Age of Steam Expansion #2: Western United States and Germany

About this expansion

Age of Steam Expansion #2: Western United States and Germany is a two-map expansion for 3–6 players, with games lasting about 120 minutes. Released in 2003, it adds a double-sided board featuring the Western US on one side and Germany on the other.

Each map introduces a unique layout alongside its own rules. The Western US map includes special rules for transcontinental networks, while towns begin with goods cubes that are lost when those towns are urbanized. It also introduces swamps as a new type of terrain.

The Germany map changes several familiar considerations. Berlin always receives a cube during production, while certain hexes represent long distances and carry an expensive cost. On this map, the Engineer ability halves the cost of one piece of track rather than granting its usual additional track build.

• Western US: transcontinental network rules
• Western US: starting goods cubes in towns
• Western US: swamps
• Germany: guaranteed production for Berlin
• Germany: long-distance, expensive hexes
• Germany: Interurban links

Age of Steam Expansion #2 was originally published for Essen 2003 by Winsome Games as a limited Essen Set edition. Warfrog reprinted the expansion for Essen 2004.

The Warfrog version of the Germany map contains several errors. BoardGameGeek provides a complete list of those errors in its referenced discussion thread.