Surprisingly deep for such a simple game. Good time for the entire family.

Got this to the table and we played three games in one sitting... wow! I love this game.

If your wife LOVES to play a game, doesn't that mean it is really, really, good? I found it to be an engrossing solitaire play. It's short enough to be one of those games folks can all play with little getting up to speed time that is a game fun killer.

Fantastic, quick game that is playable by the whole family. Much deeper strategy than originally thought. Well done!

There is so much to like about this game.

It is super quick to learn...and play! But yet, has tons of decision making processes that other games wish they could achieve in such a small time frame.

A group of five could play a practice game of this in under an hour and have a great understanding of concepts and strategies by the time it is done and still have enough time to blast through two or three more games by the end of the night.

There is a random factor, so you better strap on your diplomacy hat and start talking up deals when you need to! You never know when the tiles will draw bad...and they will.

If you are the type of player who is good at "locking the game" by knowing a board's strong and weak spots, you will do well against one player.

However, with three or more crafty players, you can forget the lockup strategy once they have a go or two at the game. Although there are still unknowns in a two player game (who has which tiles), in a three or more player game, it is hard to rely on anything other than the tiles you pick and the alliances you make (or break).

I love how Columbia still manages to get it's "fog of war" aspect into even this little simple game.

So if you think bartering with friends and family in Settlers of Catan is challenging, wait until they get a load of this!

Surprisingly engaging for such a simple set of rules (4 A3 pages includes all rules, examples and hints on play). Played 4 games at the first sitting (when we had intended to play a selection of games once each).
Only 1 thing stops the 10 rating, the "chips" for money are not numbered (but we had no real problems with this).
Incidentally, one of the land ownership cards was missing from my copy (we were able to make a paper replacement for our games) but I contacted Columbia Games (In Seattle, USA) and they sent the genuine article to me (in UK) within the week. Excellent customer service.

Surprisingly engaging for such a simple set of rules (4 A3 pages includes all rules, examples and hints on play). Played 4 games at the first sitting (when we had intended to play a selection of games once each).
Only 2 things stop the 10 rating, the "chips" for money are not numbered (but we had no real problems with this) and one of the land ownership cards was missing from my copy (we were able to make a paper replacement for our games but Columbia Games are sending the genuine article).

I met the designer and played with him at Essen Spiel 16. He is a really nice guy and I loved the game. I loved the theme, and I had to buy it. A game simple in rules with a lot of fun.
----------------------------------------------------
Pude conocer al diseñador y jugar con el en la feria de Essen 16. Un tipo encantador y un juego genial. Me encantó la tematica y tube que comprarlo. Un juego simple en reglas pero con mucha diversion. Sera muy facil sacarlo a mesa.

We played it in our game circle a couple of times. The Last Spike is well suited to play in family as its rules are easy to learn and to understand.

I've only played this game five or so times. But so far I'm pleasantly surprised by how engaging it is. The turns are fast paced and the decisions are meaningful. I've even played it with eighth graders who managed to remain focussed the whole time! So, if you're looking for a light-weight euro style game with blocks, then this is the game for you.

Check out my review of The Last Spike below.
https://jlnelson73.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/the-last-spike-review/

Great game!!

Review At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S1djaMu0NM

A BIG improvement in game play when compared to the old 1st edition (A Monopoly clone (roll and move)). Great family game. Great gateway game or next step up from gateway game. Calling it a 1 hour filler game does it a disservice; it's surprisingly deep, balanced and tough choices in trying to keep your cash ready for your big moves.

BGG2015

Really interesting title with lot of tension. And rules are super easy. Profound decision in almost every turn. Game depth to rules length ratio is so high that everyone should at least try it.

After playing three 3-player games and one 6-player game I'm giving this game an 8. The game scales well and becomes more tight with more players. Played with two non-gamers who kept asking to play it more. Despite others complaints about components, they work just fine. I was impressed with the cards because they are a higher quality than what Columbia has used in the past and there is actually an insert in the box. Columbia Games has a great game on their hands outside of their normal block wargames.

GJJ Games Review: http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/2015/11/gjjg-game-reviews-last-spike-by.html

Very good and reminiscent of Acquire. Even though there is no 'competing for majorities' in The Last Spike (probably the whole point of Acquire).

It plays well with two players (something Acquire doesn't do) and it doesn't require old school payout tables (like Acquire). I still love Sid Sackson's masterpiece but this more than deserves a place in my collection.

Yes there is luck. Yes, you can get hosed by it. If that's the sort of thing that sends you crying to your mother's apron strings, you might be well served to take a pass on this.

I would love to say that this second edition is better than the original, but, because I enjoy quite a bit of luch in my games, I think that the removal of the dice track is actually a step back. As in the original, the $20,000 bonus for completing the last spike is way over valued... play without it.

There is enough here to make the game worthwhile. I like the cleaner game design... and it does play much quicker. I'm glad I added it to my collection, but I'm afraid that the original will still probably get played more. Maybe a few house rules are needed to add a bit more luck.

1 play / 5 players

LIKE: Quick, with many interesting decisions.
DISLIKE: The poorly made board is an absolute let down. Some players get screwed by being forced to play their last tile, even if it is not the "last spike". Some randomness in the tile draw.

OVERALL: Despite the low production value, and my initial doubts, the game is surprisingly good. Everyone at the table liked it. ( I may rate it a "7" after a few more plays if the game has more randomness than depth. )

Part of kickstarter.

Always loved train games, and this one is a nice addition to my collection. Really like how the tiles are placed, even if it's tricky to figure out the numbers at first (would have been nice if everything was bigger). Also like how the money is handled with purchasing stock in towns. It's quick to play, and a good combo of luck and strategy.

Elegant, speedy, light yet deep network development game. Recommend.

Kickstarter!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDJdcBQ1xBs

Great little game, makes you want to play again as soon as you finish. I'm going to get a lot of plays out of this.

A tightly-wrought land speculation game based on tile laying representing the railroad coming to town. Plays fast with many twists and turns as the tiles are played. Not much time to react when playing with 5 or more players. Luck is a factor, as in poker, or real-life land speculation. Several back-to-back plays are possible within an hour, which is how I suggest the game is approached. Winner is the highest cumulative total. Each of our games has been lively.

May raise rating after some more plays... looks promising

Very simple game, but there's actually a decent amount going on. When I learned the rules I was worried that the random tiles you had would make the game too lucky, but having 4 to choose from feels like the right amount. And there are a lot of good decisions to be made. It's generally not obvious which stocks to buy, and there is a good amount of opportunity to build in ways that slow down your opponents. Overall I was pleasantly surprised.

a great filler game. It takes about 1 hour and has plenty of strategic decisions to make.

Solid and enjoyable game. Very likely to play when asked to play along.

SECOND time in collection!

This is such a fantastic game we needed to be sure we had a copy in reserve!

This is the kickstarter edition of the game! Great game for gamers and non-gamers alike.
You really NEED this in your collection! You owe it to yourself!

One of my families faves

Fast playing track laying game where you are trying to pick up shares in companies where routes will be completed.
Great filler length game.

This is the kickstarter edition of the game! Great game for gamers and non-gamers alike.
You really NEED this in your collection! You owe it to yourself!

The Last Spike is a re-print and slight re-mod of the original game from decades earlier.

It is a route building stock-speculation game and one that I quite enjoy. it is certainly lighter and more forgiving than the Steam and 18xx games and is more of a gateway game in this space.

Well worth a look.

Fun gateway game with a Train theme. Easy to play

Players are property speculators, trying to cash in on the transcontinental railroad, being built across the United States. Simple, fast playing game that almost feels like an Acquire variant. Players place a track tile, which may complete a four tile link between two cities, triggering property payouts for those now connected cities. The game ends when the east-west connection across the board is completed, and richest player wins. Really liked the clean feel of this one. There is some luck involved, but the game is so fast, it can be forgiven.

A solid and fun game with good decisions to make.

Simple rules & quick play time make this Acquire-lite game a real winner.

The element of luck is big for this game, but railroad construction and an asset management of a stock are the game which can be enjoyed easily.
I like this.

1 play / 5 players

LIKE: Quick, with many interesting decisions.
DISLIKE: The poorly made board is an absolute let down. Some players get screwed by being forced to play their last tile, even if it is not the "last spike". Some randomness in the tile draw.

OVERALL: Despite the low production value, and my initial doubts, the game is surprisingly good. Everyone at the table liked it. ( I may rate it a "7" after a few more plays if the game has more randomness than depth. )

Good game. Gives Acquire-like gameplay but much quicker play. Components are good, though map could benefit from being hard mounted.

Played one game with 6. Playing tiles and buying stock similar to Acquire. The game was tight between 4 of the other players. Worth checking out.

Fast game and was fun.

Would easily have given this a 10 if the board had been decently made. The artwork on the board is fairly unappealing as well. Also, I wish the game used money with values on it instead of colored chips, but that's not a huge deal. The game itself is great.

See review.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1492138/how-homage-ought-be-done

Donated 2 copies

Aandelen kopen van steden die verbonden worden door treinlijnen.
Eenvoudige, korte combinatie van acquire en ttr.

Kickstarted; delivered

Doesn't look like much, but it's fun!

First play with 3 players was fun, even though we got the turn order wrong. Bought properties before the payouts and injected more $ into the game, but a really close finish of 124-121-114. Will have to replay and re-evaluate.

Building pre-planned train routes in Western USA - Stock Holding , Tile Placement
(3-5, best w/ 4)
_Weight 1.9
♥ 60 min

Great family game that's very accessible and not too long. The board is small, but it makes sense when you consider the size of the wooden blocks (which I love). Yes there's luck, but skill is still an important factor. I've played where I drew great tiles and got a lot of free land and still lost the game because my opponent was better at leveraging their investments to maximize profits. That's really the key: buying the right stocks at the right times. And that all comes down to making good decisions. And the "luck of the draw" is actually kind of fun, especially at the end when you're hoping to pull that tile you really need. And timing it just right so that you're the one to play the last spike for that big bonus...

Really solid family/lighter game. Easy to teach and set up but has some fun timing decisions.

I was finally able to let go of Acquire after getting this game. I don't think it completely fires it, but it feels so similar and plays in a much cleaner way. The components could have been a lot better though.

A fun little game that is easy to learn and play. One of the best in its class that I've played. Great filler game.

I met the designer/publisher on the subway to Essen who was a really nice guy and after having checked out the game I got very tempted to buy it. Unfortunately, this was the last day at Essen, so I was completely out of bag space and couldn't bring any more games back home.

Some months later I was able to grab a copy in back home in Sweden, and I'm really happy about it.

The rules are extremely simple and playtime is short. There are still lots of difficult choices and great indirect player interaction of the sort I very much enjoy.

This is One of those games that are quick to lern og funny to Play. Allround good

tl;dr: [thing=5][/thing] with trains (and no mergers)

Yes, just like in Acquire you a number of blocks which indicate where you have to play them. And just like in Acquire you start a new company (and get a share of it) in certain situations. No, there's no denying that this game takes it's core from Acquire. Which is fine, because that game is awesome, so it gives the game a head start. But because you have more short term goals (with the completion of routes) and no mergers, it isn't as deep as Acquire.
So all in all a nice take on the Acquire mechanism with some nice twists, but don't expect this to replace the original.

Initial rating: 6.8/10
BGG scale: 6/10

Played

Essen 15 after the show musthave .

I really don't get the comparison with ticket to ride . A game that is easy to teach thatinvolves trains a map and plays in less than 60 minutes doesn't equal the next ticket to ride.
Gameplay is totally different.
Some part of the gameplay is very remeniscent of acquire but it is no acquire as well.

The game stands on its own.

Boardgame Corner - Mark Streed and Ann Pohl take a look at The Last Spike.

Boardgame Corner rating scale:
Mark - 2.5 out of 4 corners
Ann - 3.0 out of 4 corners

Boardgame Corner - Mark Streed and Ann Pohl take a look at The Last Spike.

Boardgame Corner rating scale:
Mark - 2.5 out of 4 corners
Randy - 3.0 out of 4 corners

Here is my review on Boardgames in Blighty

https://rivcoach.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/boardgames-in-blighty-game-review-the-last-spike-from-columbia-games/

Basically all-in tile lottery. Harmless and quite fun, but not very skill intensive.

Seems to be reliant on which tiles you draw, although there are strategic decisions to be made.

A railroad Acquire, but not as good. Definite issues with high player counts as the early players grab all the free shares. Otherwise fun to play and very quick sub hour game play.

Quick, easy-to-learn railroad game. I played a couple games of The Last Spike and enjoyed myself reasonably well, but I think this game is a little too pared-down-to-the-basics to become a classic for me. Feels like Ticket to Ride's little cousin.

Not very special. Based on luck of draw, very little controll.

Short and light, but quite a bit of substance included. Surprisingly good, even though the end trigger bonus is excessive, and tile prices do not seem to be very balanced either.

KS

1 play, prototype (Origins 2015)

The game was OK -- sort of Acquire like, with a train theme. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of Acquire. Here, the board shows a number of cities in the U.S., connected to each other by 4-space routes. Central cities, of course, have more connections. Each space has a corresponding tile. Players start with some money (varies by player count) and 4 random tiles (kept hidden). There are piles of stock certificates, one per city, with differing prices per stock. On your turn, place a tile in a space; must pay the cost (more expensive over difficult terrain and if not connected to city or another tile). If you cannot pay, must auction off a deed to the other players (rules not totally clear in details). If you're the first to build next to a city, take the initial stock for free. If you complete a link, cities on either end of the route pay dividends: everyone holding those stocks gets dividends (more stock = more money). Then, you MAY buy a stock for any city that has been opened.

The game ends at the end of a player's turn when they place a tile connecting east and west by continuous track (the last spike). They get a $20K bonus for doing so. The player with the most cash wins! It felt very much like Acquire, although maybe faster game play?

Quite a random game overall but good element of playing the odds too

I think there is a good game in here. But it's NOT good with two, and it's NOT good with six. Another excellent case of the need for Truth in Publisher Player Counts.

Additionally, while there is a good game in here, it's a game that feels so much like Acquire that I'm not convinced I need to own both, and I've yet to find a game that tops Acquire in the light economic game space.

The Last Spike is an Acquire derivative that has the advantage of being quicker and more streamlined, but the disadvantage of being much less interesting. I may have been unlucky, but I felt completely hamstrung by my tile draw.

Acquire-ish, but not as good. I'm always interested in trying a minimalist game, but in this case there's just not enough to keep things interesting. Maybe if the board were bigger, with longer track sections...

On the plus side, it's very quick. I'd play again as a filler but probably wouldn't search it out.

3/21/16: Rating may go up to a 6 with further play. A good family game. Very similar to Acquire, however you only hold 4 tiles at a time while with Acquire you can hold 6 tiles at a time. I feel that you have more control with Acquire, where with Last Spike there are a lot more routes open. Each route will close off once it has four tiles, so there are a lot more routes open at one time, and routes close a lot more quickly than mergers in Acquire.

Good for family or non-gamers because you can explain the rules in 5 minutes.

Probably best with 3 or 4. Gets too chaotic with 5 or more.

1/1/2016: I feel like this game could be a lot better than it is. I'd like a larger set of tiles to have in front of you to decrease the effect of luck on having to pay double or not. I'm also curious about some sort of drafting mechanism. Or distributing most/all tiles and passing only a set number once. I also don't understand why larger sets don't collect a larger relative payout. Overall, there is too much luck for this type of game for me.

A game that was inferior to Acquire when first published forty years ago. And it still is. Varying cost of the tiles according to the terrain they cover rather than charging more for those adjacent to a city that have the potential to earn a free stock certificate, seems daft in game terms. The $20,000 bonus for placing the last tile may well decide your game.

Board, blocks and cards are standard Columbia, which is to say functional and solid though lacking aesthetic charm.

Complexity 1.83

Didn't quite like this as much as expected. I got exactly the right tile at the end of the game which gave the win through luck.Any possible strategy is overcome by good/ bad fortune with the draw.

I like the simple rules, quick play length, and the stock mechanism. However, the components are not very attractive. I also think the block drawing and playing mechanism may be too deterministic.

feels a bit like acquire but even more random unfortunately. plays quick at least.

Acquire without the interesting bits...
Too ranfom with 5 players.

Takes the worst parts of Acquire and magnified them. It's possible to go broke depending on tile draw. Last spike bonus depends on seat placement. It's possible to have no more tiles in your hand and the last spike yet to be played.

Backed on Kickstarter since my wife was interested in a train game after seeing Ticket to Ride. Very unhappy with the quality and what came in the box for $50 (you can hear plenty about that in many reviews and comments). After multiple plays, this one isn't a keeper. Not enough true decision making, as most turns have a clear best play to make and the game often seems to be playing itself.

Looks like Acquire. Quacks like Acquire.

Sadly this duck isn't Acquire. It magnifies the worst of Acquire...the going broke, the dreadful tile draw hosing etc etc.

Only good if you play it several times in a row so everyone feels like they got a "good game" out of it. But that type of gaming ended in the 1990s...a game has to be able to stand on its own in one playing.

This one doesn't. It's not terrible though. A few house rules would fix it:

1 - draw 2, discard 1 tile. My typical Acquire house rule solves a ton of both games issues
2 - get rid of the last spike $20k. It essentially determines the winner.

Well... it's a lot like Acquire, which means it's still got the tile-draw randomness and the potential to be badly hosed if you're not in on the first couple of payouts. In addition there's the randomness of certain tiles being objectively better than others (cheap vs expensive, next to a city vs middle-of-track). Meh. I'd play if it's the game going but I can't think of a situation where I'd request it.

Maybe my rating would be higher if I wasn't talked into playing this game by someone claiming they liked their games with "strategy". This game is 100% determined by the luck of your tile draws. If you draw a tile next to a city first, you not only get the first land card but you also don't have to pay for it AND you pay the actual cost of the tile. If you get a tile that is not next to a city or a tile connecting to track that is connecting to a city, you pay DOUBLE the tile cost and then you have the option of paying for some land that someone has already gotten for free. If you happen to have 4 or 5 bad tile placements such as this (which happened to me in the beginning of the game) you will see your funds deplete much faster than anyone else and you will always be playing catch-up. What a load of garbage. I would flip this game on it's head if I were to play again. Keep all the tiles face up and allow everyone to draft their first 4 tiles and to pick whatever tiles they want after that. Maybe even invert the $ amounts on the land cards so that the first person to invest has to pay the highest amount and it gets cheaper as it goes down. Whatever, maybe I'm just being a sourpuss. I liked the simplicity of the game and thought it was neat but it was barely strategic as all your moves are pretty obvious and there's not much you can do to circumvent bad tile draws.

Interesting and easy to learn acquisition race. It takes a little over a half-hour to explain and play.

Check out my review of The Last Spike below.
https://jlnelson73.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/the-last-spike-review/

FALLCON COPY

I met the designer/publisher on the subway to Essen who was a really nice guy and after having checked out the game I got very tempted to buy it. Unfortunately, this was the last day at Essen, so I was completely out of bag space and couldn't bring any more games back home.

Funagain
November

BGG2015

4.56KS 2017

FALLCON copy

Always loved train games, and this one looks like a nice addition to my collection. Need to play it sometime, of course.

Essen 15 after the show musthave .

I really don't get the comparison with ticket to ride . A game that is easy to teach thatinvolves trains a map and plays in less than 60 minutes doesn't equal the next ticket to ride.
Gameplay is totally different.
Some part of the gameplay is very remeniscent of acquire but it is no acquire as well.

The game stands on its own.

Comparisons to Acquire are lazy and stupid.

2 copies

Really interesting and funny simple train game. The randomness given by the pieces may result in a too much lucky driven game, some may argue, but I find it reasonably clean on its outcome.

A keeper.


(I)

KS

All labels have been carefully applied to the blocks.

Acquire like-(40)

Essen 15 after the show musthave

Per Dan King, a better version of Acquire

Mensa Select. Not what I'm really looking for in my railroad games: this game is more property speculation, with minimal route development, and no cargo shipment. I'm looking more for something like "Intermodal: the worldwide shipping game". ;)

2 plays (2p) -- a keeper.

Looks like Acquire with a different geometry and some minor additions. Pass.

Donated 2 copies

BNIS

Donated by Columbia Games

Signed edition bought at Spiel '15 (08-okt-2015)

◎

Funagain

Booth 2436 (Columbia Games)

999r052016po

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Gen Con 2016

gen con 2015