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Over the last few years we have seen board games based on mining come thick and fast from UK publishers. The great Oresome is a favourite in our house and Mined Out being one I have yet to try. With a week left on Kickstarter, Off the Rails is another mine themed board game from a UK publisher, Rotten Games.
Off the Rails plays 1-4 players (solo unlocked as a stretch goal) in just over an hour and is suitable for gamers around 10-years-old and over.
Rules of the mine
I had chance to get my hand on an early prototype version of Off the Rails and after player a few games I would like to tell you why I think you should back this game. First, I will go over the game set-up and how it plays in some detail.
Off the Rails is a tile laying game where players take control of a goblin trying to retrieve gems. The game is very easy to learn and my kids enjoyed playing it. Set-up is a bit more in depth but is not anything too difficult. The reason it's long winded is the way the decks of cards are prepared. After a few plays, this soon becomes second nature though.
To set-up Off the Rails, following these instructions:
- Place the board in the centre of the table.
- Players choose colour of their mine.
- Gems get placed into gem bag.
- Track tiles are placed into piles by the board.
- Prepare the decks of cards.
- Determine player order.
Once all the above is done you are ready to play. Of the Rails is split into turns and each turn consists of four phases:
- Action Phase - Here you take four actions from a choice of things like laying a track tile or placing your mine cart.
- Move Phase - Here you move any placed mine carts the number of spaces indicated by the speed die.
- Deposit Phase - Here a card is flipped and this will tell you where and how many gems to place.
That is all there is to this game. Above is a brief rundown and if you check out the Kickstarter page, you will be able to see how it plays in more detail.
To set-up Off the Rails, following these instructions:
- Place the board in the centre of the table.
- Players choose colour of their mine.
- Gems get placed into gem bag.
- Track tiles are placed into piles by the board.
- Prepare the decks of cards.
- Determine player order.
Once all the above is done you are ready to play. Of the Rails is split into turns and each turn consists of four phases:
- Action Phase - Here you take four actions from a choice of things like laying a track tile or placing your mine cart.
- Move Phase - Here you move any placed mine carts the number of spaces indicated by the speed die.
- Deposit Phase - Here a card is flipped and this will tell you where and how many gems to place.
That is all there is to this game. Above is a brief rundown and if you check out the Kickstarter page, you will be able to see how it plays in more detail.
Is Off the Rails a gem?
The first time I played this game I was not overly enthusiastic to play it again. It seemed a bit boring and the way the gems were distributed did not fall lucky for me so I lost badly. My daughter asked to play again and we did. I was so glad she asked me, the set-up of the decks was less fiddly as I understood what I was doing fully and the hidden strategy made sense too.
The way you can block and alter your opponent’s movement makes for a fun experience that has very little down time. The reason I didn’t enjoy the first play through was because I was to kind to the other players and this game does reward a bit more of a ‘go get em’ play style. In fact, my daughter summed it up perfectly when she said that using the mine carts as bumper cars (dodgems) is fun and I must agree.
The collision and derailment rules mean that any carts that enter the same tile may be turned around or worse still thrown off the track. At one point, I think we both forget about the gems and just spent a few turns ramming each other.
Like I said above, Off the Rails has little downtime and the turns being quick does aid this. The player interaction depends on how you play the game and I think it improves the more you play it and get to understand the collision rules. The art is colourful and is very appealing, whilst the little goblins are very cute.
Overall, Off the Rails captures how I would imagine mine carts to move in a fun and comical fashion that allows you to manipulate other players carts. With a quick turn time and so much fun involved the game seems to be over quicker than it actually is.
I think it’s a great family game and if you play as a social gamer or with your children I recommend checking it out on Kickstarter.