Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
In Harry Wu's Southern Pacific, an auction-based train game, six railroads vie for dominance in Texas as they approach from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma in the 1800s.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
In Harry Wu's Southern Pacific, an auction-based train game, six railroads vie for dominance in Texas as they approach from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma in the 1800s. Share ownership finances these railroads, with the president of each railroad auctioning stock, building new track or acquiring existing track from other companies, or paying dividends. "Bull Market" auctions at the end of each round can unexpectedly disrupt a president's control of a company. The game ends when one railroad has built all of its track or all stocks have been acquired. A stock earns dividends during the game but itself has no value in the final scoring — highest cash on hand wins.