Summary
👥 A game for 1 to 80 players
⏳ Play time is 30 – 45 minutes
🏢 Publisher is Dranda Games
Introduction
In this clever flip-and-write, you assume the role of a railway magnate, ready to expand your empire across the vast frontier. Use poker cards not only to build out your rail lines, but also to form a strong poker hand for extra points. 🃏✨
Connect cities, activate bonuses, and strategically surround features for powerful final scoring opportunities. With common goals in every game as well as a delightful puzzle feel, Pioneer Rails is a ride you’ll want to take again and again!
Let’s get in on the table
Each player gets their own score sheet with a map of the Wild West, everyone using the same side. A marker or pencil to draw track lines.
The poker cards worth 10 through Ace and shuffle this deck well and make this the draw deck. Then pick 3 target cards, from each type of card choose 1.
Now we are ready to start playing.
Let’s play
The game is played over 4 rounds, and each round consists of 5 turns. At the end of a round, the points are added up according to the strength of your poker hand, e.g. a pair, three of a kind, a straight (10,J,Q,K,A) etc.. When you also have the Saloon symbol circled for this round, you double the points.
If this is the end of the fourth round, the game ends and final scoring begins.
At the beginning of a round, the starting player turns open 3 poker cards. He first chooses one of the three face-up cards and places it in front of him. After this, the other players choose or pick 1 card from the remaining cards, but leave it face down so that all players can choose to use it.
Now write down the poker card first, you write the value of the card, e.g. 10 or K in the bottom left-hand corner on the first possible available box of your scoresheet and of course in the round you are currently in.
After writing down your poker card, you start drawing a rail. The colour of the card determines where you may draw three tracks. These must start at an existing track or from the station.
After you have drawn these 3 tracks, see if you have activated a feature. E.g. a Mines, Banks, Forts, Rail Yards or Saloons, you will then need to have a number of tracks drawn around it as indicated in the hex.
Cattle Hexes are activated as soon as you separate them from the other Cattle Hexes and Towns are activated as soon as a railway is connected to them for the first time.
When you have activated multiple features, you may decide in which order you activated them.
While playing, if you have already visited towns, you can also activate them. You can use them e.g. to draw a burg across the river, make a tunnel between 2 mountains, a shortcut to another hex, a switch so you have a turn to go in another direction or you may switch the Suit to another type.
Explanation of the different features;
Saloons draw three tracks along two edges of the saloon hex. Circle now the next usable, saloon symbol you may also circle a saloon symbol for a future round. At the end of round if you have circled a saloon next to your poker hands, you score double points.
Forts draw four tracks along a Fort hex, now show all the left most available for the symbol. At the end of the game, you score point for the right most circled fort symbol.
Mines/Gold Nuggets draw one line along the edge of the Mines hex and circle one of the gold nuggets in your scoring area.
Banks draw three lines along the bank hex, now cross off up to 4 gold nuggets and multiply this by the left most empty bank. You can write this number in the bank Square and at the end of the game you score points equal to the sum of all your banks.
Cattle Ranches, complete a Cattle Ranches by separating a Cattle hex from all other Cattle hexes. You can create a boundary by using 1 or more tracks, the river , mountains, stations and or the edge of the map. At the end of the game you score points equal to the right most circled Cattle Ranches.
Rail yards draw three edges along the rail yard hex. At the end of the game you score points equal to the highest number of towns on a single railway line or network multiplied by the multiplier shown on the right most circle rail yard symbol.
Towns draw a track to make a railway terminated at a town. You cannot continue a railway once it reaches a town.
The game ends
At the fourth and final round, you score your points:
Mines / Gold Nugget; score 1 point for each circled gold nugget
Bank; score points equals to the sum of all banks
Fort; score points for your right most circled fort
Cattle Ranches; score points for your right most circled Cattle Ranche symbol
Rail Yard; score points equal to the highest number of Towns on a single railway or network, multiplied by the multiplier shown on the right-most circled Rail Yard symbol
Towns; score 1 point for each circled Town
You also score points for completed goals and sum the total of your poker hands. The player with the highest score wins
Conclusion & our score
Difficulty: 1.90/ 5
Re-playability: 9
Our score: 8,5 out of 10 dice
What a fun flip and write is Pioneer Rails. The theme already really appeals to us but the use of poker cards also helps with this. Basically, it’s just a flip-and-write but there are some fun things in it that make it that much more fun for us.
During the game, you choose a card, either choosing from what you have laid face-up or which one remains after the starting player. At the bottom left of your score sheet, you then fill in what kind of card you chose. At the end of the round, it is then checked whether you can score extra points, e.g. because you have a three of a kind or a full house or a straight.
It really is a delightful puzzle in which you try to build up your network and connect with cities saloons, fortresses, mines or banks.
Although the game rules are not too complicated, the main challenge is to circle as many cards as possible, which in turn can help you score extra points. But the most fun still remains to make sure you can collect the right poker cards in your hand with which you can then score the points.
Also for solo players, this is just like many other flip and roll and write games. Fun to play solo as well. The aim is to score at least 60 points During a solo game, depending on the level you are playing at, you put X number of target cards face up and during each round a new target card is turned face up. The goal is that you try to complete this one too, at the end of the game, 10 points are added to the 60 points for each goal card not completed.
The theme really makes this a favourite for us in terms of flip and write, and the variety with the four different score sheets means we’ll have plenty of replayability for the coming time.
We want to thank Dranda Games for this review copy and the opportunity to write about it.
