Rails Across America

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Rails Across America is a railroad game released in late 2001 by developer Flying Lab Software and publisher Strategy First.

This game covers the period 1830 - 2030 in North America (including parts of Canada and Mexico). Expansions to other areas of the world were discussed and a rudimentary map-editing tool was made available to the player community but no office expansions have been released. The game is a 'strategic' with emphasis on expansion of rail networks, finance, and competition with other railroads.

The game uses a proprietary 2D engine and 3D-flavored sprites, which gives it a rather retro feel even for 2001. The game is played in a top-down view with various zoom levels. At the closest zoom, animated trains travel across the tracks and trackside industries are animated. At the furthest zoom the map is an abstract of the rail network. The UI includes many 'report' style screens which allow players to analyze the performance of specific aspects of their railroad, to compare themselves to their competitors, to obtain financing, etc.

The seamier side of the great age of railroad expansion is represented by a system of 'influence' which is gained by various achievements, and which can be expended in various ways to undermine the competition. Influence is represented by colored 'cards' with number values and some flavor text. The color and numbers are used in contention with opponents and the outcome can affect finances, construction, prestige, etc. Some smaller scenarios do not use the influence system.

Single-player mode includes multiple scenarios with specific goals, and longer 'campaign' games. Multi-player mode supports up to eight players over LAN or GameSpy. Players who drop out are replaced by AIs.

The game provides several options which allow players to customize the experience, especially in multi-player mode.

The game runs on Microsoft Windows 98, or newer versions of that operating system.