An Outing of Building and Traveling in Railroad Tiles
Create roads and tracks that travel through towns and open countryside along meandering routes with Railroad Tiles.
Tile-laying solo games are often quite enjoyable for me, so it was no surprise that I was drawn to a newer release in Railroad Tiles. All aboard! The idea of connecting tracks and roads was appealing, and I loved the colorful artwork that was a bit muted on the components themselves. Eager for another fun new game experience, I set out for the local train station!
Game Overview
Game Name: Railroad Tiles
Publication Year: 2025
Designers: Hjalmar Hach & Lorenzo Silva
Artists: Francesco De Benedittis & Marta Tranquilli
Publisher: Horrible Guild
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Columns of tiles are available to choose and place in a growing landscape. A fairly small number of rounds make gameplay quick, yet there are interesting solo challenges that can add difficult requirements or restrictions. It’s all a rather quiet journey through towns and the countryside!
First Play
February 21, 2026
Complexity
2
Latest Play
February 22, 2026
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
81
Game Area
30" x 16"
Low Score
48
Managing COnnections
Not too much is involved with gameplay, which I was excited about! Sometimes, a bit of lighter strategy is just what’s wanted. I really liked the look of this one, too.
Placing the wooden components was a little tricky at times, as I found these blocked the tracks, but the solution was simple… I just placed them slightly off to the side. Perfect!
Higher scores were possible with a more centralized area, which I didn’t quite master early on. Look at that. Ha ha!
The rules seemed to make sense, although I had to read through them a few times to understand networks.
Pleasant Artwork
Such adorable artwork! I liked the overall appearance and how calm everything looked. There were even little details to find, like this cozy cat hanging out in town.
My only slight complaint about the tiles is how thin they are, and how connections don’t perfectly align. These trains must know how to magically stay on the tracks. Ha!
I looked into some of the expansions, but ultimately, this simple form of the base game seems just right for me.
Placing tiles was relaxing, especially with a few challenges that didn’t feel overwhelming. Just a day building tracks!
Fancy Visitors
Excellent timing! With this delightful color scheme and setting, I knew some Calico Critters would be along to supervise my towns and railroad tracks. Talk about fancy!
Picking out these families at random has been wonderful, as I seem to find a way to incorporate them into whatever I’m playing. These rabbits blended in quite nicely!
I soon picked up on some advice regarding towns, too… It was much better to build several, rather than one large one.
Decisions weren’t too difficult to make, which kept things moving nicely with plenty of ways the areas took shape.
Connected Networks
After I felt comfortable with the rules, gameplay moved along even better. I had the objectives in play and with a few small updates to the rules, everything made a lot of sense!
I found it difficult to reach the highest star rating on some of the first solo challenges, which was nice! But it felt like a game I could win easily… And I wasn’t about to complain.
My collection of solo games may be vast, yet I pick out games for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, easy is best.
The only other minor annoyance were the point tokens… Rather unusual denominations, but it all worked out.
The Joy of Simplicity in a Base Game
As I was researching this one, I came upon the many different expansions. That is a lot of options! Being the collector that I am, I almost decided to go in search of them all so I could have everything. Whoa, hold on there! First, though, I paused to think about what I wanted to get out of this solo game, from a perspective that considered all of my existing solo games.
Ultimately, it was a pretty easy decision to realize I would be content with the base game. Even if that wasn’t forever, I had no need to hunt down about 10 expansions that could change the game in many ways. These options are excellent choices for those who expect to play a lot and really dig into the strategies, yet I was happy enough with the simple base game.
And that was an idea that struck me: Simplicity. Often, I look at trying to increase the available variety in my games so each play is different. Yet… What is different enough? With so many games to choose from, I can enjoy something similar a few times here and there. I’m starting to think about expansions a little more critically, hopefully so I can play my games more!
Train Coordination
Choo choo! In another very fitting moment, I found a fancy replacement train car from my gigantic collection of random Calico Critters objects. Could it get better?
Of course! The rabbit’s outfit seemed to match up perfectly and there it was: A nicely coordinated train outing!
This brought back memories of some older coloring books by Eriy in the Romantic Country series. Just so pretty!
My scores were pretty high and I didn’t feel like I had to put in a lot of effort, yet again, I think there’s a place for that sort of solo game experience, especially for me these days.
Following the Paths
One of the main features of these sorts of solo games is the act of visually following the lines. I not only enjoy building these routes, but also taking time to travel along them.
It was fun to plot out some of the longer tracks that the early solo challenges called for. Placing the cars, trains, and people was also a lot of fun, and they added a little height.
Having a random assortment of 3 objective tiles made each play a little more interesting. I had some landmarks!
Overall, I had a very nice time and look forward to playing this one some more. Can’t beat the simple fun of pretty tiles!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 48, 60, 71, 81 (3 Wins & 1 Loss)
Hurray for solo challenges and missions! I only made it through the first few and enjoyed building the routes. The later restrictions sound interesting, too, although I don’t expect this one to be too challenging. With so much strategic depth in a lot of my other solo games, I’m happy with one that isn’t designed to be extremely difficult! Being able to build routes and trace the lines that these little cars and trains move along is quite delightful and relaxing.
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
6
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- Gameplay is straightforward and doesn’t take a lot of brainpower, allowing the play time to move along quickly.
- Tiles are illustrated in peaceful and muted tones, creating a very relaxing atmosphere to build the areas.
- Visually following the routes along roads and train tracks is quite satisfying, both for scoring and merely for fun.
- Many different solo missions create different requirements or restrictions to focus the overall goal of each play.
- Objective tiles are simple enough to implement and provide a lot of variety with additional bonuses to work towards.
- Choosing a column of tiles is often easy, but there are still some interesting turns with evaluating the best option.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There is a very lightweight set of simple rules, but the rulebook isn’t as intuitive as it could be during the initial read.
- Scoring tokens come in unusual denominations that make counting a little cumbersome without a 5-value token.
- The tiles are nice enough, yet feel a little thin and have track artwork that doesn’t always perfectly match up.
- Wooden cars and trains can occasionally block the view, accidentally hiding tracks or making gameplay a little tricky.
Victory Conditions
Reach the 3-Star Victory Threshold
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 70 points.
Score at least 80 points.
Continue the Conversation
What do you enjoy the most about Railroad Tiles? Have you completed all of the solo missions? I like the simplicity of this one and how it doesn’t ask too much of me. Following my built tracks through the open country and little towns was a lot of fun, and I’m glad I gave this one a whirl! Just a wonderfully lightweight experience… Exactly what I hoped for!
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