This is my first nugget so I apologize in advance if this is not considered helpful.

I have noticed a number of people asking for help with this game and I was a bit intimidated when I started playing; so, I’d like to offer my thoughts on this game after having played it a number of times.

Object: To score more points than your opponent

General game play: Earn points by constructing routes between cities

Fundamental elements

• Routes – A route is constructed between cities by having the required number of Wagon cards in your hand and then clicking on the route. Most routes need the specific color shown to complete them but others, the gray routes, can have any color used (just as long as only one color is used).

• Wagon cards – The cards you need to construct routes with. There are two types: wagons cards of a specific color and locomotive cards which can act as any color.

• Destination cards – You can gain additional points by connecting the two cities shown on a destination card with a continuous route.

• A player can have an unlimited number of cards in their hand but can only place a maximum of 45 Wagon cards during the course of the game.

Scoring

There are three ways to score points:

1. Completing a route between two cities. The longer the route, the more points you receive.

Route Length	Points
1	1
2	2
3	4
4	7
5	10
6	15

2. Completing a continuous route between the two cities shown on a Destination card.

3. An additional 10 points are given to the player that has the longest continuous route. This route can go through a city more than once as long as it uses a different route to do so.

On Your Turn

You can do one of three things on your turn:

1. Claim a route.
2. Draw Wagon card(s). On the right side of the board are 5 face up Wagon cards and a deck of face down Wagon cards. When drawing Wagon cards you can either draw:

• A single face up locomotive card.
• A face up single color wagon card followed by another face up single color wagon card or a face down Wagon card (which might be a locomotive card).
• A face down Wagon card followed by either another face down Wagon card or a face up card, as long as it’s not a locomotive card.

3. Draw Destination cards. On the left side of board is the deck of Destination cards. Three cards are randomly dealt to the player upon selecting this option. The player can immediately return one or two of these cards back to the Destination card deck at this time. The remaining card(s) stay with the player for the rest of the game.

Ending the Game

When either player finishes their turn with the ability to only place 2 more Wagon cards then each player gets one more turn before the game ends. At which time the player with the most points wins the game.

Important Things to Remember

• Once selecting either to draw a Wagon card or Destination cards, it is not permitted to undo your move.

• In a two player game if there are multiple routes between two cities, for example, between Boston and New York, only one color route may be used. Once the first route between the two cities is claimed by a player, the other player can no longer complete the second route.

• Locomotive cards can be used as any color but when laying out a route (even a route length of one) there has to be at least one single color wagon card used.

• Destination cards that are not completed by the end of the game will have their point value subtracted from the final total.

• The only time it is permitted to discard an unwanted Destination card is on the turn that you drew it on.

Basic Strategy

• Because a player can only place 45 wagon cards maximum, it is a good practice to try to be efficient when deciding how to lay out your routes.

• The 10 points that is awarded for longest continuous route can often swing the outcome of the game to the player that earns them; therefore, it is a good practice to attempt to connect all your routes together.

• In light the previous two practices, when drawing Destination cards it is almost always best to discard any card that is too far away from the routes you’ve already laid down.

• Be mindful of where other players are laying out routes, if completing a route for a Destination card will likely be blocked by the other player(s) it’s best to discard that Destination card.

On Your First Couple of Turns

This is a personal bias but I don’t like to draw any Destination cards until I see where my opponent(s) have begun to lay down their routes and I have an idea of where I want to avoid and where will probably allow me to build a long continuous route unimpeded. As such, on my first turn I will often draw a face up locomotive card if there is one available. If there is not, I will try to pick single color wagon cards that match what I already have so I can hopefully lay down a 4 or 5 length route quickly. On my second and third turns, if my opponent hasn’t put down any routes, I’ll continue to draw wagon cards with locomotive cards being the first thing I want, followed by single color wagon cards that match what I have, followed by pulling 2 cards from the face down deck in hopes of getting a locomotive or two. On the fourth or so turn I’ll finally draw my Destination cards if my opponent hasn’t laid down any routes.

Stray Observations

So far I’ve almost exclusively played 2 player games, so, these observations might not be helpful for games with more players.

• Games appear to take about 40 – 45 turns to complete and the winning score is somewhere in the 100 – 170 point range.

• I can complete between 3 – 5 (sometimes 6 if they’re all short) Destination cards in the course of a game. And, after the initial draw of Destination cards, I don’t like to be working on more than a couple Destination cards at once because there is too great a chance of getting blocked or running out of moves.

• I also don’t like to draw any Destination cards if I have less then about 15 Wagon cards to place for the same reasons but will if I think I’m falling behind.