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station-master/docs/rules/glossary.md
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Jesse.MarkowitzandClaude Opus 5 7c35e002af v0.4.9e — five of six playtest bugs: one button per train, and a load that has to go somewhere
Gameplay testing on 0.4.9d returned six reports. Five are fixed; the sixth could not be
reproduced and is written up in TODO.md with the two questions that would pin it down.

TWO TRAINS AT ONE PLATFORM ANSWERED TO ONE BUTTON. `porter.board` and `porter.detrain`
carried no tray, so there was one button per platform however many trains stood at it and
the reducer filled the first empty coach on the A/D tracks. `check` and the reducer were not
even asking the same question: `check` skipped a train whose card refuses passenger work and
the reducer did not. Both intents now carry an optional `trayId`, one function resolves the
train and the coach for check/execute/reduce alike, `legal.ts` offers one candidate per train,
and the label names it.

A LOAD COULD BE MADE AND BROKEN WITHOUT GOING ANYWHERE. A Freight House could unload the
boxcar it had just loaded; a platform could detrain the passengers it had just boarded. Full
Revenue at both ends for a movement that never happened. Jesse's rule: a load made anywhere in
an Office Area may not be broken anywhere in that Office Area, ever — it has to be carried to
another district. The load carries the seat that made it (`RollingStock.origin`), stripped by
`pooled` at every yard push. Measured at -0.60 +/- 0.10 Revenue a game (t = -6.1) over 400
paired deals: 78 worse, 3 better, 319 unchanged — free Revenue coming off the board, not a nerf.

THE GROCER'S WAREHOUSE SHIPPED AND THE REFINERY RECEIVED. Both were `flow: 'both'` on the
reading that "Freight House" was a collective term for exactly those two, and therefore what
§9.3 described. The engine has dealt a Freight House CARD since before v0.4.9, so §9.3 names
it and the argument goes. The card set agrees: all three Refinery modifiers grant +1 outbound.
Refinery outbound-only, Grocer's inbound-only, Freight House the one two-way industry — which
leaves exactly the one same-district pairing the rule above refuses.

NOT REPRODUCED: cars left behind when backing up over them. Five layouts tried, including cars
spotted at an industry; every one couples the lot. Three are pinned in `apply.test.ts`. One way
to create such cars was closed anyway — `flyingSwitch` wrote its cut past `carsOn`.

Both published replays that had gone dead were re-recorded; a rules change retires a save, and
`harness.test.ts` is what catches it.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_011nbvwWMef8CuEP6t5cgkTv
2026-08-21 23:55:08 -04:00

8.4 KiB
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Station Master — Glossary

Every defined term, alphabetized for lookup. The core comes from the Definitions section of rules-v0.1.md (§2); terms introduced by gap decisions carry their rules-v0.2.md section. The "Where" column points at the defining section.

Term Definition Where
A/D (Arrival/Departure) Track Short sidings in front of your office where trains arrive and depart from. A train at an Office occupies one A/D track. If a train arrives and no A/D track is available, it is a collision. §2.1, §8.3
Caboose Red rolling stock, for the conductor and switch crews. Returns directly to the Division Yard when used. Counts toward the Crew Tray's four-piece limit. §2.2, §A.4
Classification Yard Where used Rolling Stock is placed. When the Division Yard empties, everything here moves back to it. §2.2
Coach Passenger rolling stock (blue = loaded, white = empty). §2.2
Consist A collection of Rolling Stock (cars) in a Crew Tray. Order is significant. §2.2, §A.3
Control Point An Office where trains are reported in to the distant (NPC) dispatcher — Division Points, Depots, Stations, Terminals. Whistle Posts are not Control Points. Denoted by a train order signal on the card. §2.1
Crew Tray The canoe-shaped holder containing the train pieces. Must always hold an engine; may hold at most four Rolling Stock, cabooses included. §2.2, §A.4
Day A series of twelve Stages. §2.4
Departments Three face-up slots beside the Home Office deck from which cards may be drawn and to which they may be discarded. Fed from the one deck, not decks of their own. §2.6
Dispatcher The imaginary (NPC) person running the railroad and granting rights to trains to operate. §2.6
Division Your company's tracks connecting the Eastern and Western Division Points. May represent hundreds of miles and several Offices. §2.1
Division Point Where your railroad ties into other railroads. There is an Eastern and a Western Division Point. §2.1
Division Yard A table-top pile of Rolling Stock. Cars for cargo, passengers, or trains are selected from here. §2.2
East The player's right. §2.4
Engine The engine piece. May pull cars, push cars, or both. Has couplers on the front end. §2.2, §A.3
Extra Platform Modifier card: +1 green and +1 red slot at a Passenger Facility. §12.5
Extra Train A one-and-done train; its card returns to the Salvage Yard on completion. Head-on card image, so the drawing player picks its direction. Numbered with an "X" prefix; the following number gives its seniority, and it yields to the Timetabled train of that number. §2.3, §8
Facility A business which loads/unloads cargo and freight. §2.5
Freight Facility Mine Tipples, Produce Sheds, Grocer's Warehouses, Oil Refineries, Power Plants, Freight Houses. Some allow only outbound, some only inbound, some both. Per-card values in §12.5. §9, §12.5
Freight House A sixth Freight Facility card, dealt like any other industry (content.ts) — this entry used to read "not a card, the collective term for the Grocer's Warehouse and the Oil Refinery", which the engine never agreed with. The only industry that permits both directions: the Grocer's Warehouse receives and the Oil Refinery ships, one way each (v0.4.9e). §9.3, §12.5
Highball When a train holding at an Office automatically departs. §2.4
Home Office The primary face-down deck cards are drawn from. 52 cards. §2.6, §12.1
Hopper Coal rolling stock (brown = loaded, white = empty). §2.2
Inbound box A red box holding all just-unloaded freight/passengers of the designated type. §2.5
Junction stub The diverging connection printed above and below every Office card's track, allowing Secondary Track to branch from the opening Stage. A plain connection — §A.1's turnout directionality does not apply. §11.3
Laborer A blue man-icon; works cargo. Usable once each per Stage. Four Laborer-actions complete one load. §2.5, §9.1, §9.3
Limits The sign east and west of your Office that denotes the limit of your control area. Moves outwards as your Running Track expands. §2.1, §11.2
Loading Dock Modifier card: +1 green Outbound capacity at a Freight Facility. §12.5
Mainline Card Tarot-sized cards representing roughly the hundred miles of track between train offices. Each has two regions. §2.1
MEN | AT | WORK A blue three-box turn track tracking how quickly freight cars are loaded/unloaded. Only one Load per box. While any load sits on it, the industry's track loses Operational Rail status. §2.5, §9.3
Modifier Facility A card placed adjacent to a Facility (any of the nine nearby spots) that increases its capacities or workers. If adjacent to two Facilities, it may only be used on one per Stage. §2.5, §9, §12.5
Move A Crew Tray moving from one Operational Rail card to another, regardless of distance, without changing direction. §2.4, §A
Number board Small tiles numbered 1-12 recording which Stage (hour) a train departs. §2.3
Office The location the Station Master sits at. A Whistle Post, Depot, Station or Terminal. All four share identical track geometry. §2.1, §11.1, §11.3
Operational Rail Any track (Running or Secondary) on which a train may sit, change direction, and drop or pick up cars. Marked with a wheel icon. §2.1
Outbound box A green box holding all to-be-loaded freight/passengers of the indicated type. §2.5
Passenger Facility Depots, Stations and Terminals — any Office above Whistle Post. Always allow both loading and unloading. §9, §11.1
Phase An operational component of a Stage. §2.4
Porter A black man-icon; assists passengers. Usable once each per Stage. One Porter-action earns one Revenue. §2.5, §9.1, §9.2
Reefer Refrigerated rolling stock for field produce (brown = loaded, white = empty). §2.2
Revenue Points gained and lost to determine victory. +1 per load/unload operation, −5 per collision. §2.4, §10
Rolling stock The non-engine pieces representing rail cars, either in a Crew Tray or sitting on an Operational Rail card. A colored car is loaded; a white car is empty. §2.2
Running Track The "Mainline" running horizontally between your Limits, including your Office — the horizontal row of cards, Limit-to-Limit. §2.1
Salvage Yard Where used cards are placed, face up, so no card that shouldn't be discarded is. §2.6
Secondary Track All track inside your Limits that is not the Running Track. §2.1
Section Gang Modifier card: +1 Laborer or +1 Porter. The only worker-adding Modifier. §12.5
Stage A two-hour section of time. Twelve make a Day. Each player gets one Local Operations action per Stage. §2.4, §6
Storage Shed Modifier card: +1 red Inbound capacity at a Freight Facility. §12.5
Subdivision The Mainline track between the Limits of opposing Control Points. Whistle Posts are not Control Points and sit inside a Subdivision like ordinary Mainline. §2.1
Superintendent The Dispatcher's right-hand-man, managing the division. The role passes player to player; a shift is six hours (three Stages). Marked by the Fedora piece. Rules on following-train clearances. §2.6, §8.1
Tank car Oil rolling stock (brown = loaded, white = empty). §2.2
Team Track Modifier card: +1 car on a Freight Facility's industry track. §12.5
Timetabled Train A train scheduled to run every day at the same time, marked by a Number Board on the turn chart. Numbered 1-12; odd westbound, even eastbound. Lower numbers hold greater seniority, and all outrank Extras. §2.3, §8
Turnout A drawn track card where a train entering from "A" may proceed to B or C, but one entering from B or C may only proceed to A. Not Operational Rail, so no stopping. Distinct from the Office card's junction stubs, which carry no directional restriction. §A.1, §11.3
West The player's left. §2.4
Whistle Post The most basic Office — "a shack in the middle of nowhere". Not a Control Point and not a Passenger Facility, so a Whistle Post player has no passenger business. §2.1, §11.1