It’s hard to know which are more popular between real and model trains, although model trains being much more affordable has the edge in direct hands-on experience. The big trains are also significantly less disposable, requiring a very good reason to load up a pile of boxcars with explosives and ram the entire thing full speed into an opponent’s base. Apparently there are financial considerations that override “It goes boom real good” and honestly, that just seems wrong. Even so, if model trains are good enough for Gomez Addams they’re good enough for the most popular game show on the planet, Battle Train.
Competing For Riches And Glory Using Exploding Trains, As Adam Smith Intended
Battle Train is a combination board/card game set against the backdrop of a game show, where every night new contestants compete against a series of opponents in order to win the title of Supreme President Conductor. Granted, taking the top spot seems unlikely seeing as the current champion, Aalvado, has held the position for a few decades, but there’s always a chance a contestant might have the skills and a bit of luck to maybe emerge victorious. First, though, they’ll need to fight through multiple opponents with special abilities that can shake up the board in unpredictable ways.
Goin' Off the Rails in a Battle Train Kickstarter, New Expanded Demo
The game is a lot of things all at once, but at heart it’s a whole bunch of fun goofy weirdness that brings its card/board game to life.
The flow of the game is to fill your hand with cards, most of which will probably be different track shapes, and try to connect your home base to your opponent’s. Each card has an energy cost and you can play as many as you’d like until you’re out, extending your rail line and laying traps on the board-game aspect while keeping in mind that any track you put down can be used by your opponent as well, if they can connect to it. There’s a gooddemo on Steamthat’s worth a few rounds of play, and Bandai Namco Entertainment America seems to agree seeing as they’ve picked up Battle Train’s publishing rights.
Battle Train had a successful Kickstarter last year and since then has continued being quietly in development, and the addition of publisher support is allowing it to grow with more cards, trains, extras, and polish. Not to mention a boost in marketing in a gaming industry that’s maybe a little more unforgiving than anyone’s really comfortable with right now. Additionally, Battle Train is now no longer PC-exclusive, with a Switch version in the works due to launch on the same day as PC, June 18. The train-based carnage is about to barrel on through, and the odds of anything remaining standing at the end seem slim at the very best.
