Train Valley

Lore & Background

Train Valley is a puzzle-strategy game where players build railways to connect cities and transfer materials between stations. Rails are cheap except when demolishing houses or other objects. Players must manage increasing traffic by constructing crossroads and switches, with the main objective of delivering each train to its destination without going bankrupt. Each level also has three advanced objectives, such as 'do not stop trains' or 'do not destroy tracks'.

The base game contains four chapters: Europe (1830–1980), America (1840–1960), USSR (1880–1980), and Japan (1900–2020). A downloadable content chapter, Germany (1830–2020), adds six more levels, bringing the total to 30. The game entered Steam Early Access on May 7, 2015, before its full release on September 16, 2015.

Development began in April 2012, following Flazm's earlier railroad games Railway Valley, Railway Valley 2, and Railway Valley Missions, which were downloaded 15 million times. At the end of 2013, the game was shown at game conferences for user feedback. In November 2014, it won the 'Family Friendly Game' category at Casual Connect Belgrade. During a Steam Greenlight campaign in August 2014, over 10,000 players supported the game, leading to the addition of a sandbox mode without money or time limits.

Reader's Guide

Train Valley received mixed reviews on Metacritic. Reviewers appreciated the concept of placing players in different time periods and locations, but found the challenges repetitive. The game was praised for being easy to learn but hard to master. GameWatcher criticized it for being repetitive and 'without any real ambition', and noted the absence of bridges or tunnels for traversing terrain. Despite this, the game earned several accolades: Best Family Friendly Game at Casual Connect 2014, Best Game Design at Casual Connect 2015, and an Indie Prize for Best Kids and Family Game. It was also nominated for Best Indie Game and Showcase at DevGAMM 2014. A sequel, Train Valley 2, was released on March 29, 2018, and a Console Edition for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One followed on July 27, 2022. Two further games, Train Valley World (2024) and Train Valley Origins (2025), were later released.

Did You Know?

• Train Valley was developed by Flazm and released on September 16, 2015.
• The base game has 24 levels across four chapters: Europe, America, USSR, and Japan.
• A Germany DLC adds 6 more levels, for a total of 30.
• The game won Best Family Friendly Game at Casual Connect 2014 and Best Game Design at Casual Connect 2015.