If you like puzzle games then Railroad Ink Challenge is definitely for you. It’s a great game that you can play with friends or family and is sure to keep you busy for hours.
The PC version of Railroad Ink Challenge from Horrible Guild has been out for a while and recently it has gotten two new DLCs. Those DLCs add the Forest and Desert dice from the Lush Green and Shining Yellow editions to the game!
Gameplay
Railroad Ink Challenge is a simple, fast playing roll and write game. Play solo to beat your own best scores, or challenge players from around the world in Local Pass & Play!
The aim is to connect as many exits on your board as possible. This is done by drawing roads and railways onto erasable boards and optimizing the symbols you have available to better connect exits.
To start each round a set of dice are rolled in the center of the table determining which kind of road and railway routes are available to all players. You have to draw these routes on your erasable board to create transport lines and connect exits, trying to optimize the available symbols better than your opponents!
You can also connect special structures to your network to trigger new effects: duplicate a route with factories, build stations next to villages, unlock extra special routes with universities. Each game also has a different set of optional, time-limited in-game goals that can boost your score even more!
Graphics
Railroad Ink Challenge is a pretty straightforward game, you have to build railways and highways across a 7×7 grid to connect as many exits as possible. To start each turn you get four dice with different track layouts on them and you draw these into a grid on your board to extend the network.
While the graphics aren’t the most detailed they still look really great and do a good job of highlighting the connections you need to make. The visuals are a clean take on sketched-based graphics which really adds to the experience and makes it easier to visualize what you’re doing.
It’s a fun game and one you might want to keep installed for when you need a bit of brain exercise. The best part about the app is that you can post challenges with other players from all over the world. Those who achieve the in-game goals first get the rewards, so you need to watch out for your opponents!
Rules
Railroad Ink Challenge is a quick-playing roll-and-write game for 1 to 4 players. Grab a board and dry-erase marker, and get ready for networking nirvana!
Over the course of 7 rounds, you’ll attempt to connect as many exits to each other as possible by drawing Routes that can create Networks. The more Exits connected, the more points you’ll score!
Bonus points are also earned for your Longest Railway, your Longest Highway and by drawing in the Central Spaces of your board.
The core rules are pretty similar to those found in the base games, with a few minor differences: factories allow you to duplicate a die, villages give bonus points if they’re close to a station and universities unlock extra special routes.
As a bonus, Railroad Ink Challenge introduces goals, which provide specific requirements to complete before the end of a round for maximum points. This provides a healthy dose of randomness that goes well with the dice, but also helps to increase player interaction as players will need to specialize based on their own goals.
Overall
If you’re a fan of puzzle games or roll-and-writes, Railroad Ink Challenge is a must-have on your iOS device. It’s easy to play, a perfect filler game, and one that can easily be shared with friends.
The core gameplay is a simple one: build railways and highways to connect the highest number of exits in each of your 7 turns. The more exits you connect, the more points you’ll score at the end of the game.
However, the game does have a few wrinkles to spice it up. The dice on the board are a bit more varied, and there are buildings that bolster your infrastructure or help you lay additional tracks on your board.
In addition to the base game, Horrible Guild has also released two DLCs, Forest and Desert, that bring new die sets into the mix. These add a bit of longevity to the experience by requiring players to plant trees along roads, and to find oases for cacti not to wilt in drought.