Circus Train

About this board game

Circus Train is a strategy game for 1–2 players that takes about 55 minutes, casting you as the owner and operator of a small circus train in prohibition-era America.

Tour the American Northeast by rail while competing to employ the best talent and present the most magnificent show each month. Through clever card hand management, you control your train’s movement and make strategic decisions about performances, hiring, and payroll.

Each turn represents one week, giving the season a steady rhythm as your circus travels from city to city. Along the way, you can perform for audiences and hire performers stranded in towns by defunct circuses, gradually shaping your roster and improving your show.

• Manage your train’s movement with card hand management.
• Hire performers and develop the strongest possible talent lineup.
• Stage performances while keeping a close watch on payroll.
• Handle thematic costs involving alcohol, big cats, and elephants.

Wages are a constant concern, since your performers expect to be paid. Inspired by Sara Gruen’s novel Water for Elephants, the game blends its circus setting with thematic business pressures, including the high costs of supplying big cats and elephants and the chance to pick up alcohol for your talent and staff in Canada to improve your show’s reputation.

If a performer becomes disgruntled or too expensive to maintain, you can “red light” that talent by firing them and throwing them off the train. These distinctive elements remain simple to manage while adding meaningful layers of depth and strategy.

After six months, the circus season closes and the game ends. In Circus Train, careful planning, smart hiring, successful performances, and disciplined spending all contribute to determining who earns the title of The Greatest Show on Earth.