Overview

Rock Island (also known by its German title Zug nach Westen, “Train to the West”) is a railroad-themed tile-laying and racing game published by Hans im Gluck in 1987, designed by Knut-Michael Wolf. All players start in Chicago and race to be the first to reach Kansas City by building railroad tracks across the landscape using hexagonal tiles. There is no traditional game board; the terrain is built from hex tiles as the game progresses.

Components

• 90 hexagonal tiles with railroad tracks on one side (blank on the back)
• 10 river tiles (4 of which include bridges/track crossings)
• 1 Start tile (Chicago)
• 1 Finish tile (Kansas City)
• 4 train pieces (one per player)
• 4 prospector pieces (one per player)

Setup

1. Place the Chicago (Start) tile on one end of the play area.
2. Place the Kansas City (Finish) tile a distance away (as specified by the rules).
3. Shuffle all hex tiles face-down.
4. Each player takes one train piece and one prospector piece of their color.
5. All trains start in Chicago.
6. Determine a starting player.

Turn Structure

On each turn, a player:

1. Explore (Prospect): Use your prospector to reveal face-down hex tiles, building the track network outward from existing tiles.
2. Build Track: Place revealed tiles with track-side up, connecting to the existing rail network.
3. Move Train: Advance your train along the connected track toward Kansas City.

Actions

Prospecting: Move your prospector piece to an adjacent hex position and flip a face-down tile to reveal its track pattern. The track must connect logically to adjacent already-placed tiles.

Track Building: The revealed tile’s track pattern is now part of the rail network. Some tiles have straight tracks, curves, junctions, or dead ends.

River Crossings: River tiles block direct passage. Only the 4 bridge tiles allow tracks to cross rivers. Players must route around rivers or find bridge tiles.

Train Movement: Move your train along connected track segments. Trains can only follow completed, connected tracks. Blocked or incomplete tracks halt movement.

Blocking: Players may strategically place tiles to create advantageous routes for themselves or to block opponents’ paths.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The first player to move their train from Chicago to Kansas City wins the game. There is no point scoring; it is a pure race.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Tiles must be placed track-side up and must connect logically to adjacent tiles already in play.
• River tiles without bridges are impassable barriers; routing around them is often necessary.
• Players share the same growing network; track built by one player may benefit or hinder others.
• If no valid tile placement is possible, the player’s turn may be limited.
• The game plays well with different numbers of players, with more players creating more complex and competitive track networks.

Player Reference

Turn: Prospect (reveal tile) > Build track (place tile) > Move train.

Win: First train to reach Kansas City.

Key obstacles: Rivers (need bridge tiles to cross).

No board: The map is built from hex tiles during play.