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Ming
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For those too lazy to check out the link...
Government Intervention
in Rail Baron
A Variant for Avalon Hill’s Game of Empire-Building
(Reprinted from The General, vol. 28, no. 3)
by Stephen Taylor, Jim Brown, and Alan Marian
Like most multi-player games. Rail Baron is most enjoyable with five or six players. Our gaming sessions, however, are generally limited to two or three players, so we sought a way to increase the game's competition and interaction. Specifically, we simulated the effect of railroads being purchased by a full complement of players. This simulation of other players is what we term “the Government” in this variant.
Though not strictly an historical variant, there is a basis in fact for the US Government getting into and then out of the railroad business. Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) was created by Federal Law in 1976 from several failing rail line companies. By 1987, it was turned back into a for-profit private corporation with stock offered to the public.
Using this variant, Rail Baron will be more competitive and exciting, particularly when there are fewer players in the game. You can even play this variant with only two players. During the course of the game, the Government will take over railroads (more will be taken over when there are fewer players). Even with just two or three players, a player probably will acquire only six to eight railroads by game’s end. Money management and careful selection of which railroads to buy will determine who wins the game. This is because the price of a railroad can vary from 50% to 150% of the cost stated on the card. To guarantee that you can buy a particular railroad, you must pay a premium price. To get a railroad at half cost, you must take your chances on a random draw and auction.
Use all the standard rules except as noted below. Each variant rule is followed by a brief, italicized explanation of the rationale behind it.
The Home City has no effect on the game except to determine where the Player starts the game. (There is no “rover play” -- see step 8.)
When a player reaches a destination, he may buy an express train for $4,000 or a Superchief for $25,000. There is no change in the Bonus rules. (Lowering the cost makes the Superchief a viable option.)
When a player reaches a destination and after he has decided whether to purchase an express or Superchief, he must select one and only one of the following options:
Buy any one of the bank’s railroads at 1.2 times the price listed on the card. Round off numbers to the next highest $500.
Buy any one railroad owned by the Government at 1.5 times the listed price.
Select a bank’s railroad at random and conduct an auction starting at 50% of the price listed on the card. The active player starts the bidding. If nobody bids on the railroad, the railroad is taken over by the Government. (By having an auction, all players are involved. Selecting a railroad at random adds to the excitement because the players do not know which railroads will come up for bid. Thus, if a player wants a particular railroad, he can take the chance that the railroad will come up for auction and possibly obtain it at half cost. Otherwise, if he is willing to pay the premium, he can assure the purchase of any railroad not owned by another player. Players won't be able to pay the premium very often. By allowing the players to purchase a railroad owned by the Government, no railroad is taken out of the game. Each railroad can be purchased by a player; possibly at a steep price -- but often a key railroad is worth 1.5 times its original cost.)
Whenever the last player reaches a destination, and after step 3 of this variant is conducted, a railroad owned by the bank is selected at random and given to the Government. For example, if there are three players, this step will be conducted only by the third player. (By giving railroads to the Government, the game more quickly reaches the point where user fees go up, and this is when the game gets really exciting. Because only the last player performs this step, it happens more often when there are fewer players. Selecting the railroads at random makes each game different, depending on which railroads go to the Government. It also adds to the tension when a desired railroad may be taken over by the Government in the random draw.)
You do not pay any user’s fee to travel on your own railroad. (Not having to pay $1,000 to use your own railroad simplifies the game. It also makes it advantageous to use your line rather than the bank’s.)
If a player uses a railroad owned by the Government, he must pay a user’s fee of $6,000. The fee increases to $12,000 when the bank runs out of railroads. If using a railroad owned by another player, the fee increases to $10,000 when the bank runs out of railroads. There is no need to keep track of money paid to the Government (the Government cannot win the game). (The player will have to make a tough choice: Use an expensive Government railroad, or use a cheaper railroad owned by an opponent. Sometimes it might pay to use the Government railroad and not give an opponent the additional income.)
If a player cannot pay a user fee, he must sell one or more of his railroads to the Government -- not the bank -- at 50% of the price listed on the card. (This makes the game more competitive because it becomes expensive to take advantage of another player’s misfortune. Sold-off railroads must be purchased from the Government at 1.5 times their normal cost.)
The game ends when a player has $200,000, and the last player has been given the chance to complete his turn. The winner is the player with the most money. (This simplifies the victory conditions by eliminating “rover play” at the end of the game. Also, all players will have the same number of turns at game’s end.)
Between everyone in our group, we’ve played almost every game in the Avalon Hill catalog. Rail Baron is an excellent change of pace and theme, especially with the additional interplay and money-management decisions created by this variant and its simulation of additional players. Now you can have the joy of seeing a crucial railroad transferred to the Government and then having to make the decision of whether to buy it back at 150% of its cost (if you don’t, it may come back owned by another player). This can become a huge factor in winning or losing this fast-paced game.
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04-09-2003 18:50
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