MPG-Net/MPG-Net (USA).7z/MPG-Net (USA).bin/empire.z/EBNEW.TXT

Text File | 1995-05-18 | 18KB | 400 lines

                       Empire Builder

Ever  wonder what it would be like to be a Rockefeller or  a
Carnegie,  the  good old fashioned industrialists  who  made
their  fortunes  and  changed economics  forever?  Have  you
wondered how a swine gets out of Saskatchuwan so it  can  be
bacon  in Baltimore? You will find out when you play  Empire
Builder.  In  Empire Builder, you are the train tycoon.  You
wear  the top hat and gold pocketwatch, and you decide where
to  build  track  and what to transport on it.  As  a  train
tycoon,  your  skill  involves shipping  as  much  goods  as
possible at the least cost to you, as well as connecting the
cities  where the most action is. Your goal is  earning  big
bucks. With big bucks, you can improve on your railroad cars
(as  well  as  purchase your second home, and take  a  fancy
vacation,  but this you do on your own time) and  eventually
amass  enough profit and connect enough cities  to  win  the
game and squash your lowly competitors. So think profit  and
think economics, take on a mean edge, call on the spirits of
capitalism, and last of all, read the instructions.

  *Top hat and watch not included.

Creating a game:

To play Empire Builder with more than one player, one player
initiates  the  game and then "invites" other players.  This
person has the advantage of being that game's creator, which
means they get to decide who can play and who can't, and set
the winning conditions. Meaning, they start out as boss. Try
to  be the creator, because it shows you mean business.  You
can create a game in the bar, where all future train tycoons
come  to  hang  out and drink whiskey, or at the  table.  In
either place, you will see the following options

To create game: When you click the "create game" option, you
will  see  the  terms you can influence, including:  whether
borrowing will be allowed, how much money is needed to  win,
how  many major cities must be connected to win, and who  is
invited.  When you are finished choosing the terms,  or  you
accept  the  standard one ($250 to win, connecting  5  major
cities) click on OK. You may now invite players.

Entering the Game:

On  your  screen will be four items: A map, a  player  card,
three demand cards, and a control menu. You will also see  a
menu bar across the top of the screen. All four items may be
arranged on the screen in whatever order you wish,  so  feel
free to re-decorate. To move an item, click on its frame and
drag  it over to where you want it. The menu bar stays where
it is.

The  map shows the turf for your railroad enterprise,  which
is the Continental United States and the south of Canada. On
the map you will see the following symbols:

     (orange hexagon) which represent major cities
     (orange circle) which represent mid-size cities
     (yellow circle) which represent small cities
     (black triangle) which represent mountains
     (black dot) which represent the mileposts the
     trains may connect

The  map  comes in two sizes: one global, one  regional.  To
focus  in  on an area within the global map, click the  word
"regional" up on your menu bar and then click a city in  the
area you wish to magnify. A regional map will appear.

The  player card shows who you are in the game. There  is  a
picture of both you, train tycoon, and the train which  will
be the vehicle of your success.

If  you don't like the face of your character, or it is  not
the  face of a train tycoon as you imagine it, you can click
on  the  face and choose from the photo album (which appears
when you do this) by clicking a face you like better. If you
don't like the color or name of your train, then tough luck.
Beneath the face and the train are your load windows. As you
pick  up  and unload throughout the course of the game,  the
symbols  for  the  various  loads  will  appear  and  vanish
accordingly.

The  demand  cards are unique for each player.  Each  player
always  has  three cards, each with three  loads.  For  each
load,  you  will  see the price of delivery,  and  the  city
demanding  it. If you click on a load you will see  on  your
map  a display of where the load and the city that will  pay
for  it (represented by a dollar sign, naturally) are on the
map. A few things you need to know about demand cards are:

---You may trade in your demand cards by clicking the "trade
in  cards" option on the control menu. This trades in all of
the  demand cards, and forfeits a turn. Also, the new  cards
will  be  drawn from a pile that also has disaster cards  in
it.  Read  about  disaster cards to see why this  is  risky.
Still, if your demand cards are a bad bunch, trade them  in:
be a risk-taker.

---You  may only deliver one load from each card,  and  when
you  deliver it, the card is replaced with another  one.  In
some  cases,  two different demand cards may have  the  same
item  (pigs,  for example) which will have the same  pick-up
cities  but  be in demand in two different cities.  In  this
case, it is possible to pick-up two of the same load at  one
city. Other reasons for picking up two loads, either of same
load  or  of  two different loads, are that 1)  one  of  the
disaster cards requires that you dump one of your loads,  so
it  may  be safe to keep a spare load if you have the  space
and 2) when you unload, you will get a new demand card which
may  have the load you are already transporting on  it,  and
that will save you a pick-up trip!

---You  can  take a peek at your opponents demand  cards  by
clicking  the  face of that player and holding  the  clicker
there.  The player's demand cards will appear in your demand
card box. Unfortunately, everyone can peek at your cards  as
well.

The  control  menu  is  a graphic listing  of  your  playing
options. They are all listed in the menu bar at the  top  of
the  screen.  Also listed in the menu bar, but  not  on  the
control menu, is the borrowing option.

Playing the Game

You should first make sure it's your turn. To check, look on
your  player  card.  Is there a raised signal  beneath  your
mean, scowling face? If yes, it's your turn. If no, take  it
easy.  No  fair  playing  out of  turn.  (And  anyway,  it's
impossible.)

Building

If  it is your turn you will tap into your 60 million dollar
start-up  fund and start building railroad tracks. Don't  do
this haphazardly, check your demand cards first. If you have
demands in Winnipeg and Los Angeles, don't start your tracks
in  Atlanta. Choose a major city which will connect a supply
station  with  a  demand station, and  preferably  move  the
expensive  loads. Remember, only one load may  be  delivered
per card!

Once  you have chosen a city, click the "build track" option
on your Control Menu, then click to a milepost at the city's
perimeter and drag the arrow from that to the next milepost.
A  colored  line  will  trail you.  Keep  building  (heading
towards  a  supply city, hopefully) until  you  run  out  of
money. The costs are as follows:

     (milepost dot) one million
     (mountain triangle) two million
     (yellow circle) three million
     (orange square) three million
     (major city hexagon) five million

Additional costs include:

     A river crossing: two million
     Crossing an ocean inlet: three million

Restrictions on Building:

---You  may only spend 20 million dollars per turn, although
you need not spend that amount.

---New track can only be built onto old track, or out  of  a
major city milepost.

---You  may  build twice from a major city milepost  in  the
same turn.

---The area inside of a major city is a free zone and cannot
be  built upon, but any train is allowed to cross it and  to
resume building from a milepost across the city.

---Any  number of players may build into a major  city,  but
only  three players may build into a mid-size city, and only
two into a small-sized city.

---No  one  player may build more than three track  sections
into either a mid- or a small-sized city.

---Only  one  track  may  connect  any  two  mileposts,  but
different tracks may intersect on a milepost.

---When you are finished building, click "END TURN"  on  the
control menu.

Otherwise  your opponent(s) will be hanging around wondering
what's up with you, and the game won't go anywhere.

Surveying:

In some areas of the map, particularly the mountainous ones,
or  through mileposts involving a water crossing, or if  you
want to know how much a stretch of track would cost to build
compared  to  another stretch, or if the dots and  triangles
blind  and confuse you, you may want to "survey" before  you
build. To do this, click the "survey" option on your control
menu.  A  black, rather than colored, line will  trail  your
arrow. This track is retractable, so you can experiment. The
amount  that  the track will cost to build  appears  as  you
survey.  If you decide to build the track, click the  "build
track" option. A colored line should appear now. This  track
is not retractable. It is paid for, so make the most of it.

Moving

Once  you  have  completed three, full  turns  of  building,
whether  you  have  or have not spent your  entire  start-up
fund, you will be given your train.

A  command  will ask you to choose the city your train  will
begin  from.  Click on this city. Your little  train  should
appear and be ready to work. If you wish to move this  train
to  head towards a pickup, click the "move train" option  on
your  control menu. Then click on the next dot  outside  the
city  where you would like your choo-choo to be.  It  should
move.  If  it doesn't, click the "move train" option  again,
with a bit more authority. Your train will budge to the next
milepost  dot. Keep clicking on dot after dot  to  make  the
train  travel.  If you get impatient, try  the  "auto  move"
option  on  your control menu. This will move the train  all
the  way  to the next city or railway junction, which  is  a
little bit speedier.

---Your  train can move a total of nine mileposts per  turn,
unless you upgrade it.

---If at any time you run your train on an opponent's track,
you pay $4 million.

---Any number of trains may rest on a particular milepost at
once (which can occur if tracks intersect at that milepost.)

Building after a move: When you have moved as far as you can
in  a  turn,  you  can still build in that turn.  Click  the
"build track" option on your control menu and the amount  of
$20  million will appear on the control menu. As you  build,
this  amount  will decrease so you can keep  track  of  your
spending. You may stop building at any time before  the  $20
million is spent by clicking "END TURN."

---If  you  decide to build before your moves are completed,
you lose the remaining moves.

---You cannot move after building.

Loading:

Once  you  have a train line between a supply and  a  demand
station, and you have patiently moved your train to the pick-
up  station, you are ready to load. To load, click the "take
on  load"  option  on your control menu. A display  of  that
city's  loads will appear. Choose the load you came  for  by
clicking it, then click OK. The load should appear  on  your
player  card. If you want to pick up two of the  same  load,
you  must do this twice, and two loads must appear  on  your
player  card. If you have any moves left, you can  start  to
move towards your unload city.

Unloading:  To  unload, click the "unload"  option  on  your
control  menu, and watch the load disappear and  watch  your
money  add up. This is called profit. You may find  yourself
smiling. This is called greed. You are becoming a true train
tycoon.

---You may load and unload as many times as your nine  moves
allow.

---Loading and unloading do not forfeit movements.

Dumping: If you are carrying two loads from the same  demand
card,  or you wish to replace one load with another, or  you
need to make room for another (perhaps more expensive) load,
use  the  "dump" option on your control menu.  It  does  not
forfeit  a movement, it does not cost, and you can  go  back
and load that item in the original loading city again if you
decide that you need the load after all (due to a bit of bad
planning.)  Unfortunately, once  dumped,  the  load  becomes
property  of the city and you can't have it back  from  that
city. Consider it a donation to the municipal.

Details, details:

Event  cards:  These are the disasters, social  or  natural,
which  rudely disrupt your hard work and put dents  in  your
profit.  They come in the form of floods, derailments,  lost
loads,  strikes,  and  taxes, and are,  like  all  of  these
things,   unpredictable.  They   simply   happen   at   your
inconvenience.

Floods erase tracks which cross the river in question. These
must  be rebuilt when the flood is over, at the end  of  the
drawing player's next turn. Be sure to thank the player  who
drew this by sending a nasty telegraph.

Derailments effect the trains in the area at the  time  that
the  card is drawn. Trains entering the area afterwards will
not  be penalized. If you pass a derailed train, be sure  to
wave.

Lost  loads  give you the option of choosing which  load  to
lose. This way you can let go of the $4 million load instead
of  the $30 million load (unless, of course, both your loads
were  worth $30 million, in which case you scream  and  pull
out your hair.)

Borrowing---should be done within reason. Game or  no  game,
you will be charged interest---one hundred percent of it, to
be  exact. The greed of train entrepreneurs is rivaled  only
by that of loan bankers, so beware!

The  amount you borrow will be subtracted the next time  you
unload.  If  you don't have the funds (uh-oh)  you  will  be
charged anyway and you will have negative wealth, which  can
be worse than no wealth. So don't borrow to build unless you
stand  to make enough profit to cover your borrowing.  Don't
rely on the bank! Keep enough money in your account to cover
a flood, lest it happen, and to connect small cities to your
trainline  if they appear in your demand cards and  you  can
make  money  there. Borrowing appears on your menu  bar.  An
announcement will appear on every player's screen to  inform
them that you have borrowed. Too many announcements can  get
a little embarrassing.

Upgrading  your train can be a good idea, but it  costs.  If
you  decide  to  upgrade your train, click  the  "build  new
train"  option  on your control menu at the beginning  of  a
turn.  Hardworking  builders will get  busy  soldering,  and
charge  you the low rate of just $20 million---per  upgrade,
that is. One upgrade allows you to move 12 mileposts instead
of 9 mileposts per turn; the other allows you to carry three
loads instead of two loads. You can do either or both. Is it
worth  it?  Hey,  you're on your own.  You're  the  railroad
tycoon.

Sending  a  telegraph: If you want to be more  than  just  a
pretty  face  on  the  screen of your rivals,  send  them  a
telegraph. Intimidate them. Cajole them. Threaten them. Just
say Hi! Be a pest. Distract them midway through an important
loading.  Congratulate  them  on  surviving  a  particularly
devastating  derailment that did not affect you.  Send  them
advice  they don't want. Give inspirational tips that  don't
make  any  sense.  Ask how the weather is  where  they  are.
Comment on their hairdo. Ask how the kids are. All of  these
possibilities are yours with a telegraph. Simply  click  the
"telegraph" option on your control menu, decide who to  send
to---by  selecting  "all," or by clicking  the  box  of  the
specific  player  you wish to communicate  to,  typing  your
missive,  and then clicking Enter. If someone  sends  you  a
message you don't like, ignore it and get to a major city or
load before they do.

Strategy Tips from the Pros.

Carnegie: "My advice to those playing Empire Builders is  to
work with the cards you have. Check your demands and build a
network  that will connect your major business centers  with
the  least track. Check your high-paying loads first and try
to  imagine a system that will touch the demand cities close
to  each  other,  with access to mid- and small-size  cities
along that track. And always eat a good breakfast."

Rockefeller: "Well, depending on your demand cards,  it  may
be  a good idea to build a very small, very economic network
that  may  not  deliver the most expensive  loads,  but  can
deliver  a lot of small loads, quickly and frequently.  Keep
turning over those demand cards, that's what I say. Give  to
the Arts if you have a spare million."

Bob:  (bartender who knew a lot of train tycoons on a  first
name  basis)  "If  you're in a city and  there's  a  totally
excellent load there that pays a big chunk of dough, pick it
up, man! Save it, who knows, you can deliver it next time on
another card or something. The really hot stuff only appears
on  a  few cards, so snatch it up when you can before  those
sleazy scumballs trying to wring your neck do. Besides, it's
good  for your image to be equipped with the right load when
you draw a demand card for a city you are currently residing
in!"

Tzorita:  (Who  has  been on many a railroad,  although  the
railroad owners didn't know it at the time)  "They say,  'he
who  has  the  most tracks ... is the looser.'  Tracks  cost
money,  so think twice before putting down a set of  tracks.
Think 'Is the load I am going to get worth the cost of  this
track  I  am  laying?  Am I going to use the track  multiple
times?   Is it designed for the short term or the long  term
of  the game?'  Sometimes you might want to consider putting
in  short cuts to reduce the distance between two points you
already  have  connected.  Ask yourself the same  questions.
And  don't hesitate to pay someone four million to use their
tracks  for a one time drop off when it might have cost  you
six  or  seven million dollars to build track there  in  the
first place, assuming that you can build track there in  the
first place!"