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Railroad-Related Board Games

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Posted by Enzoamps on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 4:37 AM

I bought the old Avalon Hill Tactics game when it came out in the late 1950s, and based on my like for that and my interest in trains I bought their Dispatcher soon after.  I have it to this day somewhere is a dusty storage area.

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Posted by IRONROOSTER on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 4:55 AM

Enzoamps

I bought the old Avalon Hill Tactics game when it came out in the late 1950s, and based on my like for that and my interest in trains I bought their Dispatcher soon after.  I have it to this day somewhere is a dusty storage area.

 

AH did a special release on the Tactics game which I have (as well as Tactics II).  Unfortunately, my copy of Dispatcher was lost sometime after I moved out of my parents home.

Paul

If you're having fun, you're doing it the right way.
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Posted by IRONROOSTER on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 4:59 AM

SeeYou190
A game of Monopoly should not take more that 45-90 minutes to complete. The only thing that makes it take longer are people not following the published rules or "sweethearting" deals to prevent hurt feelings amongst family members.

Unfortunately, Monopoly is a war game where the objective is to eliminate the other players.  Given the large number of house rules floating around, it is apparent that most people are really looking for a friendly game and probably should play something else like Rail Baron.

Paul

If you're having fun, you're doing it the right way.
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 6:15 AM

IRONROOSTER
AH did a special release on the Tactics game which I have (as well as Tactics II). 

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I played Tactics II in middle school, until a couple of students at the University  Of Florida introduced Matthew and Myself to Squad Leader. We never played T2 again.

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The me, the weak point of the rules in Tactics II was how paratroopers worked. The rest of the game was a pretty straighthforward chit-game, but the paratroopers were funky.

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IRONROOSTER
Monopoly is a war game where the objective is to eliminate the other players.  Given the large number of house rules floating around,

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Yes, Monopoly requires the brutal elimination of your opponents to win. The rules and game mechanics make that possible once about 65% of the properties are sold to players.

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Parents "house rule" the game to teach their kids to get along.

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We played by the published tournament rules and I taught my girls to win at all costs and then laugh at the despair of your defeated opponents.

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It is not a game to play with people that cannot except the fact that there will be one winner and five losers.

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-Kevin

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Posted by Eilif on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 9:12 AM

My wife and I own and have played alot of different versions of Ticket to Ride.

I think the Marklin edition is our favorite, though it's increasingly harder to get. It's a German map and uniquely, every card has a different loco or train car on it. Beautiful and makes drawing cards a pleasure even when they don't contribute to the connections you're trying to make.

Second place would probably be the Europe map.  USA is a good standby and the version we usually brought out for new players.   We recently purchased Pennsylvania but haven't tried it yet. 

I actually quite enjoyed the "Trains" board game.  It's more of an abstract deck-building of a train company and has alot in common with the "Dominion" deckbuilder (that I wasn't impressed by) but the art is cool and it's well executed.  Trains and Trains Rising son were ridiculously cheap for a year or so and I snapped them up.   I'm not sure if I'd buy them full price today or buy another game as my wife has no interest in playing it.

Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading. 

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 9:46 AM

Eilif
Marklin edition is our favorite, though it's increasingly harder to get.

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I did not like Marklin, maybe I should give it another chance.

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Out of curiosity, do you play Power Grid?

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Eilif
It's more of an abstract deck-building of a train company and has alot in common with the "Dominion" deckbuilder (that I wasn't impressed by)

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Now you are breaking my heart, I love Dominion. Note however, I do not play with all the expansions, I have a lot of them, but some of them make the game "unfun" to play.

.

My favorite card collecting game is Seven Wonders, although card collecting is only a portion of that game's mechanics.

.

-Kevin

.

Living the dream.

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Posted by SPSOT fan on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 11:13 AM

tstage

Railroad Rush Hour by Thinkfun:

A fun, hands-on logic game involving problem solving...

I had that game when I was younger! Mine actually had a bag with a conductors hat pattern on it to use to store it! I loved it, though I rarely used it for it’s intended purpose! For me, in an era before I had model trains, I used the parts from that game to run my own railroad! The on,y issue was as they don’t run on a track, you had to remember where you put all the tracks that had been imagined by your brain!

 

I don’t actually play many train related board games! I don’t even own a copy of ticket to ride (I don’t think my family would play enough with me for it to be worth it!). My family generally plays card games like Rook or Hearts, and with friends I play Magic the Gathering, but nothing trains related! I guess that’s what the model railroad is for!

Regards, Isaac

I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!

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Posted by Harrison on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 11:20 AM

SPSOT fan

 

 
tstage

Railroad Rush Hour by Thinkfun:

A fun, hands-on logic game involving problem solving...

 

 

I had that game when I was younger! Mine actually had a bag with a conductors hat pattern on it to use to store it! I loved it, though I rarely used it for it’s intended purpose! For me, in an era before I had model trains, I used the parts from that game to run my own railroad! The on,y issue was as they don’t run on a track, you had to remember where you put all the tracks that had been imagined by your brain!

 

I don’t actually play many train related board games! I don’t even own a copy of ticket to ride (I don’t think my family would play enough with me for it to be worth it!). My family generally plays card games like Rook or Hearts, and with friends I play Magic the Gathering, but nothing trains related! I guess that’s what the model railroad is for!

 

Yup, mine has a drawstring bag too, and it's still in there.

Harrison

Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.

Modeling the D&H in 1978.

Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"

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Posted by Water Level Route on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 12:06 PM

Harrison

 

 
SPSOT fan

 

 
tstage

Railroad Rush Hour by Thinkfun:

A fun, hands-on logic game involving problem solving...

 

 

I had that game when I was younger! Mine actually had a bag with a conductors hat pattern on it to use to store it! I loved it, though I rarely used it for it’s intended purpose! For me, in an era before I had model trains, I used the parts from that game to run my own railroad! The on,y issue was as they don’t run on a track, you had to remember where you put all the tracks that had been imagined by your brain!

 

I don’t actually play many train related board games! I don’t even own a copy of ticket to ride (I don’t think my family would play enough with me for it to be worth it!). My family generally plays card games like Rook or Hearts, and with friends I play Magic the Gathering, but nothing trains related! I guess that’s what the model railroad is for!

 

 

 

Yup, mine has a drawstring bag too, and it's still in there.

 

Mine has the drawstring bag too, but I'm certain it came in a box like that from the store.

Mike

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Posted by Harrison on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 12:36 PM

Water Level Route

 

 
Harrison

 

 
SPSOT fan

 

 
tstage

Railroad Rush Hour by Thinkfun:

A fun, hands-on logic game involving problem solving...

 

 

I had that game when I was younger! Mine actually had a bag with a conductors hat pattern on it to use to store it! I loved it, though I rarely used it for it’s intended purpose! For me, in an era before I had model trains, I used the parts from that game to run my own railroad! The on,y issue was as they don’t run on a track, you had to remember where you put all the tracks that had been imagined by your brain!

 

I don’t actually play many train related board games! I don’t even own a copy of ticket to ride (I don’t think my family would play enough with me for it to be worth it!). My family generally plays card games like Rook or Hearts, and with friends I play Magic the Gathering, but nothing trains related! I guess that’s what the model railroad is for!

 

 

 

Yup, mine has a drawstring bag too, and it's still in there.

 

 

 

Mine has the drawstring bag too, but I'm certain it came in a box like that from the store.

 

 

Mine came in a box too. I'm mostly replying to this to see how many quotes can be quoted inside each other.Smile, Wink & Grin

Harrison

Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.

Modeling the D&H in 1978.

Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"

My YouTube

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Posted by Eilif on Thursday, January 9, 2020 12:18 PM

SeeYou190

-I did not like Marklin, maybe I should give it another chance. 

-Out of curiosity, do you play Power Grid?

-Now you are breaking my heart, I love Dominion. Note however, I do not play with all the expansions, I have a lot of them, but some of them make the game "unfun" to play. 

-My favorite card collecting game is Seven Wonders, although card collecting is only a portion of that game's mechanics.

 

Marklin-  should add that for Marklin, we never used the extra passenger and Merchandise rules. We just played it like standard TTR.    It also worked very well for my wife as 2 player. One thing I recommend if you have it is to use the Marklin cards in other versions of TTR.   It's just much prettier and what's the point of fancy board games if they're not pretty?

Power Grid- Never played, will look into it.  Thanks for the recommendation.

Dominion-  It wasn't that we disliked it or would refuse to play, we just didn't find it as fun as Ascension or Star Realms (our favorites) or as easy to jump into as LOTR Deckbuilder which is our go-to deckbuilder for groups and newbies. "TRAINS" seems to take Dominion (straight up copies many aspects) and adds a nice layer of chrome and map interaction.  Now if only I could find opponents...

-7 Wonders is sheer genious.   Definitely one of our favorite group games.  We generally play with all the added civilizations, but not the other added expansion elements.  We found 2 player to be less than satisfactory, but then we discovered "7 Wonders Duel" (2 player) and it's fantastic.  If you like 7 Wonders and card collecting you'll love it.  We are still impressed that they managed to make a 2 player card game that really feels like playing a full game of 7 wonders.  

When we go on vacation now, it's Dominion, Star Realms and 7 Wonders Duel that come with us. 

Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading. 

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, January 9, 2020 6:48 PM

Eilif
7 Wonders Duel" (2 player) and it's fantastic.  If you like 7 Wonders and card collecting you'll love it.  We are still impressed that they managed to make a 2 player card game that really feels like playing a full game of 7 wonders.  

.

7 Wonders Duel is a total masterpiece of a two player game. Have you ever seen a games end with a Scientific Victory? We have only done it a couple of times, and it seems like we are missing something in our strategy to make it happen.

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My buddies and I play two out of three rounds. If it goes too a third game, we add the Pantheon expansion into the tie breaker.

.

-Kevin

.

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    April 2019
  • From: Pacific Northwest
  • 780 posts
Posted by SPSOT fan on Friday, January 10, 2020 2:50 AM

Harrison

 

 
Water Level Route

 

 
Harrison

 

 
SPSOT fan

 

 
tstage

Railroad Rush Hour by Thinkfun:

A fun, hands-on logic game involving problem solving...

 

 

I had that game when I was younger! Mine actually had a bag with a conductors hat pattern on it to use to store it! I loved it, though I rarely used it for it’s intended purpose! For me, in an era before I had model trains, I used the parts from that game to run my own railroad! The on,y issue was as they don’t run on a track, you had to remember where you put all the tracks that had been imagined by your brain!

 

I don’t actually play many train related board games! I don’t even own a copy of ticket to ride (I don’t think my family would play enough with me for it to be worth it!). My family generally plays card games like Rook or Hearts, and with friends I play Magic the Gathering, but nothing trains related! I guess that’s what the model railroad is for!

 

 

 

Yup, mine has a drawstring bag too, and it's still in there.

 

 

 

Mine has the drawstring bag too, but I'm certain it came in a box like that from the store.

 

 

 

 

Mine came in a box too. I'm mostly replying to this to see how many quotes can be quoted inside each other.Smile, Wink & Grin

 

Mine also likely came in a box, but that was long enough ago I can’t remember. The box mustn’t have stayed around for long! It also had a smaller box for the cards, though I got so much use out of that game that the card box nearly disintegrated!

I too couldn’t help replying tpin order to see quotes within quotes within quotes, but the site is getting a bit glitchy with all these quotes on my iPad, so I’m not sure how much longer this will last!

Regards, Isaac

I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!

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Posted by Eilif on Friday, January 10, 2020 9:36 AM

SeeYou190

 

 
Eilif
7 Wonders Duel" (2 player) and it's fantastic.  If you like 7 Wonders and card collecting you'll love it.  We are still impressed that they managed to make a 2 player card game that really feels like playing a full game of 7 wonders.  

 

.

7 Wonders Duel is a total masterpiece of a two player game. Have you ever seen a games end with a Scientific Victory? We have only done it a couple of times, and it seems like we are missing something in our strategy to make it happen.

.

My buddies and I play two out of three rounds. If it goes too a third game, we add the Pantheon expansion into the tie breaker.

.

-Kevin

.

 

I don't recall exactly.  I think we might have achieved it once.  The military victory is more common in our limited experience.  I've been a bit out of the boardgame loop since I got into model railroading. I didn't know there was an expansion for Duel.  Thanks for the heads up!

Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading. 

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Posted by deckroid on Friday, January 10, 2020 10:10 AM

Eilif

-Out of curiosity, do you play Power Grid?

 

Power Grid- Never played, will look into it.  Thanks for the recommendation.

We have Power Grid and LOVE it. However, you have to have the right kind of players to get the most out of it. We have a lot of friends who play games and there are some people who like "strategery" games and others who like logic games and others still who like simply fun games.

"Beat The Game" types of games are fun too... Pandemic, Fobidden Desert/Island, etc.

We love TTR and have the 1910 expansion. We have thought about getting others like India/Switzerland or Germany.  Our friends TTR is the same board as ours but has little train sets instead of the simple plastic pieces. Super jealous.

I am making a list of other games to find. I love Avalon Hill games, so I think I will start the hunt there.

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, January 10, 2020 10:04 PM

Eilif
The military victory is more common in our limited experience.

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Exactly, we have a military victory probably one out of every five games. Scientific victories are much harder to pull off.

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deckroid
We have Power Grid and LOVE it. However, you have to have the right kind of players to get the most out of it.

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Yes you do. Once your group gets the hang of the game mechanics, it amazes me how most of the games of Power Grid come down to the last turn before you really know who will win.

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deckroid
"Beat The Game" types of games are fun too... Pandemic, Fobidden Desert/Island, etc.

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My group insists on playing Forbidden Island on the most difficult level, and we never win. Always good for laughs, and blaming each other for our losses.

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deckroid
Our friends TTR is the same board as ours but has little train sets instead of the simple plastic pieces. Super jealous.

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I would be too. Was that a limited edition set with those pieces?

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-Kevin

.

Living the dream.

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  • From: Chicago, IL
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Posted by Eilif on Saturday, January 11, 2020 3:05 PM

Going out on a tangent, but if you all like Beat-the-Game cooperatives, hunt down a copy of "Star Trek: Five Year Mission".  It's got some good Star Trek flavor, but really it's just a brilliantly executed cooperative dice matching game.  

Neither of us are Trekies, but I picked it up on sale at Target and it is one of those games that everyone seems to enjoy, gamers and non-gamers alike.  The beginning difficulty is almost impossible to loose, but medium to difficult "Ranks" result in lots of tension, shouting and laughing.  

I agree that Forbidden Island is a good one.  I assumed Forbidden Desert would be a weak rehash, but that was quite fun also.

Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading. 

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Posted by Harrison on Saturday, January 11, 2020 8:07 PM

SeeYou190

 

deckroid
Our friends TTR is the same board as ours but has little train sets instead of the simple plastic pieces. Super jealous.

 

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I would be too. Was that a limited edition set with those pieces?

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-Kevin

.

 

THat's the 10th anniversary edition.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/160069/ticket-ride-10th-anniversary

Also T2R New York State is now offically on Board Game Geek! Files should show up soon.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/298058/new-york-state-fan-expansion-ticket-ride

Harrison

Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.

Modeling the D&H in 1978.

Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"

My YouTube

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 6:47 AM

Harrison
Also T2R New York State is now offically on Board Game Geek! Files should show up soon.

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Congratulations. Board Game Geek has always taken down what I have put there. You have accomplished what I could not.

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I am guessing from the responses that Ticket To Ride is the most popular train themed board game. That does not surprise me. It is easy to learn and very replayable.

.

-Kevin

.

Living the dream.

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  • From: Chicago, IL
  • 306 posts
Posted by Eilif on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 11:32 AM

SeeYou190

 

 

I am guessing from the responses that Ticket To Ride is the most popular train themed board game. That does not surprise me. It is easy to learn and very replayable.

I think you are right.  It's certainly not the most realistic, but the theme is well done and it has a long history as one of the most popular entry-level "euro" style games.  It's also the only train board game you can reliably find at Target. 

Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading. 

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Saturday, January 18, 2020 11:04 AM

Eilif
it has a long history as one of the most popular entry-level "euro" style games. It's also the only train board game you can reliably find at Target.

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All that, and you can learn to play in five minutes. Ticket To Ride is truly an excellent game, no doubt about it.

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And, it is a great way to suck new players into the hive.

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-Kevin

.

Living the dream.

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