Santa Fe

About this board game

Santa Fe is a railway-building board game for 2–5 players, played in about 70 minutes. Across a series of rounds, players reveal cards simultaneously, expand shared rail networks, and score the cities they successfully play.

Each City Card names a location and shows a value from 2 to 7. Cities farther west have higher values, but a card’s final score also depends on how many different rail lines connect to that city. Cards left in hand are worth nothing, so choosing when to play them is essential.

• Play one card face down, then reveal all cards at the same time.
• Lay track in two turns after the cards are exposed.
• Use Double Turn Cards to place extra track and double bonuses for the round.
• Pay $1 to draw a Branch Line Card and extend a named railroad from a connected city.

Players do not control a specific rail line. Instead, track can be placed on any color when it connects to that railroad’s existing network. A Branch Line Card can start a new route for its named railroad, but it must be played immediately in the next round with either a City Card or a Double Turn Card.

Marked cities offer additional rewards when entered by the matching railroad, while the first player to connect the first railroad to a city earns $2. Double Turn Cards increase all bonuses during their round, adding another opportunity to make a well-timed play.

Santa Fe ends when all railroad track has been used or no player can place track because every playable railroad is dead-ended. Players then score their dollars and their played City Cards: each city’s value is multiplied by the number of different rail lines connected to it. The highest total wins, with the most value-7 City Cards breaking a tie.