Age of Steam Expansion #4: France and Italy

About this expansion

Age of Steam Expansion #4: France and Italy is a two-sided railway board game for 3–6 players, with an approximate play time of 120 minutes. First released in 2004, this expansion presents two maps that introduce distinct rules and strategic challenges.

On the France map, Paris is a multicolor city with very strong goods growth, representing 1–6 Black on the growth chart. Several actions are modified: Urbanization is weaker, Production is stronger, and an engineer is required to build on mountains.

The Italy map changes the framework further. There are no towns, only cities, and players cannot build new cities because Urbanization is unavailable. Players can build only one complete link per turn, with no hex limits.

• Two-sided board featuring France and Italy
• France includes Paris with unusually strong goods growth
• France changes Urbanization, Production, and mountain-building rules
• Italy removes towns and prevents new city construction
• Italy changes link-building, share limits, and share-issuing penalties

Italy also removes the usual share limits, while the penalty for issuing shares is lower than usual. However, black goods require careful attention: their movement can decrease your income, adding another financial risk to the map.

Age of Steam Expansion #4: France and Italy was first released as a limited Essen Set edition by Winsome Games at Essen 2004. It was later re-released by Warfrog at Essen 2005 as a hard map edition, with a print run of 3,000 pieces.