Players 2–6 Playing time Skill(s) required Resource Allocation | Setup time 5 minutes Random chance Low | |
Empire Builder is a railroad board game centered on the construction of railroad track and delivery of goods. It was designed by Bill Fawcett and Darwin Bromley and released in 1982 by Mayfair Games.
The original game is set in North America. A number of spin off games have been released since, expanding the game's geography to other countries (British Rails, Australian Rails, Russian Rails, etc.) and fantastic landscapes (Iron Dragon, Lunar Rails, Martian Rails). These games are collectively known as "the Empire Builder series".
Empire Builder games are sometimes called Crayon Rails games because players mark their tracks on the board with wax crayons (or with markers or other items).
Most of the titles of the series are available in the Mayfair-authorized computer game Empire Builder Pronto (formerly EB Player).
Gameplay
The gameplay in Empire Builder begins on a map of North America. Players take turns to create their own railroad routes by drawing them on a laminated board with washable crayons, then pick up and deliver commodities along them according to the "demand cards" they draw. They receive income based on delivered goods. Whoever is first to connect together six of the seven major cities on the map and get $250 million wins the game.