as a Joker
• Draw a second section to the same symbol on the same turn
• Treat any card as having Railroad Switch
• Circle one station to count double for route scoring in that district

Solo scoring with modules: subtract 10 points per module used.

Player Reference

Interchange Type	Points
2 lines connected	2
3 lines connected	5
4 lines connected	9

Route Score Formula
(Districts visited) x (Max stations in one district) + (Thames crossings x 2)