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Ragnar Bash 2005 (1) & (2)
‘Rail Baron’
‘Rail Baron’ by Avalon Hill
Kendall drives, Dicken navigates. Games are at Ros and Derek’s tonight with two other closet gamers, Anne and Reg. The wonder of the A-Z ensures a speedy if belated arrival. Ros and Derek are still at dinner and Anne and Reg are on their way. There’s time for a quick look at Rail Baron’s rules and components, and to reminisce of games from the past. 3-day Monopoly marathons seem a long time ago. Anne and Reg appear and after introductions and charging of glasses, Derek invites the company to table.
‘Rail Baron’ was published in 1977 and is very much in the Avalon Hill style of that period. Boasting 3-4 hours playing time, it would have been the sort of game to play on a wet afternoon in the Lake District - with lashings of ginger beer or better still, beer. Derek explains the rules in a jaunty, salesman-like way. Kendall and Dicken reach for their miner’s helmets to read the CRTs which spell out locations of termini and the $ value for journeys between them. Somewhere else Kendall discovers the prices of rail companies printed in fonts of no more than 6 point. The board itself is a map of the USA, covered in a spider’s web of rail-lines (very historically accurate no doubt) connecting numerous towns and cities. Ros and Derek nobly change seats to the North side (upside down) of the board.
Reg goes first rolling three dice to find which area of the map he will be moving to and three dice again to determine the destination town within that region. He then rolls two dice to move, paying the bank or other players for the privilege of using their track. On arrival at his destination he will receive a sum of money for completing the journey and then be able to purchase a rail company and its associated track. Of course it can take some time to reach one’s destination. Rolling snake eyes brings guffaws of glee, whereas Ros rolling two elevens and a nine to cross from coast to coast beggars belief.
Kendall spends $4000 to purchase an Express train to boost his speed (roll a double and you get to roll a third dice). The Railchief (roll three dice) at $40,000 is a further option, but some way off in terms of finances. The present company are happily snapping up different rail companies, ranging in price from $4000 to $30,000. An opponent using your track has to hand over $5000, which seems a lot, but the maze of routes means your track might be avoided even if a player heads in its general direction.
The aim is to acquire $200,000 cash and then to head back to your original start point (the latter requirement seems an irrelevant detail over a four hour game, but times change). By 10.00 pm the current Barons have amassed three or four companies each and no more than $50,000 in cash there’s a lot of dice rolling to go!
Derek suggests an early finish. Ros suggests writing down the positions. Dicken suggests this is a bit complicated (how does he get away with it?).
‘Rail Baron’ illustrates how the games industry has changed. Today any game of this ilk would last no more than 90 minutes and it would have to have a movement system relying on more than just dice rolls. Finally, the visual aspects of the game would not stand up to current standards. Still, there’s a lot to thank Avalon Hill for in their development of the genre.
The evening closes with an introductory game of ‘Blooming Gardens’ that Kendall wins followed by Dicken; who then sells a copy of the game to each of the couples. Business as usual!
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