TransAmerica

About this board game

TransAmerica is a railway game for 2–6 players that takes about 30 minutes to play. Each player must connect a personal set of five cities across the United States.

At the beginning of the game, every player places a station on an intersection on the map. Players then take turns placing one or two rails on the lines shown on the map, gradually building their railway connections.

• Place a station on an intersection.
• Build one or two rails on each turn.
• Connect a route between your five cities.

Initially, rails can be placed only adjacent to a player’s station or on a line that touches it. This gives each player an individual starting network to develop across the map.

The possibilities expand when networks meet. Once a player’s network connects with another player’s, rails can be placed anywhere along the combined network. The ability to use existing connections means that other players’ work can help complete your own route.

The game ends as soon as the first player completes a connected route between all five of their cities. Although everyone is building toward a personal objective, the shared railway connections make other players’ networks an important part of the race.

In TransAmerica, the player who makes the best use of the networks created by the table is generally victorious. First released in 2001, it offers a straightforward railway-building challenge centered on planning, connection, and timing.