Sid Meier's Railroads!

 PC
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 125 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 125
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 125
  3. Negative: 48 out of 125
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  1. Jonasac02
    Jan 23, 2022
    10
    I love this game, is so much special for me because was my introduction to RTS genre (Starcraft, AoE series and so on)
  2. Klewer
    Jul 16, 2017
    7
    A solid addition to this series, nothing particularly ground breaking about it. Solid rail simulation, improves on the graphics of previous games but has a few features missing compared to Tycoon II and doesn't quite have the same draw.
  3. StrategistJVG
    Jun 15, 2014
    9
    I have thoroughly enjoyed this Railroad game by Sid, thanks Sid ^_^
    But there is only One problem i have, and that is every time i hold down the mouse button and drag long out for a long railroad it crashes. This is definitely a windows 7 memory problem with the game.
    Apart from that I give it a 9 out of 10 ^_^
    it truly reminded me of Locomotion back in the day.
  4. carlosgtardon
    Jun 10, 2014
    3
    Mal ajustado y poco desarrollo, además es a veces un poco incomprensible para gestionar todas las variables y las estructuras de desarrollo de los trenes. No vale la pena.
  5. BenGold10
    Mar 25, 2014
    1
    I think It's really hard to make money, and you are constantly losing it. It's litterly impossible to make money.
    I am soon hoping to get ace patrol, and I like most of sid miers games.
  6. Sydek93jm
    Feb 15, 2014
    0
    I was really enjoying the game, but it crashes me back to the desktop, so there's no way for me to keep playing it. .
  7. Paikia
    Feb 12, 2014
    8
    I love simulation games in general, and while Sid Meier's Railroads does have a few problems and drawbacks, I am having a lot of fun with it.

    I read many complaints about crashes and technical problems, but I rarely encountered any by now (15-16 hours of gameplay). The game did crash once for me, but it seems to have been an isolated incident. Generally - the game plays just fine    I love simulation games in general, and while Sid Meier's Railroads does have a few problems and drawbacks, I am having a lot of fun with it.

    I read many complaints about crashes and technical problems, but I rarely encountered any by now (15-16 hours of gameplay). The game did crash once for me, but it seems to have been an isolated incident. Generally - the game plays just fine (Windows 7 64bit).

    I don't have much to say about the graphics and music, which I suppose has a lot to do with this game being 7 years old by the time this review is being written. Obviously, I can't expect it to look and sound like games released during the last couple of years, so this is not a issue for me.

    As for the gameplay - I really love the general idea of building a railroad network, connecting cities and industrial sites. The game does offer a fairly deep, balanced and complex gameplay, but I must admit, that as a Civilization series veteran, I was expecting more. In every scenario I play, I usually end up with quite a network and a lot of money, so I start working on the scenario goals, but I can't escape the feeling that something is missing. I'm not sure if the problem is a lack of challenge, or maybe the scope of each of the scenarios is too small, or maybe something else that I'm missing.

    In conclusion, I love this game, I wish I had discovered it before, but what I'd really love - is an improved sequel. I doubt Firaxis games are even thinking about it, but maybe someone else will step up to the challenge.    … Expand
  8. morrae
    Oct 18, 2013
    5
    I love this type of games!
    But railroads! falls short many times. It's too easy, too shallow, not much of anything besides putting down railroads (and I guess you can argue that that's the whole point, but I would've liked to have something besides that, something deeper, something more like transport giant or locomotion). This is basicly a children game.
    In a very short time you will    I love this type of games!
    But railroads! falls short many times. It's too easy, too shallow, not much of anything besides putting down railroads (and I guess you can argue that that's the whole point, but I would've liked to have something besides that, something deeper, something more like transport giant or locomotion). This is basicly a children game.
    In a very short time you will learn how to win any game very fast. Then you will learn to do it with any given spawn point. And then you will quickly find out how to beat 3 AI on hardest difficulty. It took me one evening to complete almost full game.
    And that's with the constant crashes and freezes. Yes, it doesn't work good on any system and I was forced to save every couple minute or so, so I won't lose my progress.
    It could've been so much more, but in the end, it's pretty easy and shallow game for one evening.    … Expand
  9. silentghost4
    Sep 23, 2010
    10
    I love this game,, no problems at all.. It has been pretty fun. The supply/demand and cargo changing between cities has been very much simplified and is a lot easier to use. The railway layout has been simplified a lot as well, so that it automagically lays the track for you and you don't have to worry as much about minor/small gradients in the track.
  10. ChrisvanG
    Aug 27, 2008
    3
    Seems to be a great game till you start playing it. The crashes take all the fun out of it. I can live with things like the engines have no tender and the occasional graphics failures but the continious crashes (OS Vista Ultimate) completely takes the fun out of this game. Waste of 10 Euro's.
  11. HartmutK.
    Jul 24, 2008
    7
    I just bought the game via steam. The game is fun so far, despite the following:
    I'm using Vista 32bit (HomePremium) and get maybe one crash every 1-2h. Since there is autosave you lose maybe 10-15min of gameplay per crash.
    I haven't played RRT2 and 3 yet (maybe will do so if Railroads proves to be not sophisticated enough.) I only played one scenario so far: the german    I just bought the game via steam. The game is fun so far, despite the following:
    I'm using Vista 32bit (HomePremium) and get maybe one crash every 1-2h. Since there is autosave you lose maybe 10-15min of gameplay per crash.
    I haven't played RRT2 and 3 yet (maybe will do so if Railroads proves to be not sophisticated enough.)

    I only played one scenario so far: the german (1835-1980) with 3 computer opponents and beginner difficulty ("investor"/"medium") - and it's far too easy: I retired 1917 after completing all tasks and buying all stocks /defeating all 3 opponents - why should I continue until 1980?
    Retiring 1917 earned me best possible ranking - I think ranking should be "normalised" like in Civ IV (where I'm usually sticking with "prince"-difficulty), so that difficulty is taken into account (I'm not sure if this is the case here - but you shouldn't get best ranking in easiest setting - even if you finish very early). Will continue playing now in harder settings.    … Expand
  12. MattB
    May 16, 2008
    7
    I haven't had a lot of the bugs or stability problems others have mentioned in their reviews. The game runs well enough for me and is entertaining although it has a fairly simple economic model and somewhat cartoony feel to it. Difficulty was also somewhat lacking- the only place I found a challenge was multiplayer which is now all but abandoned.
  13. MikeVincent
    Apr 6, 2008
    2
    I've bee a huge fan of Mr. Meier's work for years - this product is disappointing and frustrating. Disappointing in there is no real logic control - or challenge and the scale is just - wrong. Disappointing in the frequency of crashes. And yes, I've downloaded the patch and even purchased a new graphics card thinking it had to be my system. Sorry Mr. Meier, you reallyI've bee a huge fan of Mr. Meier's work for years - this product is disappointing and frustrating. Disappointing in there is no real logic control - or challenge and the scale is just - wrong. Disappointing in the frequency of crashes. And yes, I've downloaded the patch and even purchased a new graphics card thinking it had to be my system. Sorry Mr. Meier, you really botched this one!… Expand
  14. StephenErmann
    Apr 5, 2008
    4
    Beautiful game, starts nice and easy then becomes more complex. Nice, except that it crashes randomly under Vista. I was never able to finish a game. Issue is known since early 2007, and discussed on many web sites, publisher has not acknolwedged the issue, no patch has been issued since December 2006. Product seems abandonned by the editor and the distributors. Will try to get my moneyBeautiful game, starts nice and easy then becomes more complex. Nice, except that it crashes randomly under Vista. I was never able to finish a game. Issue is known since early 2007, and discussed on many web sites, publisher has not acknolwedged the issue, no patch has been issued since December 2006. Product seems abandonned by the editor and the distributors. Will try to get my money back, with regrets...… Expand
  15. BethR
    Feb 24, 2008
    1
    This game would be a lot of fun... if it worked! I purchased this for my 8 yo son. He loved it until the bugs started happening. Now this game is nothing short of a frustration for him. He has left the game crying before due to the game crashing after he's put in a lot of hard work. Now the tracks are starting to disappear. The water is where land used to be, not to mention allThis game would be a lot of fun... if it worked! I purchased this for my 8 yo son. He loved it until the bugs started happening. Now this game is nothing short of a frustration for him. He has left the game crying before due to the game crashing after he's put in a lot of hard work. Now the tracks are starting to disappear. The water is where land used to be, not to mention all the crashes.

    I am so disappointed in this game. I don't understand why they release it when its clearly not ready. Oh well. This will be the last Sid Meier game that I purchase for my son. Not worth it at all.    … Expand
  16. JarodV.
    Feb 14, 2008
    10
    I absolutely love this game. If you are experiencing bugs, download the patch! A couple of my friends and I play this every week online. This is one of those 'easy to learn, lifetime to master' type games. I highly recommend it!
  17. WesC.
    Jan 26, 2008
    7
    Great game, horable vista support. That wouldnt be a big deal if the game had just came out. But people have had problems from release on. And they never fixed them.
  18. DanielS.
    Dec 29, 2007
    3
    I can only assume Sid Meier's and his marketing partners were aiming for the WalMart crowd with this dumb-downed, comic book iteration of the RRT franchise. This game is a disappointment on a par with Master of Orion 3.
  19. MikeM.
    Nov 30, 2007
    1
    I LOVE Railroad Tycoon 1 - 3! I started to love this one too, but then I noticed after I was doing well and had a lot of track on the map, bugs would start emerging: Track would disappear; Water would suddenly be in the middle of the map where land was before...then...crash! After it crashed, Windows would do some really funny stuff too until I rebooted. What a huge pain the butt to have I LOVE Railroad Tycoon 1 - 3! I started to love this one too, but then I noticed after I was doing well and had a lot of track on the map, bugs would start emerging: Track would disappear; Water would suddenly be in the middle of the map where land was before...then...crash! After it crashed, Windows would do some really funny stuff too until I rebooted. What a huge pain the butt to have to reboot everytime I felt like playing Railroads...and most of the time I could not even make it through a game without it crashing.It really sucked when I played multiplayer becuase rarely did any of us make it through a game without someone crashing. On the other hand, my brother's copy runs just great. I am guessing that they only tested this game on a very small set of hardware and decided that everyone who doesn't use that set of hardware is just SOL. From what I see here, that means more people than not get the shaft. So here's a big thumbs down to the development team and most of all the management team that proably pushed the developers in directions they did not want to go, all in the name of maximizing profit. Gotta keep those shareholders happy you know. Morons. I guess told them that game sales will start declining when people get fed up with their substandard software.… Expand
  20. GregorS.
    Nov 28, 2007
    1
    It has unfortunately become a good business model to release software full of bugs, and then run away from the responsibility when the complaints start flowing in. Well, Firaxis is now on my blacklist; no more from that direction. I can only warn against this product: It's so full of bugs that it's essentially unplayable. Also embarrassing to watch the official reviews that look It has unfortunately become a good business model to release software full of bugs, and then run away from the responsibility when the complaints start flowing in. Well, Firaxis is now on my blacklist; no more from that direction. I can only warn against this product: It's so full of bugs that it's essentially unplayable. Also embarrassing to watch the official reviews that look like the reviewers must have been on drugs.… Expand
  21. IsaacB.
    Nov 5, 2007
    8
    A fun and light strategy game which might be seen as a good introduction to transportation games. I was concerned when I began playing because I felt the economy wouldn't be deep enough. As it turns out, once you've got a few stations and trains running, I felt the game has struck a great balance. A lot of fun. (I'm sure my experience is colored by the fact that I A fun and light strategy game which might be seen as a good introduction to transportation games. I was concerned when I began playing because I felt the economy wouldn't be deep enough. As it turns out, once you've got a few stations and trains running, I felt the game has struck a great balance. A lot of fun. (I'm sure my experience is colored by the fact that I haven't suffered wioth the instability others have complained about.) Weak spots: track laying UI is a bit clumsy and you can't manually set switches to better control the routing.… Expand
  22. PeterD.
    Sep 5, 2007
    1
    This game ran great on Windows XP Professional. Got a new PC with Duo Core, 2 gigs, 256 mb video, etc.... and it crashes within 10 - 15 minutes. No help from Steam, who I purchased from, they said try Fireaxis. Tried Fireaxis and they said it was the distributors issue, yeah right, the people that distributed can't figure out how to fix it, isn't that the developers job? Anyhow, This game ran great on Windows XP Professional. Got a new PC with Duo Core, 2 gigs, 256 mb video, etc.... and it crashes within 10 - 15 minutes. No help from Steam, who I purchased from, they said try Fireaxis. Tried Fireaxis and they said it was the distributors issue, yeah right, the people that distributed can't figure out how to fix it, isn't that the developers job? Anyhow, very dissapointed, my 7 yr old really liked the game. The patch didn't fix anything that I could tell, same problems still exist. Oh well, no more Steam purhases or Fireaxis for me until they resolve the issue.… Expand
  23. AdamB.
    Aug 13, 2007
    1
    Pretty and a really good idea but even the demo goes wrong, what on Earth are they playing at?
  24. IanT.
    May 23, 2007
    1
    It gets a one, because at least it makes it onto the monitor - sometimes! Purchased thru Steam (who don't appear to want to help) I have not enjoyed the experience at all. Game keeps crashing without warning and for no apparent reason. Running Win Vista Ultimate; 2Gb DDR2 800 RAM, 256Mb Video; Intel E6400 Duo Core2; so it has enough power......What a load of crap.......
  25. Thomasv.d.b.
    May 5, 2007
    7
    Its a good game but alot of minor bugs make it less fun then it should be.
  26. CConrnish
    Feb 26, 2007
    3
    Could have been a fun basic strategy game but the bugs make it unplayable. Even with the patch, it crashes consistently after about 20 minutes play time. Running on a pretty solid system with 3GB memory so the problems are with the program. Was never able to begin playing with even one computer opponent due to the instability. There may be a good game there if it can get properly patched. Could have been a fun basic strategy game but the bugs make it unplayable. Even with the patch, it crashes consistently after about 20 minutes play time. Running on a pretty solid system with 3GB memory so the problems are with the program. Was never able to begin playing with even one computer opponent due to the instability. There may be a good game there if it can get properly patched. For now, save your money.… Expand
  27. ChrisC.
    Feb 24, 2007
    1
    Very, very disappointing. I've loved other Sid Meier titles and was a fan of Railroad Tycoon and the sequel. This, however, is absolute rubbish, riddled with bugs. Trains just get stuck (this even happened to me the first time I ran the tutorial) or end up going round in loops never reaching their destination due to terrible routing algorithms. Avoid this game like the plague - Very, very disappointing. I've loved other Sid Meier titles and was a fan of Railroad Tycoon and the sequel. This, however, is absolute rubbish, riddled with bugs. Trains just get stuck (this even happened to me the first time I ran the tutorial) or end up going round in loops never reaching their destination due to terrible routing algorithms. Avoid this game like the plague - it's not the quality product we've come to expect under the Sid Meier label.… Expand
  28. MillyK.
    Feb 16, 2007
    10
    WOW RYN nice talk about your frustration ever considered just not playing sim games, hell that solve all your problems don't take it serious just laugh at it and play for about half our the quit laugh some more play something else p.s have fun with the sending it back.
  29. JeffP.
    Feb 11, 2007
    3
    Huge disappointment, It seems this game is geared mostly for multiplayer play. I found it difficult to keep up with the goals on the single player mode having to read down a long list and try to remember everything. I have been a big Sid Meyers fan but the last 3 or 4 titles that he has put out all seemed shallow, rushed, and short of expectation. Maybe Sid should keep with the Civ Huge disappointment, It seems this game is geared mostly for multiplayer play. I found it difficult to keep up with the goals on the single player mode having to read down a long list and try to remember everything. I have been a big Sid Meyers fan but the last 3 or 4 titles that he has put out all seemed shallow, rushed, and short of expectation. Maybe Sid should keep with the Civ series. In my opinion, the only games that are any good, that has had his name on it in the last 4 years… Expand
  30. DanP.
    Jan 6, 2007
    4
    It looks like it could be a good game to come home ticked off and just want to conquer, without too much resistance. I would like the game easily 3 times as much though if it didn't throw me on the desktop every 15 minutes!
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Awards & Rankings

62
#62 Best PC Game of 2006
31
#31 Most Discussed PC Game of 2006
45
#45 Most Shared PC Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. Game Informer
    80
    The only real problem with the game is that it sticks pretty close to its prescribed formula. You build trains, make money, and drive competitors out of business. You won’t uncover layer upon layer of depth, you’ll just get more efficient.
    Read full review
  2. GameSpot
    81
    But as complex and rewarding as building a railroad empire can be, it rarely feels daunting or tedious, which is perhaps the best thing that can be said for a game of this type.
    Read full review
  3. 1UP
    70
    In the end, it's hard not to fall a little bit in love with Railroads!, because it's just a lovable kind of game. Now if only they'd release some scaled-up maps to match the game's ambitions.
    Read full review
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