Rail Baron is a railroad-themed board game for three to six players in which participants act as railway tycoons buying and running rail lines across North America. It was first published in the 1970s under the title Boxcars by its original designers, R.S. Erickson and T.F. Erickson, Jr. The rights were soon acquired by Avalon Hill, which renamed the game Rail Baron and reissued it under that title. Players roll dice to travel between cities, purchase regional railroads to build a network, and collect income from routes they control, aiming to accumulate enough wealth to build a private railroad car and complete a final cross-country run. The game's design channels the same railway-building appeal found in other historical train games of the period.
Facts
Playing Time DesignerThomas F. Erickson, Jr. 2 PublisherThe Avalon Hill Game Co 2 Game Category Game Category Game Category Game Mechanic Minimum Players Maximum Players Classification
Player CountSmall Group (3-6 Players) 1 Sport
Game Type (category) Sources
1. Rail Baron (Wikipedia)
Lead section, first sentenceQuote, Lead section, first sentence
Rail Baron is a railroad board game for 3 to 6 players
2. Rail Baron (BoardGameGeek)
- Origin Year: 1977
- Playing Time: 240
- Designer: R. S. Erickson
- Designer: Thomas F. Erickson, Jr.
- Publisher: The Avalon Hill Game Co
- Game Category: Economic
- Game Category: Trains
- Game Category: Transportation
- Game Mechanic: Roll / Spin and Move
- Minimum Players: 3
- Maximum Players: 6
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