Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition

To set up the game, each player receives a personal game board and a dry-erase marker. The four white route dice are placed in the center of the table, accessible to all players. If playing with expansions, the corresponding dice are also added to the center.

The objective of Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition is to score the most points by drawing roads and railways on your personal game board. Points are primarily earned by connecting exits on the edges of the board, creating long continuous routes, and building routes within the central area. Players must also manage the challenges introduced by the special dice, such as meteors or lava, to minimize penalties and maximize their score.

Each round begins with one player rolling the four white route dice. All players then simultaneously draw the routes shown on these dice onto their personal game boards. Each drawn route must connect to at least one existing exit on the board's edge or to a previously drawn route. Routes cannot connect a railway directly to a road without a station. Players must draw all four routes if possible, and can rotate or mirror the dice images. Additionally, players can use one of their six special routes once per game, marking it off on their board.

At the end of the game, points are scored based on several criteria. Players earn points for the number of connected exits, with a table indicating the points for different quantities. Two exits are considered connected if there's a continuous road or railway path between them, or if a station connects a road and railway. Bonus points are awarded for the longest continuous road and the longest continuous railway, with each segment counting as one point. Players also score one point for each of the nine central squares that contains a drawn route. Finally, players receive penalty points for any open-ended routes that are not connected to another route or an exit, with each open end counting as one penalty point.

The game concludes after seven rounds of drawing routes. If playing with the Meteor or Lava expansions, the game lasts for six rounds instead. After the final round, players calculate their total score by summing up points from connected exits, longest routes, central squares, and subtracting any penalty points. The player with the highest total score is declared the winner. All boards are then erased for the next game.