Union Pacific (board game)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Union Pacific
Game data
author Alan R. Moon
graphic Franz Vohwinkel
publishing company Amigo Publishing House
Publishing year 1999
Art strategy
Teammates 2 - 6
Duration 90 minutes
Age 12+

Awards

Union Pacific is a board and strategy game by British game designer Alan R. Moon , published by Amigo in 1999 and nominated for Game of the Year in the same year . The game is for 2 - 6 players, ages 12+, and a revision of the game Airlines by Alan R. Moon , published in 1990 by Abacusverlag . The graphic design comes from Franz Vohwinkel . The playing time is specified as 90 minutes. For the game for two there is a variant with small rule changes so that it remains exciting for two.

Furnishing

The game material consists of:

  • 1 game board
  • 131 locomotives in different colors and different numbers
  • 118 stock cards of the railway companies
  • 40 rail cards
  • 150 banknotes
  • 4 reward cards
  • 6 overview maps

Course of the game

Before the game starts, the game board is placed on the table and a player is appointed banker. Locomotives and money are sorted and placed ready. Each player receives an overview card as well as three track cards from the track card stack and 5 cards from the stock stack in hand. Only after the players have received the first shares are the 4 rating-triggering bonus cards mixed in according to certain rules. The face-down stock card deck and the face-down track card deck are placed next to the game board. Four stock cards are laid out face up from the face-down stock card deck.

In each round the player draws a track card, after which he has two options: expand or invest. Either he expands the rail network by playing a rail card, taking a locomotive from the supply and setting it up and drawing a share card, or he invests by playing one or more share cards from his hand and placing it in front of him.

The expansion of the rail network begins at the starting station of the respective railway company. Locomotives can only travel on the routes on the game board that have the appropriate rail type. That is why there are different rail cards with different types of rails. The expansion of the rail network by playing a rail card also benefits the players who also have cards from this railway company and have already invested in this railway company, ie who have played share cards and placed them face up in front of them. At the end of his action in this round, the player takes a share from the face-down share pile or one of the four shares displayed face up. If there are four identical shares on display, they are removed from the game and new share cards are revealed.

To invest, the player discards either one or more share cards from a railway company or exactly one share from two railway companies. At the end of his turn, the player must discard an unplayed track card. He is also not allowed to draw a new share card.

If a bonus card is revealed from the stock card deck, a valuation or a bonus payment is carried out immediately. The game ends as soon as the fourth award has been paid out. Whoever has the most money wins.

Awards

Union Pacific was nominated for Game of the Year in 1999. In the same year it received the Essener Feder for the game with the best set of instructions and was voted third place in the German Games Prize .

Web links