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:
- Switch the Tie with a Rail.
- Draw a card from the deck; discard it or replace any card in the Track.
- 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.
Type | Tie |
---|---|
Crew Cars | Engineer King, Conductor Queen, or any Jack |
Coach Cars | Number card or Ace |
Substitute Cars | Joker |
Any of the three Types of Cars can belong to one of two Fleets.
Fleet | Trait |
---|---|
Single-Level Cars | Tie and Rails do not match in rank |
Bi-Level Cars | Tie 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-Level | Bi-Level |
---|---|---|
Crew Cars | 11 points | 22 points |
Coach Cars | Number value (Aces = 1 point) | Double value |
Substitute Cars | 0 points | 0 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:
Train | Traits | Bonus |
---|---|---|
Silver Meteor | Only Single-Level Cars | 25 points |
Empire Builder | At least one Bi-Level Car | 50 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.