Train Game Instructions

Beginning Amtrak the Game

This deck is meant for 1 to 4 players.

Draw a card from the shuffled deck and place it face-up to begin the discard pile.

Each player then Lays a Track by drawing three cards, arranged face-up in order.

Full Speed Ahead: How to Play

At each turn, a player can make one of three moves with their own Track:

  1. Switch the Tie with a Rail.
  2. Draw a card from the deck; discard it or replace any card in the Track.
  3. Draw the top card from the discard pile; replace any card in the Track.

Any replaced cards are then discarded.

When a player’s Rails match, they must make a Car – a face-up pile of their cards with the Tie on top. That player then Lays another Track and takes another turn.

Each player arranges their Cars in a row to form their own Amtrak train.

Car Classification

Car Types are determined by their Ties.

TypeTie
Crew CarsEngineer King, Conductor Queen, or any Jack
Coach CarsNumber card or Ace
Substitute CarsJoker

Any of the three Types of Cars can belong to one of two Fleets.

FleetTrait
Single-Level CarsTie and Rails do not match in rank
Bi-Level CarsTie and Rails Match in rank

With Bi-Level Cars, leave one Rail showing.

End of the Line: Finishing the Game

When a player draws the deck’s final card, their turn ends the game. Any unassembled Tracks are discarded

Calculate the value of each Amtrak train by adding the values of their Cars. Determine Car values by Type and Fleet.

Single-LevelBi-Level
Crew Cars11 points22 points
Coach CarsNumber value
(Aces = 1 point)
Double value
Substitute Cars0 points0 points

The train with the highest value wins.

Full-Staff Bonus Points

Award bonus points for Full-Staff Amtrak trains, which have at least one Coach Car and at least on of each kind of Crew Car – a King, a Queen, and a Jack.

A Substitute Car can take the place of a non-Ace Coach Car or any Crew Car to help create a Full-Staff Amtrak train. Multiple Substitute Cars can be used to create a Full-Staff Amtrak train.

There are three kinds of Full-Staff Amtrak trains:

TrainTraitsBonus
Silver MeteorOnly Single-Level Cars25 points
Empire BuilderAt least one Bi-Level Car50 points
Acela-Only Single-Level Cars
-Only Aces for Coach Cars
-At least two Coach Cars
50 points per Ace

Only one bonus can be awarded per train.

Tiebreaker

If two or more Amtrak trains are of equal value, discard each of their Cars’ top cards and recalculate the trains’ values using the now-visible Rails of each Car instead. All Cars are now considered Single-Level.

Riding Solo?

To play alone, draw three cards from the deck to start an out-of-bounds, facedown pile. Then Lay your first Track and begin.

At the end of each turn, draw another card to add to this facedown pile. Try to create a Full-Staff Amtrak before the center deck is depleted!

This game was designed by Amtrak passengers Oliver Bestul, Danica Swanson, and Veronica Swanson.

Officially licensed by Amtrak. Amtrak is a registered service mark of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.