Railroad Ink Challenge
- June 17, 2021
- Horrible Guild
Get on Steam
Get on Apple Store"Railroad Ink Challenge" is a strategic board game where players build transportation networks by drawing routes on their boards after rolling dice. The goal is to connect as many exits as possible while avoiding open connections, aiming to maximize points through route expansion, central spaces, and special structures. Players can play solo or compete against others online, aiming to improve their best score in 7 rounds.
Reviews
- Great adaptation of the physical roll-and-write game, providing a relaxing and enjoyable solo experience.
- The game features a smooth interface and beautiful graphics, making it visually appealing and easy to play.
- Endlessly replayable with daily challenges that keep players engaged and coming back for more.
- Multiplayer functionality is broken, and the game lacks variety in modes and maps, leading to repetitive gameplay.
- Server issues have persisted for months, affecting the availability of promised features and online leaderboards.
- The game feels incomplete, with missing expansions and limited content compared to the physical version.
- gameplay6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay is engaging and well-balanced, offering players a variety of choices that keep them invested until the final turn. The inclusion of challenge packs adds depth by introducing new goals and mechanics, enhancing the overall experience without making victory feel unattainable.
“This concept itself is sound - a remarkably tightly balanced mechanic that is both challenging and rewarding; every turn you are faced with a multitude of choices and, the sign of a truly great game, you're never really sure if you can pull off the victory until your last turn, but rarely are you left feeling like it's never achievable.”
“Gameplay-wise, mouse and keyboard.”
“You can increase the challenge by choosing the 'challenge' pack, which adds some goals to aim for and landscape features that trigger additional mechanics and scoring opportunities.”
“Quality of life gameplay.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, enhanced by clever design and features like daily challenges. However, some players feel that introducing additional maps could further boost its replay value.
“But don't let these things dissuade you, the game is endlessly replayable and incredibly clever and fun.”
“The game would have even more replayability if there were a couple of different maps.”
“Great implementation of the tabletop board game, with nice additions like daily challenges to increase replayability.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The graphics are described as clean and basic, appealing to those who appreciate aesthetically charming visuals in spatial puzzle games. Overall, the visuals enhance the solo gaming experience, making it enjoyable for players.
“I really enjoy playing this solo on my own time, and I highly recommend this to anybody who likes the idea of playing aesthetically charming spatial puzzle games.”
“Clean, but basic graphics.”
- story3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game lacks a traditional narrative, focusing instead on gameplay mechanics such as connecting rails and highways, completing daily challenges, and achieving various goals.
“There is no story.”
“The gameplay focuses on connecting rails and highways to stations, but lacks any narrative depth or engaging storyline.”
“While there are daily challenges and missions, the overall experience feels devoid of a meaningful story.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players praise it as enjoyable and fitting, others find it simplistic and annoying, particularly the sound effects.
“I love the interface, and the music is so good.”
“The music is just simple sound effects and can be quite annoying.”
“The soundtrack lacks variety and quickly becomes repetitive.”
“The background music feels out of place and detracts from the overall experience.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players express that the grinding aspect of the game is excessively time-consuming, suggesting that it requires an unrealistic amount of effort, akin to needing a second life to fully engage with it.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The grinding feels endless and tedious.”
“Grinding takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
