The Overland Route

 The Overland Route
A Semi-Cooperative Train Game
2 Players - 5 Minutes
18 Cards
Development Period: October-November 2016
Status: Playtesting
Designed for: 18 Card MicroGame Contest [2016]

In The Overland Route two players cooperatively work to build the transcontinental railroad from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Francisco, California.  Once the route is complete players will score points based on how many of the track segments they built, plus bonus points if the track goes through a mid-point station that they own.

Components:

• 2 Starting Station cards – Council Bluffs (black) and San Francisco (red)
• 2 Mid-Point Station cards
• 4 Starting Track cards (with stars on them)
• 10 Track cards

Setup:

Place Starting Stations and Mid-Point Stations (1 red & 1 black) at corners and complete a 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 card diamond with Track cards.  Starting Tracks (with stars) must touch Starting Stations.  Place two remaining Track cards aside.

Sample Setup

On Your Turn: 
Take ONE of the following actions:

• Replace any Track card with either of the two set aside Track cards.
• Rotate any Track card 180 degrees.
• Flip any Track card vertically or horizontally.
• Rotate or Flip one of the Mid-Point station cards.

You may not change a card in the play area that your opponent just changed.

Game End: 
The game ends immediately when a track runs from the Council Bluffs station to the San Francisco station.

Scoring:  
Each player scores points:

• 1 Point for each segment of track on the connecting route.
• 2 Points if the connecting route goes past a Mid-Point Station the player owns.

In the event of a tie, the player that placed the last card wins.

PnP Files:
Full Art Cards - Support me on Patron!
Low Ink Cards - http://georgejaros.com/Files/The-Overland-Route-Cards-Low.pdf
Rules - http://georgejaros.com/Files/The-Overland-Route-Rules.pdf

Updates:

11/11/2016 - I added the PnP files.  Up to this point I had been using hand-drawn cards.  This is still not final artwork.
11.16.2016 - I completed the Full Art cards and added PnP files with the completed artwork. I also updated the Low Ink cards so that they can be printed in black and white and still work out.

Card Fronts

Card Backs