Empire Builder

by Fran
(Federal Way, WA)

Teach geography and the laws of supply and demand at the same time with Empire Builder by Mayfair Games, Inc. It is a fun game that can be played by kids 10 and up.

The game has you building train tracks from various North American cities with the emphasis on U.S. ones. You pick up loads from cities that have the commodity and take them to the requested city as determined by cards that you have drawn. The commodity and payment are listed on the card and you are given a start fund which you then must add to as you pick up and deliver around the country. You must build track from one city to another creating a continuous rail system. There are major cities that are required that you build to and the game ends when someone has earned $250 million.

The game comes with a board covered with a thin plastic coating and waxy crayons that can be used to draw and erase track from game to game. It can be played with from 2 to 6 players. There are Event cards thrown in which may add to your money or create disasters causing you to lose turns or loads. Depending on the number of players and the familiarity of the map, the game can take from 2 hours to 6 or more.

There are other versions of the game available and our family has purchased most of them because we are endlessly fascinated by this game.