Game: Dampfross

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Werbaer — 2007-07-08T10:46:10+00:00

components

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Werbaer — 2007-07-08T10:45:55+00:00

back of the box

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samoan_jo — 2007-02-03T11:38:29+00:00

'Spiel des Jahres 1984' - full frame shot of the German (2nd) edition (Schmidt)

Thread: Adding the international routes to the Germany board

themilkcrate — 2007-02-01T03:32:18+00:00

Mark and I fit in a few games Wednesday after school and settled on Dampfross, since our options for 2-player games are limited. This was Mark's second time playing. I have put in quite a few rounds of Dampfross, as it was my first German game (and only one for quite a while). Dampfross sat on the shelf for a long while before I introduced it to Mark and Stacy two weeks ago, mostly because clean up with the crayons was such a bear. Last time we played, we decided to try dry-erase markers and they worked great. Mark enjoys the game, and adding the international routes today injected some new life into it for me.

We chose the Germany board, which we had played last time and which I have used for 95% of the games of Dampfross that I have played. We decided to start only in Hamburg and Munchen, because the last time we played, it seemed like Berlin was at a disadvantage to start. To start game one, I won Rock-Paper-Scissors and chose Hamburg. I raced to the Ruhrgebiet and picked up the cluster of cities there. Mark was rolling poorly, and kept to the south too long, as I beat him to Kassel and Frankfurt. I had a strong network by the time we completed the last city and won rather handily (261-187).

While we played the first game, Mark asked about the ferries, and I read the directions about the international routes. These involve alternating every other race between the standard domestic routes and routes between foreign countries and/or German harbors. We decided to play a second game using these rules.

I won Rock-Paper-Scissors and again chose Hamburg. Mark had a stronger start out of Munchen, both in rolling and in his choice of direction. He competed more for cities and we ended the building phase with a more balanced split (18-14, my advantage). I had a point advantage as we moved to the racing phase, but had made a large tactical error. I wasn't watching how many cities were left, and had neglected to connect to any foreign countries. I had also left a train line one unit short of Berlin (even though I had started some other routes).

Mark was able to take quick advantage of these errors, as he won the first two races unopposed - one international and one to Berlin. He used all his points to build up more international connections and to strengthen his network elsewhere. I was sure that I was in an insurmountable hole. But I lucked out, the next city rolled was good for my network, and I won the race. I spent all my points on international connections, and the playing field was pretty level - so level in fact, that we spent most of the game trading the lead back and forth. It seemed that I won all the city races, and Mark won all the international races. At one point, we tied in a race, and that made the score even closer. We had some good long races and a few crazy short ones (one was 10 units for him, 11 for me). In one race, I beat Mark by one point, and he returned the favor twice. Heading into the last few races, it was 220-211. I won the next to the last game to make the score 240-221 and the rest was a formality.

I really liked the addition of the international races. It gave you a lot to spend your winning points on, and made for fun long races. It gave a new perspective to parts of the board and to certain routes. I think we will always choose to play with them in the future.

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moxtaveto — 2006-09-20T21:04:58+00:00

first German edition from Bütehorn

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Lord_Prussian — 2006-07-20T05:55:09+00:00

Representative Image

Thread: Turn order issues

Psauberer — 2006-03-12T06:49:56+00:00

It seems as if there are several sets of rules floating around for this game. The biggest questions we had regarded turn order in the operations phase.

For declaring whether a player was going to race and which route he/she was going to take, we did it in descending order of cash on hand.

For extending a network after the race, we went with the rule that you could only use cash earned during that turn. Building was done in order of the winner of the race, then the second place player, then any other players who had earned cash that round, in descending order of cash earned. Before the race was actually won, we only transferred the net cash difference between players and only counted that as available for extending a line. We also did not allow any cash earned during the network extension (from crossing or parallelling a track) to be used by the receiving player for network extension.

Do these seem correct or at least reasonable?

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H-Alga — 2005-12-12T18:22:39+00:00

Dampfross 1 - USA ost & USA west

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H-Alga — 2005-12-12T18:22:39+00:00

Dampfross 1 - Frankreich & Deutschland

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H-Alga — 2005-12-12T18:22:39+00:00

Dampfross 1

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H-Alga — 2005-12-12T18:22:39+00:00

Dampfross 1 box

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Scarlet — 2005-11-21T22:14:27+00:00

Dutch box front

Thread: Re: Destination Cards

OutpostGamma — 2005-10-29T12:51:57+00:00

Thanks, man. Picked up Dampfross at the Hiedelberg flea market this morning for 2 Euro. Looks a little like the forerunner of Empire builder (or vice versa).

Thread: Tao of Gaming Review

Bankler — 2005-08-27T15:53:44+00:00

[This was originally written around 1994. -- Brian]

I was walking through a local game store's 25% off sale, testing my weight lifting skills, when I saw a copy of Dampfross. I've been collecting European games long enough to realize that this was the German version of Railway Rivals (or vice versa). Dampfross (German for Steam Horse or, if you mispronounce it, Steam Frog) won the Spiel des Jahres in 1984. It has been reprinted and imported by Mayfair. I picked up a copy.

Description

A game has two stages, the build stage and the race stage. First players take turns building tracks. During a build round, the first player rolls a die, and each player gets that many credits to spend on track (Excess credits are lost). To build from plain to plain costs 1, plain to mountain (or vice versa) costs 3 and mountain to mountain costs 5. Also, crossing a river adds two to the cost.

In addition, if you want to cross someones track, you have to build a junction, which costs one. And if you want to run parallel track, you have to pay 2 per half-hex of parallel track and you have to buy a juncture, too. During the build phase, the first person to connect to a city gets a 6 credit bonus.

After a round of building, the first player shifts over one space, and the new first player rolls a die to determine how much can be built in the next round. The building stage ends when nearly all of the cities are connected. Then the races begin.

In the race round, there are a series of races. Two cities are randomly picked. Players then decide (in order from most money to least) if they want to run the race. Then they decide what route they want to use. It's free if you use your own track; but for every hex of someone else's track you use, you pay them $1, up to a maximum of $10. Then the race is held, each player rolls 2 dice and moves along his or her route. The first to the destination wins, but each player gets the same number of die rolls, so if more than one person finishes in the same turn, the person with the most extra moves wins, otherwise it is a tie. First place pays 20, second pays 10. If you can't run a race by yourself, you can team up with another player. You get to ride either player's track for free, and split costs and winnings.

After the race, players can build track (with he same rules, except that you spend your own money and if you cross or run parallel to someone's track, you pay them) and the next race is run. As cities are raced to, they are removed from the list of available cities. Some races are special in that they don't end up in cities, but in special locations on the border of the map (such as across the mississippi in the US Map). Once all the cities have been used in a race, the player with the most money wins.

Components

Dampfross (here I'm refering to the Mayfair version) comes with 6 wooden train tokens, two dice (one red and one black, with the red one used as a tens place), 6 crayons and two mapboards. Each of the mapboards is double sided, so you get 4 maps in one game. No paper money is supplied, so you'll have to keep track of your money on paper (or use poker chips -- 2005) The map art is good quality, and the crayon markings come off easily (except in the map's crease). I think that the 4 maps justify the price of $50, because you get four games in one, as each map has it's own unique feel. Ireland is compact, and players almost instantly come into contact with each other. On the Russia map, everyone has to start in Moscow, so you'll connect with every other player at one central point. The Kentucky/Tenn map has a mixture of wide open spaces and mountain ranges and rivers, and the expansive German map allows the players to spread out.

The only problem I have with the layout of the game is the way you pick racing cites. Each city has a number (sometimes two or three for major cities) like 11, 35, 61 or some such. You roll the dice and read the red die as the tens place. This is simple and elegant, but since you can only use each number once, it gets annoying re-rolling the dice to determine the next race. Our group used a variety of dice to eliminate the re-rolls, but it would probably have been better if they had included a pack of cards numbered 11-36. You could simply have drawn two cards and set them aside. As it is, I am probably going to use a set of playing cards and mark them from 11-36 and special 1-6.

Review

Dampfross is a game that almost any group will like. It has luck, but skill definitely shows up. A cut-throat gaming group can easily discover the art of vindictive track placement. Railway diplomacy and the economics are simple but require tough decisions.

On the other hand, the game plays in about 90 minutes to two hours, and makes for a fairly tense game even if you play with 'gentle' building, because of the fun of racing the trains.

If the game has any problem, it is that one player could easily get locked out of any good builing area in the first few turns, and then have almost no chance of winning for the rest of the game. The optional rule presented (The 'Passover' rule), which allows players to consider other players track as part of their own (for building purposes) and thereby allows them to 'pass-over' blocked areas, should solve that problem.

All in All, Dampfross is the promise that EuroRails didn't fulfill.

Update 1999

I haven't played Dampfross in years. I keep threatening too, but I don't. I have no idea why. I think it is a good game, but it just never gets pulled out. It's still my favorite Crayon Rail Game, but I'm just not into Crayon Rail Games.

Update 2005 Funkenschlag took over as my favorite (although I only played it a few times). I play Power Grid quite often, though.

Thread: Re: What to use for pens? Ours are missing?

Blackberry — 2005-06-05T22:06:04+00:00

bwechner wrote:
I'm wondering what people generally use for pens on these boards if the originals are dried up or missing. A standard whiteboard marker? Anyonw have problems getting the markings off? I'd like to avoid that by choosing the wrong pens!

We played recently on a hot day (over 95F) and found that the crayons that come with the game were melting. So we switched to a set of crayons from one of the Empire Builder games and they worked perfectly.

Thread: Destination Cards

Blackberry — 2005-05-23T23:21:40+00:00

I've posted a PDF of a set of destination cards that I made up -- 11 through 66 plus 6 specials. Just draw one for the start and one for the finish of each race. Every third race, draw one of the special destinations.

They can be used for any Dampfross map, but I've printed the city or location names on each card for the four maps in the Laurin edition -- Russia, Ireland, Bavaria, and Kentucky/Tennessee.

Thread: Re:Session Report

JamesT — 2005-02-16T14:51:27+00:00

One more . . .

The one-page rukes summary on the Geek says to play until one player has acquired a certain amount of cash ($200 in a 5-player game). My version just says to play all 21 races and see who has the most cash at the end.

Thread: Re:Session Report

JamesT — 2005-02-16T14:47:30+00:00

I should note that I have the 1993 German "2nd edition" in the black box. I know that different editions have slightly different rules.

After I wrote this session report I downloaded the one-page rule summary here on the Geek. It has 2 rules changes from my version:

1) When rolling to determine the start and destination cities for a race, reroll the cities if they are less than 6 hexes apart. My copy of the rules says reroll if they are less thean 3 hexes apart. The first rule would help avoid short races.

2) After each race, players may spend their winnings from that race to extend their networks. My copy of the rules says that players may spend $10 to expand their networks after every second race. I think the first rule might help speed things along, with only 1 or 2 players building after each race, rather than all players building after every second race.

Thread: Session Report

JamesT — 2005-02-16T14:35:22+00:00

Players: Me (James), Brian, Bob, Phil, and Tami.

Phil has been encouraging is to try and play games from a specific letter of the alphabet each week (2 weeks for each of the 26 letters = play games you otherwise wouldn’t have throughout the year). This week was our first “D” week, so I brought my rarely-played copy of Dampfross.

I’ve played twice before, and I think both times were on the Ireland map, so I suggested the Kentucky and Tennessee map. However, the special locations on that map seemed too confusing, so we turned the board over and played with the Russia map.

The rules explanation went smoothly enough, and we were soon building. On the Russia map, all players start in Moscow -- whereas on the other 3 maps players have a choice of 2 starting cities. This hurt Bob, who built last on the first turn, since I had built in two directions out of Moscow. This meant that Bob had to pay an extra dollar on his first turn. I don’t think it was that one dollar that did it, but Bob did end up in last place when the game was over. It probably wouldn’t hurt o have a house rule that says you can’t build out from 2 directions from the starting city on the first turn.

Anyway, Bob and Brian moved north and south, connecting to the “special destinations,” which on the Russia map, are territories to the west and south. Tami and Phil, on the other hand, moved east, where there was a concentration of 8 or 9 cities nestled in the mountains. I foolishly tried to do both, heading south against Brian, and east against Phil. I harried Brian well enough but Phil and Tami beat me to most of the eastern cities.

Phil ended up winning the game, and Tami came in second, so I think the lesson is clear: Connect to a lot of cities, and concentrate your rail network in the areas where there are the most cities. This sounds obvious, but for some reason I though I’d profit from being the only player to connect to several cities out in the boondocks. Not so.

When the racing phase started, Phil had the most money from connecting to the most cities. Brian was ahead of him for a while, then Tami seemed to be the clear leader, but then once those eastern cities started coming up, Phil was back on top. Bob and I were clearly out of it after about 8 or 9 races.

With only 1 or 2 exceptions, players did not race as a team. This might be an option Bob and I should have considered more. I think Brian might have raced on opponents’ rails few too many times, losing money as a result. he also rolled a heck of a lot of 3’s.

Phil, Tami, and Brian also built a lot during the racing phase, much more so than I thought would be profitable. So I guess I had the wrong idea about that as well. On the other hand, since Bob and I were clearly out of it, after a while we didn’t see much point in building.

We seemed to roll a lot of very short routes, which I found disappointing. First, they were not that much fun to run – a couple rolls of the dice decided them. This was somewhat alleviated by the fun of watching Bob yell “Come one, snake eyes!” every time Brian rolled the dice, whether Bob was in the game or not. But still.

Second, I had tried to set my network up so that I was very spread out, so I think longer races would have helped me a bit more.

By the time the 21st race came around, Phil was ahead by more than 20 points, so we didn’t even run it. This was a fitting end to my bad luck: The last race was a very long route to an out-of-the-way city that only I was connected to. I did take the 20 points for the win, though, which was enough to sneak ahead of Bob.

Final scores: Phil $159, Tami $133, Brian $88, James $75, Bob $74.

As with the previous times I’ve brought this game to the table, everyone very much enjoyed the building phase, but had their patience tried a bit by the racing phase, which just goes on too long. There are 21 races, but we were ready for the game to be over after the 10th or 11th race. I don’t know what to do about this except run fewer races, but that would seem to add even more luck to the game.

The game clocked in at about 2 and a half hours, including rules explanation. So in terms of “how long does it take to play?” Dampfross compares favorably to many other crayon-rail games, notable the Empire Builder series. But that is still pretty long, and the racing phase is awfully repetitive. I will try to play with 3 or 4 rather than 5 next time, and will avoid playing it with 6.

My opinion of Dampfross remains about the same as it was before. It’s fairly old-school and it goes on too long, but drawing crayon rails is fun so I’m not willing to part with it. I imagine it will hit the table about once a year, as it has for the past 3 years.

Thread: Re:What to use for pens? Ours are missing?

bwechner — 2004-10-25T02:31:35+00:00

I picked up some washable markers the other day and we used those for our first game, but they were no good alas. The ink beaded on the board and you couldn't really see it. Also yellow was nigh invisible. I'll get some whiteboard markers next I think. It seems waterbased markers aren't any good.

Thread: Re:What to use for pens? Ours are missing?

bwechner — 2004-10-17T22:33:38+00:00

Cool, if you're using them and they wipe off fine, I'll do the same. That was my first idea of course, but we use eraseable whitebaord markers on our whiteboards here, and are awlays dismayed at how poorly they wipe off, so I have concerns about the Dampfross board. But perhaps I can find some water based ones - the ones we use on whiteboards are not waterbased (alcohol I think, either way you can high on the smell ;-).

Thread: Re:What to use for pens? Ours are missing?

db3000 — 2004-10-12T12:20:10+00:00

bwechner (#59291), We use a non permanent(erasible) marker that can be found at most stationary stores. In fact, the one we use is made in Germany.

Thread: What to use for pens? Ours are missing?

bwechner — 2004-10-12T06:05:42+00:00

I'm wondering what people generally use for pens on these boards if the originals are dried up or missing. A standard whiteboard marker? Anyonw have problems getting the markings off? I'd like to avoid that by choosing the wrong pens!

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2004-07-15T15:35:42+00:00

Keith has been itching to play Dampfross again, but we never could get it to the table. It was his night to choose the game, though, so he had informed us the previous week that he would like to play Dampfross. I re-read the rules in preparation. We were joined by Steve Payne, Jim and R.J., and we selected the Tennessee / Kentucky map, a terrain filled with mountains.

Steve and Jim charged east across Tennessee, while R.J. concentrated on a western Tennessee route. Keith and I began our routes in Kentucky. Initially, it appeared as though Steve and Jim were building the most extensive routes, with my route being confined mainly to Kentucky. R.J. seemed saddled in western Tennessee, with Keith building a decent network in western TN and KY.

When the race phase of the game began, however, I was the beneficiary of several favorable routes which appeared very early. This proved extremely lucrative and I shot out to a very large lead. This did have the adverse effect, however, of causing somewhat of a boycott against teaming with me in subsequent races. The boycott wasn’t without its cracks, however, as occasionally it was foolish for a player not to ally with me in a race when the potential payoff would be to their advantage.

Several races were very exciting. In one such race, Steve and I were racing from Louisville to Cincinnati. Steve began fast and raced to a sizeable lead. However, he rolled two “1’s” in a row near the end, allowing me the opportunity to surpass him and beat him to the city by one space!

As the series of races progressed, Jim began making huge strides and cut substantially into my lead. Indeed, he actually came with $7 of catching me. However, the final few races were again in my favor, and I managed to hold on for the victory.

Finals: Greg 168, Keith 141, Jim 139, R.J. 75, Steve 74

Ratings: Keith 8.5, Jim 7.5, Greg 7.5, R.J. 7.5, Steve 7

Thread: User Review

gschloesser — 2002-08-11T04:03:07+00:00

My knowledge of this Spiel des Jahre recipient was pretty basic. I knew it was a train game which utilized the crayon system. That, in itself, wasn't terribly appealing as my only experience with a crayon rail game was Iron Dragon. Iron Dragon is OK, but it is a picture-perfect example of a 'multi-player' solitaire game. What did, however, make the game more appealing was the fact that it won the Spiel des Jahre several years ago. I'd always been interested in giving it a try, but the opportunity had never really presented itself.

So, when I learned that my buddy Craig Berg had secured a copy, I insisted that he bring it down to Mark Jackson's home for our get-together. He complied and I had my first playing. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and immediately purchased a copy. Craig was kind enough to allow me to borrow the game for a few weeks, so I wasted no time in bringing it to the table with my Westbank Gamers crew on several occasions.

The set we used is the newer Lauren set as released by Mayfair Games. The game comes complete with four different maps, each with its own challenges. We opted to use the Ireland map as that is the one suggested for beginners. It seems to have less mountains and 'choke' points.

The game has two distinct phases (not unlike Streetcar): the line development phase and the race phase. During the first phase, players build track by using their crayons to directly draw the train rails on the map. Each turn, a die is rolled to determine the budget each player has to construct track. In turn order, each player then draws the track, expending money from that budget to do so. Most track segments cost $1, but constructing track through the mountains or across rivers is more expensive.

The general strategies during the track building segment is to develop as an extensive route as possible in preparation for the race phase. In addition, you want to be the first player to connect to new cities, as each new city you are the first to reach earns you $6, which is added to your initial bank of $20. The most money ultimately wins the game, but you will also be dipping into this war chest during the race phase.

The strategies and directions a player opts to take during this first phase will have profound impact during the race phase. You can concentrate on constructing a massive network of rail lines in a particular region, or race about the board attempting to get your rail tentacles into as many regions as possible. The first approach will reward you handsomely when the cities within your region are the destinations or origins during the race phase, but you can find yourself sitting out of many races when these cities are not part of a particular race. The second approach will increase the odds of you being able to use segments of your own track during the races, but will also make it less likely you will be able to solely utilize your own lines during many races. Some interesting choices must be made during the game and you will undoubtedly reap some benefits and some drawbacks.

Once all but three cities have been connected by rail lines, the second phase (the races) begins. The 36 cities depicted on the map are numbered 11 - 16, 21 - 26, 31 - 36, etc. Two are determined at random (we utilized the cards from a Take 6 deck) for each race. Players must then analyze the possible routes they can take and, in turn order, announce whether they will participate in the race and, if so, which route they will take.

Several factors will affect a player's decision. If he is able to use strictly his own rail lines, participating in the race will cost that
player nothing. If, however, he is forced to use lines of another player or players, he must pay those players $1 for each segment of their lines he utilizes, up to a maximum of $10 per player. The payoff for winning the race is $20, while the player placing second receives $10. So, one must analyze the costs in relation to the potential payoff to determine if participation is wise.

Another interesting feature is that players may agree to jointly participate in a race, thereby sharing the costs and any rewards. These costs and rewards are split evenly amongst the 'teammates' and is not open to more detailed negotiation. Yes, it does eliminate some interesting negotiation and deal-making possibilities, but with 18 races to be run, it is clearly necessary as a time-saving element. Often, players who find it unwise to participate in the race alone will be amenable to forming a joint venture for a race.

Once all of this is determined, the race is run. This is a simple "roll two dice and move" method. Yes, it is luck-based, but you'd be surprised at how this seems to even out over the course of 18 races. Most track sections cost only 1 point to traverse, but moving into a mountain segment costs 2 points. First two players to reach the destination city receive their respective payoffs. As luck-based as this race phase seems to be, it is also by far the most exciting. You really get into the spirit of the race, cheering and moaning with each dice roll. The decision on whether to participate or not is also quite tense and exciting.

After each two races have been run, each player has the option of building up to 10 more points of track sections. With 18 races, there will be 9 chances to build. The money required to build the track, of course, is deducted from the players bank, so there are some tough choices to be made here. Building new track sections increases the reach of your track, but does deduct from your bank account.

After all 18 races have been completed, the player with the most money in his bank account is victorious.

I'm really sorry I waited so long to try this entertaining game. I can readily see how it was awarded the Spiel des Jahre and has remained in print for so long. With two playings under my belt, I'm eager for more and just as eager to try my fate on a different map. Plus, I learned that Mayfair is releasing an expansion for the game system which includes several new maps. I'll certainly be acquiring those!

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2002-02-19T17:11:13+00:00

Keith has been begging to play this Spiel des Jahre winner for quite some time. However, he usually arrives after work and we just don't have the amount of time required to play the game remaining. This time, however, he was off of work, so was able to arrive early. There was no denying him! We were joined by Lenny, John, Spouey and Steven.

I played Dampfross for the very first time last September and immediately ordered a copy. It combines the mechanisms present in rail crayon games with an exciting series of races to end the game. Although I really enjoy the game, the biggest drawback for me is the length of the game. It took us over three hours to play to completion. This is simply a matter of having too many races to complete ... 21, to be exact. The rules suggest that you simply eliminate some of the races, but I fear this would make the game unbalanced. For instance, if one player built to several cities during the course of a game, but those cities wound up not being drawn for a race, he would be severely hampered in his efforts to win. Has anyone tried playing with fewer races and, if so, what are your experiences?

Later, John suggested that each race be comprised of three cities. There is a start and destination city, but the race must pass through the third city. We haven't tried this, but it sounds intriguing and may well shorten the game. Again, any thoughts on this?

If we could somehow shave an hour or so off the game and get it down to two hours, the game would be much more enjoyable and come to the table far more often. As is, the series of races grow a bit wearisome in the final hour.

We played this game with the more challenging Tennessee/Kentucky board, which is just loaded with mountains and hills. Keith and I opted to begin our route from Louisville, while our opponents all began in Nashville. I spread out across the northern border of Kentucky, while Keith did eventually build his routes into northern Tennessee.

Lenny, meanwhile, developed a monopoly in western Tennessee, while Spouey headed into the treacherous Smoky mountains and northern Georgia. John and Steven seemed the most centrally located, concentrating on a network of rails in central Tennessee and southern Kentucky.

The track-building phase ended quickly ... about 45 minutes. The first few races benefited Lenny tremendously as they all included cities located in western Tennessee. This game Lenny a substantial lead, but it was destined to be closed in subsequent races. Later, several northern Kentucky cities appeared, giving me substantial amounts of income and catapulting me into the lead. At various points during the racing phase, everyone save Keith held the leader position.

As the game approached its final few races, it became clear that Spouey and John had the best chances at victory. Sure enough, the victor would be determined in the final race. The cities selected clearly benefited John as he was able to run the short route completely on his own track. Spouey was forced to pay to utilize a brief section of Steven's track, but was then able to traverse the remainder of the route on his own track. However, it was 5 spaces further than John's route, so he had to rely on some bad dice rolling by John in order to capture the victory. John rolled well, however, and won the race, capturing the victory.

Finals: John 157, Spouey 145, Lenny 129, Steven 126, Greg 116, Keith 114

Ratings: Keith 8, John 8, Greg 7.5, Spouey 7, Lenny 7, Steven 5.5

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

There are several versions of this game and most, if not all, have rules that state that during the building phase each player rolls a die for building points. As written, the game is dominated by luck.

A much better way to play is to have one player roll a die each round. Every player uses this roll for build points. A different player can roll each turn.

We also roll 2 dice instead of 1 to speed up play.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-10-29T21:11:59+00:00

This was Spouey's week to choose the game and he desired to play either Diplomacy or Machiavelli. However, several of the folks who would want to play either of those games were not in attendance. So, he opted to wait until our next session before beginning one of those games.

In compensation, we allowed him to choose a different game for this evening. He selected Dampfross, even though he had just played the previous week. Spouey tends to enjoy playing the same game a couple of weeks in a row as he can better understand the strategies and mechanics. He was joined by Lenny, Darren and myself for our excursions through Russia.

Spouey, Darren and I all began our routes from the capitol, Moscow. Lenny, however, opted to begin in St. Petersburg. This gave him a virtual exclusive on the northwestern cities, which he quickly connected. He later developed his routes across the central portion of the map, connecting to a few of the northeastern cities. Unfortunately, he was unable to dip into the south, which ultimately cost him during the race phase of the game.

From Moscow, I immediately moved a bit to the west, then headed south. Darren and Spouey built eastward, but Spouey then diverted for a run to the south, attempting to beat me to the region. Since I had already begun to head in that direction, however, I was a few steps ahead of him and was able to reach all of the southern cities prior to him. This yielded a considerable amount of income for me.

It was Darren, however, who built the largest war chest entering the race phase. Since he had headed directly east and didn't waver, he was able to connect to nearly all of the eastern cities. Each of us later built routes to the east, but were forced to use Darren's routes on nearly every race which originated or culminated with an eastern city.

During the race phase, the cities Lenny was connected to surfaced early, greatly benefiting him. He rose from last place to first place quickly, but was eventually doomed by the lack of eastern and southern routes. Darren fell to last place, but once the eastern cities began surfacing, he zoomed to the top. I made a run for it, but Darren's virtual lock on eastern Russia cemented his victory.

Finals: Darren 211, Greg 204, Spouey 173, Lenny 141

Ratings: Greg 7.5, Spouey 7, Lenny 7, Darren 6.5

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-10-07T06:40:03+00:00

My knowledge of this game was pretty basic. I knew it was a train game which utilized the crayon system. That, in itself, wasn't terribly appealing as my only experience with a crayon rail game was Iron Dragon. Iron Dragon is OK, but it is a picture-perfect example of a 'multi-player' solitaire game. What did, however, make the game more appealing was the fact that it won the Spiel des Jahre several years ago. I'd always been interested in giving it a try, but the opportunity had never really presented itself.

So, when I learned that my buddy Craig Berg had secured a copy, I insisted that he bring it down to Mark Jackson's home for our get-together. He complied and I had my first playing. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and immediately purchased a copy. Craig was kind enough to allow me to borrow the game for a few weeks, so I wasted no time in bringing it to the table with my Westbank Gamers crew. I was joined by John, Michael, Spouey, Keith and Jim.

The set we used is the newer Lauren set as released by Mayfair Games. The game comes complete with four different maps, each with its own challenges. We opted to use the Ireland map as that is the one suggested for beginners. It seems to have less mountains and 'choke' points.

The game has two distinct phases (not unlike Streetcar): the line development phase and the race phase. During the first phase, players build track by using their crayons to directly draw the train rails on the map. Each turn, a die is rolled to determine the budget each player has to construct track. In turn order, each player then draws the track, expending money from that budget to do so. Most track segments cost $1, but constructing track through the mountains or across rivers is more expensive.

The general strategies during the track building segment is to develop as an extensive route as possible in preparation for the race phase. In addition, you want to be the first player to connect to new cities, as each new city you are the first to reach earns you $6, which is added to your initial bank of $20. The most money ultimately wins the game, but you will also be dipping into this war chest during the race phase.

The strategies and directions a player opts to take during this first phase will have profound impact during the race phase. You can concentrate on constructing a massive network of rail lines in a particular region, or race about the board attempting to get your rail tentacles into as many regions as possible. The first approach will reward you handsomely when the cities within your region are the destinations or origins during the race phase, but you can find yourself sitting out of many races when these cities are not part of a particular race. The second approach will increase the odds of you being able to use segments of your own track during the races, but will also make it less likely you will be able to solely utilize your own lines during many races. Some interesting choices must be made during the game and you will undoubtedly reap some benefits and some drawbacks.

Once all but three cities have been connected by rail lines, the second phase (the races) begins. The 36 cities depicted on the map are numbered 11 - 16, 21 - 26, 31 - 36, etc. Two are determined at random (we utilized the cards from a Take 6 deck) for each race. Players must then analyze the possible routes they can take and, in turn order, announce whether they will participate in the race and, if so, which route they will take.

Several factors will affect a player's decision. If he is able to use strictly his own rail lines, participating in the race will cost that
player nothing. If, however, he is forced to use lines of another player or players, he must pay those players $1 for each segment of their lines he utilizes, up to a maximum of $10 per player. The payoff for winning the race is $20, while the player placing second receives $10. So, one must analyze the costs in relation to the potential payoff to determine if participation is wise.

Another interesting feature is that players may agree to jointly participate in a race, thereby sharing the costs and any rewards. These costs and rewards are split evenly amongst the 'teammates' and is not open to more detailed negotiation. Yes, it does eliminate some interesting negotiation and deal-making possibilities, but with 18 races to be run, it is clearly necessary as a time-saving element. Often, players who find it unwise to participate in the race alone will be amenable to forming a joint venture for a race.

Once all of this is determined, the race is run. This is a simple "roll two dice and move" method. Yes, it is luck-based, but you'd be surprised at how this seems to even out over the course of 18 races. Most track sections cost only 1 point to traverse, but moving into a mountain segment costs 2 points. First two players to reach the destination city receive their respective payoffs. As luck-based as this race phase seems to be, it is also by far the most exciting. You really get into the spirit of the race, cheering and moaning with each dice roll. The decision on whether to participate or not is also quite tense and exciting.

After each two races have been run, each player has the option of building up to 10 more points of track sections. With 18 races, there will be 9 chances to build. The money required to build the track, of course, is deducted from the players bank, so there are some tough choices to be made here. Building new track sections increases the reach of your track, but does deduct from your bank account.

After all 18 races have been completed, the player with the most money in his bank account is victorious.

I'm really sorry I waited so long to try this entertaining game. I can readily see how it was awarded the Spiel des Jahre and has remained in print for so long. With two playings under my belt, I'm eager for more and just as eager to try my fate on a different map. Plus, I learned that Mayfair is releasing an expansion for the game system which includes several new maps. I'll certainly be acquiring those!

In our game, Spouey, John and Jim began on the northern section of the map in Belfast, while Keith, Michael and I elected to begin in Dublin. Jim, however, immediately raced south, freeing himself of the potential hazards of being cut-off. Sadly, this fate befell Spouey, who found himself hemmed in by John's tracks and the mountains. This hampered Spouey's efforts through the rest of the game, while John was able to construct an impressive network in northern Ireland. He also managed to be the first to reach numerous cities, padding his bank account in preparation for the race phase.

Michael and Keith concentrated on southern Ireland, while I forged westward through the center of the country. This ultimately proved unwise as I was unable to develop many lines in either the north or south.

Entering the race phase, Michael and John seemed to be in the best position, with nice networks in the south and north, respectively. They also had the largest bank accounts, but, except for Spouey, everyone was fairly close in terms of money.

The races were very exciting, with the lead actually switching back and forth between several players during the course of the campaign. We each extended our tracks, but ceased building after about the fourth or fifth opportunity. Lots of partnerships were formed during the races, and Spouey even took some risks by racing by himself across opponent's lines. Several of these paid off for him and he actually catapulted himself from last place to third place at one point.

As the final race loomed, Michael was in the lead, but only by $1 over John. Only two players were going to participate in the final race, Keith and the team of John and I. However, it was pointed out to Michael that if he didn't participate, he could not possibly win as the worst John could do was place second, earning him $5. Even though the route wasn't favorable to him, Michael had no choice but to race. Unfortunately for him, he did not place in the top two, so the victory went to John.

Finals: John 167, Michael 153, Jim 112, Keith 101, Greg 87, Spouey 71

Ratings: Greg 8, Michael 7, Keith 7, Jim 6.5, John 6, Spouey 6

Thread: Preview

gschloesser — 2001-10-07T06:36:59+00:00

The game has two distinct phases (not unlike Streetcar): the line development phase and the race phase. During the first phase, players build track by using their crayons to directly draw the train rails on the map. Each turn, a die is rolled to determine the budget each player has to construct track. In turn order, each player then draws the track, expending money from that budget to do so. Most track segments cost $1, but constructing track through the mountains or across rivers is more expensive.

The general strategies during the track building segment is to develop as an extensive route as possible in preparation for the race phase. In addition, you want to be the first player to connect to new cities, as each new city you are the first to reach earns you $6, which is added to your initial bank of $20. The most money ultimately wins the game, but you will also be dipping into this war chest during the race phase.

The strategies and directions a player opts to take during this first phase will have profound impact during the race phase. You can concentrate on constructing a massive network of rail lines in a particular region, or race about the board attempting to get your rail tentacles into as many regions as possible. The first approach will reward you handsomely when the cities within your region are the destinations or origins during the race phase, but you can find yourself sitting out of many races when these cities are not part of a particular race. The second approach will increase the odds of you being able to use segments of your own track during the races, but will also make it less likely you will be able to solely utilize your own lines during many races. Some interesting choices must be made during the game and you will undoubtedly reap some benefits and some drawbacks.

Once all but three cities have been connected by rail lines, the second phase (the races) begins. The 36 cities depicted on the map are numbered 11 - 16, 21 - 26, 31 - 36, etc. Two are determined at random (we utilized the cards from a Take 6 deck) for each race. Players must then analyze the possible routes they can take and, in turn order, announce whether they will participate in the race and, if so, which route they will take.

Several factors will affect a player's decision. If he is able to use strictly his own rail lines, participating in the race will cost that
player nothing. If, however, he is forced to use lines of another player or players, he must pay those players $1 for each segment of their lines he utilizes, up to a maximum of $10 per player. The payoff for winning the race is $20, while the player placing second receives $10. So, one must analyze the costs in relation to the potential payoff to determine if participation is wise.

Another interesting feature is that players may agree to jointly participate in a race, thereby sharing the costs and any rewards. These costs and rewards are split evenly amongst the 'teammates' and is not open to more detailed negotiation. Yes, it does eliminate some interesting negotiation and deal-making possibilities, but with 18 races to be run, it is clearly necessary as a time-saving element. Often, players who find it unwise to participate in the race alone will be amenable to forming a joint venture for a race.

Once all of this is determined, the race is run. This is a simple "roll two dice and move" method. Yes, it is luck-based, but you'd be surprised at how this seems to even out over the course of 18 races. Most track sections cost only 1 point to traverse, but moving into a mountain segment costs 2 points. First two players to reach the destination city receive their respective payoffs. As luck-based as this race phase seems to be, it is also by far the most exciting. You really get into the spirit of the race, cheering and moaning with each dice roll. The decision on whether to participate or not is also quite tense and exciting.

After each two races have been run, each player has the option of building up to 10 more points of track sections. With 18 races, there will be 9 chances to build. The money required to build the track, of course, is deducted from the players bank, so there are some tough choices to be made here. Building new track sections increases the reach of your track, but does deduct from your bank account.

After all 18 races have been completed, the player with the most money in his bank account is victorious.

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

A brief outline of play - The game is divided into two major phases. Initially everyone spends their money developing track (train service) to various cities on the gameboard. As some of us found out this needs to be done carefully, as the meager $20 you are given to start doesn't go far. Each new city pays $6 for the first line to open its market. Nevertheless many of us went broke and had to cease laying new track before the more careful players were done.

The second phase of the game is the race Phase. A series of 21 races are held, between various cities on the board. These races are determined in a random manner. Each train company can attempt to win the race. But you must pay for the use of other players tracks. So you need to decide if the potential payoff of $20 (first) or $10 (second) is worth the expense of competing.

For our race we played on the Kentucky/Tennessee mapboard. Terry and I quickly ran out of money and ceased building track pretty early. Nan and Peg were able to develop slightly better networks before running out of building funds. Kyle and Cindy were able to develop the most extensive rail networks.

The race phase showed that understanding which races to enter is the big decision here. In some cases much more was paid in fees by the competitors (to use other players tracks), than the prize for winning was worth. Initially this phase of the game seemed so random, that the game was suffering. But as we cycled through the course of races, it became clear that everyone's efforts in the building phase of the game did become germane.

In the end, Peg nosed out Kyle by $2 for the victory. Cindy finished a distant third, with Nan, Terry and Kevin lagging behind.

Ratings: Cindy 4 stars Nan 3.5 stars Peg 3 stars Terry & Kevin 2.5 stars Kyle 2 stars

Michael Wester, Mark Plecki and Flo Plecki joined us, so with a group of 9 people we broke into two tables.