Train combat

**Train combat** occurs when two trains encounter each other on the world map. If Transarctica is approached by a Viking Union military train, an alarm will sound. Trains are visible on the world map as red dots and on the game map as red trains approaching the Transarctica. If you cannot get away - for instance, by using line inspection cars loaded with missiles or spies to blow up trains and tracks between you and your pursuer, you will have to face the music.

Any battle between trains ends only when one side is defeated. If the Transarctica loses its engine, general quarters, or private wagon, the game ends as the Ambivalent captain is run down in the snow outside the wreckage. Victory against the Union's train requires you to eliminate its military potential: Machine guns, cannons, and destroying its soldier and mammoth complement either in the snow or by destroying their wagons. The wreckage is then stripped for coal, slaves, and surviving wagons, which are then added ot the Transarctica.

In general, combat is a high risk proposition with a tremendous potential payoff.

## Battlefield

The combat takes place on the snowfield, bounded by the upper and lower tracks. The Viking Union train will always be placed on the upper track, while the Transarctica will appear on the lower one. The snowfield between them is no man's ground where soldiers and mammoths clash, backed by the thunderous boom of the cannons and rattle of machine guns.

Both trains can move back and forth on their tracks. Changing position allows for rapidly (re)deploying soldiers and changing lines of fire on combat wagons. Unlike on the world map, both trains move at the same speed, regardless of their size and mass. Disabling the enemy engine immobilizes the train, allowing the Transarctica to pick it apart at its leisure.

## Combat wagons

There are two combat wagons available:

* The machine gun wagon is used to eliminate soft targets in the snowfield, namely soldiers and mammoths. The machine gun does not discriminate and kills everything in its line of fire. It fires only straight, so moving the Transarctica around is recommended for optimal coverage. It's also the preferred method of eliminating enemy mammoths, as they can take ages to kill with your own troops.
* The cannon is a dedicated anti-train weapon. It cannot attack soft targets, but it's absolutely devastating against wagons. They are priority targets on the enemy train, as they can wreck any wagon in just two to three shots. Placing a pair of cannons at the front of the Transarctica is a good tactic to instantly gain an advantage, as they allow for rapidly immobilizing the enemy train.

## Soldiers

Soldiers are deployed from their barracks and barracks XL wagons in groups. Although soft and easy to kill, they have a distinct advantage: They can climb on top of the trains and use TNT charges to blow up wagons. Both sides can deploy soldiers and you can expect your enemy to try and blow up your essential wagons. Once deployed, you have to click on the soldier and then on the direction in which you want them to head.

TNT orders are given by clicking on the soldier like with movement and then the TNT button. There is a delay between deploying the explosive and its explosion. You can use it to defuse bombs on your own train (by simply moving the soldier onto the bomb) or distract enemy troops.

You can exploit the game mechanics: If ordered to move onto a square occupied by an enemy soldier, your soldier will overwrite them without depleting their own numbers. Useful in the final fight with the Minotaur.

## Mammoths

Deployed from livestock, mammoths are powerful fighters that cross the battlefield and effectively wipe out the opposing soldiers. They are very dangerous and very tough to kill, but cannot attack enemy trains and are wiped out by machine guns.

* Enemy livestock wagons

## Wagon identification

Enemy
* Locomotive
* Livestock
* Generic wagon

Own
* Engine. Essential.
* Private car. Essential.
* General quarters. Essential.
* Bio-greenhouse
* Crane
* Drill
* Launcher
* Livestock
* Machine gun
* Observation tower or box
* Prison and Alcatraz
* Tender
* Barracks and Barracks XL