2010-7: Steam (new)
Finally, a new game (sort-of)! The latest (and arguably greatest) in the Age of Steam family of railroad games, Steam: Rails to Riches.
History: So I've talked about this before, but here's your 30-second recap. Board game designer Martin Wallace (mostly) designs 3 types of games. Wargames (e.g. Waterloo), Heavy Economic Games (e.g. Brass), and Railroad-themed games (e.g. Last Train to Wensleydale). The game we are discussing here, Steam, is the latest evolution in his most popular series, the Age of Steam / Early Railways series, which was published as follows: Lancashire Railways (1998), New England Railways (2000), Volldamph [actually not in either series] (2001), Age of Steam (2002), Australian Railways (2004), Railroad Tycoon (2005), and Steam (2009).
Age of Steam / Railroad Tycoon / Steam are all essentially the same game, with each successive version being a slightly "nicer," more streamlined game. For example, in Age of Steam you must borrow money at the beginning of each turn to pay for your actions, and if you ever run out of cash you are declared bankrupt and kicked out of the game. Railroad Tycoon "nice-ifies" this rule by allowing you to issue stock at any time to cover your expenses, and Steam does away with the stock idea entirely and abstracts everything down to a debt-level chart. Ditto for other game mechanics.
Narrative Theme: 6. You've got a map with familiar locations on it, and the rule-book talks about trains. That's all the text you get. However, like most route-building games, there's definitely a narrative being created on the board as you upgrade to newer trains, cities grow, and cover the landscape in new track.
Mechanical Theme: 6. Steam is both the most abstract, and thus least "thematic" game in the series. Nevertheless, train games seem to ooze theme in spite of themselves. It must be the connecting cities aspect, as that's the least abstracted part. (Note: I'm referring only to the "basic" game. I have not played the "advanced" game, but its rule-set seems almost identical to Age of Steam's). [Note to the note: I've actually only ever played Age of Steam once, which is why it's not on this list. I've played the two newer versions quite a bit.]
Price vs. Component Quality: 6. $45 is the price you can acquire either Steam or Age of Steam for. As you will recall from our last installment, that's the same price as Agricola. You simply get more stuff in the Agricola box, for the same price.
Anyway, the main component differences between the two are wooden cubes for Steam vs. plastic trains for Age; a slightly easier time dropping expansion maps onto the Age board (and slightly better compatibility for older expansions, which are myriad). I also like the look of Steam's maps and tiles a smidge more, but couldn't tell you why. But these are tiny differences, especially as compared to the vast component differences with Railroad Tycoon. Anyway, they're all good games, you'd be satisfied with any of them, component-wise. Don't let the components be the basis of your decision between the three.
Rule Complexity: 6.5/8 (basic vs. full game). As a caveat, I have played only the basic game, though I have read the full game's rules. But if you're buying Steam over Age of Steam, you're buying it because you like the simplified rules. Otherwise, go with the classic, which has more compatibility with old expansions. I like them both, and the rules are mostly intuitive. But mistakes, especially in the full game, will be punished brutally. You have been warned.
Depth/Replayability: 9. Replayability for Steam is off the map. Literally. Because any time you get bored, you can print off one of the expansion maps and try something fresh. This also allows the game to scale from 1-8+ players, if you pick the right board. And even if you only the map out of the box, you're getting a random goods distribution every time, which will change play radically. And once you feel you have mastered everything, switch up to the full game, and everyting is new again.
Mechanical Elegance: 8. Age of Steam is a brilliant game, but it has some fiddly bits. 8 years (and, essentially, 2 revisions) later, those fiddly parts have been smoothed away. Some, perhaps even myself, would argue that the fiddly bits were the most interesting part. But they certainly detracted from the mechanical elegance, which Steam has in spades.
Length vs. Enjoyment: 7. The game plays in around 2 hours. That's about right, but as usual with games I really like, there are lots of interesting choices, which leads some to fall into analysis paralysis and a more time-consuming game.
Other indefinables: There's just some magic aura around train games that makes them more fun, or at least satisfying, than you'd think they'd be. No idea how or why, but it's true. And there are an awful lot of train game "systems" to choose from. The Age of Steam system is generally regarded as the best of them. Deep enough to be engrossing, but not so long and complex as to be totally overwhelming.
Best for: Gamers who have graduated from Ticket to Ride, and are ready for the next step in train-game depth and complexity.
Avoid if: You prefer lighter games, need lots of toy-like bits in your gamebox, or think that Steam doesn't sound hard-core enough for you. In that case, grab Ticket to Ride, Railroad Tycoon, or Age of Steam, respectively.
History: So I've talked about this before, but here's your 30-second recap. Board game designer Martin Wallace (mostly) designs 3 types of games. Wargames (e.g. Waterloo), Heavy Economic Games (e.g. Brass), and Railroad-themed games (e.g. Last Train to Wensleydale). The game we are discussing here, Steam, is the latest evolution in his most popular series, the Age of Steam / Early Railways series, which was published as follows: Lancashire Railways (1998), New England Railways (2000), Volldamph [actually not in either series] (2001), Age of Steam (2002), Australian Railways (2004), Railroad Tycoon (2005), and Steam (2009).
Age of Steam / Railroad Tycoon / Steam are all essentially the same game, with each successive version being a slightly "nicer," more streamlined game. For example, in Age of Steam you must borrow money at the beginning of each turn to pay for your actions, and if you ever run out of cash you are declared bankrupt and kicked out of the game. Railroad Tycoon "nice-ifies" this rule by allowing you to issue stock at any time to cover your expenses, and Steam does away with the stock idea entirely and abstracts everything down to a debt-level chart. Ditto for other game mechanics.
Narrative Theme: 6. You've got a map with familiar locations on it, and the rule-book talks about trains. That's all the text you get. However, like most route-building games, there's definitely a narrative being created on the board as you upgrade to newer trains, cities grow, and cover the landscape in new track.
Mechanical Theme: 6. Steam is both the most abstract, and thus least "thematic" game in the series. Nevertheless, train games seem to ooze theme in spite of themselves. It must be the connecting cities aspect, as that's the least abstracted part. (Note: I'm referring only to the "basic" game. I have not played the "advanced" game, but its rule-set seems almost identical to Age of Steam's). [Note to the note: I've actually only ever played Age of Steam once, which is why it's not on this list. I've played the two newer versions quite a bit.]
Price vs. Component Quality: 6. $45 is the price you can acquire either Steam or Age of Steam for. As you will recall from our last installment, that's the same price as Agricola. You simply get more stuff in the Agricola box, for the same price.
Anyway, the main component differences between the two are wooden cubes for Steam vs. plastic trains for Age; a slightly easier time dropping expansion maps onto the Age board (and slightly better compatibility for older expansions, which are myriad). I also like the look of Steam's maps and tiles a smidge more, but couldn't tell you why. But these are tiny differences, especially as compared to the vast component differences with Railroad Tycoon. Anyway, they're all good games, you'd be satisfied with any of them, component-wise. Don't let the components be the basis of your decision between the three.
Rule Complexity: 6.5/8 (basic vs. full game). As a caveat, I have played only the basic game, though I have read the full game's rules. But if you're buying Steam over Age of Steam, you're buying it because you like the simplified rules. Otherwise, go with the classic, which has more compatibility with old expansions. I like them both, and the rules are mostly intuitive. But mistakes, especially in the full game, will be punished brutally. You have been warned.
Depth/Replayability: 9. Replayability for Steam is off the map. Literally. Because any time you get bored, you can print off one of the expansion maps and try something fresh. This also allows the game to scale from 1-8+ players, if you pick the right board. And even if you only the map out of the box, you're getting a random goods distribution every time, which will change play radically. And once you feel you have mastered everything, switch up to the full game, and everyting is new again.
Mechanical Elegance: 8. Age of Steam is a brilliant game, but it has some fiddly bits. 8 years (and, essentially, 2 revisions) later, those fiddly parts have been smoothed away. Some, perhaps even myself, would argue that the fiddly bits were the most interesting part. But they certainly detracted from the mechanical elegance, which Steam has in spades.
Length vs. Enjoyment: 7. The game plays in around 2 hours. That's about right, but as usual with games I really like, there are lots of interesting choices, which leads some to fall into analysis paralysis and a more time-consuming game.
Other indefinables: There's just some magic aura around train games that makes them more fun, or at least satisfying, than you'd think they'd be. No idea how or why, but it's true. And there are an awful lot of train game "systems" to choose from. The Age of Steam system is generally regarded as the best of them. Deep enough to be engrossing, but not so long and complex as to be totally overwhelming.
Best for: Gamers who have graduated from Ticket to Ride, and are ready for the next step in train-game depth and complexity.
Avoid if: You prefer lighter games, need lots of toy-like bits in your gamebox, or think that Steam doesn't sound hard-core enough for you. In that case, grab Ticket to Ride, Railroad Tycoon, or Age of Steam, respectively.