Railways of the World

AoS for dummies...

[size=12][COLOR=#009900][b]MIKE'S[/b][/COLOR][/size] OWN EXPANSION(s): North America Western US
Europe Railways of England and Wales

It takes less than a minute to realise that Railways of the World is a simplification and streamlining of Age of Steam and although it is perhaps now a more accessible game, the things that, for me, take AoS to that next level are the things they've stripped out. Railways of the World doesn’t have the forward planning of the share issue; money is no where near as tight as it is in AoS; the competition for the best spots to build on the map is not as great; you don’t have to worry as much about securing that key action that you need; and if you make a mistake, well, it’s much easier to recover.

Which doesn't make it a bad game - it's core mechanics are, after all, from my favourite game - but given the choice of which to play, there is no contest.

Railways of Europe Railways of Great Britain Railways of Portugal Railways of Western U.S. 24 Page Rule Book Compendium Event Deck Extra Track Tiles Golden Spike Transcontinental Cards Railways of Portugal 9 Card SG Promo Pack Rail Barons of the World

Lots of game here. It does need a large table and some time to get a full game played.

Played once. Contains all pieces an excelent condition.

This is more fun than most euro games for me, fun to play casually, not a very serious game, ultimately it's a race to connect the major cities

Age of Steam lite (sort of), which means tile-laying (tracks), route-planning, tough economic decisions (not as tough as AoS), and a strong theme (unlike AoS).

A very thematic, overproduced game about building up a railway empire. It's definitely a revised version of Age of Steam (AoS), but has noticeable differences in addition to its many similarities. For starters, the game plays 2-6, which is a big plus, and it is much easier to jump in and play. In other words, although this is a high strategy game, it is much less gruelling than AoS, which is a good thing for beginners, and even myself who rates AoS very highly.

Gameplay involves getting money (shares to start usually) in order to build track, in order to ship goods, which nets you real money, as well as points. There is an auction for player order, then you have 3 turns each per round, but of course you want to do much more than just 3 things, as does everyone else. You can buy track (and the one-link limit makes the game much more accessible, as people can't be immediately locked out of certain regions), you can ship a good (only one per turn, making it again harder to completely drain resources immediately), or select a card (and then possibly use it). The cards range in ability, but of course you can always bid higher to have first choice.

You also have a tycoon card which is a hidden bonus victory condition for you, if you achieve it. Taking shares is simple- you just take as many as you need, but you have to pay $1000 each round, and they are minus 1 point per share at the end of the game. Tough yes, but not as devastating as in AoS. You also make "real" money sooner in this game, and thus don't feel absolutely broke the whole game, although there is an income reduction that occurs only if you get way up in points.

Overall this is an awesome game if you like AoS, as you actually want to play the game, rather than subject yourself to an exercise in economic decision making torture (re: AoS). That's not to say there aren't tough decisions in Railroad Tycoon (RRT), it's just that the consequences are less stringent. I think with more plays RRT will outshine AoS for me, in large part because it will see the table more often and reach a larger audience of players.

Own the [boardgame=30450]Railways of Europe[/boardgame], [boardgame=87627]Railways of Mexico[/boardgame], [boardgame=42964]Railways of England & Wales[/boardgame], [boardgame=72267]Railways of the Western U.S.[/boardgame], [boardgame=72268]Railways Through Time[/boardgame], [boardgame=131386]Railways of North America[/boardgame], [boardgame=214988]Railways of Nippon[/boardgame], [boardgame=266369]Railways of Portugal[/boardgame], [boardgame=311783]Railways of Sweden[/boardgame], [boardgame=311785]Railways of Australia[/boardgame], [boardgame=257464]Railways of Antarctica[/boardgame], [boardgame=297803]the Golden Spike[/boardgame], [boardgame=337856]Rail Barons of the World[/boardgame] and [boardgame=99692]Event deck[/boardgame] expansions, which definitely breath new life into this great game.

reviewed on my blog.