Age of Steam Expansion: California Gold Rush & Underground Railroad

About this expansion

Age of Steam Expansion: California Gold Rush & Underground Railroad is a two-map railroad game for 3–6 players, with approximately 120 minutes of play time. It includes two full-size, full-color mounted maps that fold to fit inside Steam and Age of Steam boxes.

Both maps introduce a choice during the goods delivery phase. Instead of delivering a goods cube or increasing your locomotive, players may use a special option that is central to each map’s strategy. Although the rule change looks similar at first, the settings and objectives create substantially different experiences.

In California Gold Rush, the action takes place in Central California during the mid-1800s, after pockets of gold have been discovered. Build railroads toward the gold mines and claim the available gold before your opponents do.

• Pick up any available gold cube wherever your track has been laid instead of delivering a regular goods cube or increasing your locomotive.
• At the end of the game, each gold cube increases your income—and, in Steam, your victory points—by 5.
• This map supports 3–6 players.

Underground Railroad takes place across the Eastern United States in the years leading up to the Civil War. During delivery, players can move slaves north to a free city instead of delivering a goods cube or increasing their locomotive, but they receive no income for doing so.

The winner is determined by who frees the most slaves, provided they do not go bankrupt before the game ends. Underground Railroad supports 3–5 players, offering a distinctly different objective from the gold-focused California map.

The 2010 Essen AoS/Steam map pack from Bezier Games featured seven new maps, including six mounted maps on three double-sided expansions; a seventh bonus map was available only through preorders.