Station Master

Categories: Card Game, Trains

Mechanics: Betting and Bluffing, Commodity Speculation, Hand Management

Players: 2–6

Ages: 8+

Playtime: 30–50 Min

Good morning! In Station Master, it's a bustling travel day, and as the Station Master, you're in charge of ensuring everything runs smoothly. Your role involves efficiently assigning railcars to locomotives, boarding trains with passengers, and making sure trains depart on time to win the game.

The game progresses over a series of turns until all locomotives have left the station. On each turn, players decide whether to attach a railcar to a train or assign a Passenger pawn to a railcar. Railcars influence the train's value, which can be positive or negative, while Passenger pawns have hidden values known only to their owners. Action cards add additional strategic layers, allowing players to remove railcars or passengers or alter train values.

When a locomotive's railcar limit is reached, the train departs, and players reveal their Passenger pawns' values. Scoring is based on multiplying the train's value by the value of each player's Passenger pawns. Efficient management and strategic decision-making are key to becoming the top Station Master!