Railway Rivals

Published 1973

This is a classic simple railway racing game, perhaps the first modern railroading game, where you draw the railway lines on hex-board. This one uses the sort of colored marker pens you can wipe off with a damp cloth after the game. The game goes through phases; initially you draw tracks and earn money for linking cities. When a number of cities are joined, you start racing, the cities being chosen randomly. The races are simple dice-rollers and the 1st & 2nd place get prize money. After a couple of races, you draw some more tracks, then race some more and so on. The railways cost more if you go over mountains etc, but this gives you shorter routes. You can run parallel to other lines at a cost, or simply link into another player's track and rent the tracks of other players when you race. The board has a UK map on one side and a US map on the other, both giving amusing challenges, and the game has good repeat value. The designer David Watts has published a lot of stand alone Railway Rivals maps, and there is another edition of this game, Dampfross published by Laurin. Re-implemented by: Dampfross

Mechanics

Awards

Spiel des Jahres 1984 Winner
Railway Rivals

Game Info

Players
2-6 Players
Time
1.5 hours
Weight
Light-Medium — 2.32/5
Year
1973
BGG Rating
6.71
BGG Rank
#6691
Min Age
10+

Frequently Asked Questions

Railway Rivals supports 2 to 6 players.
A typical game of Railway Rivals takes about 90 minutes.
Railway Rivals has a complexity rating of 2.32/5.00 on BoardGameGeek, placing it in the 'Medium Light' category. It offers a good balance of depth and accessibility.
The recommended minimum age for Railway Rivals is 10+. Younger children may enjoy it with guidance from experienced players.
Railway Rivals has a rating of 6.71/10 on BoardGameGeek, based on 411 ratings. It is ranked #6691 overall.
Railway Rivals was designed by David G. Watts. It was published in 1973.