Trains and railroads have always been one of the most romantic things while travelling. You just go through the country and beautiful looks through the window are inspiring and marvelous… Have you ever dreamed to build your own railroad company? You will have such an opportunity with board game called «Railways of The World» by «Eagle Games»!
«Railways of the World» was published in 2009. This game is some kind of remake of «Railroad Tycoon» which was published in 2005. It has all of the original features of the «Railroad Tycoon» with several upgrades.
Glenn Drover and Martin Wallace gave us this wonderful game! They are known for such projects as «Age of Steam», «Struggle of Empires» and many others.
As for the art and illustrations, this game has a team of artists. They are – Kurt Miller, Paul Niemeyer and David Oram. You may know them for their work in «Railroad Tycoon», «Age of Empires III» and «Age of Steam».
Inside the Box
- Thirty to thirty six inches mounted map of Eastern U.S.;
- 14.75 to 24.5 inches mounted map of Mexico;
- Twelve Railroad Baron Cards;
- Start Player Card;
- Six Player Aid and Major Line Cards;
- Thirty seven Railroad Operation Cards;
- Three Rulebooks (Basic Game, Eastern U.S., Mexico);
- Score Track;
- One hundred fifty plastic trains in 6 all new colors;
- Twenty four empty city markers (4 types);
- One hundred twenty five good cubes (5 colors);
- Twenty four engine Cards (6 each level 1/2, level 3/4, level 5/6, level 7/8);
- Bond Certificates (fifty four notes in three denominations: 30 x 1, 18 x 5, 6 x 10);
- Money (three denominations);
- Two hundred seventeen track tiles;
- Twelve New City Tiles (three yellow, three black, three blue, and three purple);
- Two Special Link tiles;
- Drawstring Bag;
- 2nd Edition (2010 Copyright) adds 54 Mexico cards: 38 Mexico Railroad Ops cards, 12 Mexico Rail Baron cards and 4 Player Aids;
- Board size is 15.50 x 12.50 x 3.62 inches.
Gameplay
This game provides the greatest opportunity to build your own railroad empire! You will have to connect cities with help of the railroads and you will succeed! Features of card game also help to make game process much more interesting. «Railways of the World» has a lot of economical game play elements like the engine placards, railroad tiles, train tokens, money, bonds, and other items that are useful in this series. This gameboard present the eastern half of the United States and also the part of Mexico.
Rules
Here we will show you how to play this game! So, the instructions are:
Game consists of three rounds and each round has turns.
Turns consist of the following options:
- Track building – players can build maximum 4 tracks and place their trains on the track.
- Urbanize a gray city – placing a new city tile which costs $10,000. Place 2 cubes on the new urbanized city. Players may urbanize cities that contain empty city markers.
- Upgrade engine – only one improvement could be made per turn. The number of a player’s engine shows on how many cities or links he can move a goods cube in the turn.
- Deliver one goods cube – Player must start delivery on his link. If a cube travels on another player’s link or links then that player gets the according point or points.
- Take one RR Operations card – Players may use or benefit from multiple cards per turn.
End of Round
At the end of round 3 players receive money according to their placement on the score track minus $1000 per bond they possess. Draw one RR Operations card and place it face up. Discard any track tiles that do not complete a link.
End of Game
When all the empty city markers have been placed on the board, finish the current round (completing the three rounds) and then complete one more full round of three. Total up the players scores by points on the score track + their Baron card points if completed, and subtracting one point per bond owned.
Two player experience
Two player mode is also available for this game. The playing time varies from hour to hour and a half and it could be very fun! The most appropriate maps are Mexico and Eastern US. Mexico map is slightly competitive than Eastern US and it takes much more time to play thought it’s more interesting! You should try out both maps and make your choice!
Online and iOS versions
You can play Railways of the World online through well-known service called Vassal. Last September «Eagle games» has announced this game on iOS platform but no news since that moment appeared. So, we hope that you will have this game on your ipad or iphone soon enough!
Expansions
Railways of England and Wales
The expansion offers two sets of rules. The first set follows the gameplay of the «Railways of the World» series and the second one is a new game from Martin Wallace that features a new economic mechanics.
Rails of Europe
This expansion has been made for «Railways of the World». It uses original setting and pieces of the game. Also, there are some changes in rules and additions for the expansion to show the new setting.
Railways of Great Britain
«Railways of Great Britain» does not has the advanced game rules or components like previous version, but it has all the classic rules and also the modified map.
Railways of Mexico
This expansion has Mexico gameboard and also slightly new rules.
Railways of North America
This expansion adds Canada to the original game and it was designed for 2-5 players (but the best mode is 3 or 4). Fans of this game also will be happy to see some
Railways of the Western U.S.
This expansion provides the original setting of the game though it has the new map of Western Part of the US.
Railways of the World: Event Deck
This expansion can be added to the «Railways of the World» base game or any of that game’s expansions to put new elements on rail-building. The «Event Deck» includes more cards than players can use during a single game.
Railways of the World: Mines
This expansion has four mine markers in each of the six player colors.
Railways of the World: Switch Tracks
This expansion has four switch track markers. They allow them to enter and leave the same city from the same place of track.
Railways through Time
The rules of this new expansion follow the basic gameplay and provide the mechanism of the «Railways of the World» series but introduce the idea of time travel.
Similar Games (Railways of the world vs Age of Steam)
Railways of the world is one of the most famous family games because it’s easy to get into the rules and game process though «Age of Steam» is much more expendable and best balanced. Also, «Age of Steam» has more maps though it can be not so attractive for players because of the difficulties with rules. So, if you have 2 or 3 players it’s better to play «Railways of the World» and if it’s from 3 to 4 players you should try «Age of Steam»!
FAQ
Q: Can a player built a circular track between 5 cities so they could pick up cubes from Atlanta and then deliver cubes back to Atlanta.
A: You cannot deliver a good to where it started and you cannot pass through a city twice.
Q: How can a cube be delivered to a city more than the 8 spaces away if the maximum distance a train can travel is 8 spaces. Are you supposed to do multiple turns to get there, by stopping at cities midway.
A: The train level determines the number of links you can travel in one round. You must deliver the goods in one round (as opposed to a full turn which consists of 3 rounds).
Q: If Player A has constructed 4 track sections and has one left to connect a city, can Player B build that final track section and steal the link away from the player that started its construction?
A: No. Players always only build to complete their own links. However, if you see someone building towards a city, you can build out of that city and “connect” to their track as a blocking movement. You do not get to take over the whole link. The person who has just been blocked can redirect their last piece of track to maneuver around (They must pay the normal cost to redirect track, the same as laying it for the first time, in open terrain 2000, in the mountains 4000, etc.)
Q: Split tracks. Can Player A replace one track of Player B’s completed link with a cross track? What do they have to pay? Can Player B replace a section of his own track?
A: Yes, track may be replaced with cross-track pieces as necessary and given the types available. There is no additional cost. Yes, a player may also cross his/her own tracks.
Youtube
Conclusion
This game is perfect for a family and friends gaming experience! It’s easy to play and also it would be interesting to try out the economic mechanisms of game process. Buy this game on amazon!