This is an unofficial FAQ for Rail Baron, Avalon Hill's classic railroad boardgame. As with most board games, the printed rules for Rail Baron contain several gray areas. The rule interpretations found below are those used during the annual World Boardgaming Championships, which is host to the largest Rail Baron tournament anywhere. Note: some of these issues are rather picky and/or esoteric.

GENERAL RAIL BARON INFO

What is Rail Baron?

Answer: From the box, "Rail Baron is Avalon Hill's trademark for its empire building game." Rail Baron is a boardgame about acquiring historic railroads on a USA map in order to form the best (most profitable) network. Players operate trains on the routes and collect money for deliveries (arriving at assigned destinations). For additional information, see the game history.

CURRENT STATUS

Is Rail Baron currently being published?

Answer: In 1998, Hasbro Interactive purchased the Avalon Hill game division from its long-time owner, Monarch-Avalon. Hasbro has been selling the existing game stock it obtained in that deal, but apparently sold out of Rail Baron early in 2000. In 2002 they turned over responsibility for AH games to their Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) division. We're waiting for news from Hasbro/WOTC if they are going to redesign and republish the title.

Where can I get a copy of the boardgame?

Answer: Most sources have sold out of their stock, but check your local hobby stores for a straggler. Otherwise, you should be able to buy a used or perhaps new copy by bidding at eBay.

FUTURE STATUS

Will Hasbro reprint Rail Baron?

Answer: Rail Baron was one of AH's most popular boardgames, was a top seller at Amazon.com, and had been "in print" since 1977. If you want to see Hasbro/WOTC republish Rail Baron, you can try to voice your opinion via their (very difficult to use) Web site at http://www.avalonhill.com/.

Will Hasbro publish a computer version?

Answer: When Hasbro Interactive, the software division of the company, purchased AH in 1998, speculation was that Hasbro would eventually release many of the AH titles in computer form. But, later in 2000, Hasbro sold off the Interactive division to Infogrames, a French company. This will likely delay computer versions of all Avalon Hill games. Presently, an authorized shareware version of Rail Baron exists as RB Player.

AREA RATINGS

How do I get added to the list of top Rail Baron players?

Answer: The best way is by playing the game at a tournament that submits results to AREA for ranking. The annual World Boardgaming Championships operated by the Boardgame Players Association is one such tournament, and usually attracts from 50 to 100 Rail Baron players. Generally, you do NOT need to be an expert to play in such tournaments, so everybody should try one at least once!

BEST RRs IN GAME

What are the best railroads to own in the game?

Answer: The single best railroad on the USA map is the Pennsylvania. In an analysis of over 100,000 matches, the owner of the PA went on to win an incredible 50% of the time. The next best railroad is generally thought to be the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe.

FEES FOR OWN RRs

Do I pay the $1000 fee if I ride only my own RRs?

Answer: Yes. The $1000 use fee applies even if you use only RRs that you own. Consider it track and equipment maintenance fees.

ORDER OF ACTIONS DURING TURN

Upon arrival at a destination, can a purchase be made before rail use fees are paid?

Ruling: It seems the answer is yes. Here are the steps:


• 1) roll normal dice
• 2) move train
• 3) if arrived at destination, proceed with step 4; else if no arrival but bonus roll is pending skip to step 9; else skip to step 13
• 4) collect payoff
• 5) make a purchase (if desired and affordable)
• 6) pay for purchase, if any
• 7) if no bonus roll is pending, skip to step 13
• 8) if bonus roll is pending, obtain next destination then proceed with following steps
• 9) roll bonus die (or use previously rolled value)
• 10) move train
• 11) if bonus arrives at (next) destination, collect payoff and make (another) purchase
• 12) pay for purchase, if any
• 13) pay rail use fees for railroads used

Substantiation: From the rules, page 2, Payoffs topic: "As soon as he arrives at his destination, the player collects a cash PAYOFF." Then, from the Purchasing topic: "As soon as he has collected his PAYOFF, the player immediately has the chance to purchase one item from the Bank." From the User Fees topic: "At the end of your turn, you must pay for the rail lines that your pawn used that turn." Since purchasing is clearly part of your turn (it's certainly not part of someone else's!), you do not need to pay rail use the fees until after you are done purchasing.

Significance: By being able to purchase before paying your rail use fees, you can sometimes afford a more expensive railroad that you would otherwise. This could be critical to your network. For example, consider a situation in which your network is good in the east, but weak in the west. You arrive, collect the payoff and then have $40,000. You owe $1,000, but want to purchase the AT&SF. This will leave you with no money to pay the use fees, but you can then auction a less important RR (say, the RF&P) to raise the money. You lose the RF&P, but gain the AT&SF�usually a worthy tradeoff.

ROLLING THE BONUS DIE

Ruling: A player with a Superchief engine can roll the bonus die at the same time he is rolling the normal dice. Otherwise, if the player is entitled to it, the bonus die is rolled separately (i.e. after the normal roll has been moved).

Substantiation: This is the approach approved for use at many official tournaments.

Significance: This speeds up the game slightly as the player can roll 3 dice together and move the total of the roll all in one step. However, it does slightly decrease the value of monopolizing cities because opponents know in advance how close the bonus roll will get the engine to a monopolized destination. This makes it easier for opponents to get as close as possible to the city while minimizing rail use fees paid.

BONUS ROLL FEES

Ruling: Not precisely. For the bonus roll, you only need to pay fees that are in excess of those incurred to the same owners during the normal roll movement. The simplest way to deal with this is to wait and calculate all the fees after the bonus roll has been moved.

Substantiation: The rules say "At the end of your turn, you must pay for the rail lines that your pawn used...".

TWIN CITIES

Answer: Yes, you must reroll to obtain a new home city. The same situation can occur in San Francisco and Oakland.

Substantiation: The rules state "the paired cities...represent twin cities - each pair is counted as one city in the game." And later "no players can have the same home city."

BANKRUPTCY

Ruling: If a player cannot afford rail use fees, he is bankrupt, and no opponent collects any rail use fees from him. As a result, a small amount of cash can remain with a bankrupt player, even after he has left the game.

Substantiation: If a player goes bankrupt (cannot afford rail use fees), the rules state that he is immediately out of the game. Immediate means what it says. It also relieves us of trying to figure out what to do with the bankrupt player's remaining cash if he has used the RRs of more than one opponent. Would he pay in the order of use? Pro-rate the amount by player or perhaps by number of dots? It could be calculated and argued any number of ways, and the rules are of no help on the issue.

AUCTION BIDDING

Ruling: No, only cash on hand can be used for bidding.

Substantiation: The seller in is debt to you; this debt is an asset of yours, not money. The rules never allow non-cash amounts to be used for purchases. For example, under "Purchasing" the rules say "if he does not have enough money to pay the price, then he cannot buy that item...". Conversely, if assets were allowed in bidding, it could create all sorts of strange situations: for example, auctioning player has $0 cash, owes you $10,000, and auctions his last RR (the RF&P). You have $0 in cash, $10,000 owed to you, and make the winning bid of $3000. But wait, you have no cash, so you can't pay him his $3000! What happens then? Since this converse approach leads to a dead end, and the rules do not state that assets are allowed in bidding, they should be excluded.

AUCTION OF RAILROAD BEING USED

Answer: If ownership changes while your train is on the railroad, you pay the next use fee to the new owner. The use fee is the standard $5000 or $10,000, unless you were the prior owner, in which case you are established on that railroad at the $1000 rate.

Substantiation: Fees are always paid to the current owner. The $1000 rate is explained in the rules for establishment.

ALTERNATE DESTINATION IS CURRENT CITY

Ruling: Yes, and unfortunately, you are now a sitting duck for the rover play.

Substantiation: The rules say "When he 'declares', the player still rolls for a new destination...". The rules for rolling a new destination state "If he is already in the city he rolls, then he loses his turn that round." The confusion occurs because the rules also say "...the player ignores the 'alternate' destination entirely:". However, notice the colon at the end of that quote; the rules continue on to explain further what they mean by ignoring: "...he may move through it without stopping, and he does not get any PAYOFF for reaching it." Thus, the alternate destination is ignored for purposes of moving and payoffs, but NOT for loss of turn.

Advice: Avoid choosing your current region during the process of obtaining an alternate destination.

ALTERNATE DESTINATION IS HOME CITY

Answer: Yes.

Substantiation: The rules say "He does not collect a PAYOFF for reaching his 'home city' unless it is also his 'alternate' destination that trip."

Significance: Payoffs are collected before user fees are paid out, so if you are close to $200,000 that extra money might just come in handy. For example, imagine the following (rare) desperation situation. An opponent will win on the next turn. You have $200,000, are 10 dots from home, and are choosing a new destination. Your trip home will cost you $1000, dropping you below the $200,000 needed to win. But, if your alternate destination turns out to be your home city, upon arrival you'll collect a payoff that will cover the $1000 user fee. So, declare and go for it!

MOVING THROUGH OPPONENTS WHEN DECLARED

Answer: No. You cannot cause yourself to be rovered.

Substantiation: About a declared player, the rules say "The other players then have the opportunity to try to stop him by using the 'rover play'...".

SHARING A DOT WHEN DECLARED

Answer: No. When it is his turn, the opponent must move to or through the dot (not simply start at it) to rover you.

ROVERED IN ALTERNATE DESTINATION

Ruling: At the beginning of your next turn, you are considered to arrive immediately. You collect a payoff, then begin a full, normal turn (i.e. you could declare again if you still have enough cash).

Substantiation: There is nothing specifically in the rules to handle this rare situation. However, the rules do indicate that "arriving" is part of a player's turn, and thus can only be done during that player's turn.

SELF-UNDECLARE IN ALTERNATE DESTINATION

Ruling: This is handled in the same way as being rovered in your alternate destination (see prior question).

Substantiation: The last step of your turn is to pay use fees. Once you pay them, it is no longer your turn. You can't arrive until your next turn.

MAXIMUM NUMBER OF RRs PURCHASED PER TURN

Ruling: Theoretically, three.

Substantiation: The rules let you make one purchase immediately after collecting a payoff for arriving at your destination. Here's how to make 3 in one turn. #1) If you become undeclared in your alternate destination (see prior question) you start your next turn by arriving immediately, at which time you can make the first purchase. #2) You then obtain a new destination and arrive on the normal roll, and can make the second purchase. #3) You then obtain yet another destination and arrive on the bonus roll, and can make the third purchase.

Significance: Trivia. This is an incredibly unlikely scenario. It is somewhat more likely on alternate game maps that have more railroads, such as US2 (since that increases the odds RRs will still be available for purchase at the time a player is declaring).

INCREASE IN RAIL USE FEE

Ruling: The increase in rail use fee (from $5,000 to $10,000) occurs when there are no more private railroads available for sale. If a railroad has been purchased, but is sold back to the bank prior to the increase, for the purposes of this rule, that railroad is considered to never have been purchased.

Substantiation: Ease of play. This is a VERY picky one. The rules state "As soon as all the rail lines have been bought, the $5,000 penalty goes up to $10,000�" Imagine the following scenario: someone buys the RF&P, then sells it back to the bank while some other RRs still remain unsold. The game progresses to a point where only the IC and RF&P remain for sale. Then someone buys the IC. Technically, the use fee should now increase to $10,000 even though the bank still has the RF&P. Why? Because all the rail lines have been bought�the RF&P has indeed been bought this game. The fact that it has been sold back is (technically) irrelevant.

Significance: It's much simpler to see if the bank has any RRs left, and when it does not, increase the fee. I think that was the intent of the rule. Why add a bookkeeping chore to the game?

MULTIPLE RR ESTABLISHMENT / GRANDFATHERING

Answer: Yes, you are established at $5,000 on that RR as well as all the other unfriendly railroads that serve Chicago.

Substantiation: The rules describe only one way to lose establishment: ride some other RR. So, until you move, you are established on all RRs that serve the dot at which your train is located. Once you begin to move out of Chicago next turn, you'll only be established on the particular RR you ride.

ANNOUNCING

Ruling: Only the first time each player crosses the $150,000 cash level is an announcement to this effect needed.

Substantiation: Common sense. "A player must announce immediately he has over $150,000 in cash." Technically, this implies a player must continuously (perhaps each turn) announce if he has over $150,000. Since this would get annoying, and because the rules allow opponents to ask if a player has over $150,000, it makes sense to announce it just once. Besides, this falls into the courtesy section of the rules, and therefore is open to flexibility.

Significance: Frequently, players' cash levels will bounce up and down near $150,000 as they pay rail use fees, collect payoffs, then pay more rail use fees. One announcement is enough to alert opponents that the player is nearing the $200,000 cash level.

IMMEDIATE MOVEMENT

Ruling: The rules state you must move your train immediately after your roll, with no pausing to count dots. Since a loophole in this rule lets you count dots to handle every possibility before you roll the dice, we do not enforce this rule. For similar reasons, while you are moving your train, we allow a player to redo a route at any time until he begins to pay rail use fees.

Substantiation: One of the courtesy rules states "You may count dots and trace routes when it is not your turn. As soon as you roll the dice, however, you must start moving immediately � no pausing to count." Most people ignore this courtesy rule because doing so helps to speed up the game. By ignoring this rule, a player can figure the optimal route for just his roll, rather than spending time in advance of his roll figuring a route for EACH of the up to 16 different rolls possible. Does anyone really want the game to take longer? Besides, this is a courtesy rule, not one meant to be strictly enforced. If someone did not move immediately, what would be the penalty anyhow?

Compromise: Once a player lifts his pawn to begin moving it along the route, he must keep moving it non-stop until he consumes his roll. Prior to that (and after the dice roll) he can count dots and plan his route.

Significance: Relaxing this courtesy rule speeds up the game, and reduces the instances of mistaken route use. I would not feel good about winning a game and/or collecting rail use fees because an opponent was rushed to move and used my RR by mistake.

WINNING WHEN BONUS ROLL IS PENDING

Ruling: In the following scenario, a strict interpretation of the rules can produce a conflict at the end of the game:


• 1) you are declared and arrive in your home city
• 2) you have $205,000 (winning cash is $200,000)
• 3) during your normal roll, you used another player's railroad
• 4) your bonus roll is pending

Do you win? You have enough cash. The rules are in conflict here. They state that you win only if you have $200,000 or more after paying all rail use fees. However, they also indicate the fees are not paid until after the bonus roll is used. If you don't use your bonus roll, must you pay the fees? We say yes.

Substantiation: The rules are very explicit that you win only if you have $200,000 or more after paying all fines and penalties for the turn. We handle this conflict by calculating your pending fees, and only if you would still have $200,000 or more do you win (in which case your pending bonus roll is ignored). In the example above, you would not be crowned winner because you owe $10,000 in rail use fees.

WINNING BY ELIMINATING ALL OPPONENTS

Ruling: If all opponents go bankrupt, the remaining player is immediately declared the winner.

Substantiation: Logic. It is not documented in the rules.

Significance: Only for the computer version. Computers need to worry about all the possibilities, even the extremely unlikely ones. To date, I know of only one such match in which this happened.

PAYOFF CHART ERRORS

Ruling: AH's Payoff Chart shows two different values for a trip between Miami and Jacksonville: 3.5 and 3, depending upon whether you scan across or down the chart. We use a value of 3, since it is the one below the "zero diagonal".

Substantiation: AH's USA payoff chart states that the payoffs are "the same no matter which is the destination city or the start city." We use a value of 3, since it is the one below the "zero diagonal" where all the other payoffs are located.

Top of Page

Back to Index

Send comments, suggestions, and fan mail to:a2glg@yahoo.com
Page Last Updated:4/10/03