This game is not only my favorite game of 2013, it is also by far the best worker placement game I know. The theme of this game is about as strong/weak as any other euro game. The advancement of the different types of tracks, the engineers, money, industry etc. all make perfectly sense. I will however agree that the scoring is not only pretty complex, but also doesn't fit the theme that well. As Tom has mentioned in this game there is a lot of competition for the same worker spaces at the beginning of the game. Basically in the first round of the game every player has to decide which 2 of the 4 available tracks they want to advance first and then figure out if there is a lot of overlap with the other players. If there is overlap a player needs to adjust his strategy a bit to avoid going for the same spaces or routes, otherwise the players hinder each other too much and both will fall behind. Thanks to the engineers, temporary workers, money etc. there are always ways to do this. Contrary to what Tom and Sam stated there are also ways to catch up to leading players by using the right bonus tokens and cards at the right time. However this needs to be timed exactly right and you need some experience how to combine certains abilities. For instance you can get a bonus card that lets you advance 4 spaces on the industry tracks which can activate 2 industry abilities, which in turn can advance rails and enable other bonuses etc. Also because the of the point escalation in this game, the first few rounds are not that important. In the last 2 rounds of the game you can get more points than in the 4 first rounds combined. The game shines and gets deeper after a few plays when everybody is familiar with the special abilities, properties of the different tracks and common tactics. Also the game plays pretty fast and game be finished in 80-90 minutes with 4 players. It is a heavier euro game but for instance not as complex as Terra Mystica.

I think the theme is mostly there. The wooden pieces (black, grey, brown, etc) are not trains, they are stages of construction of the railway. The black one means digging dirt, the grey one means laying the stone, brown is for the track itself and so on. The one thing that is really odd is why all the players are building different versions of the exact same lines at the same time? My made up explanation for that the Tsar of Russia sent each architect (player) into a different parallel universe to test their skills and whoever does best, gets to build the Trans-Syberian in real life. The rest of them are just sent to Syberia. :)

I love these Miami Dice reviews. Keep them coming!

This is one of the best Worker placement I've played, Tom is right and after about 20 games played I can tell you that like good wine this game will grow better game after game. Lots of different path to victory some more obvious than others but all fun to play.

I was so confused about how to score this game until I watched this video, so thank you.

Why is everyone complaining? It has become obvious lately that Tom increasingly likes his themes to be strong (for Sam it goes without saying). That's fine and I can relate but I didn't see this review as being negative (at least in regards to Tom) because of that. I actually am intrigued by the game and it looks like an interesting challenge. Thank you for review, guys.

In my house, there is a rule: "the first game don't count." Would it really surprise anyone here if a euro is not understood completely the first time through? That is where you learn the ropes. I guess I took it for granted that Miami Dice would not expect the first game to be completely transparent. I did not hear anything in this review 'against' the game itself. Being complex is not a hit. I just got the impression there was no love for this weight of euro-games, which is not surprising for what Miami Dice is known for. I was surprised they even reviewed Russian Rails. They have Ryan Metzler on the Dice Tower team for checking out the meatier euros. Thank you Tom and Sam for taking the time for this review...and causing such a stir...especially with your 'it's not thematic' remarks...you must be doing that on purpose right? :)

The game comes with train engines. You're advancing various levels of train track from one Russian city to another. You're recruiting engineers. There seems to be quite a bit of theme here for a Euro. There's certainly more theme than Kingsburg.

In this game you really can catch up! The Vladivostok strategy is slow in the beginning, but if you get those Whites in on the track, especially if you have doublers, you can score like 80-100 Points/turn the last turns. The industry strategy pays of eariler, but never goes above 55p/turn. The game is really about the engineer, as they are what makes the games different from the other! The game is very dry, theme is barely there, but it is a fascinating game!

I really like this game. Not my favorite worker placement game, but I've really enjoyed it when I've played it. It's really true though, when someone gets their well-oiled machine running, they will keep scoring and scoring and it will be hard to catch up

I love this game but I have one problem with it. It really feels like you're not thinking that much in this game, you don't have to calculate a few moves ahead (ok, only a little bit) and it's not very often that you make a tactical mistake. I think that is because there are no resources in this game! For me this game is more about estimating what your opponents will do and which actions are likely to be available to you this turn. It's easy to figure out which actions are the best for you, what's not that easy is figuring out what your opponents will take away and adjusting to it. In that sense this game it different then many of other euros I've played where you need to calculate your tactics and strategy and only have to think about your opponents a little bit. For example Tzolk'in or La Havre. I think the game that gives me perfect balance between the two is Spyrium. Still, I like RR very much :)

Between this, Concordia, and Prosperity, lots of love for pasted themed Euro's these days.

Great review, guys! The game looks interesting, but I think I'll try it and probably not buy it, I'm more of a theme guy. And great job giving a variety of good and bad things about this game, especially because you didn't harp on the fact that it had less theme than you like. See ya!

Played this last night and thoroughly enjoyed it and I have to agree with Tom's assessment. As for the point scoring that was difficult for me and two of the other new players.

Nice quick explanation of a rather complicated game! I felt the theme is integrated well enough for my standards, but it I won't put it at the top of my list because I have no interest in building trains. I might buy it if it's on sale though.

Can you please send me a link to a top worker placement game video please Tom?

It's too bad. I love the theme (I am a mark for anything railroads), but a worker placement game has to earn any interest I may have in it because their mechanics are too much like work. Gathering little blue sticks to trade in for little green sticks to trade in for points is more like running errands than fun. Having said that, I do agree with Tom. Theme is really important. One of my fave games is Power Grid because the theme works really well with the mechanic.

Why do so many complain? Tom is saying he actually like the game as it is but that he wished it were more themed.

The first time I played it there was 1 other new person at the table, and 2 veterans. The other new guy smoked everyone and had no idea why. I came in 3rd. And it confused me.

Overall, this game felt like a deeper, more involving, Lords of Waterdeep. This is the amount of depth and strategy I was hoping Lords of Waterdeep would be. Like most, I like the mechanisms and gameplay but the theme was lost. The theme has to make me feel as though I'm doing or am apart of the setting/time period of the game, and this did not.

euros are not supposed to be thematic... well, that may have been true. But nowadays, after a decade of worker placements/resources management games, there are dozen of euros which nicely fit their theme. And not the worst ones, even (historically speaking) Caylus had a pretty strong theme (if you forgot the scoring system...). Of course, euros will never be as thematic as any figs game. But it's nowhere ruled you're not supposed to feel as if you were building/doing/xxxing what the game is supposed to be about. lazy creators/editors make themeless euros

They are so hypocritical... In their Euro top 10 they didn't pay a lot of attention to themes. But hey, it's Euro (which is not supposed to have a strong theme), and now you critique the theme. Be consistent, guys!

This game makes me think of nothing but Putin. Not sure if I want that in the back of my head.

russian railroads is great game but its easy to learn rules and when you do that,you get that feeling,oh all actions are very similar and i cant do much to score points,all i do its almost the same for example tzolkin is amazing game which dont have that problem,in tzolkin you can win by using so many strategies and in tzolkin you have many options what to do and where to place your workers,really feels like complete game that can become boring for long time russian railroads have that problem,stone age,and some similar games to make long story short,russian railroads is too easy,repetitive,needs more things you could do,like i dont know buy new suits for workers,new tools and land,place money in the bank or something this game really needed some extra options to score points,like this its too much easy and you get bored easily

Your making railroads not shipping goods or building trains.

Criticising a Euro for having a disconnect from the theme is like criticising a dog for not being able to recite Shakespeare. I remember a time when the Dice Tower would review Euros without making a big thing about the theme, but it seems recently that there is a real 'sniffiness' towards Euros, which is a shame for a site that should be espousing the virtues of all board games. There's no issue with disliking a game, but clearly Tom liked the game, but still the tone of the review came across as overly negative.

Ugh. "Strategy game of the year" and I can't even get through the review without falling asleep...