Rail Baron

Rail Baron is a board game invented in 1977 by The Avalon Hill Game Company in which 3-6 players make trips around the United States for cash using railroads they've either purchased or by paying to use another player's purchased rails. It is said to have sold really well amongst board games throughout the 70s and 80s, but I only know one family who ever played it let alone owned one. The game frequently sells for $100+ on eBay but new copies are no longer being made. Not unlike Monopoly, players purchase properties, try to own certain groups, monopolize an area, and collect money from opponents, but Rail Baron relies much less on lucky rolls of dice (though not entirely). Once a year or so my brother, cousin, and other variable people try to get together to play. It has to be once a year because the game can last up to 4 hours (like Monopoly) depending on the variation of rules you're using. There's also a PC version of the game that's updated frequently called RB Player. I can't vouch for it though since I use a Mac and I'm too lazy to use any of those programs that would allow me to run .exe.


An Illustrated History of Rail Baron