Mayfair Games proudly announces that it will publish Martin Wallace's "Age of Steam" board game in late 2007! We'll call the game "Age of Steam Third Edition."

Developed with updated color rules and beautiful new components, Age of Steam Third Edition will deliver the ultimate railway game experience. Martin designed the new rules to make the game more approachable for beginners and casual gamers. Advanced rules for expert players will satisfy railway game enthusiasts looking for a more complex and challenging game.

Martin notes that the new game:
"…is just as challenging as the original, but plays in a shorter time and is much more welcoming to new players…"

Age of Steam Third Edition will be fully compatible with earlier expansions, so owners of these products can still use all of their old maps. Old maps fit right on top of the new board. You won't obscure the information and displays used in the third edition, for they appear around the edge of the new, larger game board.

Improved components include double-sided track tiles and complete sets of track with printed town symbols, so no more town discs are required. The game will include two maps. One covers the northeastern U.S. and part of southeastern Canada and is suitable for three to four players. The other map covers Germany's Ruhr Valley, the area around Essen. It's suitable for four to five players.

You'll see that we've replaced the random introduction of new goods cubes with a new (basic and advanced rules) action called "City Growth." Revised income reduction will smooth game play. To keep every game competitive, game leaders face increased maintenance costs and greater penalties for borrowing money. We'll make all the rules available for download on our website with the release of the game.

Mayfair Games will also be releasing guidelines for creating your own expansion maps. We hope to encourage third-party expansions by allowing the use of a "Seal of Approval." We'll invite prospective publishers of Age of Steam expansions to contact Mayfair Games for our Seal of Approval guidelines.

If all goes to plan, you'll see Age of Steam Third Edition toward the end of 2007!