2022Matthew Dunstan, Brett J. Gilbert
- Videos
- 80
- Creators
- 65
1 - 4 players45 minMedium weight

2023Jeffrey D. Allers, Matthew Dunstan
Mainly reviews. Pioneer Rails is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 14 reviews, 7 how-to-play guides, 5 recorded sessions, 4 unboxings, and 2 other videos.
From BoardGameGeek
In Pioneer Rails, you represent a railroad owner who has seen an opportunity to expand your empire across the new lands of the frontier. You'll compete against other railroad owners to plan your railway in the best way possible to connect establishments to the railroad and satisfy the demands of the locals. In this flip-and-write game, you use poker cards to extend your railway tracks and build a poker hand at the same time. Each turn, you choose one of the revealed poker cards. The suit of the card helps you extend your railway, connecting you to new towns and surrounding features. When you connect to a town, you gain the ability to do a one-time bonus. When you surround a feature with your tracks, you activate it for endgame scoring. The value of the card is added to your poker hand, for which you'll score additional points at the end of the round. Three common goals are also in play each game, giving you incentives to build in different directions. The mechanism of surrounding features to activate them gives Pioneer Rails a satisfying "puzzley" feel to the game. -description from the publisher
Pioneer Rails has 32 videos from 23 creators: 14 reviews, 7 how-to-play guides, 5 playthroughs, 4 unboxings and 2 other videos. They date from 2023 to June 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Pioneer Rails" by Board Games in a Minute, which runs 2 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Pioneer Rails Review: Flip & Write, Old West Style" by The Dice Tower. 12 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Ian Plays...Pioneer Rails" by Where There's A Wilz, There's a Play, one of 5 playthroughs.
If you like it, try The Guild of Merchant Explorers, Next Station: London, Monumental and My Shelfie, also by Matthew Dunstan. It appears in convention videos from Spiel Essen 2023.
8 of 23
2022Matthew Dunstan, Brett J. Gilbert
1 - 4 players45 minMedium weight
2022Matthew Dunstan
1 - 4 players25 - 30 minLight weight
2022Matthew Dunstan, Phil Walker-Harding
2 - 4 players30 minLight weight
From BoardGameGeek:
In Pioneer Rails, you represent a railroad owner who has seen an opportunity to expand your empire across the new lands of the frontier. You'll compete against other railroad owners to plan your railway in the best way possible to connect establishments to the railroad and satisfy the demands of the locals. In this flip-and-write game, you use poker cards to extend your railway tracks and build a poker hand at the same time. Each turn, you choose one of the revealed poker cards. The suit of the card helps you extend your railway, connecting you to new towns and surrounding features. When you connect to a town, you gain the ability to do a one-time bonus. When you surround a feature with your tracks, you activate it for endgame scoring. The value of the card is added to your poker hand, for which you'll score additional points at the end of the round. Three common goals are also in play each game, giving you incentives to build in different directions. The mechanism of surrounding features to activate them gives Pioneer Rails a satisfying "puzzley" feel to the game. -description from the publisher
Designers
Jeffrey D. Allers, Matthew Dunstan
Artist
Javier González Cava
Publisher
Dranda Games
Categories
Mechanics