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Age of Steam
#137BGG7.9RATING
Updated Jun 9
1–6
PLAYERS
—
MINUTES
4
BEST WITH
3.9
HEAVY
ERRATA2
Third edition English rulebook missing auction sentencedesignerpublisher
- RULING
- "The sentence 'The last two players participating in the bidding both pay the full amounts they have bid.' has fallen through the cracks." This sentence belongs between: "The first player to drop out of the bidding takes the last player space on the Player Order Track and pays nothing, even if they had bid some amount" and "Any other players pay half the amount they had bid, rounding up." Affects the Eagle Games and FRED Distribution 3rd edition English rulebook only; the German text is correct.
Black cubes and grey cities are a printing color swapdesignerpublisher
- RULING
- "Black cube = grey cube. Grey City = black city. Essentially the black cubes can only be delivered to the grey cities. Welcome to the wonderful world of printing anomalies!" The components printed grey are called "black cubes" in the rulebook, and the city tiles printed black are called "grey cities." They match each other correctly.
DESIGNER CLARIFICATIONS5
Selecting an action does not compel you to perform itdesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- Players disputed whether choosing Build First or Move First obligated the player to actually build or move first that turn.
- RULING
- "The word 'allows' is quite intentionally used, not the word 'requires'. The player selecting an action is never required to perform the action, but by selecting the action the player denies it to all other players." In summary: "Selecting an action does not compel one to perform the action, it simply denies that action to others."
Urbanizing a town completes incoming unfinished links; urbanizer may claim themdesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- A player urbanizes a town that another player had built an unfinished track stub into. The question was whether the urbanizer could claim that now-completed link.
- RULING
- "By urbanizing the town, he/she successfully completed the link and may claim it." Per the Track Ownership section (all editions, page 4): "Track is owned by the building player and a Track Ownership disc should be placed on the Completed Railroad Link or Unfinished Track Section built by the player to claim this ownership."
Urbanizing does not grant ownership of outgoing track stubs from the new citydesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- Same thread as D2. Question of whether the urbanizing player automatically owns all exits from the newly created city.
- RULING
- "Vince does not automatically own the right — if that was the case could no-one but the urbanizer build into a new city." Placing a new city tile in a town does not grant the urbanizer ownership of pre-existing outgoing stub tracks from that tile. Other players may still build into and through the new city normally.
Complex tile may be placed as first-ever track laydesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- Players questioned whether the rule requiring track to trace back to a city through your own network prevented a complex tile from being played as a player's very first track placement (since they would have no existing network yet).
- RULING
- "John tipping out JC's post indicates that is his intent. Confirmed." A post-release rules update from John Bohrer, referenced in the thread by clearclaw (Designer), explicitly allows starting with a complex track tile as the player's first-ever track lay.
AUTHOR: JoshuaAcosta (Joshua Acosta, designer, publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(17 replies)DATE: 2025-05-24Urbanized cities receive goods cubes during Goods Growthdesigner
- CONTEXT
- New players uncertain whether cities placed via the Urbanize action participate in Goods Growth like the starting cities printed on the board.
- RULING
- When a city is placed on the board via the Urbanize action, it receives goods cubes during Goods Growth just like starting cities. The number printed vertically above the new city on the Goods Growth chart determines when it receives a cube — rolled on the appropriate light or dark die.
Q&A5
Goods Growth uses two separate dice rolls per rounddesigner
- QUESTION
- During Goods Growth, do you roll all dice at once and place cubes on all matching cities, or do you roll separately for light and dark cities?
- ANSWER
- Roll once for the light/white cities, placing cubes on all matching light-numbered cities; then roll again for the dark/black cities, placing cubes on all matching dark-numbered cities. Always two rolls per Goods Growth phase, regardless of player count.
Track in a town cannot be redirected, only upgradeddesignerpublisher
- QUESTION
- Can a player redirect track stubs coming out of a town tile, and if so, how is the cost calculated?
- ANSWER
- No. Citing the Redirection subsection of the rulebook: "Track in a Town may not be redirected, but usually may be upgraded to allow for more connections." To change exits from a town, the tile must be upgraded (replaced with a tile that has more exits), not redirected.
AUTHOR: John%20Bohrer (John Bohrer, designer, publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(9 replies)DATE: 2005-11-21Redirecting unclaimed track grants ownership to the redirecting playercommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- If a player redirects the end of unclaimed unfinished track so that it now connects to another unclaimed segment or ends in a city, does the redirecting player gain ownership?
- ANSWER
- Yes. Redirecting unclaimed track such that it attaches to another unclaimed track segment or ends in a city grants ownership of that track to the redirecting player. (Ruling sourced from direct email exchange with John Bohrer, documented in the thread and corrected after initial error.)
Connection-to-city requirement applies to redirection, not just building; checked at end of build phasecommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- Is a connection back to a city through your own links required when redirecting track, or only when building new track?
- ANSWER
- Connection to a city through the active player's links is required both for building new track and for redirecting. However, it is only checked at the end of the full build phase — not after each individual action. As long as everything built and redirected connects back to a city through your network by the time your build phase ends, it is legal. (Corrected ruling from John Bohrer via email, after JB initially stated connection was only required for building, then updated his answer.)
Moving goods entirely over opponent's track is intentionally legalcommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- Can a player deliberately move a cube entirely over track they do not control — giving income only to their opponents — in order to eliminate a cube that could otherwise score heavily for an opponent later?
- ANSWER
- Yes. A player may move goods along links they do not own, paying income only to the owners of those links. This is a legal tactical option, even when the sole purpose is to deny an opponent a high-value future delivery.
Last researched: 2026-04-28
CATEGORIES
Economic·Post-Napoleonic·Trains·Transportation
MECHANICS
Auction / BiddingCatch the LeaderConnectionsDice RollingHexagon GridLoansNetwork and Route BuildingPick-up and DeliverPlayer Elimination
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