Colt Express

Colt Express

Designers	Christophe Raimbault
Illustrators	Ian Parovel, Jordi Valbuena
Publishers	Ludonaute (2014)
Languages	English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Finnish, Polish, Danish, Czech, Swedish, Hungarian, Norwegian, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Greek
Players	2–6
Setup time	15-20 minutes
Playing time	45 Minutes
Chance	Moderate
Age range	10+
Skills	Programming

Colt Express is a railway-themed family board game designed by Christophe Raimbault, Illustrated by Ian Parovel and Jordi Valbuena, published in 2014 by Ludonaute and distributed by Asmodee.

The game won the 2015 Spiel des Jahres, the 2015 As d'Or - Jeu de l'Année, 4 of the 2014 Golden Geek Award, the 2015 TricTrac Bronze award, the 2015 Lys Grand Public Winner, The 2015 Gouden Ludo, and the 2015 Hungarian Board Game Award. As of November 2016, over 450,000 copies of the game have been sold according to the publisher.

Gameplay

In Colt Express, players represent bandits robbing a train at the same time; the goal is to become the richest outlaw of the Old West.

Players draw a "round" card which determines the number and order of play as well as whether to play the cards face up (visible) or face down (hidden). In the Schemin' Phase, players play cards to a central card stack following the outline on the round card. In the Stealin' Phase, the central card stack is turned over and the cards are turned over one at a time and the player who played the revealed card executes the action depicted.

Actions include "vertical movement" to move from inside the car to the roof or from the roof to inside the car, "horizontal movement" to move to the next car, or move up to 3 cars away if on the roof, "punch" to punch the player in the same car sending them to a neighboring car and causing them to drop one piece of loot, "shoot" to fire your gun at a player in a neighboring car or in your line of sight if on the roof, "steal" to take any loot on the floor, and "move marshal" to cause the marshal to move to a neighboring car and fire his gun at all bandits in the car, causing them to flee to the roof.

A game lasts for 5 rounds. A $1000 bonus is given to the first player who shoots all of their bullets, and the player with the most money is the winner.

Expansions

The expansion packs build on the original game. They come with new elements and can only be played if the gamers have the base game.

Add-on expansions

Horses & Stagecoach

Released in 2015, Horses & Stagecoach adds a stagecoach with a gunman which path parallels the train cars. Players use the horses to jump off the train and onto the stagecoach. New loot is added as well as whiskey flasks which let a player draw extra cards or play an extra action card on their turn. Hostage, Event, and additional Round cards are added to enhance game play.

Marshal & Prisoners

Released in 2016, Marshal & Prisoners adds pawns and cards for two additional players, one of which is a player to control the marshal and play against the other bandit players. Also added are additional loot tokens and prisoner cards and a caboose which acts as a prison cell for the bandits. The marshal also has specific goal cards and there are new Round cards to add variety to each round of play.

Bandits

A set of six mini-expansions due for release in September 2018, for use with the base game only. Each expansion allows players to compete against one game-controlled bandit, adding new cards, tokens and gameplay mechanics for that bandit. Packs for Belle, Cheyenne, Django, Doc, Ghost, and Tuco will be made available.

Indians & Cavalry

Still in development and no release date officially announced, this expansion will add game elements of Indians and cavalry which will add new dangers to the players. A representative of Ludonaute has stated that the expansion should be released in 2019 as a standalone game, and that it may still be able to integrate with the original game.

The Time Traveling Car

A mini expansion released in 2015, it allows players to hide their pawn under one of the train cars and play through the schemin' phase of the next round without other players knowing where one's character is. Its location is revealed at the beginning of the stealin' phase.

Its design is based on that of the DeLorean from the Back to the Future series.

North Pole Station

A mini expansion released in 2015, players must discard a loot token at the end of the round this round card is played.

The Tunnel before the Station

A mini expansion released in 2016, this is a hidden round phase where 3 of the 4 plays are hidden.

Plato Event Card

During the tunnel turns of this round, shots make bandits drop an item just like a punch would.

Cursed Loot

A mini expansion released in 2016, adds seven loot tokens that are worth less than $10 each instead of several hundred dollars like the normal loot tokens.

Rock Promo

A mini expansion released in 2016, it is a rock decoration that one can play one's cards on during the game.

The Punch Cards

A set of 7 alternate Punch cards released in 2016 that can either replace the base game's Punch cards, or be added to the base game to increase the likelihood of selecting a Punch card during the Schemin' phase.

Reception

The game won the 2015 Spiel des Jahres (game of the year) award.

Awards and honors

• 2015 Spiel des Jahres Winner
• 2015 Spiel des Jahres Nominee
• 2015 Lys Grand Prix
• 2015 Tric Trac Nominee (France)
• 2015 Tric Trac Bronze (France)
• 2015 As d'Or - Jeu de l'Année Winner
• 2015 Gouden Ludo Winner
• 2014 Golden Geek Award Best Thematic Nominee
• 2014 Golden Geek Award Best Innovative Board Game Nominee
• 2014 Golden Geek Award Best Family Board Game Nominee
• 2014 Golden Geek Award Best Game Artwork & Presentation Nominee