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Santa Fe Rails (SFR) Links Email GM   Last updated May 26, 2018
Class B: Beginning Players Welcome You may play if you have read the rules, played previously, or participated in a scheduled demo. Be on time for the scheduled demonstration. The GM will remain for only 15 minutes if no one is present.
Schedule  GM: Rob Kircher (15th Year)
Round Day Start Time Duration Location
Demo 1 Tu 18 1 Exhibit Annex Table 4
Heat 1/3 Mo 19 2 Fox Den
Heat 2/3 Tu 20 2 Seasons
Heat 3/3 We 11 2 Wintergreen
Semifinal Th 11 2 Seasons
Final Th 13 2 Laurel
2018 Tournament Format HMWG

In Santa Fe Rails, players build the Union Pacific, Santa Fe, Great Northern, Kansas City, and Southern Pacific railroads from their bases in Chicago, New Orleans, Kansas City, and Milwaukee. The short lines, Texas Pacific, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Western Pacific, and Rock Island, make their appearance in the middle of the game. Players play City cards to lay claim to end-game Victory Points for the number of railroads connected to their cities. They lay track pieces to create the connections of the major railroads to those cities. Special cards allow railroads to establish Branch Lines. Players may opt to grab special cards that allow the laying of extra tracks on a turn. Boomtowns can be created out of small-value cities. Short line railroads can be used to connect out-of-the-way places. The game ends when all the track pieces for the major railroads have been used. The Cities with the higher values and most railroad connections will score the most.

Play in as many heats as you wish. 4-player games will be the preferred format.

16 will qualify for the semifinals. Advancement will be by Heats: Most Wins (HMWG)

Multiple heat winners will be split at the semifinal tables. Four winners advance to the final. If we have less than four tables in the semifinals, then we'll advance enough runners-up to get four finalists. Percentage of winning score will be the tiebreaker to determine which runner-up advances.

ADVANCEMENT TIEBREAKERS: In Multiple Entry, Single Elimination events for multi-player games, players possibly qualify for Single Elimination play in the second round by winning any of up to four preliminary Heats. Occasionally, players may advance without winning a heat. Players can enter one or more Heats without limit. All events for most multi-player games consist of three rounds; an opening Round consisting of two to four preliminary Heats, a semifinal and a Final. The semifinal round will advance a predestinated optimum number of players to fill the second round; i.e., 25 players for a 5-player game, 16 players for a 4-player game, etc. but in all cases will advance no more than half of all players participating in the preliminaries. If insufficient players advance to warrant a semifinal round, the scheduled semifinal will instead become the Final.

Heats: Most Wins (HMWG): Standard tiebreakers used to trim the field or identify alternates to complete the field, are as listed below in the following order:

  1. Most Wins (e.g., total in all heats entered)
  2. Win in first Heat entered
  3. Win in second Heat entered
  4. Win in third Heat entered
  5. Most second place finishes
  6. Best non-winning finish as a percentage of winning score

Tournament Officials: I will be playing again this year. Bob Wicks and Andrew Drummond will be one of the Assistant GMs who will always rule against me.

Feel free to write with any questions about the tournament.

Special Tournament Rules: Only the standard rules will be used. The Advanced game and optional rules will NOT be used unless all players at the table agree otherwise. Each round will be limited to 100 minutes from when the last group is organized. A 15-minute warning will be called. At the end of 100 minutes, the current turn will be completed plus one additional turn will be played, then final scores will be tallied.

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