Maglev Metro

Pick up and deliver. And trains. Right up my alley. Comparisons to Age of Steam are obvious (particularly as the designer has a deep and impressive history in producing AoS maps). I’d say Maglev Metro is a little lighter than AoS and there is certainly more randomness thanks to the way new passengers are drawn from the bag and this makes the game slightly more tactical than strategic but if anything increases any tendency to analyse the game too much as you look for the optimal play. It's worth mentioning the components which, even in todays incredibly high standard of production in games perhaps manages to take this to another level. The map and player boards are recessed, the station tiles are insanely thick and the track tiles are very cleverly presented on clear plastic that allows each players track to stand out even if they occupy the same route. Update: The Berlin map is more challenging than the Manhattan one and provides a more strategic game; the London map changes some rules in a way that requires a slightly different approach in the early game. The Paris map was perhaps the least interesting we've played to date

Fantastic!

Thinkier than it looks, but a lot of fun! Limited resources, speed them wisely!

I'll be completely honest, my first time playing Maglev Metro, I wasn't hooked. I liked how the game looked, but being my first pickup and deliver game, I was a little lost in the mechanics and my first game was rather long. My second game, however, I was hooked. Once you get the concept and the rules down, it wasn't hard to come up with a decent strategy for transporting your passengers. I love the wooden meeples, the good quality metal trains, and the race to beat your opponents to each station. At first glance, the artwork was somewhat lack-luster, but after laying all of our track down, I understood why. The clear track tiles create a gorgeous route across the game board. Too much artwork beneath the tiles would definitely take away from the satisfaction of the end-game result with all the different colored tracks weaving in and out of each other. Highly recommend for any gamer.

We misplayed a fairly important rule which definitely made the game more wonky, but I have minimal desire to play this again to see if it makes much of a difference to my enjoyment of the game.

The production is the first notable feature of this enjoyable medium weight pick up and deliver game. I like racing against your opponents for just that right passenger while building up your player board of abilities. However, I'm unsure if it plays differently each time. The player board qualities are all necessary and so will likely be arranged the same each game. The scoring cards are a mixed bag - some the board will make impossible, some are easier to achieve - so they feel imbalanced. The production again is impressive although at times uneven - some of the plexiglass tiles do not fit well on the board. Overall, a solid game that I'd like to play again, but likely will not own.

Only played the one time and enjoyed it, but it really didn't feel like it had legs for me. I could already see trying to min/max my next game and while I'm happy to play if someone brings it I don't want to own it.

40 minute solo play. Quick turns. Easy AI to manage. David does not like. painted edges of tiles