Games How-to guides
Playing Routes of India for the first time? Start here
Learn what to focus on in your first Routes of India game: choose connected destinations, collect coach cards, claim useful routes and watch your final score.
A map full of coloured routes can make the first turn feel bigger than it is. Routes of India is ToolBarKit's original route-building board game. For your first game, focus on a few connected destinations before trying to use every special rule.
Look for destinations that help each other
Read your starting destination cards before keeping them. Two destinations that share part of a journey can be easier to work towards than several routes on opposite sides of the board. Keeping a high-value card also means accepting the risk of not finishing it.
Do not try to connect every city. Trace a rough path between your chosen endpoints and look for the routes you will need. That gives your next few card draws a purpose.
Collect cards for the next useful connection
A route needs coach cards and physical coaches. Coloured routes use their colour; grey routes use one colour you choose. Engine cards can help pay a route, but check whether a waterway needs a minimum number of them.
Draw with a route in mind rather than collecting a little of every colour. After your card draws, you can take an optional action, such as claiming a route. Review the cost shown before confirming; confirming a claim spends the cards and ends the turn.
Pause before a bridge or a weather change
Bridges can cost more after cards are revealed. Keep enough spare cards and coaches to cover that possibility, or be prepared to abandon the attempt. Waterways and Season Change cards also have rules that affect when a connection is available.
You do not need to memorize the whole rule set before starting. Keep the rules page open and check the situation when it comes up. Its values load from the current game settings.
Watch the coaches as well as the score
When a route claim leaves a player with two or fewer coaches under the current rules, the other players get one final turn each. If your network still has a gap, a plan that needs several more turns may already be too late.
The final total includes claimed-route points, completed and unfinished destinations, unused junctions and the longest-route bonus. A player ahead on visible route points can still lose points on unfinished destinations. Finish a manageable plan before taking on more.
Common questions
Should I keep every starting destination card?
You must keep the minimum the setup requires, but you do not have to keep every card. Extra destinations can add points if completed and cost points if left unfinished.
Is this the full Routes of India rulebook?
No. This is a first-game guide. Use the linked rules page and the game's displayed costs for setup, bridges, weather, junctions, scoring and tie-breakers.
Sources and further reading
This guide combines the linked references with examples and the current behavior of ToolBarKit’s tools. Published by the ToolBarKit team; external guidance and tool behavior can change.