Pyramid Review
Russian Rails
Published by Mayfair Games
Created by Jodi Soares
Boxed set; $38.00
Russian Rails is the latest in Mayfair Games' highly successful Empire Builder line of games, joining previous efforts such as Empire Builder, British Rails, EuroRails, Nippon Rails, India Rails, Australia Rails, Iron Dragon, and Lunar Rails.
For those unfamiliar with the line, the Empire Builder series is one of the mainstays of train-based board games. Each product uses the same set of rules, with (usually) very minor variations. Each game is played on a plastic-coated map of a given locale that is overlaid with a pattern of dots and symbols to represent special terrain features, such as mountains. The object of the game is twofold: to create an extensive network of rail lines, and to be the first player to reach 250 million "dollars." To do this, players are given a fixed sum of money at the beginning of the game with which to lay initial track, represented by erasable crayon marks drawn by each player on the map, and then are given a series of three cards that describe various cities that need commodities, and how much payment one will receive for completing the loads. Players then have to balance going to particular supply cities to pick up the various commodities, and then freighting them to demand cities, funneling the profits from the run back into further rail construction. Upgrading of trains to faster or more spacious machines is also possible. As the game progresses, smaller . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: February 18, 2005
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