Empire Builder

The premise is quite simple, as is the game play. Quickly put, this is a game of supply and demand. Your job is to connect the cities that "want" to the cities that "have," making a tidy profit along the way. With every trip, if you plan well, you may buy more rail line or increase your engines capacity or speed. The first person to connect five major cities and have $250 million wins. Bad planning you will find you stuck in Canada with no way home.

I wish they used games like this when I was in school. It teaches geography, economics, strategy, math and history all in one shot. It is a great family game, and even now it is one of the few games that my wife and mother will happily agree to play with me.

If you enjoy it, try other versions such as Eurorails, India Rails, or Japan Rails for different geography lessons but equal fun.


Fun, thinking game!   March 14, 2000
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

If you want a game that will make the hours fly, this is it. This game is a wonderful tool for encouraging creative thinking - as well as the capitalist spirit!

One word of caution with the crayons (don't press too hard! They tend to break).

Overally, however, this game is *Wonderful!* - I highly recommend it to anyone.


Semi-Educational Fun   June 16, 2006
Jerome Neukirch (Louisville, KY USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is indeed an amazing game and strongly recommended. It will certainly teach you where different cities are in relation to each other, but its boosters over hype its educational value.

One says it teaches "history," which is a shaky claim. After all, in whose history book does automobile manufacturing precede the laying of our nations rail lines? Yet, if you get the right contract card, you can pick up cars in Detroit on your first run - long before most cities get connected.

Also, the placement of some of the natural resources is tweaked for game play balance. Historically, Cincinnati packaged and exported so much pork, it was called "Porkopolis;" but in this game, you have to go all the way to the Mississippi River to find any swine. Likewise, no cattle can be found anywhere in Texas - only oil, cotton and rice. So much for those famous Texas longhorns.

I have no problem with any of this. Balanced game play requires all of it and it's a great game that I have been addicted to it for years. Just take it for what it is: An amazing game which you will literally enjoy for hours on end. My friends and I determined that it takes about an hour per player: 2 hours for a 2 player game, 3 for 3, etc.


One of my favorites   November 14, 2006
Adam (Suburban Philadelphia, PA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I received the newest version of Empire Builder as a birthday gift. Initially, I was very skeptical of it, as I grew up on Rail Baron and doubted I could make the transition to such a dyanmic environment. However, my skepticism was put aside after playing the first game. It is a lot of fun!

I don't know if the makers of SimCity ever created a railroad-based sim game, but this is basically the board game version of it. With only two people playing, it generally comes down to racing the other person to get 6 cities and 250 million dollars first. However, with 3 to 5 people playing, it becomes very competitive as everyone races to certain key cities before available entry points are filled. I've played with both 2 players and 4--both were a lot of fun, even though the style and competitiveness were different.

I've played three games so far and have had nothing but good times. I would gladly play more if I had all the time in the world. This well-rounded game in my honest opinion has a lot to offer people who love a variety of games, whether strategic or non-strategic.


Best Railroad (train) game I've played - Whole family   November 15, 1999
The game isn't based on actual rail lines like Rail Baron. This is not bad! Instead of collecting rail cards you draw your own rail line from one location to another. Locations are connected by geographical dots. Each dot represents plains, mountain or city. It costs more to build in some locations and over rivers. The object of the game is to collect money while connecting a number of major cities. Each player receives 3 cards called demand cards. They have names of three cities on them. Next to each city's name is a good (demand) that city is willing to pay for and how much they are willing to pay. You have to choose which cities to connect and which goods you will deliver. Once a good is delivered to a city you collect the amount they will pay and replace the used card. You have the option to build more rail lines or upgrade your train (move faster or carry more goods). Movement is a set number of dots so the luck has been taken out of movement. This is an improvement over Rail Baron. Not all the demand cards are cities. Some are floods, strikes and derailments. This makes thing fun, when it happens to someone other than you. The game ends once a player collects a set amount of money and has a number os major cities connected. No luck involved there which is good. Players will learn where different cities are located on the map. They will also learn where resources and supplies come from. ie: oil from where the oil fields are located, corn from the corn growing states and cars from Detroit. The map is geographically correct meaning rivers are where river are and mountains where they should be. The game also has a good set of optional rules that can be used to vary how the game plays. All in all this is a very good game. Only drawback is the length of time it takes to play. Most games will last 3 to 4 hours, the players don't mind but the non players may.