Gamehelptaubertalexpress

Overview & Goal of the Game

In Der Taubertal-Express, you expand the railway network across the Tauber Valley over 7 rounds. By moving your Locomotive between cities, transporting passengers, constructing Station Buildings in Lauda, adding new wagons via Wagon Sheds, and producing and selling regional goods (Wine, Sheep, Grain, and Tools), you earn Victory Points (VP).

After 7 rounds, the player with the most VP wins! Ties are broken in favor of the player furthest ahead on the Pioneer Track.

Automated Starting Setup on BGA

BGA automatically sets up the game for you:

Your Map & Locomotive: Your Locomotive starts in the central hub of Lauda. Starting Train: Your train begins with a Driver Cab (3 slots for Action Tiles), a Coal Wagon (holds up to 8 Action Cubes), 1 Worker Wagon (2 worker slots), and 1 Passenger Wagon (1 ticket slot). Starting Resources: Every player starts with 1 Coin. To balance turn order, the 1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th player automatically starts with 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 Black (Coal) Cubes on their Coal Wagon. Round Structure (7 Rounds)

Each round consists of 3 Phases:

Phase 1: Start of the Round (3 Steps) Draft a Ticket Card: Choose 1 of the 3 dealt Ticket Cards and place it into an empty Passenger Wagon (or replace an existing ticket on your train for -3 VP). Put the waiting passenger meeple into their starting city—or directly onto the ticket if your Locomotive is already in that city! Hire Workers: Hire as many workers from the supply as you have free slots on your Worker Wagons. Hiring is free now, but at the end of the round (Payday), you must pay 1 Coin per hired worker (whether used or unused). Draft Action Tiles: In turn order (determined by the Pioneer Track), players draft 3 Action Tiles one by one into the 3 slots of their Driver Cab. Phase 2: Player Turns (3 Turns per Player)

In Pioneer Track order, each player takes 3 turns (one turn per Action Tile in their Driver Cab).

At the start of your turn:

Gain 1 Black (Coal) Cube from the supply (+1 extra if you built the Coal Yard). Activate 1 of your 3 Action Tiles in your Driver Cab to gain all Action Cubes shown on it and place them onto your Coal Wagon (maximum capacity: 8 cubes, or 10 cubes with the Wagon Workshop). Black (Coal) Cubes are wild and can substitute for any color (Purple, White, Yellow, or Blue).

During your turn, you may perform any number of actions in any order:

Move Locomotive (1 Cube of any color per track section): Move your Locomotive along the tracks between cities.

Boarding: When you enter or start in a city with your waiting passenger, they automatically board their Ticket Card. Delivery: When you reach a boarded passenger's destination city, deliver them to claim the ticket's rewards (VP, Coins, Action Cubes, and optionally Sell Goods if the ticket shows the selling icon). The freed Passenger Wagon can immediately accept new tickets.

Take Ticket Card (Free at starting city, or 1 matching/Black Cube): Take one of the 4 face-up Ticket Cards from the display into an empty Passenger Wagon (or replace an existing ticket for -3 VP).

If your Locomotive is currently in that passenger's starting city, taking the ticket is free and the passenger boards immediately. Otherwise, spend 1 Action Cube matching the color next to the card's display slot (or 1 Black Cube).

Place Building (Your Locomotive does NOT need to be in the city): Spend the required cubes or coins from the display row to build on an empty matching space on your map:

Station Buildings in Lauda (up to 8 spaces): Light Violet Station Buildings cost 3 Action Cubes (of the row's color or Black). Dark Violet Station Buildings cost 1 to 3 Coins. You may only own 1 copy of each Station Building, and it provides an immediate, ongoing, or end-game ability. Every Station Building you place advances your marker 1 space on the Pioneer Track (taking the top stack position to break turn-order ties). If all 8 spaces in Lauda are full, you may replace one of your existing Station Buildings—this moves your marker all the way to the very front of the Pioneer Track! Wagon Sheds (4 Action Cubes of row color or Black): Place a Turquoise Wagon Shed or Brown Wagon Shed in a city with a matching symbol. Once your Locomotive is in (or visits) that city, flip the shed to its ticked side and attach a new wagon to your train: a Passenger Wagon or Worker Wagon for a Turquoise Wagon Shed, or a Goods Wagon (holds 2 goods) for a Brown Wagon Shed. Goods Buildings (2 Action Cubes of row color or Black): Place a Winery (Purple/Wine), Pasture (White/Sheep), Grain Silo (Yellow/Grain), or Factory (Blue/Tools) in a city with a matching symbol. Regional Completion Bonus: Whenever you fill the last building space in one of your map's colored regions (including Lauda), you immediately score the region's base VP—plus the first-player bonus VP if no other player has completed that region yet!

Provide, Load, or Sell Goods:

Provide Good (1 matching or Black Cube): Place 1 good token from the supply onto an empty Goods Building of the matching color on your map (your Locomotive does not need to be there; max 1 good per building). Load Good (Flip 1 Worker): While your Locomotive is in a city with a provided good, flip 1 active worker on your Worker Wagon to their off-duty side and move the good token onto a free slot of your Goods Wagon. Sell Goods (Triggered via Ticket Delivery): When you deliver a passenger whose ticket shows the Sell Goods symbol, you may sell all goods currently loaded on your train: Score +2 VP per good sold. Earn Coins based on good variety: 1st (most frequent) type of good: 1 Coin per good 2nd type of good: 2 Coins per good 3rd & 4th types of goods: 3 Coins per good Phase 3: End of the Round & Payday

After all players have completed their 3 turns:

Payday: Pay 1 Coin for each worker on your train (whether used or unused). (If you own Staff Housing and hired at least 2 workers, 1 worker is free). For each worker you cannot or choose not to pay, you lose 3 VP. All workers then return to the general supply. Next Round: Unclaimed display tiles are refreshed and a new round begins. End of the Game & Final Scoring

The game ends after Payday of Round 7. Final scores are calculated by adding/subtracting:

-3 VP for each undelivered Ticket Card still on your train. +1 VP per remaining Coin. +1 VP per 2 remaining Action Cubes on your Coal Wagon (rounded down). End-Game Station Building Bonuses in Lauda: Customs Office: +2 VP per remaining Coin (instead of +1 VP). Reception Hall: +2 VP per Passenger Wagon on your train. Storehouse: +2 VP per Goods Building on your map. Water Tower: +2 VP per Worker Wagon on your train. Wagon Depot: +2 VP per Goods Wagon on your train. Engine Shed: +2 VP per Dark Violet Station Building in Lauda. Post Office: +1 VP per Light Violet Station Building in Lauda.

The player with the most VP wins! (Tie-breaker: furthest ahead on the Pioneer Track).