Many a newcomer to Rail Baron remarks on how similar the game seems to be to Monopoly. The comparison is merited. Both games reward you for traveling around the game and both games involve the purchase of property in order to build your own personal fortune.

However, Rail Baron is definitely more complex than Monopoly and requires a consistent program of connecting rail lines in order to achieve success. And unlike Monopoly, property is not purchased by chance. You must skillfully select the properties that will best enable you to traverse the map, while cornering parts of the country to force your competitors to pay you much coveted user fees.

Rail Baron provides two methods for gaining income to amass your fortune. The first is based almost soley on luck. The roll of the dice determines each trip you must make in order to earn cash to pay for your next property. The longer the trip, the larger the payoff. On the other hand, by purchasing rail lines and limiting your opponents access to certain cities, you gain more money when they are forced to use your tracks. In most games (but certainly not all), the prudent purchase of railways has greater impact on your success, than the roll of the dice.

Choosing Lines By Region

A quick review of the map reveals the regions dividing up the United States: Northeast, Southeast, North Central, South Central, Plains, Northwest and Southwest. In order to determine which rail lines would be used most often, we should analyze the Destination Table.

The Northeast

The odds of taking a trip to the tiny Northeast are 4 percentage points higher than anywhere else on the map. Therefore, the rails lines in the Northeast should be among our first candidates for purchase. The three main lines to the Northeast are the $30,000 PA, the $28,000 NYC, and the $24,000. The $20,000 C&O also touches the edges of this region, and should be considered for purchase if the other three lines are not available.

Although the PA and NYC only differ in price by $2,000, the PA is the better value. The Pennsylvania Railroad reaches the more of the most likely rolled cities in the region, than the New York Central.

The minor lines in the Northeast are the B&M and the NYNH&H. The lines can make huge profits considering their small investment of only $4,000 each. One trip by an opponent to Boston or Portland, Maine and these little gems quickly pay for themselves.

The Southwest

The second most popular region on the map is the Southwest. The Southwest also covers a vast amount of territory. If you are stuck late in game without a railway in the Southwest your opponents will extract a heavy price. Unlike the Northeast, where one good roll will get you in and one good roll will get you out, the Southwest generally demands multiple rolls for both trips. In a three player game, this is generally, not a concern, because there are three very expensive lines running to that area of the map. But add 1 to 3 more players and it becomes cutthroat.

In three player games your should probably purchase your first major line in the Northeast. With more than three players save up to buy the $40,000 AT&SF, $40,000 UP or the $42,000 SP. Each line has it's own strengths and their selection should be based on any other lines you may already own or your opponent may own.

There is one way to sneak around the edges Southwest without buying one the major lines. The combination of WP and D&RGW ($14,000 total) grant you limited access to the northern portion of the territory. I like to add the GN to these two lines to create a loop that extends in the Northwest. Even with this additional line, you will still need a connecting route to get you back to Chicago. The CRI&P or the CB&Q are perfect for making that final connection to the North Central region.

The Other Regions

Since many lines connect in Chicago, the North Central region generally takes care of itself during the course of the game with the purchase of one or two railroads.

Because the lines in the Southeast are relatively inexpensive, this can be an easy area to corner. However, you will discover that this area genrally receives much less traffic than the Northeast or Southwest. Therefore, be sure you don't sacrifice access to those regions, just to monopolize the Old South.

Owning the UP or the SP not only gives you entrance into the Southwest, but also the Northwest. If you don't have either of these lines, there are still many good routes available to cover both the Northwest and the Plains.

Lines the run through the center of the map are plentiful. They are usually the last lines to be purchased during most games. Your purchases in this area should be focused on creating express routes from the Northeast to the Southwest, while giving you access to the remaining regions.

Going Home

Keep a watchful eye on your opponents and make sure you know everyone's home city. Remember once the properties are gone and once someone reaches $200,000 they can make their declaration for home. Hopefully, that person is you. However, if you think someone is close to going out, it never hurts to shadow that person's piece, in order to stomp on them once they declare their intentions. $50,000 can go a long way in helping your reach ultimate victory. Please note, that we always play with the following Courtesy Rule: a player must always announce when he/she has reached $150,000 in cash.

If you have reached $200K and no one else has even declared that they have $150K, it may be in your best interest to wait until you have reached a destination city that is close to your home city, before taking that final leap.

Good luck! A and may you always roll Box Cars when you need them!