Steam steed

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Steam Ross is a strategic board game invented by English teacher David Watts around 1970. The game sold over 300,000 times.

General
Dampfross – a metaphor for steam locomotive – is a simple economic simulation game. It is played on a map covered by an even hexagonal net. Some hexagons represent cities, others represent different forms of terrain. Each player assumes the role of a railway company. In the course of the game, a network of railway lines is gradually created on the map, on which participants hold winning competitions on their own or foreign routes.

The game consists of a construction phase and an operating phase. At the beginning of the game, each player receives starting capital, the game has won, who in the operating phase first generates a previously defined target capital.

Gameplay

Construction phase
During the construction phase, the goal is to connect as many of the cities as possible from defined starting points with as extensive a route network as possible. Building takes place by connecting the center points of adjacent hexagons on the washable board with a pen. The construction costs are “paid” by cube points depending on the site. When building in fields where there are already stretches of other players, additional money must be paid to these players.

Operational phase
The operation of the railway lines does not start until all cities are connected to at least one line.

In the operating phase, races take place. Two cities are defined by cubes. By alternating dice, players must then try to get along the built tracks with a game piece the fastest from the starting city to the target city. The winners of the races receive money. If a player uses a foreign route on his route, he must transfer money to the builder of this route. With the income received, the route network can be further expanded.

Maps
In addition to a stylized map of Germany, there was initially only one map of France and several USA maps. Maps of many areas of the world are now available: Spain, Northern and Southern Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, India, China, several smaller districts of England, Cyprus, Bavaria, West Berlin etc.
Each card requires a changed strategy.

History and prices
The game first appeared in Wales under the self-publishing and distribution of author David Watts, who had developed it for geography lessons around 1970. His goal was to convey information, knowledge and skills with this simulation game.

In 1973 the game appeared in the UK in Watts' own publisher Rostherne Games as Railway Rivals. The German publisher Bütehorn first published it in the German-speaking countries in 1979. A year later he