Railroad Tycoon II: Great fun for everyone
Strategy games are often games that require you slice your enemy into bits, blow up his tanks, and mow down his peasants. It's so wonderful to find a fantastic strategy game that is at its root a monetary war, instead of a physical one.
In Railroad Tycoon II you being with the famous B&O Railroad, connecting cities in the northeast corridor of the US. You begin with single track, determining which city needs which goods, and how to give each city what they want while managing your finances. As you get more money you can build larger stations, buy bigger engines, beef up your track system, and more.
Cities will offer you money in exchange for building track out to them, and the more cities you connect, the more types of goods you have to offer to other stations on the line. As you move on in the game you can move on to different areas, even building a network of rails across Europe. You get annual reports with your finances, can purchase stock in your own company or from competitors. You can buy farms and factories, invest, take out loans, but if you wish, you can simply ride the rails and move goods.
The graphics are great for a game from '98. They are done in an organic, old style, with old videos showing events of the times. You can build telegraph poles to speed station turnaround, hear about recessions and regrowth of economies, issue bonds, attempt mergers. The political climate even affects where rights are cheap or expensive to buy. It's a lesson in history as well as a challenging mental exercise!
Some of the more advanced features are a bit difficult to figure out, but there are numerous web sites out there that will quickly guide you through those situations. For most of the game, it's incredibly easy to learn, and the status screens tell you at a glance what is going on.
You can even customize your own map, and play in another country or in a mythical situation of your own devising.
I recommend this highly as a great strategy game for all ages that you actually come away with knowing more than you did when you began.
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