Railroad Tycoon

I have often written about my boardgaming hobby and games with maps. Many of my favorite games have a railroad theme. Currently, my most favorite game is Railroad Tycoon, and its sequel, Rails of Europe. In this game players compete to build the best routes linking cities throughout the eastern United States. Points are earned by delivering goods. But invest wisely, or you could find yourself so heavily in debt, your liabilities outweigh your assets, and you'll end up losing victory points. The game mechanic for Railroad Tycoon: The Boardgame, is based on an earlier railroad boardgame, Age of Steam, and the game name and theme was licensed from Sid Meier's classic railroad computer game.

The game board for Railroad Tycoon is huge, and can accomodate up to six players. Be ready to use the dining room table, as this will not fit on a standard card table:



The quality of the components is exceptional. City rail links are created by purchasing track hexes. Once connected, certain cities will demand specific goods. Use your rail links to deliver the goods.



Rails of Europe is an expansion that requires the original game (for most of the components), but provides a new map, and can take up to five players. The cities are less congested, but building through the Alps and the Pyrenees offer new sets of problems to overcome.



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