Tony Boydell
Paperclip Railways
Rules
Paperclip Railways
The railway game where the trains are stationery.
A game for 2 to 5 players aged 10 or more. Playing time: 45 to 75
minutes.
COMPONENTS
These rules
1 x Construction Board – with spaces for the draw deck, the discard
pile and the score track
1 x large 4-station Metropolis board
25 x wooden cubes in 5 player colours (red, white, green, black and
yellow)
5 x sets of 60 paperclips in 5 player colours (red, white, green, black
and yellow)
1 x set of 30 blue and 2 silver paperclips
1 x set of 12 blue wooden cubes
4 x obstacle tiles – two rectangular, two L-shaped (mountains and
lakes)
1 x Start Player card
1 x End of Line (Game End) card
5 x Starting City cards
99 x Station cards including:
»» 11 x City (yellow) stations
»» 33 x Town (orange) stations
»» 29 x Suburban (red) stations
»» 23 x Countryside (green) stations
»» 3 x Promotional Station Blanks
1 x piece of adhesive putty
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OVERVIEW
In Paperclip Railways players will lay out a landscape
in which they will place railway stations and build
track. The stations give bonuses to players’ scores and
are connected by customizable lengths of track: the
paperclips.
Players score for the stations they connect, for the
number of clips in their railway links and for bonuses at
the end of the game. The player with the most victory
points at the end of the game is the winner.
The game comes in two versions:
»» the Metropolis (basic) game, which uses the preprinted Metropolis board; and,
»» the Gigantopolis (advanced) game. Turn over the
Metropolis board, so that the blank side is face
up. Random station cards are placed onto the
central station during set up.
There are
basic and
advanced
versions of
the game.
SETTING UP THE GAME
You will need a playing area of about 100 cm by 100
cm for your railways and a bit more space for the
Construction Board and stock of playing pieces.
1. Make the River by clipping together a single
string of 30 blue and 2 silver paperclips. Make
sure that a silver paperclip is at the 12th and 16th
position in the string - the River is also used as a
measuring tool during set up.
2. Each player selects a Starting City in a colour
of their choice and takes all the cubes and
paperclips of their colour. In the 4 and 5 player
games, players will need to return some of their
paperclips and cubes to the box:
»» 4 players: return 6 clips and 2 cubes;
»» 5 players: return 12 clips and 3 cubes.
3. Randomly determine the start player and give
that player the Start Player card.
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Choose a
reasonablysized playing
area.
Some clips
and cubes
will not be
used in a 4
or 5 player
game.
Constructing the playing area
2 Player
6/8 clips
12/16 clips
One obstacle
per section,
river anywhere
3 Player
Start
station
Boundary
station
Metropolis
board
4 Player
12/16 clips
Up to two
obstacles per
section
5 Player
Up to two
obstacles per
section
4
16 clips
4. Remove the End of Line card and the Promotional
Station Blank cards from the station cards deck.
Shuffle the deck and set aside face down a
number of station cards equal to the number
of players. These stations are used to help mark
the boundary of the playing area (the ‘Boundary
Stations’).
5. Place the Metropolis board in the centre of the
playing area:
»» For the basic game, use the Metropolis board
face up.
»» For the advanced game, complete the game
set-up with the Metropolis board face up (you
will need to use the printed markers on the
board), then turn it face down and place 4
random station cards on it.
6. The playing area will be a diamond with 2 players,
a triangle with 3 players, a square with 4 players,
or a pentagon with 5 players. The Boundary
Stations form the points of the playing area. Take
the River and put the end closest to the two silver
clips on the middle of the Metropolitan board.
Stretch the River out in a straight line to align
with one of the marks (triangles for three players,
squares for two or four players, pentagons for
five players) around the outside of the Metropolis
board. Place one of the Boundary Stations, face
up on the playing area at:
»» the furthest end of the 12th clip (hard game, 2,
3 or 4 players) or
»» the furthest end of the 16th clip (easy game,
or any game with 5 players)
If the silver clip goes over the edge of your table,
place the Boundary Station on the edge of, but
still fully on, the table.
Each Boundary Station should be placed so that
one of its corners is clearly pointing directly away
from the centre of the Metropolis board.
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See the
diagrams
for how to
construct the
playing area.
Place the
Boundary
Stations using
the River as
a measuring
tool.
It is not
necessary
to be highly
accurate!
For the 2 player game, place the Boundary
Stations opposite each other; in this case the two
Starting Cities will form the other two points (see
below).
Repeat using each triangle, square or pentagon
mark as appropriate on the Metropolis board till
all the Boundary Stations have been placed.
Imagine the playing area now as a shape with
Boundary Station cards at the points. The edge
of the playing area is the imaginary line running
between the Boundary Stations from the furthest
corner away from the centre of the playing area
to the furthest corner of the other, adjacent,
Boundary Station cards (see diagram).
7. Shuffle the players’ Starting City cards. Place
one face down on each side of the playing area
roughly half-way between each pair of Boundary
Stations with their bottom edges touching the
imaginary boundary line. For the two player game
place the Starting Cities opposite each other face
down to form two points of the diamond at 6 or 8
clips, dependent on the level of difficulty.
8. Players will now add obstacles and the River to
the playing area. The Obstacle Setup Table shows
what is to be placed and by whom. The start
player is player 1; other players are numbered
clockwise from the start player. Place obstacles as
follows:
»» Obstacles cannot be placed so that they touch,
or are within one station card distance, of any
Starting City card;
»» Obstacles cannot be placed so that they touch
another obstacle tile or a station;
»» No more than two obstacles can be in
any single section of the playing area (see
diagram);
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Boundary
Stations form
the points of
a daimond,
triangle,
square or
pentagon.
A Starting
City goes
between
each pair of
Boundary
Stations.
Fill the
playing area
with obstacles
(mountains
and lakes)…
You cannot
fill up one
section of the
play area
with all of the
obstacles!
»» The River must have the paperclip at one end
crossing the imagined edge of the playing area.
It can be as straight or curved as desired, but
not cross, or completely encircle, any Starting
City. The paperclip at the other end must be
placed within a lake or mountain obstacle.
Lastly, place
the River.
Obstacle Setup Table
Player
Player 2
Player 3
Player 4
Player 5
Player 1
(Start Player)
2 players
Place 3
obstacles
-
-
-
Place 1 obstacle
then the River
3 players
Place 2
obstacles
Place 2
obstacles
-
-
Place the river
4 players
Place 1
obstacle
Place 2
obstacles
Place 1
obstacle
-
Place the river
5 players
Place 1
obstacle
Place 1
obstacle
Place 1
obstacle
Place 1
obstacle
Place the river
No.
of players
9. Once the obstacles and the River have been placed,
turn over the Starting City cards, keeping them in
their positions. Players should now move, so that
they are in easy reach of their Starting City.
10. If playing the advanced (Gigantopolis) game, turn
the Metropolis board face down, draw four cards
from the deck and place them face up on it. Ignore
any ‘When Built’ effects that may be printed on
these stations.
Constructing the draw deck
11. If you have any promotional station cards for
the game, keep them to one side. Take the same
number of the Promotional Station Blank cards, up
to 3 maximum, and shuffle them into the station
deck. When any player draws a Promotional
Station Blank card, that player chooses one of the
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Reveal
where each
player will be
starting from.
Put 4
stations on
Gigantopolis
for the
advanced
game.
Do you have
any promo
cards?
promotional station cards and swaps it in instead
of the blank card.
12. Deal out 10 cards face-down, add the End of Line
card to them and re-shuffle these 11 cards to
form the bottom of the deck. Then put the rest
of the station cards on top and place the full deck
onto the Construction Board.
13. Deal 4 cards from the deck to each player.
Placing the remaining pieces
14. Place the Construction Board at one end of your
game space, so that it is accessible to all players
and outside the playing area.
15. Put a cube from each players’ stock on the ‘0’
space of the score track.
16. Place the blue cubes next to the Construction
Board and put one of them covering the ‘3’ space
on the Obstacle Penalty track (the penalty is 2 at
the start of the game).
A Closer Look at Station Cards
Any player with at least one of their cubes on a station
owns that station and receives its special ability or
bonus. You also own your Starting City. A station can
therefore have multiple owners.
The number in the icons at the foot of most station
cards shows the minimum number of paperclips
required to link from that departure station to a
destination station of each type (city, town, suburban
and countryside).
If there is no box for a station type on the departure
station or the station type icon has no number,
then you cannot build to that station type from the
departure station.
Treat Boundary Stations and stations on Gigantopolis as
normal stations.
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The End of
Line card is
in the last 11
cards.
Players start
with 4 cards
each.
Obstacle
Penalty starts
at 2.
Station Type
Yellow = City (tower block)
Orange = Town (factory)
Victory points for
connecting to/
from this station
Red = Suburban (house)
Green = Countryside (tree)
Station name
Capacity
Maximum number
of cubes allowed
on this station
You cannot build from
here to City stations.
Minimum length of link to
the different station types
In this example a link must be
a minimum of 3 to Towns, 3
to Suburbs and at least 6 to
Countryside stations.
An Example of a Station Card
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Special ability
In this example,
any player with
a cube on this
station gets an
extra clip (for free)
when paying for
a link.
Metropolis
Treat the four sections of Metropolis as normal station
cards of their colour, except that each player can place
only one cube in the whole of Metropolis, and it counts
as only one station. You can build into or out of any part
of Metropolis once you have a cube in it. Metropolis
counts as both a Town and a Suburban station for all
card text, except where specified otherwise.
PLAYING THE GAME
Players take turns clockwise beginning with the Start
Player.
On your turn you will either draw cards or build a link
from a station you own to a new or an existing station.
You will either use cards as stations and place them into
the playing area or discard them face up onto the top of
the discard pile.
Drawing cards
Draw a number of cards from the top of the draw deck:
»» In a 2 or 3 player game, take 3 cards;
»» In a 4 or 5 player game, take 2 cards.
The maximum hand size is 6. If you have more than 6
cards immediately after you have drawn, choose 6 of
them to keep and discard the rest.
Building a link
Carry out these steps in order, obeying the restrictions
on placing stations and building links (see below):
1. Indicate the departure station from which the
link is to be built. This station must be either your
Starting City or a station with one or your cubes
in it. In both cases there must be at least one
remaining capacity in the station (see ‘An Example
of a Station Card’ diagram).
2. Announce the destination station. This can
be either a new station card played from your
hand or a station already in play with capacity
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Take turns
clockwise.
EITHER draw
cards OR
build a link NOT BOTH.
Draw 3 cards
in a 2 or 3
player game;
2 cards in a
4 or 5 player
game.
Hand limit
is 6.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
for you to place another cube. You don’t have
to announce where you will be placing the new
station.
You may now measure the length of the proposed
link to make sure you are able to pay for it.
Place any new station announced in step 2 into
the playing area following the restrictions on
building (see below).
Create your chain of paperclips (your link) by
buying paperclips from your stock using cards
from your hand: you receive up to 3 clips for
each card you discard. Some stations give you
extra free paperclips whenever you build a link.
You may add these extra clips from your stock to
those you buy using cards to make your link.
Lay out your link between the two stations
you chose to join together, so that part of the
paperclip at each end is inside the linked station.
Only the paperclip at the end of the link is
allowed to touch the linked station. The link can
be as straight or as curved as desired, except that
it must not touch or cross itself.
Put a cube of your colour on both stations. If one
of them is the face up Metropolis board and you
already have a cube there, do not place another
one there. When a station has reached its
capacity, move the cubes to cover the name, as a
reminder that no further links can go there.
Carry out any instructions on cards that are
relevant to building a link or placing a station.
Links have
a minimum
length
specified by
the departure
station.
1 card = up to
3 clips
Some stations
give you free
(extra) clips.
Join your clips
together and
lay them
out…only one
clip in the link
can touch
the station at
each end.
Scoring
After you have built a link, adjust your score as follows:
»» Add the victory point values of the two newly
linked stations plus the number of paperclips in
your link.
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Score your
link.
»» Deduct 1 point for every link owned by any other
player that your link touches or crosses. The other
player also gains 1 point per link.
»» Deduct 2 points for every obstacle tile or part of
the River that your link touches or crosses.
Restrictions on building links
You can only build a link to a station of a type with a
length listed on the departure station. For example
you cannot build a link to a City station, if there is no
City icon on the departure station or if the icon has no
number.
You must discard at least one card when building a link.
This applies even if you are entitled to enough bonus
clips to link two stations.
You can start a link only from a station you own. You own
your Starting City and any station with one of your cubes
on it.
You cannot build a link that starts and ends at the same
station.
If you have already built a single link between two
stations, you cannot build another single link that joins
the same two stations.
You cannot build a link from or to a station that has
reached its cube capacity.
Only the clip at either end of a link is allowed to touch
the departure and destination stations.
Links that touch or cross obstacles, the River or other
track should be laid on top of them, applying penalties as
described in ‘Scoring’. You can cross your own links with
no penalty.
You cannot build a link that has any part of its paperclips
outside the playing area.
You cannot build a link that crosses a station in play.
Restrictions on placing stations
You cannot place a new station so that it touches, or
overlaps, another station.
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You must
discard at
least one
card when
building a
link EVEN IF
YOU DON’T
NEED TO
BUY ANY
CLIPS.
If your new station touches or crosses an obstacle or the
River, you suffer the scoring penalty indicated on the
Construction Board.
You can place a new station on top of your existing links.
You can place a new station so that it crosses the outside
border, as long as it is still partly within the playing area.
FINISHING THE GAME
The game ends when either:
»» the ‘End of Line’ card is drawn from the deck;
continue taking turns until all players have had the
same number of turns. The player to the right of
the start player will have the last turn; or
»» only one player has any paperclips or cubes left in
stock; that player gets one more draw action and
one more build action and then the game ends.
End game scoring
Score ‘Game End’ bonuses as stated on stations that
each player owns. If you have more than one instance of
a station with a particular bonus, you score that bonus
multiple times. Metropolis counts as a single station for
scoring purposes.
The player with the longest individual link of paperclips
in play gains 5 extra victory points. If there is a tie for
longest link, all tied players gain 5 victory points.
The player with the biggest score is the winner. In the
event of a tie, the tied player with the most remaining
paperclips in their personal stock is the winner. If there is
still a tie, then all tied players win.
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Score game
end bonuses
on stations
you own.
Score 5 points
for longest
link.
Highest score
wins.
A Note About Moving, Wobbling and
Nudging
The clips are wobbly and knobbly, the stations are
cardboard and can be accidentally moved during play.
Some movement of the pieces is expected, and no
player should take advantage of this! If it becomes a
problem in your group of players, we recommend using
an adhesive putty to fix them in place (check that the
surface will not be damaged before doing this).
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If you want
to stop the
components
moving
around, use a
little adhesive
putty!
CREDITS
Game Design: Tony Boydell
Graphics & Layout: Charlie Paull
Special thanks to: Alan Paull, Richard Clyne, Daniel Danzer, Sebastian
Bleasdale
Play testers: Peter Armstrong, David Brain, Jonathan Pizzey, Graeme
Brennan, Corinne Barnaby, Barry Flux, Vinny Bishop, Charlie Paull, Rob
Fisher, Karen Boydell, Benedict Boydell, Brett Gilbert, Julian Freeman,
Patrick Freeman, Alice Boydell, Daisy Boydell, Carl Crook, Ray Fong, Phil
Pettifer, Ian Vincent, Gabe Chomic, Martin Griffiths, Andy & Sharon Unwin,
Mike Hibbert, Simon Cullimore & Arlo Driscoll, Gareth Simon and Lawrence
Davies.
Inspired by String Railway (Hisashi Hayashi)
© Surprised Stare Games Ltd 2011
Surprised Stare Games Ltd, 58 Norton Wood, Forest Green,
Nailsworth, STROUD, GL6 0HG, UK
http://www.surprisedstaregames.co.uk/
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