The Wabash Cannonball

I thought that I would start off with a report of a recent homely little game that I tracked down called Wabash Cannonball. For warnings, it is the most unappealing game that I own--the map and two side "boards" are nothing more than laminated pieces of paper with some minor little afterthoughts of color. The money is glorified construction paper, as are some of the shares. But the colored cubes are pure-euro. It does not have a conventional box, just a snap-shut plastic job. So, if you are swayed heavily by the appearance of a game, look elsewhere. It is just awful looking.

But if a game earns its keep solely by how it plays, then there is no greater example than Wabash Cannonball. I have never played a game that packs so much cutthroat play, cooperation, every man for himself gameplay into 45-60 minutes. I have only been able to play one 2 player game and one 6 player game--while 2 is not enough, and 6 is way too many, the game, when played with 3-4 people will (I believe) smash people in the mouth and leave them asking for more. Allow me to elaborate on how it all works.

At the start of the game, shares are auctioned off for 5 historic railroads. They all start on the east side of a hex map of the Eastern/Central United States. Each time a share is auctioned, the money is paid directly into that railroads treasury. Then, play begins with whomever holds a certain share of the starting railroad. On your turn, you are allowed to either expand the railroad (using only the money from the railroads treasury--thus, no money=no expansion), industrialize a city that the railroad runs through (basically, make your railroad worth more), or begin an auction for any other available railroad. These decisions (as they are called in the game) are tracked on a--surprise!--decision track. Once all of two of the types of decisions have been used a set number of times, then payouts occur based on the railroads income. The only way to make more money is to either buy stocks (which essentially make the railroads both stronger and worth less at the same time) or expand the railroad in anticipation of future payouts--which always help others who either have or will buy shares in the future.

Sound complex? Boring? Railroad-y? Yes, but not really. In actual play, it is simple--the complexity only comes in when you are trying to decide between 3 options. It is the polar opposite of boring--you cannot help but wonder at how the game plays in spite of how it looks. While playing with 6, I discovered that the only way to get closer to winning (whoever ends up with the most money at the end wins) is to simultaneously help your opponents and force them to cough up more money to win an auction of a share of a railroad that they already own. That, and keep your eye on what your own railroad is doing.

60 minutes (at most, though with 6 players it might last longer) of fast, agonizing, and highly competitive gameplay. Give it a chance, and you should find yourself hunting it down soon after.