Winner of the Mensa Select Award
Every year, Mensa: The High IQ society, chooses an elite handful of games they believe challenge the intellect and are fun at the same.
Popular games such as Dominion, Clank!, and Magic: The Gathering have this award. We are proud to say that, in 2016, The Last Spike is side by side next to these great games as a Mensa Select Winner!
What is The Last Spike?
Building the great railways of America involve land speculation and engineering. In this game, players cooperate to unite a continuous railway from St. Louis to Sacramento. Each player also competes to accumulate the most money from land speculation before the last spike is put down.
The Last Spike is a train boardgame which is entertaining no matter what group you play with.
A Touch of History
Your gameboard depicts the USA from St Louis west to Sacramento. Routes for the railway may include Omaha, Dodge City, Denver, El Paso, Laramie, Yuma, and Ogden. The eastern part is relatively flat, but there are some wide rivers to cross. West of Denver are the high Rockies where track building budgets soar.
Deep strategies lie beneath the surface!
It’s fast paced! You must act quickly to grab the best land, but you also need to give your competitors a helping hand now and then so the railway gets built where you want it to go.
Don’t think it is simplistic, however. The more you play, the more you will realize that more skills are required to win consistently such as;
- player observation
- mathematical speculation
- negotiating skills
- cooperation skills
Nationwide Tournaments
Teacher and Parent Guide!
Use in the Classroom or the Classroom at Home!
- This Teacher and Parent Guide that comes FREE with The Last Spike (a $19.99 value) is by Jennifer Deshaies (M.i.T, N.B.C.T).
- Includes 6 – 75 minute activities with extended learning and essay options.
- Can meet 7 standards of the NCSS Curriculum Standards for Social Studies:
Standard II, Time, Continuity, & Change
Standard III, People, Places, & Environments
Standard IV, Individual Development & Identity
Standard VI, Power, Authority, & Governance
Standard VII, Production, Distribution, & Consumption
Standard VIII, Science, Technology, & Society
Standard IX, Global Connections
This curriculum meets the following Washington State Classroom Based Assessments:
Middle School: Geography: People on the Move
High School: History: Technology through the Ages