Railroad Tycoon

Railroad Tycoon, train business simulation game created by American game designer Sid Meier and the electronic game manufacturer MicroProse Software. The title debuted in 1990 and helped launch the successful Tycoon line of games. The game was praised for its unique premise, which combined attributes of SimCity with a healthy love for all things locomotive.

In the original Railroad Tycoon, players were given the opportunity to run a virtual railroad, down to the smallest detail. Laying tracks, establishing stations, and rescheduling various shipments were just some of the tasks players undertook as they attempted to transform start-up money into a railroad empire. Tycoon differed from SimCity and some of the other games in the simulation genre in that there was a time limit and an element of competition. Opposing tycoons could try to put a player’s fledgling railroad out of business—for example, by making stock deals and adjusting fees in an attempt to thwart a player’s success—which added a realistic twist to the game.

Railroad Tycoon generated a series of spin-offs and sequels, including Railroad Tycoon Deluxe (1993), Railroad Tycoon II (1998), Railroad Tycoon 3 (2003), and Sid Meier’s Railroads! (2006). Although all the titles appealed to their niche, the series was plagued by software bugs and programming issues that detracted from the gaming experience. Railroads! was the first title since the original to have Meier as a producer, but it was criticized for lacking some of the economic features—e.g., issuing stocks and bonds, purchasing shares in other player’s railroads, investing in industry—that players had come to love in the previous releases.