Empire Builder (board game)

Empire Builder is a railroad building strategy board game designed by Bill Fawcett and Darwin Bromley and first published in 1982 by Mayfair Games. The original edition maps the rail network of the United States and southern Canada, and players take on the role of railroad entrepreneurs who lay track between cities, haul goods from where they are produced to where they are demanded, and use the profits to expand their lines further across the continent. Routes are drawn directly onto a reusable game map with erasable markers rather than physical track pieces, a mechanic distinctive enough that Empire Builder and its successors became known collectively as the crayon rails games. A full game seats two to six players and typically runs from one to four hours, rewarding players who plan efficient, long-term freight routes over those who seek direct conflict with opponents. The game's success led to a series of related titles setting the same core system in other regions, including Europe, Australia, and Russia, as well as fictional settings such as Mars and the Moon.