Empire Builder (board game)

Empire Builder is a railroad board game centered on the construction of railroad track and delivery of goods.[1] It was designed by Bill Fawcett and Darwin Bromley and released in 1982 by Mayfair Games.

Empire Builder
Players2–6
Setup time5 minutes
Playing time60–240 minutes
Random chanceLow
Skill(s) requiredResource Allocation

The original game was set in the United States and Canada. This was replaced with a new version encompassing all of North America, including Mexico. A number of spin off games have been released since,[2] expanding the game's geography to other countries (British Rails, Australian Rails, Russian Rails, etc.)[3] and fantastic landscapes (Iron Dragon, Lunar Rails, Martian Rails). These games are collectively known as "the Empire Builder series".

Empire Builder games are sometimes called Crayon Rails games because players mark their tracks on the board with wax crayons (or with markers or other items).[2]

Most of the titles of the series are available in the Mayfair-authorized computer game Empire Builder Pronto (formerly EB Player).

Gameplay

The gameplay in Empire Builder begins on a map of North America. Players take turns to create their own railroad routes by drawing them on a laminated board with washable crayons,[2] then pick up and deliver commodities along them according to the "demand cards" they draw. They receive income based on delivered goods. Whoever is first to connect together six of the seven major cities on the map and get $250 million wins the game.[4]

Reception

In the September 1982 edition of Dragon (Issue 65), Gary Gygax gave a favourable review, saying, "Empire Builder is the best boardgame to come out in a long time. In my opinion it is the best available, being more complex and challenging than the simpler sort and not as tedious and complicated as those at the other end of the spectrum."[5]

Eleven years later, in the December 1993 edition of Dragon (Issue 200), Allen Varney considered Empire Builder a classic that "rewards careful strategy and offers lots of replay value." [6]

In the October 1994 edition of Pyramid (Issue #9), Scott Haring complimented Australian Rails, saying that both this game "and its brothers don't have the romantic thrills of other games -- there are no armies to defeat, no damsels to rescue, no dragons to slay. But it's a great strategic game, requiring brains and planning to win. And in my opinion, it's every bit as satisfying to survey a well-planned rail network and to count the earnings as it is to plant your foot on the belly of a slain dragon and count its gold. Every bit."[7]

Awards

In 1991 the Eurorails set won the Origins Award for Best Modern-Day Boardgame of 1990.[8]

In 1995 Australian Rails won the Origins Award for Best Modern-Day Boardgame of 1994.[9]

References
  1. Law, Keith. "The Boardgames of Toy Fair 2015". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  2. Woods, Stewart (2012). Eurogames: The Design, Culture and Play of Modern European Board Games. McFarland. pp. 42–43. ISBN 9780786467976.
  3. Carter, Ian (2008). British Railway Enthusiasm, Studies in Popular Culture. Manchester University Press. pp. 17–18. ISBN 9780719065668.
  4. "Empire Builder". www.boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  5. Gygax, Gary (September 1982). "Rail buffs will love this one". Dragon. TSR, Inc. (65): 75.
  6. Varney, Allen (December 1993). "Social Board Games". Dragon. TSR, Inc. (200): 120.
  7. Haring, Scott (October 1994). "Australian Rails". Pyramid. Steve Jackson Games. 1 (9). Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  8. "The 1990 Origins Awards". The Origin Awards. The Game Manufacturers Association. 1990. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  9. "Origins Award Winners (1994)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
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