Ryan B.: Getting Railroaded
I view two games as the quintessential gateway games to introduce people to the world of Eurogames: Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne. But I think I have a new game to add to this list: Railroad Tycoon from Eagle Games. For those of you not familiar, Railroad Tycoon is a variant of Age of Steam by Martin Wallace. Admittedly, I have played Age of Steam, but did so halfheartedly and found the game somewhat on the dull side.
Recently, I obtained a copy of Railroad Tycoon and somehow managed to fit in a two-player game despite my recent busy schedule. Of course, before I can do a full review, I need to play a broader game involving more people, so my next comments are more “off the cuff” personal opinion rather than a fully disciplined review and should be weighed accordingly.
I could not believe how much I enjoyed Railroad Tycoon, seeing as it runs off the Age of Steam platform. Eagle Games is producing better and better boardgames and Railroad Tycoon chugs along beautifully and dynamically. In Tom Vasel’s excellent “Musings On” series, his most recent discussion was about Age of Steam, and I think Jason Little succinctly opens with the problems with it. Age of Steam, like its Puerto Rico and Caylus brethren, are all thinker’s games where you have to intuitively grasp what is coming out to the board before it actually gets there and plan accordingly. This type of boardgame requires a lot of analysis and forethought. I will concede Age of Steam is an excellent and well-designed game, but I don’t think it’s a fun game – at least not until Eagle Games presented its version.
One nice thing about Railroad Tycoon is that it is much easier to visualize goods and movement of goods, making it more elementary to plan an effective strategy in the first place. The best conflict occurs when players can anticipate the game’s tension with a reasonable degree of certainty and not feel hopelessly lost because they made a few bad playing decisions in the beginning. Poor playing decisions can set you back just as much in Railroad Tycoon as they did in Age of Steam, but these poorer decisions are now far easier to recognize and thus can be mitigated early on.
The toy factor in this Eagle Games production is once again incredible and I really believe that adds a lot to the fun factor in any game. In simplifying the rules to the game, Martin Wallace and Glenn Drover have upped the accessibility considerably and have truly turned Railroad Tycoon into a “gateway” for Eurogames. I will say that if you like what Age of Steam offers, you will probably still prefer it over Railroad Tycoon, but at the same time it will probably be a lot easier to get more people to play the Eagle Games version.
Why do I think this? Invariably games like Puerto Rico, Caylus and Age of Steam draw players to the game who become experts at it, creating best opening moves or “must play” strategic scenarios given a particular situation in the game. These are all “tactician’s games” where the focus is on the game itself and making the best “play.” The goal is not just to master the game but to master the best of the other players as well. Eagle Games puts the fun back into Railroad Tycoon as it can appeal to a broader audience of game players. By making it lighter, with strategy that’s more easily visualized, it becomes more inviting for the casual game player looking for something deeper. And everyone gets more of an opportunity to play well without necessarily being dominated by someone who is an expert at the game.
For me, right now anyway, Railroad Tycoon becomes one of the surprise “must buys” of the Christmas season.
Anyway, I will be writing more about this topic, too, but at a later date. There is definitely more to discuss about it.
My final thought for our readers: One of the more unheralded websites that is gaining increasing prominence is Alfred Wallace’s Best Of The Blogosphere. It is a great place to get a summary of the best of boardgame writings each week.
One note for manufactuers of games:
My policy is to review games that I think our readers will enjoy and will take an active interest in. I look to write reviews that I think will be positive for everyone, including our readers, Boardgame News and of course, you the manufacturer. As such, if there is a game you would like me to review, please e-mail me at rdbret@gmail.com and we can discuss the particulars. Please bear in mind, I seek to review games that I believe will be a lot of fun. My responsibility is to explain to our readers why I believe that is the case.
So I try to be careful in my selections. If I am asked to review a game, and it does not meet expectations, I am also compelled to explain our readers why that is the case.
Till next time… Merry Christmas.
Posted by Ryan B. on Dec 21, 2005 at 03:00 AM in Columnists, Ryan B. / 1357
Comments:
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Nice report, Ryan. I realize this wasn’t your intent, but I am seeing something of schism between Age of Steam and Railroad Tycoon players. Fans of one game seem to feel the need to poke holes at the other. I’m just happy that the AoS system has proved to be robust enough that it can be used in two games which seem to attract different types of gamers. Fun, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. Fans of AoS (including me) find the intellectual challenge of the game to be enormously fun. There’s also plenty of smack talk while playing--this is not a game played in quiet contemplation. I can see why the game would be too much for some players, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun for others. I’m a little surprised that you find the movement of goods easier in RT. I think that’s pretty much unchanged from AoS. The real differences that others have commented on involve the auction and share distribution. It seems that looking ahead isn’t as important in RT as in AoS (it’s absolutely vital in AoS, lest you fall into the dreaded “debt spiral"), which probably makes RT a more relaxed game. Actually, with the cards and special VP bonuses, RT appears to be a slightly more involved design than AoS. The reason it appears to be more approachable is that it’s less unforgiving. I suppose if we played AoS more, some of our players would approach “expert” status. But we like playing new releases too much for any one game to get a huge number of plays. So our games include players who understand the system, but who haven’t mastered it (if that’s even possible). Games are very enjoyable, but hardly chess-like in their precision. As far as mastering other players as well as the game, we play ALL our games like that, including Settlers and Carcassonne. Competition is fun as well. I’ve yet to play RT, but one of gamers in our group owns it (and, fortunately, also possesses the necessarily enormous table to hold it), so I’m sure I’ll get the chance to try it out soon. Hopefully, the potential problems with the design that some have mentioned (including reduced interaction because of the huge playing area and the luck factor introduced with the cards) won’t be issues with me. Given my tastes, I’ll still probably wind up prefering AoS (which, after all, is one of my all-time Top Ten games). But I do hope I have the same enthusiasm for RT as you and many others have shown. Posted by Larry Levy on Dec 21, 2005 at 01:51 PM | #
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All right, since I didn’t blab enough before, I have a couple of non-related comments to make. I’m a little surprised you don’t use Ticket to Ride as one of your primary Euro gateway games, Ryan. I find it much easier to explain than Settlers and I feel it does a better job of handling larger groups than Carcassonne (and certainly has less downtime). Even though players usually begin in something of a fog, by the end of the game, they’re invariably enjoying the game. It truly is the best gateway game I’ve ever encountered. I do agree, however, with your reticence over the multiple versions of the game. I look forward to the new Marklin edition, as the ideas looke interesting and may lead to more strategic play. But for gateway purposes, I can’t imagine ever going away from the original, even if future games wind up having better gameplay. Part of what makes TtR so notable is its ease of explanation and play. Maybe Marklin will turn out to be my Ticket of choice. But the one version of the game that *every* gamer needs to have in his or her home is the original. Posted by Larry Levy on Dec 21, 2005 at 02:24 PM | #
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Hi Larry, Ticket to Ride is at the very top of my list for general “Gateway” games to introduce people to the new world of boardgames. Clue FX, Scotland Yard, Mystery of the Abbey, Simply Suspects etc. are additional games that are good for introducing people back to boardgames… where the pretense is still very casual and the games don’t take up the entire evening. But if and when someone might be ready are ready to step up a bracket into the heavier Eurogames, where the games have a little more depth, that is when Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne… and now Railroad Tycoon make the perfect introductions to the genre, IMO. As for Railroad Tycoon, my thoughts on it are not fully formed yet, but I definitely think it is more accessible than Age of Steam. Like I said, AoS is a very well-designed game. Some people will certainly prefer it over Railroad Tycoon. But I also I think AoS is a much more in-depth “gamer’s” Eurogame… along the same lines of Puerto Rico and Caylus. But for someone who wants the flavor of AoS, with better theming, much more fun components and an easier to comprehend overall set-up… right now my choice is an easy one. Railroad Tycoon. : ) Posted by Ryan Bretsch on Dec 21, 2005 at 06:10 PM | #
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