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How to Play

Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition

1-6 players 20-30 min 7.1 Board Game Geek Rating

Players simultaneously draw railway and road networks on erasable boards using shared dice rolls that determine available route types each round. The objective is connecting as many board exits as possible through strategic route placement, balancing risk versus reward. Points are earned for connected exits but lost for incomplete routes, creating tension between expanding networks or playing conservatively.

Published 2018

Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition

Get Ready

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

1
Prepare player boards
Each player takes a game board and a marking tool to draw routes
2
Gather route dice
Collect the 4 route dice (3 standard route dice and 1 special die with crossings and stations)
3
Note special routes
Each player has 6 special routes printed on the top of their board that can be used during the game
4
Identify exits
Locate the 12 exits around the board edges (railway and road exits) that need to be connected
5
Add expansion dice
If using an expansion, add the 2 expansion dice to the standard 4 route dice
6
Adjust round count
Base game uses 7 rounds; expansions (Rivers, Lakes, Meteor, Lava) use 6 rounds
7
Draw starting volcano
For Lava expansion, draw a volcano in the center of your board at game start

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Roll all route dice
All players roll the 4 route dice simultaneously; everyone uses the same results
2
Draw routes on board
Draw all 4 rolled routes onto your board; you may freely rotate or mirror each die result
3
Connect properly
Every new route must connect on at least one side to an exit or an existing route
4
Respect route types
Railways cannot connect directly to roads; only stations can link railways to roads
5
Use special routes
Once per round, you may draw one of the 6 special routes from your board (cross it off when used)
6
Mark the round
Write the current round number in the white square of each space you drew this round
7
Handle expansion dice
For Rivers/Lakes expansions, drawing expansion results is optional; for Lava, you must draw at least 1 lava die
8
River placement
Rivers don't need to connect to existing rivers but cannot connect to exits or routes
9
Lake connections
Networks connected to the same lake via docks are considered connected to each other
10
Meteor movement
For Meteor expansion, one die shows direction, another shows distance from previous impact
11
Erase craters
You may erase any crater at any time to draw a new route in that space
12
Ignore meteor
Spend a special route to ignore the meteor dice for that round
13
Lava placement
Lava must connect to existing lava; you may draw a new volcano in a non-adjacent space anytime
14
Fill water automatically
If a space has 3 sides adjacent to lake tiles, immediately fill it with water

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Mark dead ends
At game end, mark all route ends that lead nowhere (don't connect to exits or continue)
2
Score networks
Count connected exits in each network; score according to chart (2 exits = 4 points, up to 12 exits = 45 points)
3
Score longest road
Count spaces in your longest unbroken road sequence (1 point per space); stations don't interrupt roads
4
Score longest railway
Count spaces in your longest unbroken railway sequence (1 point per space); stations don't interrupt railways
5
Score center spaces
Earn 1 point for each of the 9 center board spaces that contain any drawing
6
Subtract errors
Lose 1 point for each dead end (route leading to nowhere)
7
Score rivers
Choose one river; earn 1 point per space it covers; +3 bonus points if both ends reach board edges
8
Score lakes
Earn 1 point per space covered by your smallest lake
9
Score meteors
Earn 2 points for each route leading into a crater (these don't count as errors)
10
Score lava
Earn 5 points per closed lava lake (board edges count as closure); +1 point per space in largest lava lake
11
Calculate final score
Sum: Networks + Longest Road + Longest Railway + Center Spaces − Errors + Expansion Points
12
Break ties
Player with fewest errors wins; if still tied, players share victory

watch & Learn

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

PDF RULEBOOK

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