Railroad Ink is a wonderfultabletop gamethat turns you into a tiny cartographer, connecting routes and maximizing points. It’s full of beautiful game art, not to mention incredible replayability and strategic value. Still, the game can get a bit dull after a few dozen replays.
Luckily, the realms of Railroad Ink expansions are vast. From electrifying your network to burrowing underground, this guide will unearth the best expansions to take your Railroad Ink experience to the next level. So, grab your dice, dust off your dry-erase marker, and get ready to explore the wild world of Railroad Ink expansions!
Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition
Weave a Network of Railways and Rivers in Uncharted Territories!
In Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition, you’ll encounter refreshing challenges with the introduction of Lakes and Rivers dice. Navigate these waterways as you connect exits, score points for long routes, and avoid penalties for dead ends.
The wonderful thing about thisdice-rolling gameis that its core games typically have one or two expansions. In the case of Deep Blue, it’s the latter.
Out of the box, you get the Rivers and Lakes dice, allowing you to incorporate refreshing waterways into your network.
Mechanics remain relatively the same:
Roll the dice to determine available routes, then carefully draw railways, highways, rivers, and lakes on your erasable board. Connect exits, score points for long, interconnected lines, and avoid penalties for dead ends.
Railroad Ink Challenge: Lush Green Edition
Cultivate a Scenic Paradise
Railroad Ink Challenge: Lush Green Edition takes the beloved roll-and-write gameplay of Railroad Ink to a new level with a focus on player interaction and stunning visuals. This fast-paced game for 1-4 players challenges you to connect exits, build railways and highways, and create flourishing forests.
Lush Green is yet another core game with two included expansions: Forests and Trails. It introduces fresh challenges for both solo players and groups, demanding strategic thinking and network optimization.
New dice types add dead ends, curves, and T-junctions to the mix, forcing players to adapt their plans on the fly. Special buildings appear on the player boards, offering route duplication, university point tracking, and village point scoring.
Meanwhile, goal cards introduce a touch of competition. These cards reward players for completing specific network configurations, adding a race element to the otherwise solo-focused gameplay.
With its strategic gameplay, beautiful artwork,ease of learning,and solo mode, it’s a must-have for fans of the genre.
Railroad Ink Challenge: Shining Yellow Edition
Conquer the Scorching Desert
For 1-4 players, Railroad Ink Challenge: Shining Yellow Edition tasks you with building a thriving network of railways and highways while braving the harsh desert environment.
If you’ve ever fantasized about surfing the dunes of the desert, the Shining Yellow expansion is for you. It introduces two expansions to the core game: Deserts and Canyons.
The Desert Expansion injects a “push-your-luck” element with scorching suns and fragile cacti. The game lasts only six rounds, and any cacti not adjacent to an oasis during an Arid Face roll are mercilessly erased by the harsh sun. However, surviving cacti reward you with bonus points at the end of the game, making strategic placement crucial.
The Canyon Expansion introduces a whole new layer of complexity with canyons. These geological wonders range from grand to modest, and you must strategically connect them to existing routes and the board’s edges. Bridge Points act as a resource to overcome gaps created by canyons, adding another layer of strategic decision-making. Additionally, completing the longest canyon and connecting canyons across the board grant you valuable bonus points.
Railroad Ink: Engineer Expansion
Four Dice, Endless Possibilities
For 1-4 players, Engineer Expansion offers a variety of ways to modify routes, create special connections, and tackle new challenges. Construct unique “Special Routes” for high-scoring opportunities. Perform special actions to restructure your network and unlock new possibilities.
The Engineer Expansion isn’t your typical expansion with new landscapes or objectives. Instead, it offers a modular set of dice that fundamentally alter how you build your network.
It boasts four single-die modules, each adding a distinct twist to the core gameplay:
The Engineer Expansion might not be the most visually exciting addition to Railroad Ink, but its impact on gameplay is undeniable. With its modular design and strategic depth, this expansion is a must-have for players who crave a more challenging and dynamic Railroad Ink experience.
Prepare to invest some time in learning the intricacies of each die to fully unlock its potential.
Railroad Ink: Electricity Expansion
Light Up Your Railroads
Build a network of Street Lamps and power them with Generators to illuminate your board and rack up points. This exciting expansion for Railroad Ink Challenge introduces two unique, double-dice expansions that add electrifying new ways to score points for 1-4 players.
The Electricity Expansion gives you two modules to play with: Streetlamps and Power Grids. Each offers a unique approach to scoring points and building your network.
Streetlamps let you build highways adorned with streetlamps. Strategically positioning these lamps in rows or columns unlocks bonus points at the end of the game, adding a delightful puzzle element to your route planning.
On the other hand, Power Grids introduce a central Accumulator on the board. Connect your exits to this central hub and strategically electrify portions of your network for a chance to multiply your points. However, be prepared for some head-scratching decisions, as your choices can open or close future possibilities.
Railroad Ink: Underground Expansion
Craft a Subterranean World
This expansion for Railroad Ink offers a fresh challenge for 1-6 players. The Underground Expansion Pack includes four new dice featuring Subway Routes and Water Pipes, allowing you to create a complex network beneath the surface.
The Underground Expansion offers a thrilling two-track adventure, playable as a standalone experience or as a challenging expansion to your base game. It introduces four unique dice that unlock a subterranean world of subway routes and water pipes.
Unlike their surface counterparts, subway lines and water pipes can never connect, forcing you to rethink your network-building strategies. Careful planning is crucial, as building stations on the surface can crack underlying water pipes, leading to point deductions.
While the Underground expansion offers a fascinating new way to play Railroad Ink, it’s best suited for seasoned players. The dual-board mode extends playtime and introduces complex mechanics like pipe cracking. Beginners might find the learning curve a bit steep.
FAQs
The highest theoretical score in Railroad Ink is a hotly debated topic, with estimates ranging from around 116 to a mind-bending 133. This depends heavily on factors like which expansions you’re using and a healthy dose of luck with the dice rolls.
There are several Railroad Ink editions, each offering a slightly different base game experience. Here’s a quick breakdown:
The original Railroad Ink, released in 2018, is the foundation of the entire series. It features the core route-building mechanics with highways and railways, along with scoring for connecting exits and completing routes. This edition is a great starting point for new players as it offers a clear and streamlined introduction to the world of Railroad Ink.
