Overview

In Pioneers, players settle the American frontier by deploying pioneers into cities using coaches to transport them across the map. Each pioneer has a specific profession and can only settle in a city where that profession is needed. Players build roads between cities to generate income and expand their networks. The player with the most victory points at game end wins.

Components

• 1 double-sided game board (one side for 4 players, one side for 2-3 players)
• 24 coaches (various sizes showing pioneer spaces and victory point values)
• 4 starting coaches (longer than normal coaches)
• 1 first player marker
• 49 pioneer tiles (7 each of 7 types: Barkeeper, Hotel, Banker, Gold Digger, Sergeant, Farmer, Merchant)
• 8 covering tiles (for 2-player game)
• 10 gold nuggets (6x 3VP, 3x 4VP, 1x 5VP)
• 45 dollar coins (27x $1, 18x $2)
• Per player: 1 player board, 20 pioneers, 15 roads, 1 scoring marker, 1 shop tile, 1 stagecoach token
• 1 rulebook

Setup

1. Place the game board (correct side for player count). For 2 players, cover 8 edge cities with covering tiles.
2. Remove pioneer tiles based on player count: 2 players remove 2 of each type; 3 players remove 1 of each type; 4 players remove none.
3. Shuffle remaining tiles face-down and place one on each city space, then flip face-up. If both cities adjacent to the starting space have identical tiles, swap one with an unused tile.
4. Determine first player randomly; give them the first player marker.
5. Place dollar coins and face-down gold nuggets near the board.
6. Place the stagecoach token on the starting space.
7. Remove coaches from the stack based on player count (without looking), then fill the 4-space coach display left to right.
8. Each player takes their color’s player board, shop tile, scoring marker, pioneers, and roads, plus $2 from the supply. Place shop tile on leftmost purchase space. Place 1 pioneer on the starting space and 1 pioneer on each space of their starting coach (dealt randomly). Place scoring marker on “0”.

Turn Structure

Each turn consists of three phases in order:

Phase 1: Income

• Receive basic income of $3 from the supply.
• +$1 per Banker tile on your player board (maximum 2 Banker tiles).

Phase 2: Purchase

• Move your shop tile onto one of three purchase spaces to perform that action.
• Each Merchant tile on your board grants one additional purchase action (move the Merchant tile to an unoccupied purchase space).
• Maximum 2 Merchant tiles.
• A purchase action covered by a tile cannot be reused this turn.
• You may skip purchasing and go to Phase 3 (unless you have only empty coaches, in which case you must buy a coach).

Phase 3: Movement and Colonizing

1. Move the stagecoach token along connecting lines to reach a city with a matching pioneer tile.
2. Settle your pioneer by replacing the tile with a matching pioneer from one of your coaches.
3. Perform the tile’s special action.
4. Invite one other player (clockwise from your left) to also settle a pioneer in that city for $2 paid to you. They do not get the special action.

Actions

Purchase Actions

Action	Cost	Effect
Buy 1 road	$2	Place 1 road from your supply on any unoccupied connecting line
Buy 2 roads	$5	Place 2 roads from your supply on unoccupied connecting lines
Buy 1 coach	$1-$4	Take a coach from the display (price shown above its position), place pioneers from your supply on all its spaces

After buying a coach, slide remaining coaches left and refill the rightmost space from the stack. You cannot buy a coach if you lack enough pioneers to fill all its spaces.

Movement Rules

• Each move from city to city costs $1.
• No road on the line: pay $1 to the supply.
• Another player’s road: pay $1 to that player.
• Your own road: free.
• You must stop at the first city containing a pioneer tile.
• You must move if you can afford to reach a matching city; otherwise pass.
• You may never end movement on a city without a pioneer tile.

Special Actions

Immediate actions (tile returned to box after use):

• Sergeant: Place 1 free road from your supply. May be placed on an unoccupied line OR on a line already having exactly 1 other player’s road (max 2 roads per line). Moving along a double-road line costs $2 ($1 per road owner), but free if one road is yours.
• Gold Digger: Take 1 gold nugget from the supply, look at it secretly, keep it face-down.
• Farmer: Settle up to 2 additional Farmer pioneers from your coaches into that city (max 3 Farmers per player per city).
• Hotel: Gain $3 from the supply. You may place any pioneer from your coaches (not limited by type). The invited player must match whatever type you placed.
• Barkeeper: Return any 1 pioneer from any of your coaches to your personal supply.

Permanent actions (placed on your player board):

• Banker: +$1 income per turn (max 2). Extra Bankers returned to box.
• Merchant: +1 purchase action per turn (max 2). Extra Merchants returned to box.

Empty Coaches

When a coach is completely emptied of pioneers, immediately score the VP shown on that coach and gain $1. Flip the coach face-down.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends at the end of the round in which either: (a) at least one player has built all 15 roads, or (b) the last coach from the stack has been added to the display. Finish the current round.

Final Scoring:

1. Empty coach spaces: 1 VP per empty space on each face-up (not yet completed) coach.
2. Gold nuggets: Reveal and sum all gold nugget values (3, 4, or 5 VP each).
3. Largest road network: 2 VP per your own pioneer in your most populous contiguous road network. A network is a group of cities connected by your roads; only your pioneers in that network count.

The player with the most victory points wins. Tiebreaker: most dollars. If still tied, share the victory.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Maximum 2 roads between any two cities.
• Hotel tile lets you place any pioneer type, but you do NOT get that pioneer type’s special action.
• When invited to join another player’s settlement, you pay $2 to them and do not get the special action.
• If you have only empty coaches at the start of your turn, your first purchase action must be to buy a coach.
• If you cannot fill any available coach with pioneers from your supply, you may only buy roads and cannot perform Phase 3.
• Your “largest network” is determined by the network containing the most of your own pioneers, not the most roads.

Player Reference

Phase	Action
1. Income	$3 base + $1 per Banker (max 2)
2. Purchase	Shop tile + Merchant tiles (max 2) select purchase actions
3. Movement	Move stagecoach, settle pioneer, use special action, invite 1 player

Pioneer Type	Action Type	Effect
Banker	Permanent	+$1 income/turn
Merchant	Permanent	+1 purchase action/turn
Sergeant	Immediate	Free road (can double-up)
Gold Digger	Immediate	Secret gold nugget (3-5 VP)
Farmer	Immediate	Settle up to 2 more Farmers
Hotel	Immediate	$3 + place any pioneer type
Barkeeper	Immediate	Return 1 coach pioneer to supply