Tabletop games
Great Western Trail
Plan B GamesAlexander Pfister2016
- players
- 2–4
- minutes
- 120
- years
- 12+
In the box
1 board · Player boards · Cattle cards and starting decks · Building, Hazard, Teepee and Worker tiles · Cattleman pawns, locomotives and discs · Coins
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designer
- Alexander Pfister
- Artwork
- Andreas Resch
- Publisher
- Plan B Games
- Mechanics
- Deck BuildingTrack MovementIncomeSet CollectionObjectives
- Expansions
- Great Western Trail: Rails to the North · 2018
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Each player drives their cattle to Kansas City and ships them by train to the cities of the West to score the most victory points. On your turn, move your cattleman along the trail, then carry out the action of the building or space where you stop (hire workers, buy cattle, construct buildings, advance your locomotive); in Kansas City, sell your cattle and deliver to a city before setting off again. When the job market is filled, the others take one last turn, then the most points wins.
The rules, step by step
Setup
1 cattleman each, Starting Cattle deck, Markets filled
- Each player takes their player board, cattleman, starting deck of Cattle cards and discs.
- The neutral buildings are placed on the trail; hazard tiles and teepees are spread over the spaces provided.
- The job market and the cattle market are filled.
How to play
Move your cattleman, Take the space's action, Sell in Kansas City
- On your turn, move your cattleman along the trail, then carry out the action of the building or space where you stop.
- You can hire workers, buy cattle, construct your buildings, advance your locomotive…
- In Kansas City, you sell the different types of cattle in your hand, then deliver to a city and the cattleman sets off again from the start.
Scoring
$5 = 1 point, Failed objectives: minus, Printed points
- 1 point per $5.
- Buildings, the cities and stations where you have placed a disc, hazard tiles and Cattle cards score their printed points.
- Objective cards achieved score their points; those failed lose points.
- Add the station master tiles and the end-of-game token.
End of the game
Job market full, Last turn for others
- The end is triggered when the job market is filled: whoever fills it takes the end token.
- Each other player takes one last turn, then the scores are counted.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
Do Cattle cards count if they are in the discard pile?
Yes: you count every card in your deck, hand, draw pile and discard pile together.