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Eric Flood
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Railroad Tycoon » Forums » Reviews
Railroad Tycoon is more fun...
I have always loved trains, since I was little. When I was little, if my parents drove over train tracks and a train was coming, I used to tell them to turn around so we could see the train go by.

It is likely this enthusiasm for rails that made me interested in Railroad Tycoon in the first place. I picked it up in early 2007 at a FLGS in Seattle, even knowing I would have to deal with warpring and blue/purple issues, and amidst discussion of a possible reprint soon to be hitting stores. I have not once regretted that decision.

Components

This is the game by which every other game's components are to be measured. You begin with a large and wonderful looking map which will end full of visually pleasing pieces.

A MASSIVE board in three pieces, hundreds of quality tiles to lay on the board, trains to place on these tiles for easy reference to ownership while keeping the theme at the forefront of the players' thoughts, empty city markers which sound useless on paper but create a quick count as to the game's progression and remove any doubts that you are playing anything but a game about trains. A ton of cubes with the cloth sack included (something many games needing one simply don't supply), thick train cards easily differentiable from Ops cards and Tycoon cards, which themselves are very nicely done and still show zero signs of wear after a fair amount of use.

The boards do indeed warp, but this only causes frustration when you pull the boards out of the box - once everything is set up, it is hardly an issue (aside from the Action 1 circle, which is in between two boards). There is also the blue/purple problem, as well as a potential problem when you have three or more people on the scoring track in the same place. But you work around these things quite easily, and experienced players do not have problems.

starstarstarstarstar

Rules/Gameplay

The rulebook is perfectly fine, a little difficult to find a few things but short enough for that not to be too tricky. Aside from the number of Empty City markers to use each game, I haven't needed to reference anything after the second game or so.

This is an engine-building game. You will start out small, and get much larger and more complex as the game progresses. You will be having to choose between improving your network, upgrading your train, or moving goods. The latter will help you fund the first two, but you can also create an infinite amount of money for yourself through Shares.

Shares don't work the same way they do in real life. Instead, you get an instant $5,000 to spend on anything you want. The catch is that you can NEVER pay this back to the bank, and each share is -$1000 each turn, as well as -1 point at the end of the game. But you can use them to get an advantage over your opponents, and have a better-functioning network even while paying for it with higher share costs.

By midgame, you need to be paying attention to what cities are likely to run out of cubes, as well as when the empty city markers will reach the game-ending number. Make sure you have enough cubes to move for that time, and upgrade your engine if necessary to keep the points flowing in. New players will often run out of cubes about 2/3 of the way into the game, and be forced to make costly improvements to their networks for only a few points while the other players continue moving goods more efficiently. Keep your networks ready for the long run!

There is some randomness in the game, a by-product of the streamlining of some of the mechanics in AoS. Each turn, players bid for turn order, typically fighting over a powerful card or being able to build first into desirable territory. As you are bidding solely for first turn, if you do not want to pay money for the opportunity to go first, whether you go 2nd or 6th is not up to you at all. This bit of chaotic randomness can hurt you on the rare occasion, but there is a variant of making this more similar to the AoS turn order - i.e., the order players pass in is your turn order (first to pass is last to play).

The second bit of randomness, which affects the game more than the first, is the placement of cubes onto the board. While the initial placement simply creates a game that is different each time, you will sometimes be pulling random cubes out of the bag, which can be either really good or really bad for you.

Finally, there is a large bit of randomness in which cards come out. First, you receive a Tycoon card which can net you some bonus points if you accomplish the goal described. You can play with the variant of each player receiving two Tycoon cards and keeping one to help keep the randomness manageable. The operations cards can be completely random as well, and if you are counting on getting bonus points for completing a route between Baltimore and Atlanta, but the card never surfaces, and you do not get points you were otherwise counting on.

I might perhaps be making them sound more random than they really are in a game, but they are certainly factors which can affect the game - and be the decisive factor in a close race!

A word on the areas:

Many people think that the NorthEast is the strongest area of the board, but it is often an area I stay away from unless there isn't much interest. With 2-3 people getting involved in the NE and surrounding areas, it can often be difficult to build out of there efficiently. If you find yourself looking at the NE, make sure you look what's happening in the SE as well - a player undisturbed down there for a large portion of game can quite easily win, as there are often many great connections to be made even though it looks like you will be building more track than the NE. The west, if open, is also a valuable location to build - but watch out for people trying to get into Chicago, it can ruin any strategy you might have, and leave you far behind!

I have seen the SW used once, and on that one occassion, it was nowhere even near to Dallas. The game probably could have had a 2/3 size reduction by changing the perspective to have a 30-degree off-North top of the board, but everything else would have looked so weird it is probably better just to have included the area. Perhaps a few more small towns in that area would have been nice to keep it active, but as things are I have no complaints.

starstarstarstarstar

Fun

A word on “fun.” By fun, I am referring to how enjoyable the game is in the time that it takes to play. Some games would be fun if the game took half an hour, but since they take 3, they are no longer any fun. Some games are so fun, they would continue being fun for 3x as long as it takes to play. Sometimes this is characterized by the desire to play again immediately.

RRT falls much closer to the latter. Although with 5 or 6 players, the game can take too long and exhaust players such that they aren't immediately up for another game, nearly everyone wants to play it again the next time they see the box. The desire to see what happens if you start in the West, money-be-damned, or to build up to a level 4 train very quickly and take off with a ton of 4-point deliveries while everyone else is delivering 2, can be very strong with this game, and constructing a good cube-moving engine is a great goal that most people enjoy.

That said, the game can drag on if you have more than 4 players, and a new player put into these circumstances will probably have fallen behind long ago and wanted to quit half an hour before the game finished, frustrated at the lack of options they have by the end of the game. Keep new players to 3-4 player games for best results. I generally believe 3-5 is the best way of playing the game anyway.

Note: 5 stars is if you finish and immediately want to play another game - something which probably won't happen with games longer than an hour.

starstarstarstarhalfstar


Best Played with:

As I was discussing above, the game can tend to drag with more than 4 players, 6 players can be particularly slow with players taking a long time/new players. The game doesn't play too well with 2 players, either, as there is very little competition on the board, and you will be making runs of 8 for a long time before the game is over.

Another note: 5 stars means the game plays best with this, all other stars are relative amounts.

2: starstarstarnostarnostar
3: starstarstarstarhalfstar
4: starstarstarstarstar
5: starstarstarstarhalfstar
6: starstarstarstarnostar

Conclusion:

Despite some petty problems with production/design, the components help to make this game an immersive experience and a challenging and fun game which can be played in a reasonable amount of time. The sense of completion you get when staring at a finished board can be quite satisfying, and the gameplay itself tends to be both tight and fun. There is little downtime (aside from aforementioned slow players with 5-6), and things keep flowing fairly smoothly. There is a small chance for a new player to be almost completely knocked out of the game early on, but the game tends to be relatively forgiving and this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

In the end, I don't know if I will ever get sick of this game, and am usually quite excited to play it. Rails of Europe has recently come out, but I haven't yet gotten to play it - soon!

I know there is talk of making a "Rails of... (Eastern US?)" sometime soon, but that could still be a while. The international version of the game is fairly easy to find right now (although one of the oddest editions I've ever heard about, and would sincerely suggest reading more on it before grabbing), and if you don't want to wait/don't like the Rails Of name, you should grab this game as soon as possible - I can almost assure you that you will not regret it.

starstarstarstarstar

Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

(for more info, see here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/2176519 )
Last edited on 2008-03-22 17:26:43 CST (Total Number of Edits: 2)
tim
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blueatheart wrote:

Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

Can you expand on that? If this is more fun why is AOS better?
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eightbit wrote:
blueatheart wrote:

Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

Can you expand on that? If this is more fun why is AOS better?


I second the question. I have long been pondering purchasing a railroad game, and I'm always interested to read opinions on how AoS, RRT, and TTR compare with each other.
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eightbit wrote:
blueatheart wrote:

Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

Can you expand on that? If this is more fun why is AOS better?


The next review will come soon. But I can only write one at a time.
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Quote:
I second the question. I have long been pondering purchasing a railroad game, and I'm always interested to read opinions on how AoS, RRT, and TTR compare with each other.


Based on two things - the AT badge and that you haven't ever played a railroad game before - I would highly suggest RRT.

TTR would very likely be too simple, or too "Euro-ish" for you - it's simple connections by matching cards.

AoS is difficult to find right now (even more so than RRT!), and is a more difficult game to play. It's also less thematic than RRT. RRT is beautiful and easier to get into - there is a higher chance that as a "casual railroader" you will enjoy it than AoS.

That said, AoS is the better game as far as "gamer's games" go. There is more depth, more challenge, more brain-burning going on. I'm actually really impressed that they took the AoS mechanics and made it into a much easier game, actually.

I'll write an AoS review at some point in the near future, and it will be more of a comparison than this. Others might have different views on this than I, but I would definitely suggest RRT before AoS, as things currently stand. If you find yourself enjoying RRT a lot, then go for AoS.
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I played the new rails of europe map last night and that was one of the most fun RRT plays iv had.

RRT is just good old plain fun :)


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Zordren wrote:
eightbit wrote:
blueatheart wrote:

Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

Can you expand on that? If this is more fun why is AOS better?


I second the question. I have long been pondering purchasing a railroad game, and I'm always interested to read opinions on how AoS, RRT, and TTR compare with each other.


Eric, Excellent review! I'm one of the people who rate both RRT and AoS a 10. They are 2 of my favorite games but I like playing them with different people. Age of Steam is more cut throat and unforgiving. There is less luck, smaller ugly boards but lots of possible boards. RRT is much less cut throat because the map is so much bigger but that also means there is less interaction with players. There is more luck and that big huge map board. I personally like RRT with 5 players it makes the game a little tighter. Rails of Europe is a smaller map board for 3 - 4 players.

Zordren, I'm pushing the Ameri-Trashfest up in Baltimore, Maryland May 1 - 4 hopefully you can make it up to play some games with us. It's interesting that we voted to include RRT as a Trashfest game but AoS was kicked off the list. Saturday May 3rd we're playing Twilight Imperium 3. Check out the info:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/28957
Zordren wrote:
I have long been pondering purchasing a railroad game, and I'm always interested to read opinions on how AoS, RRT, and TTR compare with each other.

Ticket to Ride is not a railroad game.
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Quote:
Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

To me that sounds like a contradiction. In my book any game that is more fun is always the better game. :)
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blueatheart wrote:
Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

Age of Steam is a heavier game, for me it was more work than fun. Railroad Tycoon is pure enjoyment with lots of interesting decisions, I'm happy to own it and leave AoS for those other guys.
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Blueatheart:

Thanks for the additional input into comparing the two games. I was kind of leaning towards RRT vice AoS based off other stuff I had read. Not sure when I'll get to buying one, but when I do, I'll be able to make a better informed decision thanks, in part, to your help!


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blueatheart wrote:
That said, AoS is the better game as far as "gamer's games" go. There is more depth, more challenge, more brain-burning going on.


But I don't think that necessarily makes it a better game. Like you said, it makes it a better gamer's game, whatever that means. I've never played AoS, but would like to, but if it's not more fun, it won't be the better game for me.
Last edited on 2008-03-23 00:20:42 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)
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rnijholt wrote:
Quote:
Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

To me that sounds like a contradiction. In my book any game that is more fun is always the better game. :)


You took the words right out of my mouth. I haven't played AoS, so I have no comment on it. However, if it's not as fun as RRT, it can't be considered better (at least, from my perspective).
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DavidT wrote:
rnijholt wrote:
Quote:
Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

To me that sounds like a contradiction. In my book any game that is more fun is always the better game. :)


You took the words right out of my mouth. I haven't played AoS, so I have no comment on it. However, if it's not as fun as RRT, it can't be considered better (at least, from my perspective).


There are a lot of games out there which are a lot of fun to play, and take about half an hour. These are usually more party-ish games, where everyone can enjoy themselves and not think too hard and usually is accompanied by laughter and beer. These games might be very fun for a certain length of time, and for that given time be more fun than your favorite game. But when push comes to shove as to choosing a game to play, the better game will often prevail.

For example, I can have a really good time playing Zombies!!! with the right modifications such that it takes half an hour or so. I can really enjoy moving the zombies around and making people run through a gauntlet of Zombies through a particularly devastating card. It can be great fun. But, although I can have a great time with it, I usually enjoy the challenge of a heavier game, and so it doesn't come out very often in favor of heavier games.
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rnijholt wrote:
Quote:
Railroad Tycoon is more fun, but Age of Steam is the better game

To me that sounds like a contradiction. In my book any game that is more fun is always the better game. :)


I agree. But what we need is Clearclaw here to explain to us... in Vulcan... why fun does not make a game logically a better game. Like Spock, Clearclaw believes that one need not have fun more frequently than every seven years.
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I think it depends on how you define "fun." Gamers who enjoy and thrive on challenge, and like Railroad themed games, will tend toward games like 1830, 1856, etc., but will happily settle on Age of Steam as a middle ground between challenge and randomness (and length of playing time). There is little if any randomness in 18XX games and only a bit more in AoS (cube placement and goods production); and, the better known 18XX games take a good while to play through, while AoS takes no longer to play than RRT. RRT and RoE have a good deal more randomness in the cube seeding, Tycoon card assignment and event card appearance which some dislike but others find enjoyable. The "fun" factor is a highly individual thing...
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Bubslug wrote:
I think it depends on how you define "fun." Gamers who enjoy and thrive on challenge, and like Railroad themed games, will tend toward games like 1830, 1856, etc., but will happily settle on Age of Steam as a middle ground between challenge and randomness (and length of playing time). There is little if any randomness in 18XX games and only a bit more in AoS (cube placement and goods production); and, the better known 18XX games take a good while to play through, while AoS takes no longer to play than RRT. RRT and RoE have a good deal more randomness in the cube seeding, Tycoon card assignment and event card appearance which some dislike but others find enjoyable. The "fun" factor is a highly individual thing...


One can certainly argue (and many have) against 18xx games as actually being "railroad" games...the network building and train purchasing comprises about 10-20% of a game.

There are two aspects of RRT I have neglected - turn order and cube placing, I will correct this immediately.
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"Railroad themed games" was the expression I used, and it would take a new thread to properly discuss what qualifies as a railroad game as opposed to one with merely a theme related to railroading. In most instances what we are seeing are matters of degree.

None of these are simulators, and there are many aspects to railroading from network building (laying track), to scheduling, to goods delivery not to mention capitalization, train development, revenue generation (freight vs. passenger), maintenance and on and on. Some games reflect only some aspects of these, but no boardgame I know of reflects all aspects that go into rail development and operation.

I would argue that games such as 1830 and 1856 reflect more of the entire industry than do others. I think network building and train purchasing probably accounts for even less than 10-20% of the real industry...
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Regarding the Blue/Purple problem
Someone has made the perfect new labels for the cities:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/115415

We downloaded the image into our graphics program and then had to experiment a bit as the recommended DPI didn't work for us. We printed a few test runs in black and white on paper and compared it with the game tiles until we got the image to the right size.

We then printed the image on color on a page-size label. We cut around the images and just applied them right to the board. Confusion over. Most people never even notice that something was different.

So go, use the stickers, and tip the guy. He deserves some serious props!
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blueatheart wrote:
TTR would very likely be too simple, or too "Euro-ish" for you - it's simple connections by matching cards.

I love Ticket to Ride and AOS. There is a time and place for both games. I would have bought AOS by now if I could find it for retail but I'm not going to pay a crazy price for it.


ideogram wrote:
Zordren wrote:
I have long been pondering purchasing a railroad game, and I'm always interested to read opinions on how AoS, RRT, and TTR compare with each other.

Ticket to Ride is not a railroad game.

Huh? What more does it need to be considered a train game?
eightbit wrote:
ideogram wrote:
Ticket to Ride is not a railroad game.

Huh? What more does it need to be considered a train game?

See the links I provided.
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ideogram wrote:
eightbit wrote:
ideogram wrote:
Ticket to Ride is not a railroad game.

Huh? What more does it need to be considered a train game?

See the links I provided.
In the first link just as much is said defending it as a train game as is said about it not being a train game. In the second link I disagree with the conclusion. Its a set collection game to create routes, that much is true bot those routes link destinations like train tracks. That and all the artwork being train related makes it a train game to me. If you use this as a measuring stick most games would probably have their theme tossed out. Just becuase its not complicated enough or some people don't like the game mechanic doesn't mean its not worthy of being called a train game. What kids train games are out there? (I'm to tired to go look) Are these not train games because they aren't a simulation of the train industry?
eightbit wrote:
In the first link just as much is said defending it as a train game as is said about it not being a train game. In the second link I disagree with the conclusion.

If you disagree with them, go to those links and argue with them there.
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ideogram wrote:
eightbit wrote:
In the first link just as much is said defending it as a train game as is said about it not being a train game. In the second link I disagree with the conclusion.

If you disagree with them, go to those links and argue with them there.
I'm not discussing it with them, I'm discussing it with you.
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