Russian Railroads

A worker-placement points engine that runs on math, not trains.

3.7/5

Players2-4

Play time90-120 min

WeightMedium-Heavy

Ages12+

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The verdict

If you love watching a tiny scoring machine snowball into a 200-point avalanche, this one's a keeper. If you want a railroad you can actually feel, keep walking.

Best for: Optimizers who get a thrill from stacking multipliers

The full review

What it is

Here's the pitch. You're a railway magnate, you place workers, and you push little markers down three tracks to rack up points. That's the polite version. What's really happening is you're building a scoring engine, and the joy is watching it compound. Players who love it talk about turns where they suddenly score 100-plus points off multipliers they set up rounds ago. When the machine clicks, it's genuinely thrilling. Total scores can sail past 200.

The catch

Now the honest part. The theme is paint. Shut Up & Sit Down called it an abstract game with a budget, and that's fair. There are no trains chugging anywhere in your head, just girders sliding down rows of bigger and bigger numbers. It's also brutal. Meeple Mountain called it the least forgiving worker-placement game they'd played, and one of their testers found it deeply absorbing but not the least bit fun. You can play badly here, and the game will let you.

Who it's for

So who's this for? Bring it to the table for people who get a buzz from solving a sharp, mathy puzzle and racing an opponent to grab the action they wanted first. It holds up beautifully at two, which is rarer than it should be. But if you came for railroad flavor or a relaxed evening, this'll feel like, in one reviewer's words, a bucket of math smashed into your face. Know your group, and it earns its shelf.

What other players say

This write-up is grounded in real reviews and player discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:

Russian Railroads

What it is

The catch

Who it's for

What other players say

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