Cull Me Maybe is a series where I discuss a game that I am considering getting rid of and discuss my current thoughts on it, as well as a final “keep or cull” decision. First up: Railroad Ink.
Railroad Ink, designed by Hjalmar Hach & Lorenzo Silva, is a roll-and-write route-building game where players create transportation networks on their personal boards. Each round, dice are rolled to determine the types and shapes of routes that players must draw on their boards. The goal is to connect as many exits as possible, form long routes, and create well-planned networks to score points. At the end of seven rounds, players score points based on their network's efficiency and connections.
What I Enjoyed About Railroad Ink #
There were a few things that initially drew me to Railroad Ink. First of all, I really liked the production. Call me a simple man, but I’m a sucker for a box with a magnetic lid. In addition, the art by Marta Tranquili is top notch - from the box art, to the unique privacy screens that each player has, to the beautiful rulebook. Even the custom dice have a nice and premium feel.
The fact that the rules are so simple to learn and yet there are still interesting decisions to be made was another selling point. The intuitive rules and beautiful production results in an almost meditative experience as you try and build a perfect network despite uncooperative dice. Overall, I’ve enjoyed all of my plays of Railroad Ink. So why am I considering getting rid of it?
Why I’m Considering Culling Railroad Ink #
It is the “solitairiest” of multiplayer solitaires. It’s not uncommon for roll-and-write games to have very little interaction, but with the base rules this game has absolutely none. Even Yahtzee has the tiniest bit of interaction by letting players look at each other’s score to determine how risk averse they should be - but in Railroad Ink, the sheets are all hidden until the end. There is a drafting variant, but it requires a copy of the game for each player, which isn’t an investment I’m willing to make. It is worth saying that, despite the lack of interaction, there is a bit of a sense of “community” that everybody is building from the same inputs.
Another reason why Railroad Ink is near the top of my cull list: I’ve recently had a big influx of roll-and-write route building games of all sorts. Specifically, I picked up the Let’s Build A Bus Route games (both the iello Get on Board versions as well as the Let’s Build A Bus Route: The Dice Game) as well as the Next Station flip-and-write games. While it is a genre that I like, I didn’t feel that there was enough of a reason to keep all six of the games.
In the end, I’ve decided to cull Railroad Ink. Although I enjoyed the time that I’ve had with the game, it’s just been replaced with other games. The Next Station series fills the void when I want something similarly straightforward, and the Let’s Build A Bus Route games are a nice step up in terms of complexity while maintaining a fairly intuitive core.
- Previous: Mechanic Spotlight: Push-Your-Luck
- Next: What Is A Party Game?