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Main Catalogue | BOARD GAMES & CARD GAMES | Mayfair Games | China Rails

China Rails

Price: £29.99

Board Game; 2-6 Players; Ages 12+ by Mayfair Games For centuries, trade has been a crucial factor of life in China. From the ancient \'Silk Road\' to modern ocean trade, the flow of goods and cargo was the very lifeblood of the great \'Middle Kingdom.\' Once, bearers traveling on foot or carts pulled by oxen were enough to fulfill the needs of this great society. But the wheel of time cannot stop turning, and thus new means are being called upon to deliver precious goods to the people. Like a river of iron, the tracks of new railroads begin to cross the tremendous distances of the land, stretching from Shanghai to Urumqi, from Qiqihar to Hong Kong, and to every city in between. Shining dragons rush along these tracks, delivering goods as mundane as grain, as exotic as jade. From time to time, these young railroads will be called upon to transfer people: the noble workers or exalted party officials. From Tibet to Taiwan, the needs of the Republic call out to you. With your limited resources, can you construct the most efficient rail network? Can you deliver needed goods more quickly than your competitors? Can you prove to the People and the Party that you, and you alone, deserve to be named the \'Minister of Railroads\'? Events and disasters, both natural and man-made, will stand in your way. But if your plan is sound and your tactics are true, you shall overcome them all and claim your victory! Each copy of China Rails contains: * 1 6pc Puzzle-cut Game Board * 6 Crayons * 100 Load Chips * 100 Load Stickers * 168 Cards * 1 pack of World Bank Notes * 1 Rules Book * 1 Tray COUNTER MAGAZINE REVIEW: 2-6 players, 3 hours designed by Michael Dreiling reviewed by Kendall Johns This is the latest in Mayfair\'s `Crayon Rail\' Games - the original of which was Empire Builder. Looking at the board, and whilst playing, I get a vague feeling of déjà vu with their last (re)issue of Australia Rails: Both have a number of Deserts which `flood\' by region; Both have ``dry\'\' rivers and lakes; Both have large internal areas of minimal population, (additionally China Rails has a large region containing numerous rivers and tributaries which increases the cost of building); and While the Major Cities in AR are all in the SE corner, (except for Perth on the West), in CR they are all on, or near, the coast, (including one on Taiwan - which cannot be built to!) The island of Taiwan is connected by four ferries. Three of them are built to in the usual way - no more than two players to each - the fourth, the southernmost one, is in the city of Hong Kong and can be built to by all players. (To show that we have built there we make a crayon mark on the ferry line.) The two central ferries, being nearer to the island, are cheaper to build to than the North or South ones. Although it is possible, indeed necessary, to connect to a ferry terminal, it is not possible to build on the island itself. The lines there are of a smaller gauge so the ferry ports are in fact Container Termini. If you have a delivery to any of the cities on Taiwan, then you have to finish your turn at a port and load the containers; on the next turn you collect your money and move off. The same applies for pick-up(s). If you wish to do both then it takes an extra turn. (e.g. (i) arrive; (ii) deliver, [and collect payment]; and (iii) pick-up, and move off). Although each delivery is to a specific city, as are loads, effectively Taiwan acts like one city for the purposes of pick-up and delivery. To the north, a normal ferry connects Dalian, across the Yellow Sea, to the mainland, and to the south, the island of Hainan, can be connected by a bridge, at the usual cost of an ocean inlet/lake. Like most new games of this type, the early plays take longer while players work out where the cities/loads are. It is made harder here, as the names are generally not so recognisable to western eyes and is further complicated by the fact that many of the names are very similar, with only one or two letters different - e.g., Ganzhou & Guangzhou; Nanjing & Nanning. Victory conditions are 250 million yuan and connect to all the Major Cities. This effectively means connecting to all the land ones and a Ferry terminal. Wait! - I hear you cry - if all the Major Cities are on or near the coast why do I need to make long and expensive trips inland? Well, some very tempting loads for a start. I would not go as far as to say that you need to visit the inner regions to win - but it usually helps! Also we find that there is a lot of movement on other people\'s lines. However, trips to the hinterland are not without risk. A couple of event cards can affect you: 1. New Year Celebrations. For two turns goods may only be picked up at Major Cities, and only cattle, fish, imports, jade, oranges, rice and tea may be delivered - they gain an extra 5 Mill Yuan each when they are delivered during this time. 2. Party Congress. When this is called all players must immediately make their way to a Major City to deliver the Party Officials. Nothing else can be picked-up or delivered - even En Passant! You collect 10 million in Beijing; 5 million at the others for doing this. The last one, in particular, is a bit heavy. In one of our games a member was only 2 or 3 points away, in the central region, from making his final delivery and winning the game, when this card turned up. So he had to return to the coast - and lost! If you are one of those who play without the event cards, then this will not worry you but it does lend an air of uncertainty and risk! If you are a fan then you will enjoy the differences that it has, but for the same reason, I would not advise it for beginners. One final point - the last `new\' game in this series was Russian Rails. Is this the start of a trend? Is the Cold War breaking out again? Has there been a Communist take over at Mayfair? Are we to expect ``Cuba Rails\'\'?; ``North Vietnam Rails\'\'?; or whatever? Only time will tell!

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Main Catalogue | BOARD GAMES & CARD GAMES | Mayfair Games | China Rails

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