Any Rail Baron Players here?

[Urban Ranger]

Oh. That's interesting. I guess you guys calculated the probabilities to death.

[Ming]

Yep... thousands upon thousands of games...

It was funny... we had to replace our hot water heater in our old place. The guy came over, and while getting ready to yank the old one, he noticed I had three copies of Rail Baron on my shelf (we wear them out)...

He started telling me that he and his buddies play every week. He told me the first rail bought in their games was the SAL... then the big rails, and then the NE rails.

I told him how we played, and explained the logic behind it. Convinced him that the PA was truely the number one rail... We talked for a few hours over a few beers after he installed the Water Heater.

I only wish I knew how his groups games were effected in the long run by our chat

[Nubclear]

Whats rail baron?

[Jon Miller]

I played a long time ago

it was fun, I would like to play again

jon Miller

[rah]

Rumor has it that there is an on-line version.

When we first started playing the game, the SAL was usually number one, but then people started crunching the probabilities of the destinations and that stopped.

GO PA

[Jonny]

Originally posted by rah
Rumor has it that there is an on-line version.

Yes, there is, and it can be found here: http://www.insystem.com/rbp/

It's shareware - free for 30 days, then it costs $25 to register.

[Urban Ranger]

Yes indeed PA is the #1 railroad in the game - which makes all the NE railroads (at least the NYC and B&O also) the first picks, then the Big 3, than SAL.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Comrade Tassadar
Whats rail baron?

It's a railroad boardgame published by Avalon Hill. You don't build rails, you buy existing ones and haul cargoes.

[rah]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Yes indeed PA is the #1 railroad in the game - which makes all the NE railroads (at least the NYC and B&O also) the first picks, then the Big 3, than SAL.

Yes, pretty standard. It does depend on how many players are in the game. If four or five, the B&O will usually go after the big 3.

But with 3, again last night, a one rail winner. Jrabbit won with just the Rio-Grande. (he passed someone) but it was still a one-rail win.

[Urban Ranger]

You definitely need more players. Maybe Ming can contact that plumber guy

[rah]

It's like dueling in civII MP, you would rather you didn't but sometimes it's all you have.

[Ming]

Yeah... you need four to play the game right. But as Rah says, if you only have three... that's all you have.

Hmmmm... maybe I need a new hot water heater

[Jonny]

Originally posted by Ming
Yeah... you need four to play the game right. But as Rah says, if you only have three... that's all you have.

Hmmmm... maybe I need a new hot water heater

No, you need to buy me a house in the same neighborhood as yours...

[-Jrabbit]

Great thread. I'm part of that 3some with Ming and a mutual friend. The FNSGS -- Friday Night Strategic Gaming Society.

We've been working toward breaking down the 3-player paradigm for years, and it seems clear that we've finally "broken" the ruleset. Games take about an hour or so.

Typically, these are the rails still purchased: NYNH&H, B&M, PA, NYC, B&O, SAL, ACL, DRG&N, and WP. That's 9.

Sometimes, a few more go on an opportunistic basis. For about 3 weeks, we were seeing the AT&SF go as well, but I think we're beyond that now. Last Friday, we played 2 games and NO $40K rails were purchased.

When this (long-predicted) trend became real, I tried to counter it with a "pimp the leader" buying strat (like N&W, C&NW when locks were rolled), but this was nowhere near effective. Again, as predicted (and as stated above), it just puts you further behind.

The bottom line is, in 3-player Rail Baron, any rail you buy is just delaying your superchief. If the others buy their chiefs, you're toast. Even if you own the whole northeast, by the time you've acquired it, the game will be nearly over.

Kind of like a bad start or an early mistake in Civ2 -- it multiplies over time.

[Ming]

I'm not even sure buying any rail is worth it any more.

People are still buying the PA before a Superchief if it's there... That may not be the smartest thing to do

And yeah... I don't see any of the Large Western rails ever being bought anymore. And with that being the case, there is no longer any need for the WP or RG to be bought as well. So really... only the Northeast, and maybe killers corner in the southeast... and that's about it.