
- BGG rank
- BGG #12,844
- BGG rating
- 8.0
Primordial Secrets
- 2–4 players
- 30–90 min
- Complexity 2.7/5
- 2023

Rules assistance for Professor Pugnacious: Treachery on the Trains
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Professor Pugnacious: Treachery on the Trains is an expansion for Professor Pugnacious released in 2013 for 2–4 players, 20–45 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Thomas Eliot (II) and its main mechanics are Simultaneous Action Selection, Secret Unit Deployment, and Open Drafting.
Treachery! is the first expansion to Professor Pugnacious' Portfolio of Perils, Pugilism, and Perfidy-the Card Game of Victorian Combat. It focuses on Failure-both making opponents lose, and avoiding being forced to fail. It introduces a new class, the Traitor, who benefits by making the other players fail in their endeavors, a new mechanic, Stealth, which lets you play cards facedown to surprise your opponents, the game's first Mastermind-a new kind of Finale-and a host of new purchasable cards for the Main Deck, and new enemies for the Adversary Deck.
Professor Pugnacious: Treachery on the Trains supports 2–4 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 Professor Pugnacious: Treachery on the Trains is 20–45 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 Professor Pugnacious: Treachery on the Trains for ages 14 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.
Professor Pugnacious: Treachery on the Trains belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fighting, and Bluffing. Its main mechanics are Simultaneous Action Selection, Secret Unit Deployment, and Open Drafting. 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 Professor Pugnacious: Treachery on the Trains are: Thomas Eliot (II). 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 Professor Pugnacious: Treachery on the Trains as an expansion for Professor Pugnacious. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Professor Pugnacious to use it. Check that your edition of Professor Pugnacious is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.