Translation of the German rules: Rio Grande Games

The year is 1846. Gunslingers, lawmen, pioneers, and whole families left their homes in the east and midwest to try their luck in the West. They loaded their covered wagons with all they could and headed west across steppes, deserts, and mountains. Many chose to settle in Oregon, where the farming and hunting was plentiful and they could stake out a bit of land for themselves.

The players have already reached Oregon and gaze upon the rich farmland below and the potential gold and coal reserves of the mountains. They build ports on the lakes and rivers, churches, warehouses, post offices, and train stations on the plains. And, of course, they must farm the rich land to grow the food necessary for the area to grow and thrive. To win, a player must choose the right times to farm and the right times to build, for planning is necessary, even here in the untamed wilderness of Oregon!

Oregon - the way the west was won...

Contents

• 1 game board
• 56 farmers in 4 colors (yellow, green, blue, red)
• 50 landscape cards (10 each of settler, wagon, campfire, bison, and eagle)
• 21 building cards (3 each of post office, harbor, church, warehouse, train station, coal pit, and gold mine)
• 28 building tiles (4 each of post office, harbor, church, warehouse, train station, coal pit, and gold mine)
• 7 start tiles (1 each of post office, harbor, church, warehouse, train station, coal pit, and gold mine)
• 4 extra turn tokens
• 4 joker tokens
• 21 coal tiles (7 each valued 1, 2, 3)
• 21 gold tiles (7 each valued 3, 4, 5)

Preparation

• Place the game board in the middle of the table.
• Sort the building tiles by type and place them face up in 7 stacks next to the board.
• Shuffle the landscape cards, deal 3 to each player as his starting hand, and place the remaining face down next to the board as a supply.
• Shuffle the building cards, deal 1 to each player to add to his starting hand, and place the remaining face down next to the board as a supply.
• Shuffle the coal tiles face down and place next to the board.
• Shuffle the gold tiles face down and place next to the board.
• Each player takes 14 farmers of one color.
• Each player takes an extra turn token and a joker token and places them with the active side up in his play area.
• Shuffle the 7 start tiles face down. Each player draws one tile and places it face up in his play area. Place the undrawn tiles back in the box – they will not be used in the game.

The first game round

Choose a starting player. He begins and places his start tile on any space on the game board that matches the background color of the tile. His fellow players continue in clockwise order, each placing his start tile on any empty space on the board with matching background color. After the first round, play continues in clockwise order.

Playing the game

On a player’s turn, he does the following in the order shown:

1. Play cards: The player plays 2 cards from his hand and either places one of his farmers or a building on an empty space on the game board.
2. Score: Next, there is usually a scoring opportunity.
3. Use extra turn: If a player’s extra turn token is lying active side up in his play area, he may execute “play cards” and “score” a second time this turn.
4. Draw cards: Finally, the player draws cards to return his hand size to 4.

Details on the above player turn actions:

1. Play cards

On a player’s turn, he must play 2 cards. After playing 2 cards, the player then either places one of his farmers on an empty space on the game board or takes one building tile from one of the 7 building tile stacks and places it on an empty space with the appropriate background color on the game board.

Place one of his farmers - 2 landscape cards

When the player plays 2 of his landscape cards, he must place one of his farmers. The symbols on the landscape cards correspond to the symbols along the top and left sides of the game board. Thus, the 2 cards played represent a row and a column on the game board, with the player choosing which card represents the column and which the row. The area on the game board represented by the crossing of the row and column is where the player may place his farmer. Each such area has 6 spaces and the player may place his farmer in any empty space of the 6. Thus, if a space already has a farmer (his or another player’s) or a building, he may not place his farmer there.
The player may place his farmer on any empty space in the selected area except water spaces. The player then places the used landscape cards face up on a discard pile next to the landscape card supply.

Place a building - 1 landscape card and 1 building card

When the player plays 1 landscape card and 1 building card, he must place a building tile on the game board. The landscape card determines which row or column the building must be placed (the picture on the row or column must match that on the card played). Thus, the player may place the building tile on any space in the row or any space in the column that has the same picture as shown on the landscape card he played with the building card.
The building card played indicates which building he plays. He takes the corresponding building tile and places it on any empty space with a suitable background color in the indicated row or column. The player places the used landscape card face up on a discard pile next to the landscape card supply and the used building card face up on a discard pile next to the building card supply.

These rules must also be followed:

• The player may only choose a building which is still available.
• The player may only place a harbor adjacent (diagonally or orthogonally) to a water space.
• The player must always place the building tile on an empty space with the suitable background color.

The Joker token:
if the player’s joker token is active (active side up), the player may use the joker instead of playing 1 landscape card, whether he plans to place a farmer or a building. Thus, he plays 1 landscape card to place a farmer or 1 building card to place a building, using the joker to represent the landscape card of his choice in either case. Once used, he turns his joker token over to its inactive side.

2. Score

Depending on whether the player placed a farmer or a building, he scores as follows:

Farmer scoring - active player may score

If the player placed a farmer, the player earns points, coal tiles, or gold tiles for all the buildings adjacent to the farmer (orthogonal or diagonal). In addition, the player may be allowed to activate his joker or extra turn tokens.
Definition of adjacent: the spaces adjacent to the farmer are the 8 spaces touching the space the farmer is in, horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.

For placing the farmer adjacent to a building, the player earns:

• Post station: The player earns 3 points.
• Harbor: The player earns 4 points.
• Church: The player earns 1 point for each farmer (of any colors) adjacent (orthogonal or diagonal) to the Church (maximum 8 points; minimum 1 point).
• Warehouse: The player earns 1 point and may activate his joker token.
• Train station: The player earns 1 point and may activate his extra turn token.
• Coal pit: The player earns 1 coal tile.
• Gold mine: The player earns 1 gold tile.

• The player immediately records any points earned by moving his scoring marker along the scoring track.
• The player takes earned Gold tiles and Coal tiles from their corresponding stacks, examines them secretly, and places them face down in his play area. The points for the gold and coal tiles are recorded at game end.
• If the player is allowed to activate his Extra turn token or Joker token, he turns it immediately to its active side, if it was inactive. If the token was already active, it remains so.

Group scoring

A player earns 5 points whenever he creates a new group of 3 or more farmers. They must be connected either horizontally or vertically (diagonally does not count). If the player later expands a group that was already scored, he earns no extra points. If a player places a farmer which connects one or more groups, one or more of which had already scored, he earns no extra points.

Building scoring - all players may score

If the player placed a building, all players with farmers adjacent (orthogonally or diagonally) to the building earn points, coal tiles, or gold tiles, depending on the building placed, as described below. In addition, they may also be allowed to activate their extra turn tokens or joker tokens.

• Post station: Each player earns 3 points for each of his farmers next to the building.
• Harbor: Each player earns 4 points for each of his farmers next to the building.
• Church: Each player earns 1 point for each farmer (of any colors) adjacent (orthogonal or diagonal) to the Church (maximum 8 points; minimum 1 point) for each of his farmers next to the building.
• Warehouse: Each player earns 1 point for each of his farmers next to the building and may activate his joker token.
• Train station: Each player earns 1 point for each of his farmers next to the building and may activate his extra turn token.
• Coal pit: Each player earns 1 coal tile for each of his farmers next to the building.
• Gold mine: Each player earns 1 gold tile for each of his farmers next to the building.

3. Use extra turn

If the player’s extra turn token is lying active side up in his play area, he may now execute steps 1. Play cards and 2. Score again. He immediately turns his extra turn token over to the inactive side and plays 2 cards. After placing a farmer or building based on the cards played, the player scores for the placed farmer or building, earning points, coal tiles, gold tiles, and possibly activating extra turn or joker tokens for himself or his opponents. Then he goes to step 4. Draw cards. The player may not use two Extra turns during one turn.

4. Draw cards

At the end of his turn, the player restores his hand to 4 cards as follows:

• The player may choose freely to draw from the landscape or building card decks.
• However, he must always choose such that he has at least 1 building card and at least 1 landscape card after drawing.

If a player has a building card in his hand for which all building tiles have been used, or draws such a card, he may discard the useless building card and draw another.
If either of the supply stacks is exhausted, shuffle the discard pile for the exhausted stack and replace as the new supply stack.
Once the player has returned his hand to 4 cards, his turn ends and play passes to the player on his left.

Game End

The game ends when either of the following occur:

• When a player places his last farmer on the board.
• Depending on the number of players:
  with 2 players: as soon as any 2 kinds of building tiles are exhausted,
  with 3 players: as soon as any 3 kinds of building tiles are exhausted,
  with 4 players: as soon as any 4 kinds of building tiles are exhausted.

The round is played to the end, such that each player has played the same number of turns. Thus, the player to the right of the starting player always has the last turn.

Now, the players turn over their coal and gold tiles. Each adds his together and moves his scoring marker accordingly on the scoring track. The player with the most points is the winner!

If there is a tie for the most points, the player among them who has the most farmers on the board is the winner. If there is still a tie for most, those tied rejoice in their shared victory!