Railroad Tycoon (video game)

Did You Know?

• A Super NES port was planned for a 1994 release and screenshots appeared in the March 1993 issue of Nintendo Power, but the port was never released.
• A Mega Drive version was also planned but never released.
• When Avalon Hill's president Eric Dott learned of the adaptation, he called Microprose founder Bill Stealey and said, 'Bill, you're doing my boardgame as a computer game.'

Gameplay

The player acts as a railway entrepreneur, starting a company in one of four geographic locales: the Western United States, Northeast United States, Great Britain, or Continental Europe, with the starting date varying by map. The company begins with one million dollars in capital, half equity and half a loan, and can raise additional funds by selling bonds. The objective is to build and manage a railroad company by laying tracks, building stations, and buying and scheduling trains. The player may also handle individual train movement and build additional industries. The game models supply and demand of goods and passengers, and includes a miniature stock market where players can buy and sell stock of their own or competing companies. Other railroad companies attempt to put the player out of business through stock dealings and rate wars. There are four types of stations: Signal Tower, Depot, Station, and Terminal. The Signal Tower acts as a passing loop and may control movements, while Depots serve the smallest area and Terminals the largest. Up to 32 stations can be built, and the first station built also creates the first engine shop, where trains are constructed. The player can upgrade or downgrade Depots, Stations, and Terminals, and add facilities such as stores and hotels. Up to 32 trains are permitted, and the player can change a train's consist at any time, adding mail, passenger, or specialized freight cars for nine commodity types. The game runs for a century with two-year accounting periods. Not every station buys everything offered; the player can choose between Simple Economy, where a station serving large enough cities buys anything, and Complex Economy, where cities only buy certain products like passengers and beer. The four scenarios have different products available.

Reception

Railroad Tycoon sold more than 400,000 units by September 1997. In the July 1990 edition of Games International, Brian Walker gave the game a perfect score of 10 out of 10, calling it one of the most captivating games he had ever played. Computer Gaming World named it Game of the Year in September 1990, and M. Ryan Brooks awarded it five out of five stars the following issue. The magazine added it to its Hall of Fame in 1992. PC Sources' Russ Lockwood called it one of the best games of the year in December 1990. Dragon magazine awarded both the PC and Macintosh versions perfect scores of 5 out of 5 in its January and October 1991 issues. Strategy Plus declared it their 1990 game of the year. The game won the 1991 Software Publishers Association Excellence in Software Award for Best Strategy Program. PC Format named it one of the 50 best computer games ever in 1991, and PC Gamer US ranked it fourth in 1994. Computer Gaming World listed it as the 41st-best computer game ever in 1996, and PC Gamer US ranked it 25th in 1998, calling it groundbreaking in every sense.