Chattanooga Choo-Choo II

This is a one-of-a-kind prototype game designed specifically for the 2009 Gulf Games 23 Convention, held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" Holiday Inn in the historic railroad station.

The game is somewhat based on Rail Baron, the classic Avalon Hill game, but utilizing auctioning of rail lines on cards as the mechanic. Whereas Rail Baron has 28 rail lines represented, from the pre-mega-merger period (before about 1970), Chattanooga Choo-Choo II only has 27 of the same lines. Each line has it's own card, with cities served (see below) shown as well.

Which one is missing? It is the Norfolk and Western, which on the Rail Baron board serves Norfolk, Cincinnati, and Columbus destinations. It is interesting that the present-day Norfolk Southern is one of the few "Class 1" super-major railroads coming out of the merger period, but the railroad it owes it's heritage to is the one missing in this game.

Rail Baron has 67 destination cities on the board and in the payoff table. Chattanooga Choo-Choo II has only 25 of those cities included in the card deck. The destination cards show which rail lines serve that city. Cities cards are dealt to the players at the beginning. The object is to collect railroads (by bidding for them) such that at the end of the game, the player maximizes the connections with his cities.

The cities chosen to be included are generally those larger hubs with multiple rail connections. Cities in Rail Baron that are only served by one or two railroads are eliminated in the Chattanooga Choo-Choo II deck. There are some interesting anomalies, however: the Louisville and Nashville Railroad is included, but neither Louisville nor Nashville cities are. Of course Chattanooga had to be included! But it seems strange that Portland Oregon, and Pittsburgh are not. Also missing is Dallas, the home of BGG.

Game components consist of printed adhesive labels ("Avery" type) stuck on basic face cards, one blue and one red deck, and a set of simple plastic chips that act as currency for the bidding. There is also a one page printed rules sheet.