How to Play Great Western Trail | Rules & Setup Guide

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Place the game board

Put the board in the center of the table

Set up station master tiles

Shuffle the 5 station master tiles face down and place them on the 5 designated spaces on the board

Place neutral buildings

Arrange the 7 neutral building tiles on their designated spaces on the board (for first-time players, place them according to the letters marked)

Position the job market marker

Place the job market tile on the first round space above the market

Prepare level 3 tiles

Sort the tiles with "3" on the back into 3 groups, shuffle face down, and place near Kansas City

Draw initial hazard tiles

From pile 1, draw 7 tiles - place teepees starting from the -3 space in the Indian territory, place flood/drought tiles on the lowest numbered hazard spaces; return excess to the pile

Set up worker market

Based on player count, shuffle tiles from pile 2 and arrange in the worker market from left to right starting from spaces equal to player count; when a row fills, move the market tile down and continue

Fill Kansas City spaces

Place numbered tiles on the 6 empty spaces in front of Kansas City according to their numbers

Create cattle market

Shuffle all cattle cards and form a market (7 cards for 2 players, 10 for 3 players, 13 for 4 players); arrange by color

Prepare objective cards

Shuffle all objective cards and place 4 face up beside the board

Organize money

Place coins near the game board

Distribute player materials

Each player chooses a color and takes their player board and upgrade tiles based on player count

Select building side

All players take their 10 personal building tiles and agree together to use either side A or B (A recommended for beginners); all must use the same side

Take player pieces

Each player takes 14 disc tokens, 1 train, 1 certificate marker, and 1 cattleman in their color and places them appropriately

Create personal deck

Each player shuffles their 14 cattle cards face down as their draw pile, then draws 4 cards to hand

Distribute private objectives

Shuffle gray-backed objective cards and deal 1 to each player face up

Give starting money

First player receives 6 coins; subsequent players receive 7, 8, and 9 coins respectively

Prepare discard area

Players place their used/discarded cards face up beside their draw pile

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Execute three phases

On your turn, complete these 3 steps in order: A) Move cattleman, B) Perform location action, C) Refill hand

Move at least one space

Use the step count on your player board to move; each location (building or hazard tile) counts as 1 step; empty spaces don't count

Follow the path direction

You must move according to the trail's direction

Stop to perform actions

The space where your cattleman stops is where you'll perform actions; movement ends when reaching Kansas City

Allow multiple cattlemen

Multiple cattlemen may occupy the same space

Pay toll fees

When passing or stopping on any space with a green or black hand symbol, you must immediately pay the toll fee

Neutral building actions

When stopping at a neutral public building, either perform the building's action OR perform one auxiliary action

Execute building actions

Each action separated by a vertical line can be performed once or chosen; actions separated by a diagonal line allow only one choice; action order is flexible

Trigger special actions

Some building spaces have "special actions" at the bottom - when you build there, this becomes part of your building; only the building owner can use it when stopping there

Perform auxiliary actions

If declining building actions, choose one auxiliary action from uncovered spaces on your player board

Building A

Discard 1 white cattle to gain 2 coins | Hire a worker from the market | Pay 2 extra coins to hire a second worker

Building B

Discard 1 green cattle to gain 2 coins | Pay 2 coins per worker to build a building

Building C

Move certificate marker down 1 space OR take 1 objective card | Move train forward 1 space per engineer

Building D

Trade with Indians OR pay 2 coins to move train forward 2 spaces | Also perform auxiliary action

Building E

Discard 1 black cattle (value -2) to gain 2 coins | Buy cattle from the market

Building F

Sell 2 same-colored cattle to gain 4 coins | Pay 7 coins to buy 1 hazard tile

Building G

Move train forward 1 space per engineer | Perform auxiliary action

Other players' buildings

Only perform one auxiliary action

Hazard regions

Only perform one auxiliary action

Teepee spaces

Only perform one auxiliary action

Complete 5 mandatory steps

You must perform steps 1, 2, and 3 in order when arriving at Kansas City

Step 1-3: Place numbered tiles

Arrange specific numbered tiles in their locations

Sell cattle

Show all hand cards to other players; add up the breeding values of different colored cattle for your income (same-colored cattle count only once); add certificate bonuses if applicable; place all these cards face up in your discard area

Deliver cattle

Sell cattle to a city along the railroad; your final income (cattle sale + certificates) determines which city you can reach

Activate connections

When two adjacent cities have your discs, immediately execute the connection bonus between them; if it rewards an objective card, take it immediately to your discard pile

Pay unloading fees

Calculate fees between your train and the delivery city; if train is at or ahead of the city, no fee; if behind, pay 1 coin per red crossing mark in between

Return cattleman

After all actions, return cattleman to the start of the trail; refill spaces 1, 2, 3 in Kansas City

Draw cards

Starting hand limit is 4 cards; unlock black-framed disc spaces to increase limit to 6

Refill after completing phases

After completing phases A and B, draw cards up to your hand limit; turn passes to next player

Identify requirements and rewards

Red symbols indicate requirements; green symbols indicate rewards

Optional rewards

You may decline rewards, except coin rewards which must be taken

Winning

How to claim victory.

Trigger game end

When a player arrives at Kansas City and the final worker market space is filled, causing the market tile to move off the board, the end game begins; that player claims the tile worth 2 points

Complete final rounds

All other players take one final turn in order

Calculate final scores

After all final turns, calculate points:

Determine winner

Player with the most points wins