1860: Railways on the Isle of Wight

I put 1860: Railways on the Isle of Wight in front of railway newcomers and probably chose the wrong title for the job. It ran longer than I wanted and exposed its hard, peculiar edges early. Nobody cursed me for it, though; the group enjoyed themselves, especially the player who buried me across the map and laughed like a hyena when he spotted the mutually assured destruction.

The game spreads itself over the map, where the railways need room and your choices gain weight because they do not remain yours for long. This is not a gentle first lesson. It has harsh turns, odd corners and enough friction that newcomers must keep watching what is being built around them.

Then the players get involved. Someone boxes you in across the map, you realise that answering them may burn both of you, and the third player strolls past to win without much concern. At three, that mutual threat seems to have a proper job; the game is not merely hard, it asks you to calculate who you are taking down with you.

1860 is awkward and rather dated, with a length that does not forgive a poor choice of group. But it works well enough with three that this old, thorny route deserves a place in the schedule — provided nobody mistakes it for a pleasant ride.