Age of Steam - Tips & Strategies

There is a catch-up mechanic in Age of Steam. A player with a score between 10 and 19 will be moved back 2 on the score track at the end of the turn. 20 – 29 moves back 4, 30 – 39 moves back 6, and so on.

This means that when approaching a multiple of 10, you need to be careful not to take too many points. Ending your turn at 19 will result in your score going back to 17, while ending at 20 leaves you on 16.

While you generally want to avoid this situation yourself, you can be on the lookout for opportunities to force your opponents into this situation. Due to the prevalence of this maneuver being performed by a number of Canadians in our Age of Steam games, this action has come to be referred to as the “Maple Shove”.

When delivering, if you use another player’s track, they gain a point for each link you use. You can often set up a delivery to give you enough points to get to 19/29/39… while giving a point to an opponent to “shove” them to a multiple of 10. In general, your opponents aren’t expecting opponents to give them points, so they set their turn up to end on 19/29/39… leaving themselves open to the “Maple Shove”.

As many Age of Steam games end with only a few points separating the top finishers, every point you can save while pushing your opponent back may be the difference at the end of the game.

Bigger locomotives give more flexibility, and the option of making the longest deliveries. It’s generally advantageous to increase your locomotive size to plan for the future.

A trap I see a number of players fall into is spending a delivery action to upgrade their train late in the game when it isn’t necessary, costing them points. Usually the place to watch for this is the final 2 turns (last 4 possible delivery actions).

Imagine you have a locomotive size of 5 going into the last two turns, and are not able to get the Locomotive Role. You have a cross-linked network and a number of cube options (this doesn’t happen often, so take a second to enjoy it!) You see that you have the opportunity to deliver cubes for either 5 or 6, but with a locomotive of 5, you’ll need to upgrade to get those 6 moves.

This is where you need to ask yourself, does it really make sense to upgrade to a 6 locomotive? Sure, you can grab a few more points, but this is at the cost of a delivery as you must use that delivery action to upgrade your train.

One upgrade and 3 moves of 6 links are 18 points, while 4 moves of 5 links are 20 points. Or, perhaps you can get 3 moves of 5 and 1 smaller move of 3 – which are still the same 18 points (this ignores the extra income needed to pay for the larger train at the end of the second to last round).

This is compounded the closer to the end of the game you upgrade your train. If you set your sights on a 6 move in the last turn, but need to upgrade your locomotive to do it, make sure there is no other way to get more points. Can that move of 6 be shortened by taking a different route, perhaps giving you 4 points for the same cube? Then, a small 3 point move with your last action will still net more points. Even a 5 link delivery and a small 2 are worth more points. Additionally, moving the cube for less on your first move action will ensure it can’t be moved by someone else while you wait for your turn to come around again.

There can be a feeling of pride and prestige to moving a cube the maximum length. Before going for this late in a game, make sure there are not less impressive options that could net you more points.

Turn Order Pass is often left to the person that goes last in a round, but can be pay dividends on the following turn, allowing someone low on funds to jump ahead in turn order.

In many of the games I’ve played, the player with the Turn Order Pass will automatically use it the first time the bid comes around to them. This is not required, you are allowed to bid, and later use your Turn Order Pass (though bidding does risk not getting to use the power at all).

If people are dropping out quickly, or the bid is low, you can often gain one or more positions by making a low bid, and then passing in the second round when the bidding starts increasing. It’s not uncommon to gain one or two extra spots in turn order this way, for a very reasonable cost.

Keep an eye out for those times when you can surprise everyone and bid the first time around the table with your Turn Order Pass, and maximize its benefit!

One rule in Age of Steam that differs from its cousin Railroad Tycoon is when delivering a cube in Age of Steam, you do not need to have the first movement be along your track.

While giving points to opponents for moving over their track is not generally desirable, pulling cubes over an opponent’s link to start the delivery can work very well in the mid to late game.

As players plan their deliveries for the next few turns, they will tend to watch for players that have links connected to the same cubes as themselves. Often, players will overlook possible moves by an opponent that doesn’t connect directly to a city with cubes. Not only can you get a decent mid-sized move (often 3 or 4 points) by pulling a cube along another player’s route to get to yours, you’re stealing a cube they were counting on. The 1 or 2 points you give them is made up for by the 4-6 points they were likely going to earn from that cube by delivering it themselves.

Especially with larger player counts, every cube becomes important due to scarcity. If you have the choice to move a cube that is solely in your own route, or grab a cube that requires a move along another player’s route, you’ll often be better stealing the opponent’s cube, and moving yours later. Of course, you need to be on the lookout for opponents trying the same to you. Before believing your cubes are safe, look one or two cities away to make sure another player won’t be grabbing your well designed future moves.