- BGG rating
- 8.1
Expansion for On the Underground: London / Berlin
On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin
2019
Rules assistance for On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1 player
- 30–45 min
- 14+
- Complexity 3.0/5
Rules assistant for On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin is an expansion for On the Underground: London / Berlin released in 2019 for 1 player, 30–45 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Sebastian Bleasdale and Dávid Turczi and its main mechanics are Point to Point Movement, Network and Route Building, and Solo / Solitaire Game.
About the game
NOTE: This mini-expansion requires a copy of On the Underground: London / Berlin. In The Underground Challenge, you will compete against real Underground lines. The map starts with multiple lines already built, and you must try to beat the Underground's score. Much like the engineering crews of the London Underground, you must be quite resourceful at building track, and at the same time divert passengers to use your own lines, rather than the official ones. If you can beat the Underground at its own game before the Destination cards run out, you win The Underground Challenge! Each turn: Take four actions - with each being placing Track tokens or taking Branch tiles, as in normal gameplay. Perform Passenger movement. Perform Passenger movement again. The Passenger will thus visit one or two stations, and the Destination cards matching those stations will be removed and replaced as in normal gameplay. The Passenger then will visit another one or two stations, with the destination cards matching those stations also being removed and replaced. Passenger movement rules are the same as in the game for multiple players, with the following exception: If a Passenger movement is up to the player’s choice (due to an equal number of empty spaces and lines involved in each potential route), the player must choose the route that gives the Underground the most points. If all potential routes would give the Underground and the player equal points, the player may choose any one of those lines. If your Score tile reaches or overtakes the Underground’s tile, the game is over, and you have successfully completed The Underground Challenge!
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- LudiCreations
Questions and answers
On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin supports 1 player according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin is 30–45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin has a complexity rating of 3.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin belongs to these categories: Trains, Transportation, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Point to Point Movement, Network and Route Building, and Solo / Solitaire Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin are: Sebastian Bleasdale and Dávid Turczi. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists On the Underground: The Underground Challenge – London / Berlin as an expansion for On the Underground: London / Berlin. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need On the Underground: London / Berlin to use it. Check that your edition of On the Underground: London / Berlin is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.