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Rules assistance for Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 45 min
- 10+
- Complexity 3.0/5
Rules assistant for Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2 is an expansion for Age of Steam released in 2008 for 3–4 players, 45 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Ted Alspach and its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Tile Placement, and Network and Route Building.
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About the game
Secretly devise the best plan to create a profitable railroad while your competitors do the same, sharing a common pool of actions and stealing goods directly from other players' maps with this compelling expansion from Ted Alspach. This full color, professionally designed, printed and packaged Age of Steam expansion contains eight maps (two complete "plans") in the Secret Blueprints of Steam series and as a bonus includes full color replacement mats for Income and Goods Growth. The maps are compatible with both Age of Steam and Steam. Because of the unique nature of these maps, Secret Blueprints plays in less than 1/2 the normal time it takes to play Age of Steam, as builds and deliveries are all done simultaneously. But there is plenty of interactivity between players, with the traditional auctioning for position to choose actions as well as the new Production action, which allows one player to pull cubes (sight unseen) directly from other players' maps.
Editions
- Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2enBézier Games2008
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Bézier Games
Questions and answers
Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2 supports 3–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2 is 45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2 for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2 has a complexity rating of 3.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2 belongs to these categories: Trains, Transportation, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Tile Placement, and Network and Route Building. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2 are: Ted Alspach. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Age of Steam Expansion: Secret Blueprints of Steam Plans 1 & 2 as an expansion for Age of Steam. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Age of Steam to use it. Check that your edition of Age of Steam is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.