How to Play Pipeline | Rules & Setup Guide

Get Ready

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

Place the round marker

Put the Round Marker on the left-most space of Year 1 on the Round Track

Set up Crude Oil markets

Randomly place a Crude Market Tile on all 6 Crude Oil locations; if a color is not present, replace the last placed tile with one in the absent color

Set up Refined markets

Randomly place a Refined Market Tile on all 18 Refined Oil locations

Fill market rows

Fill the Crude Market and Crude rows of the Refined Markets with matching color Oil Barrels

Separate contracts by grade

Separate Contract Tiles by grade of Oil and set aside contracts based on player count

Place contract stacks

Place each stack of Contracts next to their corresponding row on the Game Board; fill each row leaving the right-most space empty when playing with less than 4 players

Separate Order Tiles

Separate Order Tiles by quantity of Oil needed to fulfill them; fill each row leaving the right-most space empty with less than 4 players

Prepare Upgrades

Choose 5 random Upgrades and place their corresponding Level 1, 2, and 3 Cards in rows next to the Game Board; place 1 Upgrade Token face-up next to each Level 1 card

Stock the shops

Fill the Machine Shop with Machine Tiles and the Tank Shop with Tank Tiles

Fill Government Quadrants

Fill the 4 Government Quadrants on the Game Board with 1 Pipe per space

Place Action Tiles

Place 1 random Action Tile on all 8 Action spaces on the Game Board

Place Refinement Cost Markers

Place 1 random expansion Refinement Cost Marker on each Refinement Cost space, white-side up

Display scoring cards

Display 3 random Valuation Cards and the Valuation Tile

Distribute player components

Each player receives:

Determine starting player

Randomly choose a Start player who places their disk on the upper, left-most Player Order space; each other player places after in clockwise order

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Understand game structure

The game is played over 3 Years consisting of varying rounds

Complete both phases

Each round, take 1 turn consisting of a WORK Phase and MACHINE Phase

Perform Refresh Phase

At the start of Years 2 and 3, perform the Refresh Phase before normal play

Place your Worker

On your turn, place your Worker on any Action space in the center of the Game Board (whether occupied or not), on Government Pipe Tiles, in your own Pipe Network, or Pass

Repeat actions freely

You may repeat an Action from turn to turn and you must be able to afford it

Take Secondary Action

If you complete 1 of the 8 Actions in the center, you may pay $10 to move your Worker to a directly adjacent Action space and take a Secondary Action

Change Turn Order

After completing any Action showing the Turn Order icon, move your Disk on the Turn Order Track to your desired location on the row below

Sell Oil Barrels

Place an Oil Barrel from your Player Board onto a free market space and gain the $ shown above it

Buy Oil Barrels

Take an Oil Barrel and pay the amount shown above it

Follow selling rules

You must complete all Selling before any Buying; a higher grade of Oil may be sold as a lower grade

Take Contracts

Take up to 3 available Contracts (at most 1 from each row); each Contract taken must be placed either as Active or Deferred till next year

Take Loans

You may take 1 Loan of $15 with 1 Penalty Cube

Change Turn Order

You may change Turn Order after this action

Purchase Tanks

Buy any number of Tanks for the price shown; Tanks are placed in your Tank Farm on your Player Board

Purchase Pipes

Buy Pipes from the 2 rows next to the Tanks; pay $15 for 2 Pipes or $40 for 4 Pipes and place them into your Pipe Network

Change Turn Order

You may change Turn Order after this action

Purchase Machines

Buy any number of Machines for the price shown; Machines are placed in your Pipe Network on top of an existing Pipe Tile, covering exactly half of 1 Pipe

Purchase Pipes

Buy Pipes from the 2 rows next to the Machines; pay $15 for 2 Pipes or $40 for 4 Pipes and place them into your Pipe Network

Change Turn Order

You may change Turn Order after this action

Purchase Upgrades

Buy up to 2 available Upgrades by paying $20, flipping the face-up Upgrade Token below the Card face-down, and taking the next Level Card for that Upgrade you don't own

Flip additional token

After your purchases, you may flip an additional Upgrade Token face-down

Place Worker on Pipe Tile

Place your Worker on a Pipe Tile in an Open Quadrant

Purchase the tile

The Pipe Tile you place on must be purchased

Purchase adjacent tiles

You may also purchase as many adjacent Pipe Tiles as you wish (excluding diagonals)

Place into Network

Place the purchased Pipes into your Pipe Network

Place Worker on Pipe

Place your Worker on a Pipe in your Pipe Network to refine 1 Oil Barrel for each Pipeline that passes through that Tile

Understand Pipeline rules

A Pipeline is a single, unbroken length of Pipe in a continuous color; up to 3 Pipelines may pass through a Pipe Tile

Calculate Refinement Value

A Pipeline's Refinement Value equals its number of connected segments (the length between 2 joints)

Run simultaneously

All Pipelines run simultaneously; you cannot run Pipes connected to a Machine

Refine Oil Barrels

To refine an Oil Barrel, you must have a Pipeline with Refinement Value equal to or greater than the Refinement cost shown in the top-left of the Game Board

Refine multiple steps

You may refine multiple steps at once to reach higher grades of Oil as long as the Pipeline's Refinement Value is greater than or equal to the sum of the Refinement Costs for each grade achieved in a single run; you only need Tank space for the final grade

Move upgraded Barrels

Move the upgraded Oil Barrel from its current position in your Tanks to a free space in its refined row; you may refine to a lower grade than your Pipeline allows

Activate Machines

You may pay $15 to activate any number of Machines in your Pipe Network

Understand Machine rules

Machines do not count as a section of Pipe and bisect any Pipelines they're in the middle of

Run all simultaneously

All Machines run simultaneously, meaning an Oil Barrel cannot be refined multiple times in the same Machine Phase

Fulfill during Work or Machine phases

Contracts and Orders may be fulfilled at any time during the Work and Machine Phases but not in the middle of any Main or Secondary Actions

Fulfill Contracts

You may fulfill multiple Contracts on your turn, but each Contract may only be fulfilled once per Year

Fulfill Orders

You may fulfill multiple Orders on your turn