- BGG rank
- BGG #1,903
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Ride the Rails
- 3–5 players
- 45–60 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2020
- BGG rank
- BGG #12,804
- BGG rating
- 6.3
Southern Rails
2015
Rules assistance for Southern Rails
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 3–5 players
- 60 min
- 14+
- Complexity 2.4/5
Rules assistant for Southern Rails
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Southern Rails is a board game released in 2015 for 3–5 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by John Bohrer and its main mechanics are Network and Route Building, Hexagon Grid, and Stock Holding.
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About the game
Southern Rails is played on a map of the southeast United States and is similar in style to many of the stock-based, cube-rail games released by Winsome Games since 2007. During set up, players spend two rounds selecting stocks from two of the six available companies, then the game begins. Each turn, a player must place a track cube for one of the companies in which they have stock. The first cube of a company can be placed on any hex, while each subsequent cube for that company must be placed adjacent to another of the same color. Hexes (other than Atlanta) can have 1-3 cubes placed on them, and when a cube is placed in a city — with cities coming in four colors — that railroad's revenue increases by $1-4 depending on the color of the city. When the tenth cube of a company is placed, railroads earn points based on certain criteria — highest revenue, fewest shares owned, most cubes on the map, and most cities of a color in its network — with ties resulting in no points being awarded for a category. (If, for example, both the purple and black railroads have the most red cities in their networks, then no railroad scores the points for having the most red cities in its network.) Each player then scores points equal to the points scored by the railroads in which they have stock. Player order is then reassigned, and players get to select an additional stock after which they again take turns placing cubes on the board. After the fourth scoring round, the game ends and whoever has the most points wins.
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Rio Grande Games
- Winsome Games
Questions and answers
Southern Rails 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 Southern Rails is 60 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 Southern Rails 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.
Southern Rails has a complexity rating of 2.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light 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.
Southern Rails belongs to these categories: Economic, Trains, and Transportation. Its main mechanics are Network and Route Building, Hexagon Grid, and Stock Holding. 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 Southern Rails are: John Bohrer. 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 Southern Rails 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.