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1895 Namibia
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Railroads
2014
Rules assistance for Railroads
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 120 min
- 14+
- Complexity 3.0/5
Rules assistant for Railroads
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Railroads is a board game released in 2014 for 3–5 players, 120 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Brian Hanrahan and its main mechanics are Trading, Network and Route Building, and Team-Based Game.
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About the game
Railroads was designed to be a game about table talk. It's about making deals with other players, riding the rise and fall of various authentic nineteenth century railroad companies. In most railroad board games, one player is one company, and is engaged in pure competition with the other players. That doesn't make for a very social experience. Since players are investors in Railroads, they have the opportunity to benefit from semi-cooperative ventures, while hedging out their allies with other investments. Additionally, Railroads is not a game about budgets and check books. Money functions as points and are never spent. Stock tokens are played and moved in a simplified fashion that means strategy is emphasized and budgeting is eliminated. Stocks are merely methods of earning money (scoring points) so players can focus on their larger plans. Players who play alone in Railroads will not do very well. Railroads only gain as much track per turn as there are players in the company. If there is only one player in the company, they only lay one track per turn and will not make a lot of money. However, if you can get one or two people to join your venture, you can double or triple the speed that your railroads grow, turning your fledgling railroad into a geopolitical force to be reckoned with. Just make sure that when the money dries up, you are the first one out. A small number of handmade wooden versions were sold and are available on the second hand market.
Editions
- RailroadsenSocial Hour Games2015
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Social Hour Games
Questions and answers
Railroads supports 3–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Railroads is 120 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 Railroads 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.
Railroads 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.
Railroads belongs to these categories: Economic, Trains, and Negotiation. Its main mechanics are Trading, Network and Route Building, and Team-Based 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 Railroads are: Brian Hanrahan. 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 Railroads as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.