Description

The idea for country trains came when the designer was playing Kings Gate one evening. The rectangular tiles could be stations and the tiles around them and joining them could be services and track. This was way back in 2006.

Over the years the design has been revisited many times and the game developed.

On a turn a player must lay a tile and may move their train. If the train is on connection between two stations it must move back to a station to re-coal. If the train is at a station, it may move onto a track connection to make a delivery. Deliveries are payed out based on the goods at the source and the type in demand at the destination (timber, sheep, ore). All stations have spaces for goods to be delivered too. When these are full, that station can receive no more goods. However, space can be made for more goods by delivering passengers.

The tiles players lay represent track, which they are paid to lay (land grant railway style). Country tiles which provide goods for carriage. Plus passengers which consume the carried goods as described above.

The game also has station tiles which are owned by the players. Players start with one station, but may lay extra as their existing stations are properly surrounded. Owning a station also earns players a small income as other player use the facilities there.

The game continues until one of the tile stacks runs out.

The latest version of the rules and tiles are May 2019. If you have been playing an earlier version, the designer suggests at least looking at the improvements and/or viewing the "how to" video section here on the geek.