Great Western Trail Rails to the North Expansion Complete Review | A New Dimension in Cattle Ranching
In this article, we bring you real player feedback and a detailed analysis of Rails to the North, the popular expansion for the classic board game Great Western Trail.
Learning the full details of this expansion, which significantly improves strategic gameplay while maintaining the appeal of the basic game, will enrich your board game life.
Game Basics
Great Western Trails: Rails to the North is an expansion that adds a new railroad system, greatly expanding your strategic options.
Great Western Trail: Rails to the North is a board game expansion for 1-4 players, 75-150 minutes of play time, and ages 12+.
The expansion adds a new rail system to the base game, allowing you to develop delivery routes to cities like Chicago, Detroit, and New York City.
The game's core mechanic is branchlet construction : players can use a new auxiliary action to place branchlets in accessible towns, granting bonuses and delivery rights to new cities depending on the town type.
While retaining the rondeling, deck-building, and engine-building elements of the base game, Branch Lines expand your delivery and rail connection strategy options by roughly 10 times.
The second edition includes the following:
- Dual layer player board
- Game board expansion featuring different railroad lines
- Modified medium town tiles
- New Objective Cards
- Revised Buildings 13a-13b
- Sam-exclusive materials for solo mode
- A new breed of orange cow
Great Western Trail: Rails to the North
This expansion is groundbreaking in that it fundamentally changes the entire perspective of the game by simply adding a single auxiliary action to the base game.
Dramatic expansion of strategic options
The biggest appeal of this expansion is that it fundamentally changes the entire perspective of the game by simply adding a "single auxiliary action" to the base game.
A new auxiliary action allows you to place branchlets in accessible towns (towns directly connected by at least one rail line).
In actual play, the branchlet placement support action is very powerful and has become the player's primary support action.
Placing branchlets gives you the option to pay money, receive money, or perform an immediate action, and depending on the size of your town, you may also have the ability to upgrade your station.
Addition of new puzzle elements
Small towns scattered across the northern network offer bonuses to players who connect.
Many individual spaces offer small bonuses or discounts, rewarding the first player to reach them.
The layout of town tiles changes every game, creating new puzzles and increasing replayability.
Players will need to simultaneously consider delivery destinations and rail connections, experiencing "discovering mountain trails and looking down on familiar valleys from a whole new perspective."
Improved Deck Building Features
A new breed of orange Brahman cow has been added, which will earn you 4 gold upon delivery, meaning more money in the long run.
It can be used selectively with the previous Simmental Cow, the 2-value Cow has more versatility, and the overall deck-building aspect of the game has been improved, with better deck-building being rewarded.
New objective cards have also been added, providing unique objectives for Rails to the North, giving you a clearer strategic direction at the start of the game.
Improved component quality
The expansion board is high quality, has a dual layer construction for branchlet placement, and sits flat on top of the main board.
Users have also praised the new box art, saying it's "more attractive than the basic version."
Concerns and solutions
The addition of new elements brings with it several challenges, but there are effective solutions for each.
Complexity of rules explanation
Explaining things to new players can be "a bit painful" - there's a lot to navigate, and it seems to make an already complex game even more complex.
Countermeasure: The actual rules burden is "surprisingly light," and even new players can get the hang of it in 1-2 turns.
Also, if you have basic game experience, you can explain it in 5 minutes, and even complete beginners can ignore it and play. We introduce elements step by step, and recommend starting with the basic branchlet arrangement first.
Extended play time
The playing time will be extended by about 5 minutes per player, but the total number of turns will remain the same.
Solution: The extra time allows you to consider new options, which adds a lot of variety to the game while smoothly integrating into an already packed game. Once you get used to it, you'll be able to make decisions faster.
Easy to understand icons
Some users have pointed out that some of the icons are difficult to understand.
Solution: The rulebook is well illustrated and helpful, and having a reference sheet handy will solve this. After a few plays, you'll naturally memorize the icons' meanings.
Recommended for these people and occasions
This expansion really shines when it comes to specific player types and use cases.
Fans of the base game
If you're a fan of the base game, this is a "no-brainer" expansion.
"I couldn't believe there was anything that could make the Great Western Trail more enjoyable, and this has done it. Rails to the North is the perfect expansion."
Families and groups of strategy game enthusiasts
For ages 12 and up, it can be played by 1-4 players, making it ideal for families or groups of friends who enjoy strategy games.
It will be especially useful in situations where intermediate or advanced board gamers gather.
Solo Player
It includes materials specifically for Sam in solo mode, making it suitable for players who want to strategize alone.
The expansions broaden the range of strategies available, making it enjoyable even for solo play.
People who want replayability
The order of town tiles is shuffled every game, providing a new puzzle.
This is the ideal expansion for those who have played the base game repeatedly and are looking for something fresh.
Expected effects
With this expansion, you get new ways to approach your strategy, and town tiles across the board will support any strategy.
Long-term, mid-term, and short-term goals flow seamlessly together, giving greater depth to the simple question at each turn: "Which space do I move to next?"
In the end, this expansion gets high marks and is an excellent addition that significantly expands the tactical options and replayability of the base game without taking away from its appeal.
If you love the base game, there's little reason to play without this expansion. Want to take your cattle ranch management to new horizons?
Check the product on the online store page
Free shipping throughout Japan. Orders placed before 3pm will be shipped the same day.
Reference source/quote source
- Great Western Trail: Rails to the North Review – Creating Shelves
- Great Western Trail 2nd Edition: Rails to the North Expansion - Game Nerdz
- Great Western Trail: Rails to the North - Board Game News
- Great Western Trail: Rails to the North Expansion Review | Silver Duck Reviews | BoardGameGeek
- Great Western Trail (Second Edition): Rails To The North - Headlines From A Solo Player
- Board Game Geek Community Review Excerpts