The Object of the Game

Build a fortune hauling passengers across America. The first player to amass $200,000 in cash, declare, and steam back to their home city wins. Everyone starts with $20,000 and a home city rolled on the destination charts.

Rolling for a Destination

Each trip begins with the dice. Roll all three: the colored die picks the odd or even column, the two white dice pick the row — first on the region chart, then on that region's city chart. Roll the region you're standing in and you may choose any other region. Roll the very city you're in and the turn is lost.

Arrive and the Bank pays the printed payoff for the trip — short hops pay a few thousand, coast-to-coast runs pay $30,000 and more.

Riding the Rails — You Choose the Route

Roll the two white dice and move that many mileposts, tracing your own route one glowing dot at a time — any direction, any railroad. The pulsing dot marks the suggested route, and ▶ Auto-route will follow it. The suggestion weighs more than distance: it knows who owns every line, takes small detours on free steel to dodge rival fees (but not lines whose owner you've already paid this turn), and charges extra reluctance to routes that would pay the player leading the game. The choice is still always yours.

Use the whole roll unless you reach your destination, never ride the same section twice on one trip, and never move somewhere that strands you. Boxcars (6-6) earn a bonus roll of the colored die — any doubles do with an Express ($4,000), and every turn does with the Superchief ($40,000).

Fees, Deeds & Empire

At the end of each turn you pay for the track you used: your own lines ride free (house rule at this table), $1,000 to the Bank if you touched unowned track, and $5,000 to each rival whose track you touched — rising to $10,000 once all 28 railroads are sold. Owning the rails your opponents need is the heart of the game.

After each payoff you may make one purchase: any unowned railroad at its printed price, an Express, or a Superchief. Owned lines glow on the map with a dashed stripe in the owner's color — hover any line or open the Railroads ledger to see who owns what. If you can't pay your fees, you must sell railroads back to the Bank at half price; run out entirely and you're bankrupt.

The Race Home

With $200,000 or more, declare at the start of a trip. You still roll an alternate destination, but you race for home instead, under all the normal rules. Reach your home city with $200,000 still in hand after fees and the game is yours — declaring while already standing at home wins on the spot.

But beware the Rover Play: while you're declared, the first rival to move onto or through your dot collects $50,000 and un-declares you, sending you to that alternate destination before you can try again.

Table Rules — where this game differs from the 1977 rulebook

Your own railroads ride free. Own lines never add to the end-of-turn fee; the $1,000 to the Bank applies only when you touched unowned track. (The printed rule charges $1,000 even on your own lines.)

No re-picking your region. Roll the region you're standing in and you choose any other region — except when declared: the alternate-destination roll may take any region, including your own, since you're racing home regardless.

No Express after the Superchief. The Superchief's every-turn bonus already covers the Express, so the purchase is never offered.

Deals are allowed. At a decision point of your own turn — before rolling a destination, or in the arrival purchase window — you may put ONE offer to another player: cash and/or deeds each way. They may accept, decline, or counter. Three offers a turn, no more. The compose dialog shows a printed-price fair-value preview.

Host options (lobby / hot-seat): ⚡ Fast Track (Express start, +50% payoffs, win at $100k), New Century variants (shared homes, Superchief $20k, bankrupt cash to Bank, B&O to NY), multi-buy on arrival, rover bounty soft/classic/harsh, strict own-track fee, re-pick your region, and optional Home Swap after homes are rolled (fan variant — each player may once swap homes or pass).

Also: 2-player games are allowed, and the host can set a custom victory amount. The 📅 Daily challenge deals everyone the same board each day — you against two baron bots, first to $150,000 — and posts a same-day leaderboard.

🚂 First trip teaches on the live board (home → destination → fees → buy) before you settle into a Guided sprint.

Assistance & Keyboard Controls

Guided play highlights an economical route, offers auto-route, and flags the Conductor's preferred deed. Standard keeps the live trip and fee information without recommending a move — including live win odds on each player card. Competitive shows only rules-required information. Assistance is a per-device preference in the Railroads panel.

Keyboard: R rolls, Enter takes the primary / highlighted milepost (online: tap twice or Confirm to commit a step), ←/→ cycles legal mileposts on your move, A toggles auto-route, U undoes a hot-seat action, ? opens this Handbook, and Escape closes an overlay. Find any city from the Railroads panel search.

Payoff Chart

What does a trip pay? Pick any two cities.