Railroad Tycoon Thoughts

I had great fun playing 5-player RR Tycoon last night with the group. Reflecting on the game the following day, these thoughts come to mind:

1. I was supremely impressed by Michael's ability to digest the layout of the massive board, make shrewd short-term and long-term strategy decisions, and beat off even the determined opposition of Jeff and Jon to secure victory. Two thirds of the way through the game I was still figuring out how I should have played my first turn...

2. Building long, connected networks, I think, is the key to victory in this game as it is in most RR games. Securing victory point cards runs a close second. I did neither and wound up comfortably in last place.

3. The game is good enough that its fun to run your railroad even if you are getting your butt kicked all over the map.

4. Being able to take in everything going on across the massive map and rapidly spot the optimal opportunities is key. This is true for probably all board games, but the map size and amount of activity in this game makes this skill more challenging.

5. I found it interesting how, at least partially, players focused on building on the parts of the map they were standing near. Jeff was standing by the Southeast and that's where his empire was built. Jon was by the portion of the board by Chicago, and he too focused on this area for most of the game. Again, I think the map size is a factor which potentially drives suboptimal play, though these guys both did well.

6. My interest in the game was rekindled such that I sent Eagle Games an e-mail requesting a replacement for my mangled yellow block!