Twisty Tracks (2023)

Overview

Some people just want to get from point A to point B. For others, the journey is the destination. In Twisty Tracks, players are rewarded for both long journeys and arrival at point B — assuming not too many others arrived there first.

Each player has their own playing area that consists of a cardboard frame that depicts stations, loops of train track, and four train depots. Place a wooden train on each depot, and shuffle face down your personal stack of fifteen track tiles. On a turn, each player draws a tile, then places it somewhere in their frame so that they can advance at least one of their trains along the track. When you advance a train, you score 1 point each time it crosses the border between two tiles or between a tile and the frame. Try to send trains on long loopy journeys to score lots of points!

If a train reaches one of the seven stations on the frame, you receive the highest value for this station that hasn't yet been claimed. Wait too long, and you risk scoring nothing. If two of your trains collide while moving on freshly laid tracks, you score points for the borders they've crossed, then remove them from play. When all four of your trains have reached stations or been removed, stop placing tiles.

Once all players' trains have stopped moving, the game ends, and whoever has scored the most points wins. In a tie, the tied player who placed more tiles wins. For an easier game, you can play with only the station scoring or only the border scoring.