Where to get it

2006 · Firaxis Games · Business simulation · Simulation

Sid Meier's Railroads!

Sid Meier's Railroads! marks the return of the watershed title in simulation/strategy gaming that launched the popular "tycoon" genre, and inspired a new generation of games. Sid Meier's Railroads! comes home to its original creator, the legendary Sid Meier, who, together with his team at Firaxis Games, will take this game to a whole new level of fun!

Released: 17 October 2006
Platforms: Windows macOS
Genres: Business simulation Simulation Strategy
Developers: Firaxis Games
Publishers: 2K
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Business
Engine: Gamebryo
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB E PEGI 3 CLASS_IND L USK 0
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat: 15hmain story16hcompletionist

About

Sid Meier's Railroads! is a business simulation game developed by Firaxis Games on the Gamebryo game engine that was released in October 2006 and is the sequel to Railroad Tycoon 3. Although Sid Meier created the original Railroad Tycoon, subsequent versions were developed by PopTop Software. Railroads!

was the first game in the series since the original to have direct input from Sid Meier himself. After a visit to Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany, Meier was inspired to reinvent his original creation. A version for the Mac OS X was published by Feral Interactive on November 1, 2012, under the latter's Feral Legends label. A mobile version was released in April 2023.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Railroads! is fully three-dimensional and geared more toward head-to-head real-time strategy than the previous versions, resulting in it being less suited to single player play, and a less realistic simulation of railway operation. The terrain is more compressed in this game; there are few areas where players are allowed a long, straight run of track without earthworks or a bridge, meaning that terrain (such as hills, mountains, rivers and inlets) plays a more important role, at least in the early stages of a game.

The game is heavily focused on economics – players have to build and sustain entire industries using the railroads they develop. Gameplay changes from previous editions of Railroad Tycoon include a system where new technology is first auctioned to the highest bidder. This gives the player a ten-year exclusive use of that technology. Similarly, individual industries are also put up for auction amongst players.

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Sid Meier's Railroads! for "Simulation Game of the Year" at the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.