Sid Meier's Railroads! for PC and Mac

Software Reviews and Criticism

• By LShelby

  Not a Tycoon game

  This is billed as a re-imagining of the Tycoon genre. Sadly, they imagined the Tycoon part out of it. The game has a cartoon style and feel. The primary challenge is putting switches in your tracks in the right place so that other trains don't get stuck behind each other. The economic part that so appealed to me in the real RR Tycoon games is simplified to the point of, well, being cartoon style. You take raw goods... and just grab from a single souce per train, don't try anything complex where a train will bring two or three different raw goods into town... to a town that wants them. Those can be shipped to any town that takes the processed goods. That's it. There are no demand limits. You don't have to worry about flooding markets, or trying to spread out your deliveries to multiple destinations. There are barely any supply limits, as the goods get replenished so quickly. Building enough switches in the right spots is actually a challenge, because the cartoon style of graphics doesn't give you a lot of space between towns. You also can't zoom out very far on the map, so seeing what's in the area is a bit of a challenge. There is also essentially no variety to the scenarios. On the plus side, it is fun to watch the trains go in and out of the stations. But it's not a game with any depth.

  
  
• By olblucat

  A builder's delight!

  Some problems but overall a very demanding learning curve. Scenery is nice and visuals, action all flow smoothly! Game saving is a bit a mess, do not quit from the little red dot!!! Naming sequences can be confusing at first. I do wish there was a dedicated Game save folder to peruse. Overall, a very interaining game which will take many hours of playing to reach the top levels! If you are a builder, not a destroyer this game is for you!

  
  
• By BeMyBear

  An enduring favorite

  This game has held up really well and I was so surprised to see an update to it after all this time. The update is minor but it fixes a few age related quirks that had developed. The Midwest and North East US scenarios are my favorites. I like how there are 3 sets of goals to try to accomplish spanning many years. I don’t think a railroad simulation appeals to everybody but this one is really great.

  
  
• By Butte 1

  It was... better

  Since the recent update, the game is not stable. It “unexpectedly quits” at seemingly random times during gameplay. Upon restarting, I get two opportunities to report what happened, one to Microsoft and one to Railroads. I do so dutifully. I have yet to receive any comment from either entity. I have revised my star rating from five to three. It has been a fun game but is getting more and more tedious as I await the next crash.

  
  

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