Route/Network Building

User review: Players make money by building a network of railroads to deliver freight and passengers. They may also speculate on the price of precious metals by claiming mines and mills.

To play: Each player chooses a color and takes possession of all the surveyors and prospectors of that color. How much money they begin with, in which city the players start, the number of surveyors and prospectors they begin with depends on the turn order and the number of players in the game.

A game turn is divided into seven phases:
First phase - The turn order cards are shuffled and dealt to the players.
Second phase - Players may place prospectors and surveyors on the game board in turn order.
Third phase - Disputes are resolved between players who placed surveyors in the same box on the game board.
Fourth phase - Players pay for construction and claims made by their prospectors in turn order. Players can collect revenue for passenger cards and deliver and sell freight for up to two claims.
Fifth phase - The dice are rolled to determine price changes for each mine.
Sixth phase - Claims and passenger cards taken by the players are replaced.

At the end of the sixth phase, it is determined whether anyone met the victory condition for the scenario chosen.

Availability : The original Two Wolf version is long-since out of print, but the newer-released Mayfair has a wider distribution. The New Mexico expansion is available for the Two Wolf game, but the Mayfair version has the expansion included with the base game.

Expanded by:

Silverton New Mexico Expansion (Two Wolf version only, Mayfair version includes the expansion)

In Steam you build railroads and deliver goods along an ever changing network of tracks and stations. You build the tracks, upgrade towns, improve your train, and grab the right goods to make the longest, most profitable deliveries. Score your deliveries and add to your income or victory points, balancing your need to invest against your quest to win the game.

Steam contains a beautiful, double-sided game board. The map on each side depicts terrain, towns, and cities at the start of the railway age. The map of the northeastern USA and neighboring Canada is ideal for 3 or 4 players. Use the map of Europe's lower Rhine and Ruhr region when playing a 4 or 5 player game. You can play Steam on any number of current and future variant and expansion maps, so we include pieces for 6 players.

The game plays very similarly to Age of Steam but with modifications to some of its mechanics and artwork. Tracks for income, train level, etc. are all printed on the board around the map such that alternate maps can be overlaid on the board and the necessary tracks will still be able to be used.

Similar to:

Railways of the World

The basic game play of Tsuro of the Seas resembles that of Tom McMurchie's Tsuro: Players each have a ship that they want to sail — that is, keep on the game board — as long as possible. Whoever stays on the board the longest wins the game.

Each turn players add "wake" tiles to the 7×7 game board; each tile has two "wake connections" on each edge, and as the tiles are placed on the board, they create a connected network of paths. If a wake is placed in front of a ship, that ship then sails to the end of the wake. If the ship goes off the board, that player is out of the game.

What's new in Tsuro of the Seas are daikaiju tiles, representing sea monsters and other creatures of the deep. Notably, daikaiju can move: each tile has five arrows, four for moving in each of the cardinal directions and another one for rotation. On the active player's turn, he rolls two six-sided dice; on a sum of 6, 7, or 8, the daikaiju will move, while on any other sum they'll stay in place. To determine which direction the daikaiju tiles move, the player then makes a second roll, this time with a single die. On 1-5 in the second roll, each daikaiju moves according to its matching arrow. On a 6 in the second roll, a new daikaiju tile is added to the board.

If a daikaiju tile hits a wake tile, a ship, or another daikaiju tile, the object hit is removed from the game. Another way to be ousted! The more daikaiju tiles on the game board, the faster players will find themselves trying to breathe water...

From the Publisher:
Tikal was discovered and explored during a very successful expedition led by Profs. Kramer and Kiesling. A decade later, a scroll is found that hints of a lost temple near the first site. This rumor rekindles their passion for Tikal and the two scientists start to discuss the prospect of another expedition to Central America. In the midst of their planning they encounter Profs. Braff and Pauchon at an international archaeology conference in Geneva, who want to know the truth about the enticing rumour.

Later that day, sitting in front of a roaring fire after a fine meal finished off with Cuban cigars and a few brandies, the two Swiss scientists listen enthralled by the unfolding plans of their German colleagues. To a man they clamour their unanimous assent and it is decided to join forces and go back to Tikal. Appointments are made, patrons are found, equipment is assembled, notes are compared, and then they are off.

An uneventful journey takes them to Guatemala, and then on to the old site. Not too long after, they discover that there is indeed an undisturbed temple in an adjacent valley. As it belonged to a long-forgotten king, the temple promises many surprises and much, much gold. And so the adventure begins...

Tikal II: The Lost Temple is a sequel to 1999 Spiel des Jahres winner Tikal, from world-famous duo Kramer-Kiesling.

Actions points have given way to two actions per turn :
1) move part of your expedition around the board to choose an action tile, and then
2) move your head scientist within the temple to explore new rooms and find gold.

There are many ways to score. Collecting and delivering treasures is one, and having the majority in some rooms or exploring the main temple as well as an outer secret chamber, are others.

Tikal II calls for careful planning, as your scientist can't move freely within the temple without specific items, and tension, as the actions around the board grow scarce. A game consists of two rounds, each concluded by a scoring. In the end, the player with the most gold is declared winner.

Part of the crayon rail games, this game features unique timeline orchestrated by event cards and a distance warp to accommodate the vast distances of the Soviet Union region. The game begins in the post WWII era, with players drawing rail lines and delivering loads wary of the inevitable fall of the Soviet Union. Build an empire from the Black Sea to the Baltic.

Note that the "distance warp" feature was removed during playtesting, and the "inevitable fall" of the Soviet Union is not as inevitable as you would think if that card doesn't get drawn.