Rail Baron - Home Swapping Variant

This variant (or fix) is a house rule created by Steve Okonski to address the problem of having your first trip end at an easily monopolized destination and get gouged in the process. Thanks Steve!

Steve says: "there is an easy fix via a simple house rule that I call Home Swapping. Here's how it works: after a player has determined his first destination, but before he rolls to begin movement, he may state he is Home Swapping. This simply means his first destination becomes his home city, and his home city becomes his first destination. He freely teleports his engine to his new home city, then proceeds normally (rolls dice for movement, etc.). For use fee purposes, assume the player is established on whatever RRs serve his new home city. For victory purposes, he must return to his new home city.

So, for example, if your home city is Los Angeles, and your first destination turns out to be Portland, ME, it makes sense to invoke Home Swapping. Now your home city is Portland, ME and you're bound for Los Angeles. It's very unlikely opponents will be able to monopolize the RRs that serve Los Angeles before you can establish yourself on one of them.

With the First Trip Fix, no one gets a terrible first destination and no one spends the next few hours dragging themselves around the map with little chance to win. Of course, it remains possible for someone to draw a poor home city as well as a first destination (say Miami to Portland, ME), but the Home Swapping house rule greatly reduces the odds of a dismal start."

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Page Last Updated: 12/19/03