Kris Hall: The Future of Train Games
It’s no mystery why train games are so popular: no business makes as extensive use of terrain as railroads do--meaning that as soon as one thinks of trains and games, mapboards naturally suggest themselves. Add to this potential the lingering romance of railroads as the cutting edge technology of the nineteenth century, and fascination with the financial shenanigans and empire-building of such men as Jay Gould, Collis Huntington, and J. P. Morgan, and it is not surprising that railroad games are among the most popular subgenres in the boardgame hobby.
But playing a couple of games at Origins made me think that it is about time that some innovations appeared in this genre, and that these innovations are already occurring. The first game I played was a demo copy of Steam. Like many gamers, I am a fan of the Martin Wallace cube-shuttling family of railroad games that include Railroad Tycoon and Age of Steam. And Steam seems to be a decent refinement of the cube-shuttling game, without as many random elements as Railroad Tycoon, and less brutal than Age of Steam. And yet my single of play of the game left me cold. The whole thing was just too familiar. Exactly how many similar cube-shuttling games do I need to own?
Later that same day, I taught a game of Chicago Express to two gamers who had never played it before. I had played it only once before myself, and playing it a second time has increased my fascination with the game. It is one of my current favorites. The stock auctions at the heart of game create a large number of painful judgment calls as players try to figure out exactly how much a particular block of stock is worth. Bidding too high can drain you of cash and take you out of future stock auctions. Bidding too low delivers precious income into the hands of your opponents. Putting stock up for auction turn after turn gives your opponents opportunities to acquire stock while using their own turns to develop their own railroads’ income. I am happy to learn that Queen Games has acquired the Wabash Cannonball expansions from Winsome Games and will publish them as a Chicago Express expansion.
Martin Wallace himself placed a stock auction mechanism in Steel Driver, one of his most recent railroad games. More than one person has remarked on a rough similarity between Steel Driver and Chicago Express/Wabash Cannonball, with Steel Driver being the slimmer and more elegant game, and Chicago/Wabash having more chrome and historical flavor. No matter which game one prefers, the auction mechanism in Steel Driver creates the same kind of painful decisions as the auctions in Chicago/Wabash.
Of course, some of you are now thinking, why is Kris getting all excited about stock mechanisms in railroad games? 18XX games have stock in them, and they’ve been around for decades. True enough. But the complexity and long playing time of many of the 18XX games makes them unappealing to many ordinary gamers--even though they have a small and devoted following of their own. Chicago/Wabash and Steel Driver place the stock mechanism in games of moderate complexity and playing time to create games with broad appeal.
Even the cube-shuttling game has now been spiced up with a stock mechanism. Railways of England and Wales, the new expansion in the Railroad Tycoon/Railways of the World family of games has a set of rules that use a stock mechanism. I think that this will help add a welcome touch of complexity to this overly-familiar genre. If I may make a modest suggestion to FRED Distribution: when you create the mega-game of American railroading by combining an east-coast and west-coast map into one big game, include an optional stock mechanism, and more than a few gamers will be grateful.
Looking ahead, Winsome Games will debut Baltimore and Ohio at Essen. B&O is another railroad-and-stock game that has gotten some favorable buzz on BGG--although with its longer playing time, the game seems to be edging into 18XX territory.
I am not suggesting here that a stock mechanism is all that is necessary to elevate a mediocre train game to greatness. And if game designers all decide to add stock auctions to their RR games, then this mechanism will soon be as overly-familiar as cube-shuttling. What I am suggesting is that the train game genre is currently benefiting from innovations, and that hopefully more innovations are on the way. What else could designers do? Combine railroads with other industries (as Martin Wallace did in a minor way in Brass).
The American railroad has a glorious past. I bet the train game has a glorious future.
© 2009 Kris Hall
Posted by Kris Hall on Jul 10, 2009 at 01:00 AM in Columnists, Kris Hall / 2327
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Warren Buffett says that the economic indicator that he pays closest attention to is the US Freight Train Index. With over 60 published railroad games, we here at Winsome agree that railroads are still very important, Kris. Posted by John Bohrer on Jul 10, 2009 at 07:05 AM | #
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What hasnt been done to often are Railroadgames were a network also can be destroyed through War etc. (Winsome done one once AFAICR) Also possible is a closing of lines and/or stations to save money.
Posted by Peer Sylvester on Jul 10, 2009 at 08:25 AM | #
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and, of course, there’s talk of a revamped Union Pacific from the venerable Mr. Moon. That game was all stocks with routes determining limits to expansion, not cube shuttling. Posted by Jeff Allers on Jul 10, 2009 at 10:32 AM | #
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I’m working on something new for train games :) Posted by Steven Metzger on Jul 10, 2009 at 12:13 PM | #
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I am still on the lookout for a good and modern game that covers the operational side of the railroad genre. I want to build my tracks to the best places based on local supply and demand. Posted by Rob Cannon on Jul 10, 2009 at 12:40 PM | #
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And of course: Cthuluhu-Railroad :) Posted by Peer Sylvester on Jul 10, 2009 at 12:46 PM | #
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Mr. Metzger: Keep me informed on developments, if you so desire. Personal email is Posted by Kris Hall on Jul 10, 2009 at 03:11 PM | #
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The only good train game I can think of is one where the train is being shot to hell by a P-47 or a Typhoon! Posted by David Knepper on Jul 10, 2009 at 04:35 PM | #
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Hmmm, it looks like *someone* has been playing PanzerZug! I am surprised it is not on the P100… Posted by John Bohrer on Jul 10, 2009 at 04:54 PM | #
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It appears that the theory of stock issuance is overblown if history and accuracy are a foundation of the assessment. While there have been mergers in the grandiose days of the railroading, there were very few, if any, cases where a railroad was stolen from the owner. Considering the lax authority of stocks at the time, an owner would never, ever lose controlling interest. As such, if a historically meaningful game is to be made with investment vehicle, in all likelihood the issuance of debt, i.e., bonds, are far more indicative of the raising of capital. Pretty darn boring in comparison to the false stock frenzy and the loss of control of a railway system. Therefore, stock manipulation may be an interesting game of wall street simplification, but it is quite out of place in a train game if it means losing control of the railroad. A form of resource management, land grabbing, or some such form of area control prior to having the ability to put down the rails would present an area that has not been fully explored. However, the fallacy and falsity of stock mayhem is irritating in the historical sense. Posted by Hank Arkin on Jul 10, 2009 at 05:17 PM | #
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Read The Life and Legend of Jay Gould by Maury Klein. In Chapter 20 (entitled Blitzkrieg)Klein describes how Gould gained control of a large number of small railroads (mostly with stock purchases)in a matter of months. Gould was an exceptionally aggressive stock raider, but it was certainly possible to make hostile takeovers using stock. But you are correct in that many railroads raised capital with bonds. Posted by Kris Hall on Jul 10, 2009 at 08:33 PM | #
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I love railway games but most railway games have bare no comparison with the ‘real’ railways today. In the UK we can’t do without a rail network but they can’t survive in a free market. Hence vast public subsidy, a regulatory environment and decisions made on political expediency rather than the best movement of real cubes over a net work you have built. In fact there has been virtually no new track routes laid since the 19th century (CTRL excepted) - capital investment has been in signaling, renewals and systems to improve performance. Ownership of infrastructure and train operations have been separated into separate ownership and control. I wonder if there is a game to be made there? The preview here in the Essen section of Last Train to Wensleydale looked promising. Posted by Paul Lister on Jul 11, 2009 at 05:31 AM | #
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I agree that the UK chose poorly here, but the US is on a different track. “All the evidence is there that the train is returning to a degree once never expected [and that] an economic and cultural tsunami is about to transform the United States,” says Harvard professor John Stilgoe, author of the recently published book Train Time (University of Virginia Press, 2007). “Change is everywhere along the railroads....Track is being expanded, modernized and relaid, and once-abandoned rail right-of-ways are being reclaimed. And what you are seeing now is only the beginning. The best is yet to come.” Upgrading to the latest level of technology of capital equipment is expensive, but pays excellent dividends. This economic mechanism is featured in Eddie Robbins’ new game, Baltimore & Ohio. Posted by John Bohrer on Jul 11, 2009 at 06:17 AM | #
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Thanks - i will have a look at Baltimore and Ohio. Despite poor choices, the use of trains is thriving in the UK - passenger numbers at levels not seen for fifty years. But its about squeezing more out of an ancient network than expansion. Until recently I worked for the UK’s national rail infrastructure provider - and the training ‘games’ we played were all about efficiency rather than growth. As you say v different from the US. Posted by Paul Lister on Jul 11, 2009 at 06:53 AM | #
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@ Peer - ah yes! as a Rochesterian, urban explorer, and (very) mild train fan, I feel this would be quite the appealing map! @ all - I will come out of the shadows and admit that I don’t own a single train game but the interest has always been there. I fall victim, like I am sure others do as well, to not taking the leap due to branding train games in my mind as cube shuttling exclusively. The railroading theme has always allured me..but sadly, I have purchased too many games for my collection that fall short in terms of actual mechanics. In the end, my strategist mind tends to crave many things to worry and manage to really hold my interest when gaming. Many Train titles are certainly on my radar - but none have ever made it into the collection. As a result, I have charged myself with the responsibility of giving one a shot this year..and possibly purchasing one as a result. A game that hopefully has many of the things described by Kris here, including shuttling, stocks, and a realistic playing time (1-3 hrs). Posted by tom moughan on Jul 11, 2009 at 08:52 AM | #
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"But its about squeezing more out of an ancient network than expansion.” There really isn’t anything wrong with an ancient network, I think, the problem is the ancient capital equipment on the network. US commercial carriers are upgrading to better continuous track, better signaling & control systems, multi-mode transport, etc. North of Pittsburgh, General Electric is producing ever improved locomotives that carry more further for less fuel. Another factor is that the US freight train business is privately owned and they know that investment in efficient new capital equipment pays off. On the other hand, the US passenger service (AMTRAK) is government run. It loses money and is just terrible. I hate to admit it, but it is true. Posted by John Bohrer on Jul 11, 2009 at 11:29 AM | #
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A design that doesn’t get considered nearly often enough when train games are discussed is Knizia’s Stephenson’s Rocket, which I consider The Good Doctor’s masterpiece. It’s a touch abstract, but most of these games make necessary departures from reality in the interest of playability. Stephenson’s includes shares of communally owned railroads, but here they’re used in a brilliant veto system that gives the players tough decisions on almost every turn of the game. An upgrade of the system to a US map fell through last year, but if you have the chance to play the original, I recommend you do so. Warning: like most great train games, it has a steep learning curve, but the effort to master this wonderful game is well worth it. Posted by Larry Levy on Jul 11, 2009 at 11:32 AM | #
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Yes, I am a fan of Stephenson’s Rocket. I hope to trade for a copy at some point. Posted by Kris Hall on Jul 11, 2009 at 12:16 PM | #
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Michael Barnes has written a review of the Japanese game “Train Raider” which involves combat. http://www.gameshark.com/features/595/Cracked-LCD-103-Train-Raider-Review.htm Posted by Mark Crane on Jul 13, 2009 at 09:02 PM | #
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More discussion of Train Raider at FortressAT: http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1221&Itemid=551 Posted by Mark Crane on Jul 13, 2009 at 09:04 PM | #
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