Review: Russian Railroads

Introduction & Overview

Players represent railroad tycoons tasked with constructing the Trans-Siberian Railway, as well as two additional lines. Beyond laying tracks, they will purchase new locomotives, drive industrialization forward, and hire workers and engineers. All of this serves the noble goal of amassing the greatest number of victory points: the true measure of a player’s skill in railroad construction.

This is the premise of Russian Railroads, one of the games of the year, designed by Helmut Ohley and Leonhard “Lonny” Orgler, famous for designing numerous 18xx games, with Poseidon perhaps being their other best-known creation within this genre. The publisher that first brought it to market was Hans im Glück in 2013. Martin Hoffmann and Claus Stephan are responsible for the artwork, whose illustrations we have already enjoyed in numerous games. A few examples include Lancaster, Artus, and Race for the Galaxy.

It is published in Spanish by Devir (although the design is completely language-independent, except for the rulebook). The game accommodates 2 to 4 players, with a recommended minimum age of 12 and an approximate playing time of around 90 minutes. The MSRP is €41.95.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom) measuring 31.7×22.6×7.2 cm, we find the following components:

• 1 Double-sided action board (cardboard)
• 35 Workers (8 in each of the 4 colors, 2 turquoise, and 1 black) (wooden)
• 8 Pawns (2 in each of the 4 colors) (wooden)
• 48 Track markers (12 black, 12 gray, 12 brown, 8 natural/beige, and 4 white) (wooden)
• 8 Industry markers (wooden)
• 4 Player boards (cardboard)
• 37 Locomotive/Factory tiles (4 in each category, numbered 1 to 9, plus an extra #9 locomotive that is not a factory) (cardboard)
• 15 Engineers (cardboard)
• 20 ×2 Multiplier tokens (cardboard)
• 18 Rubles (cardboard)
• 28 Bonus tiles (4×7 different types) (cardboard)
• 4 Revaluation tokens (cardboard)
• 4 Kiev Medals (cardboard)
• 1 Last Round token (cardboard)
• 4 100/200-point tokens (cardboard)
• 4 300/400-point tokens (cardboard)
• 5 Bonus cards
• 10 Endgame bonus cards
• 4 Turn order cards
• 4 Starting bonus cards
• 4 Scoring phase summary cards
• Rulebook

How to Play

Russian Railroads is a worker placement game set in late 19th and early 20th-century Russia, where each player assumes the role of a railroad tycoon competing to build the most prosperous and advanced railway network in the empire. The game unfolds over a series of rounds (seven in a four-player game, or six with two and three players) in which participants alternate turns. On their turn, the active player places the required number of workers (or rubles, which function as wild tokens) onto an available action space on the main board, onto neutral engineers, or onto personal engineers hired previously to execute the action immediately. Actions allow players to extend their three personal railway routes by advancing tracks of different colors in a step-by-step fashion, acquire and upgrade locomotives to extend the scoring reach of routes, build factories to enable spaces along the industry track and unlock immediate special effects upon reaching them with the industry marker, place ×2 multiplier tokens on the Trans-Siberian line, hire permanent engineers, or secure better turn order positions for the following round. As tracks and locomotives reach key thresholds, additional workers and powerful bonus tokens or endgame scoring cards are unlocked. At the end of each round, a scoring phase takes place where industrial progress and built railways score points based on locomotive reach and track values. After the final round concludes, a final scoring tallies majorities for hired engineers and points from endgame scoring cards. The player with the highest total of victory points is declared the winner.

Key Concepts

Although it may seem overwhelming at first, Russian Railroads is very straightforward to play, yet difficult to master due to the vast array of available strategic paths. Let us break down these concepts one by one.

The main board is where all player interaction takes place. The outer border features the traditional scoring track numbered from 1 to 100. Inside, the action spaces are divided into four distinct areas: one on the left spans the entire height of the board. The next two occupy the remaining upper section of the board, and the last one sits in the lower section:

• The first area, farthest to the left, contains actions related to advancing the various railway technologies along the routes.
• The second area contains the turn order information and its associated action spaces.
• The third area, to the right of the turn order section, contains actions for locomotives/factories, technological advancement, and supplementary actions.
• The fourth area displays the engineers available during the game and also serves as the round track.

Regardless of how actions are arranged, beyond the rule that each action space can only be claimed by one player per round, the most crucial rule is that action spaces require different worker commitments: some need one worker, others require two workers, and some demand three workers. If a player lacks sufficient workers to trigger an action space, they cannot take it or block it. This is where rubles come into play. Rubles can substitute for a worker, but when used, they are discarded back to the supply (whereas workers return to your pool at the end of the round). Two special action spaces explicitly require the use of at least one ruble: hiring an engineer or advancing any two track markers. Finally, there is one action space that is never blocked even if workers are placed on it; it is the final action in the track advancement area, which allows advancing either a black track or a gray track by one space.

Next is each player’s individual board. The first thing that catches your eye are the three available railway routes:

• Moscow–Vladivostok (Trans-Siberian) (15 spaces): This is the main route where you unlock the different track colors that can then be advanced across all routes. It is also the longest line.
• Moscow–Saint Petersburg (9 spaces): This route is primarily used to unlock bonus tiles.
• Moscow–Kiev (9 spaces): This route is where you can score points for black tracks.

Along these tracks, you will advance various wooden markers. There are five track colors, which, in strict order, can never overtake one another: black, gray, brown, natural/beige, and white. The first three colors can be advanced on all three routes, whereas the beige and white tracks can only be used on the Trans-Siberian.

Notice that the Trans-Siberian line features a row of empty spaces directly above the initial track spaces. These slots are used to place ×2 multiplier tokens, which double the points scored by every track marker that has reached that space (scoring details will be covered shortly).

Certain spaces along these routes have highlighted borders (marked with an inverted triangle) indicating that when a track marker matching that border color occupies the space, its printed effect is triggered immediately. Some of these special spaces, in addition to the colored border, feature a small locomotive silhouette. This indicates that reaching the space with the matching track marker is not enough on its own; the locomotive(s) assigned to that route must also reach that space to activate the effect. The effects of these special spaces can be categorized as follows:

• Spaces that unlock other track markers (all found on the Moscow–Vladivostok route).
• Spaces that trigger bonus tiles (present on all three routes).
• Spaces that trigger scoring (found on the two shorter routes).

This brings us to Locomotives. On the two shorter routes (Moscow–Saint Petersburg and Moscow–Kiev), you can place a single locomotive, while on the Trans-Siberian you can place two (in fact, players start the game with a strength-1 locomotive already assigned here). Locomotives on your routes serve to activate spaces at key moments (either to trigger a space’s special effect or to score points). They differ only in their range, starting at strength 1 (the starting locomotive players possess at setup) and going up to 9. In any game, exactly one locomotive of each value per player will be available.

Beyond the railway lines, there is one final advancement track: the industry track. This track is represented by hexagonal spaces where your industry marker will advance. However, it has a unique feature: after the fifth space, the track is interrupted by a series of jigsaw teeth on the player board. These cutouts are designed to house factories (which are the reverse side of locomotive tiles). As we will see later, when acquiring one of these tiles, you can choose whether to use it as a locomotive or as a factory. Choosing the factory option places the tile into your leftmost available cutout, reconnecting the industry track and allowing the industry marker to advance further. Additionally, when the industry marker reaches spaces corresponding to factories, an immediate effect triggers. These effects grow progressively stronger with higher-numbered factories (matching the locomotive power progression).

Scoring is perhaps the most nuanced concept to grasp at first (though once understood, it is completely intuitive). First, let us identify the victory point icon: a five-pointed golden star containing a numeric value. At the end of each round, a scoring phase takes place where points are tallied from track progress in conjunction with locomotive reach, alongside points generated by the industry track. In other words, reaching a scoring space means it will award points repeatedly across all subsequent end-of-round scoring phases until the end of the game. However, certain actions and spaces award one-time instant points instead. The easiest way to distinguish between them is this simple rule: if placing a marker on a space leaves the point star visible, that space provides recurring points (virtually all scoring spaces on player boards). Conversely, if the marker covers the point star upon reaching it, that space provides one-time immediate points (chiefly the final spaces of routes).

Another fundamental and defining concept of this title is the bonus tile system. Each player begins the game with 7 bonus tiles that offer various special perks. The catch is that you can only ever activate at most 4 of them during a game (since there are only four bonus-trigger spaces across the player board). When a track marker reaches a bonus space and your locomotives have sufficient reach, you immediately choose one of your 7 tiles to activate and execute its effect.

Then we have the magnificent engineers. Essentially, these provide exclusive and more potent actions than the standard spaces printed on the board, and only the player who hires them can use them on their board. Only one engineer can be hired per round, and only by a single player. To maintain balance, the two engineers positioned immediately behind the hireable engineer are placed horizontally on the main board, allowing all players to take their actions as public action spaces during the round. Except for the first engineer (available for immediate hire) and the second (which moves into the hire slot in round two), all engineers will pass through these two public slots, ensuring their actions can be used for at least two rounds before anyone hires them permanently.

One final detail: at the end of the game, a major bonus is awarded to the first and second players with the most hired engineers: 40 and 20 victory points, respectively. Additionally, players may have acquired endgame bonus cards that trigger during final scoring to award extra points.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

1. Place the main board showing the side corresponding to the player count.
2. Place the 5 immediate bonus cards face-up near the board (alongside their associated components).
3. Shuffle the 10 endgame bonus cards and remove two from the game without looking at them.
4. Stack all locomotive tiles into separate piles according to their strength value.
5. Place the two auxiliary workers (turquoise) on their designated action space (in a 2-player game, this space is unavailable, so return them to the box).
6. Form a general supply of ×2 multiplier tokens and rubles.
7. Form a general supply of track markers.
8. Separate the engineers by their letter (A or B). Shuffle each group and place the required number on the board as indicated: place engineers in slots 2 and 3 horizontally on their light/gray side, and place the remaining engineers vertically on their dark burgundy side.
9. Keep the Last Round tile nearby.
10. Each player receives: one player board, 7 workers (8 in 2/3-player games), three black track markers (placed on space 0 of the three routes), one ruble, one industry marker (placed on space 0 of the industry track), the 7 immediate bonus tiles, and 2 pawns.
11. From their workers, each player sets aside 2 that are unavailable at setup and can only be unlocked through route progression.
12. Shuffle the turn order cards and deal one to each player. Each player places one pawn on their starting position on the turn order track according to the dealt card. Place the second pawn on space 0/100 of the score track.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Russian Railroads takes place over a set number of rounds (6 rounds in 2/3-player games, 7 rounds in 4-player games). Each round consists of three phases.

Before beginning the first round, in reverse turn order, each player except the first player selects one of the starting bonus cards and resolves it immediately.

Phase I: Round Preparation

This phase takes place at the start of every round except the first. Proceed as follows:

• Each player retrieves all their active workers from the board and from their hired engineers, and takes their corresponding turn order card.
• Place the two auxiliary workers onto their designated action space.
• Place one ruble on its designated action space.
• Slide the engineer queue. Rotate the rightmost engineer and place it on the “Hire Engineer” space. Shift the other engineer in the public action area into the adjacent slot. Flip the next queue engineer face-up (light side) into the vacated public action slot, and slide all remaining face-down engineers one space to the right.
• If this is the final round (only one engineer remains to be hired), place the Last Round tile over the turn order spaces, replacing them with a new action space.

Phase II: Worker Placement

Starting with the first player and following the turn order track, players take turns performing one action (from the main board or from their hired engineers). Action spaces have varying worker costs: some require placing 1, 2, or 3 workers. Additionally, hiring an engineer requires 1 ruble, and advancing any two track markers requires 1 worker and 1 ruble. Remember that rubles can substitute for workers, but workers cannot substitute for rubles; actions that specifically demand rubles cannot be performed if you have none.

Here are the available actions (excluding engineer spaces):

• Track advancement actions (1 worker, 2 workers, or 1 worker + 1 ruble): Advance track markers matching the depicted colors by the indicated number of spaces. One specific action allows advancing any track marker of any color by two spaces. The bottom action space in this section is non-exclusive and never blocked by workers.
• Locomotive/Factory actions (1, 2, or 3 workers): Acquire a locomotive and/or a factory (depending on the action space). Acquired factories are placed into your leftmost available factory slot on the industry track; if all slots are full, you may replace an existing factory, returning the old one to the supply where it remains available strictly as a factory. Acquired locomotives are placed onto one of your routes; you can always place a locomotive on an occupied route provided its value is strictly higher than the locomotive already there. In that case, the displaced locomotive must be moved to another route if possible (following the same rule of higher strength). This can trigger a cascade repositioning locomotives across all your routes. If a locomotive cannot be placed anywhere because all slots are full and it cannot replace a lower-value locomotive, it is returned to the supply and becomes available strictly as a factory.
• Industry advancement actions (1 or 2 workers): Advance your industry marker along the industry track.
• Take a ×2 Multiplier (1 worker): Take a multiplier token from the supply and place it in the leftmost empty multiplier slot above the Trans-Siberian route.
• Take 2 Rubles (1 worker): Take two rubles directly from the general supply.
• Take 2 Temporary Workers (1 worker): Take the two auxiliary meeples, which can be placed as additional workers for the remainder of this round.
• Hire an Engineer (1 ruble): Take the engineer tile from the hiring space and place it horizontally (gray side up) next to your player board. From now on, you may use its action once per round by placing a worker on it.
• Use an Engineer (1 worker): Execute the action printed on either of the two engineers resting in slots 2 and 3 of the public engineer track.
• Turn order actions (1 worker): Secure 1st or 2nd player position for the following round by placing a worker on the corresponding space. The 3rd and 4th player spots are assigned to the remaining players in their relative order. Additionally, these spaces allow you to relocate your worker to an open 1-worker action space once all players have passed (meaning this worker performs two actions across the round). These spaces are unavailable in the final round, replaced by an action that advances your industry marker by three spaces.

Whenever a player has no valid moves or chooses not to act, they must pass, flipping their turn order card and immediately scoring the points shown on its reverse side.

Once all players have passed, players who placed workers on the turn order spaces may relocate them to any unoccupied 1-worker action space. The player on the 2nd player space relocates their worker first, followed by the player on the 1st player space.

Phase III: Scoring

Players now tally the recurring points generated by their current board state.

First, score the railway routes. Every space reached by the locomotives on a route awards points based on the track markers that occupy or have passed that space (a bonus tile can modify these base values):

• Space reached by a black track: 0 points.
• Space reached by a gray track: 1 point.
• Space reached by a brown track: 2 points.
• Space reached by a natural/beige track: 4 points.
• Space reached by a white track: 7 points.

Points are awarded as follows: each space scores points only if reached by your locomotives. In turn, the space scores points equal to the value of the track marker resting on it, or the value of the most advanced marker that has already passed through it.

Here is a straightforward example. Suppose on the Trans-Siberian route, your black marker is on space 10, gray on space 8, brown on space 5, and beige on space 3 (white is not yet unlocked). Your two locomotives combine for a total reach of 6. Only the first 6 spaces will score. Points are calculated as follows:

• The beige marker is on space 3, scoring 4 points for each of spaces 1, 2, and 3: 12 points total.
• The brown marker is on space 5, scoring 2 points for space 5 and space 4 (which has no marker resting on it): 4 points total.
• The gray marker has reached space 8, but locomotives only reach space 6, so it scores 1 point for space 6: 1 point total.
• The black marker scores 0 points.

The Trans-Siberian differs from the other two routes by utilizing ×2 multiplier tokens. Any scoring space with a multiplier token above it doubles the points awarded by the track scoring on that space.

Additionally, certain spaces on routes award points when reached by a specific track color, provided your locomotive reach extends that far. This occurs primarily on the third route (Moscow–Kiev), which rewards reaching spaces with the black track (proving it is far from useless). Similar unique triggers exist for gray tracks, but the printed iconography makes them intuitive. On the Kiev line, each space reached by the black track scores its printed value cumulatively: space 1 awards 1 point, space 2 awards 2 points, space 3 awards 3 points, space 4 awards 4 points, and space 8 awards 10 points. All these values are summed up. For example, if a player has their black marker on space 8 and a locomotive of strength 8 or 9, that route scores 1+2+3+4+10 points.

Finally, calculate industry scoring. Score the points shown on the space currently occupied by your industry marker(s) (a second marker can be unlocked via bonus tiles). If the current space does not display a victory point star, score the value of the closest preceding space that does.

Whenever a player laps the 100-point threshold on the score track, they take a scoring token indicating their accumulated total (100, 200, 300, or 400).

This concludes the scoring phase.

Game End

The game ends following the scoring phase of the final round (Round 6 in 2/3-player games, Round 7 in 4-player games). Players then add points from their endgame bonus cards and award the engineer majority bonus. The player with the most victory points is declared the winner. In case of a tie, victory is shared.

Personal Opinion

As mentioned in the introduction, this was one of the standout hits of the recent Essen Spiel fair. It is a design that, without reinventing the wheel, hooks you completely thanks to its unique compounding scoring system and vast strategic depth.

Let us start there. What stands out most about Russian Railroads is the sheer variety of paths available to build your railway empire. With three routes and an industry track, the limited number of actions across the game makes it impossible to develop everything to the maximum. You have to commit. Choosing the wrong balance will haunt you for the rest of the game. In my experience, trying to do a little bit of everything is a recipe for defeat.

Yet the design sets a few clever traps. The game practically forces you to advance certain routes to a minimum threshold because their immediate payoffs outshine other available moves. Consider the Moscow–Saint Petersburg line: it is tailored for chaining powerful combos that provide massive early momentum, specifically through spaces 4 and 6, which unlock two of the four bonus tiles you can claim during the game. Skipping those triggers makes it nearly impossible to keep pace with your opponents.

You also have to invest in the Trans-Siberian to some degree. That makes sense, as it is the central spine of the board and anchors much of the game’s development. At the same time, pouring actions into it early on can feel intimidating because the payoff is heavily back-loaded into the final rounds. To reward that long-term investment, the design gives you ×2 multipliers and the high-scoring beige and white tracks. Unlocking that white track unleashes staggering point hauls in the closing rounds.

Interaction follows the classic worker placement formula: racing to claim vital action spaces before your opponents. Nothing revolutionary there. The real friction emerges around Locomotives/Factories, which exist in strictly limited quantities—one per value per player. A player can hold at most 4 locomotives and 5 factories (9 tiles in total). Since there are exactly 9 tiles per player in the entire pool, competition over these stacks is cutthroat.

This dynamic introduces subtle timing considerations. Whenever you need a locomotive or a factory, its specific value or triggered ability matters immensely depending on your current strategy. Locomotives and factories must be drafted in ascending numerical order: as long as strength-2 tiles remain, you cannot purchase strength-3 tiles (the same applies to factories). You are constantly weighing whether to grab a tile immediately to secure the space, or wait a turn so you can claim a higher-tier tile better suited to your engine.

Another enticing path is focusing heavily on the industry track. This becomes especially potent if the rest of the table neglects it. Doing so allows you to unlock your second industry marker and, by completing the track, score 55 recurring points plus 10 triggered factory benefits every round your markers advance past them. That said, it is not an easy engine to assemble. Only 2 or 3 board actions advance industry (outside of engineer powers), and you must secure 5 factories. It is a build that relies on chaining combos, but you must execute it with surgical precision; getting bogged down ruins its efficiency. Focusing solely on industry means you might complete the track by round 4 or 5, but with little progress elsewhere on your board, finding late-game points becomes an uphill battle. It is that delicate balancing act that makes worker placement games so satisfying.

Another major strength is the atomicity of its actions. Turns are brisk, snappy, and resolve in seconds. The action pool breaks down into four clean categories: track advancement, industry advancement, locomotive/factory acquisition, and auxiliary utility actions. As each round progresses, available spaces dwindle, naturally mitigating Analysis Paralysis—though the opening rounds, where long-term commitments are forged, can still induce significant deliberation.

It is worth emphasizing that this game requires running mental calculations almost continuously. That mental arithmetic may not appeal to everyone, but to me, it is the soul of the experience. Due to the compounding scoring engine, you are constantly projecting how many points opponents will generate compared to your own output. Across 6 or 7 rounds, every round where you pull ahead represents a critical tactical victory. Any gap you establish forces rivals to play catch-up. Preventing opponents from running away with the score is paramount, and outscoring the table across most individual rounds almost always guarantees overall victory. While calculating scores is standard in modern eurogames, the cascading scoring formulas—especially along the Trans-Siberian—will certainly make some brains smoke.

This dynamic, paired with tight worker limitations, creates a delicious sense of tension that I thoroughly enjoy. Longtime readers know Agricola is my all-time favorite game, largely due to the pressure of juggling competing crises to avert disaster. Russian Railroads channels that exact same pressure, arguably turning it up a notch. As rounds progress, players unlock more workers while the core board offers virtually the same number of action spaces (barring hired engineers). Player agency expands, but the physical board space remains static. The claustrophobia is palpable, especially in tight matches. This pressure is slightly softened because early-round actions for locked tracks are initially unavailable; as tracks unlock, the action pool broadens. Still, players who neglect the Trans-Siberian will find their operational options shrinking as the match progresses.

The game is undeniably addictive (further boosted by its excellent digital implementation on Yucata). With so many viable avenues toward victory, finishing a match immediately makes you want to set up another to explore a different strategic route and see how opponents adapt. The snappy playtime helps tremendously. The 90-minute estimate on the box is accurate: a four-player game with standard pacing easily wraps up within that timeframe. At lower player counts, it runs even faster—a two-player duel comfortably finishes in under an hour. That efficiency makes playing back-to-back games effortless.

Some initial reviews questioned its replayability, but I find it exceptionally high (especially compared to peer designs in the genre). Two elements drive this variability. First are the engineers: out of 14 available engineers, 7 will appear in any given match. The specific engineers in play heavily dictate strategic viability, laying a unique foundation for each session. Combined with shifting player openings, this ensures a high degree of variety across plays.

As with many classic eurogames, the theme is relatively pasted-on. I say relatively because, even if the mechanics could fit other settings, the terminology integrates cleanly once you understand the flow. You are manipulating track markers, engineers, locomotives, and factories rather than abstract cubes.

As noted, the game does not introduce revolutionary new mechanics. Instead, every piece meshes so seamlessly and runs so smoothly that the experience feels distinct. The standout feature is undoubtedly the compounding scoring model, which challenges you to approach your turns with a mindset very different from typical worker placement games.

Scalability is solid, offering a satisfying experience at all player counts, though the table dynamic shifts noticeably. At two players, tighter board spaces make certain strategies harder to force (unless specific engineers compensate). At four players, the game is at its absolute best. Three players is perhaps my least favorite configuration: sharing the four-player action layout relieves some of the worker placement tension, though it serves as a forgiving sandbox to test out experimental strategies.

If you are burnt out on worker placement or dislike the mechanism entirely, Russian Railroads will not convert you. But if you appreciate classics like Agricola (read the tocho-review here) or Caylus (read the tocho-review here), this design fits like a glove.

Production quality matches the high standards expected of Hans im Glück. The punchboard is thick and durable across the boards and tiles, and the custom wooden workers feature distinctive ushanka hats to keep their thoughts warm. The rulebook is logically organized, clear, and comprehensive.

The artistic direction deserves praise as well. Given the industrial subject matter, the visuals could easily have felt dry. Martin Hoffmann and Claus Stephan delivered artwork that is both visually appealing and highly functional. The main board is particularly well executed, featuring thematic illustrations beneath each action cluster: an accounting ledger sits under track advancement spaces, a drafting compass and pencil accent the engineer zone, work gloves rest beneath locomotives/factories, and workshop tools line the industry section. If there is a minor visual quibble, the cards are somewhat plain, consisting mostly of iconography over aged paper backdrops. A few decorative flourishes would have been nice, but the minimalist aesthetic fits the Russian theme well enough.

And let’s wrap this up. Russian Railroads is a superb design that elevates classic worker placement and route optimization into a remarkably tense and addictive experience. Its brilliance stems from an unforgiving compounding scoring system and razor-sharp timing required to secure locomotives, factories, or engineer abilities. The snappy execution of turns contrasts wonderfully with the suffocating competition for board spaces, generating constant tension and demanding sharp mental arithmetic to stay in contention. On the downside, the theme remains largely abstract and openings can feel somewhat rigid, as neglecting core development paths early on severely hampers your chances. It may not reinvent the wheel, but it fits its moving parts together with such precision that it leaves you eager to jump right back in to explore new combos and development engines. An exhilarating, essential eurogame for anyone who relishes a deep mental workout on every turn. For all these reasons, I give it a…