Iron Dragon

Draw your own rail network with crayons across a land of elves, trolls and dragon-hauled trains.

Designers: Darwin Bromley, Tom Wham
Published by: Mayfair Games

Iron Dragon takes the crayon railroad game somewhere stranger than usual: a land of elves, cat-people, trolls and magic, where genetically engineered dragons haul the trains. This 1994 Mayfair design uses the Empire Builder system. You draw your own rail lines with erasable crayons on a hex-gridded board, pick up goods and deliver them for cash, then pour the profits into longer track. Along the way you connect cities, fight off forest creatures and even explore the underground. Several maps are available. It is slow, planning-heavy and happiest at a long table with three or four people, an evening-long project for anyone who fancies being a fantasy railroad baron.

Erasable crayons on a hex-gridded mapDragons pull the trains, elves and trolls live on the boardSeveral maps and the Empire Builder system

Who it's for

You like railroad games or route planning and want one with a fantasy twist, and you have an evening and three or four people to spend on it.

Not for you if…

You want something short or fast. Long planning stretches and a four-hour clock make it a poor fit for a quick night.

Vibe's take

Slow-burning and absorbing. Most of the table time goes into staring at the map and plotting a cheaper route, broken up by the small thrill of a big delivery paying off.