96: Railroad Tycoon

Number 96
(58.6 points)
Railroad Tycoon
1995: 74 (21.6)
1996: 64 (37.0)

Tycoon games became franchises in themselves, but this is where it all started, with lots of trains.

After choosing a part of the world to start your railway business, you lay down tracks, build stations, get trains moving in between them, and make your fortune. You can do other things like invest in the stock market, and there are different levels of both difficulty and complexity, so you can start with a very basic game before gradually making it more complicated as you get experience.

I adored Transport Tycoon when I encountered it on DOS in the 90s, but although I had heard plenty about this game, it passed me by until now. Clearly the two games are not actually related (the later game was merely inspired by this) but the similarities are evident. Nevertheless, you're not restricted to trains in the other game, but you also don't get the complex economies and stock market trading that you do in this. I haven't played much, but I can see that I might like it, since I love Transport Tycoon so much.

Recommended TOSEC disk(s):
Railroad Tycoon v855.01 (1991)(MicroProse)(Disk 1 of 2)[cr CSL]
Railroad Tycoon v855.01 (1991)(MicroProse)(Disk 2 of 2)[cr CSL]