Yardmaster Express

About this board game

Yardmaster Express is a 2–5 player card game about building the highest-valued train in around 10 minutes. With only 32 cards and no tokens or cargo cards, it delivers a focused drafting challenge in a compact format.

At the start of each round, the first player drafts a Railcar card from their hand and attaches it to their train. They then pass the remaining hand to the player on their left. Drafting continues until every player has added one Railcar for each round of the game.

Each new Railcar must match either the resource type or the value of the Railcar played immediately before it. This matching rule shapes every train, turning each draft into a choice between taking a useful card for yourself and leaving less appealing options for the next player.

When a suitable card is not available, players can play any card face down as a Wild Railcar. These Wild Railcars have little value, but they provide a way out of a difficult situation. They can also be used to hide a card that an opponent needs, adding a direct way to interfere with rival trains.

• For 2–5 players
• Approximately 10 minutes of play
• Draft Railcar cards and pass the remaining hand left
• Match each new Railcar by resource type or value
• Use face-down Wild Railcars to recover or disrupt

Yardmaster Express combines hand drafting, train building, and tactical card denial in a brief game that is easy to set up and play. The goal is simple: finish with the most valuable train after the set number of rounds.