Jurassic Park was amazing for a few reasons, and yes, I’m about to list them. First off, the book (different in many ways to the film) is an excellent read. Secondly, and most obviously, the film is one of the greatest ever made (it simply is, doesn’t matter if you argue). Thirdly, the special effects were genuinely special (something we’re missing in almost all modern films (except The Creator, have you seen that??)). Last, and most important, it is built upon an idea so good that all other ideas might as well give up and bury themselves. A theme park built around real dinosaurs. Honestly, the world of creativity peaked in 1993. There have been no worthwhile ideas since.
Until now. Brace yourselves: the dino theme park was missing something… trains.
Cretaceous Rails is a dual-action worker placement system, route building, tableau building, and resource management for 1-4 players (yep, it really does have that much going on). Utilize the resources of the Cretaceous jungle to build the optimal combination of attractions for abilities and scoring.
The available actions are all important and will all advance your cause – but trust me when I say whatever your strategy, you need to lay that track for your trains, or you’ll quickly fall behind. Should you then focus on collecting dinos for your attractions? Or popping tourists on your trains? Or building more trains for tourists and dinos, or clearing jungle so those dinos in the wild can be seen…
I’ve had the pleasure of playing this, and I can tell you it met my expectations and more. This game’s got the looks, the fantastic miniatures (loads and loads of dinos and mini tourists), and an undeniable table presence. (I’ve heard complaints that the dinos are too big to see the board spaces clearly: I’m fine with it, I like the feeling of a crowded jungle full of these huge beasts, and find it thematic.)
Cretaceous Rails is a big game and a big investment, no doubt. This reissue also comes with the option of a new expansion, Cretaceous Seas, which replaces some jungle hexes with sea hexes and the possibility of Plesiosaurs showing their great big faces (and fins), and also brings with it the Blueprint Module, which bring new bonuses for your resort. Head along to the crowdfunding page asap to get your fill of dino action. Want to check out the original release? Shush your jaws, it’s right here.
About the author:
Steve is currently a freelance board game blogger, but often dreams of life as a pirate, or as a ghost herder in the Lake District, or as an evil estate agent who sells haunted houses for his own dark pleasure. Instead of figuring out how to do these jobs in real life like a normal lunatic, he tries to write about them instead, and releases the resultant books upon the unsuspecting world via famous digital bookstores. More books are bound to follow. Find this peculiar entity here: www.instagram.com/positively.board
