Each round, draw faction discs one at a time from the draw bag. The drawn faction completes all its actions before the next disc is drawn. After all 7 discs have been drawn, return them to the bag and begin a new round. Major factions (Green, Orange, Blue, Brown) play cards and move cubes. Minor factions (Purple, White, Black) perform specific actions without card play.
Actions
Major Faction Turn (NPT, SPT, Cavalry, Settlers) — When a major faction disc is drawn, that player plays cards from their hand, places cubes, moves groups, and resolves engagements.
Placing Cubes (NPT/SPT) — Indian players place cubes from the Ready Box into controlled regions matching their faction color.
Placing Cubes (Cavalry) — Cavalry cubes enter play through the St. Louis or Sacramento Boxes.
Placing Cubes (Settlers) — Settler cubes enter play through the St. Louis or Sacramento Boxes.
Movement — Groups of cubes move from one adjacent region to the next, up to the number of regions allowed by the card played.
Railroad Movement — U.S. players may use one group move to transfer cubes along the completed railroad track.
Influenced Movement — Friendly faction cubes not belonging to the activated faction may be moved alongside activated cubes if enough activated cubes are present.
Engagements — Moving cubes into a region occupied by opponent cubes creates a contested region and initiates an engagement. Engagements are resolved after all movement ends.
Wagon Train Turn (White Disc) — When the White disc is drawn, the Settlers player manages the wagon trains. No cards are played.
Railroad Turn (Black Disc) — When the Black disc is drawn, the Settlers player extends the Transcontinental Railroad. No cards are played.
Enemies Turn (Purple Disc) — When the Purple disc is drawn, the Cavalry player commands the Enemies minor faction. No cards are played.
Casualty Box Removal — During a faction's turn, a player may spend a group move to shift all of that faction's casualty cubes back to the Ready Box.
Key Concepts
Region Control — An NPT or SPT region is Indian-controlled when Indian cubes (NPT + SPT) equal or outnumber both U.S. cubes and Enemy cubes (counted separately). If em...
Stacking Limit — Each region can hold up to 8 Indian cubes (Green + Orange) and 8 U.S. Allied cubes (Blue + Brown + Purple). Wagon and Railroad cubes do not count agai...
Friendly Factions — NPT and SPT are friendly factions. Cavalry and Settlers are friendly factions. Purple Enemy cubes are friendly with Cavalry but not Settlers.
Card Types — War Party (Indian), Engagement (Cavalry), and Migration (Settlers) cards provide cube placement, group movement, and trigger engagements. Event cards ...
Custer Card — The Custer card is the only 'Play Immediately' card. It must be played as soon as it is drawn, even in the opening hand or as a replacement. It may no...
Trail-End Regions — Three Trail-End regions (Oregon Trail NE1, Northern California Trail N1, Southern California Trail SE1) are where U.S. groups retreat toward in the we...
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