Last Spike, Game Review

Those who were willing to take the risks started the railroad expansion across the continent. Rail barons putting forth their money to push the iron horse forward, betting their investment would make a return. They didn’t know if they would come through it rich, or as a pauper. But, they kept pushing until the lines connected and the routes were made.

Last Spike reaches back to the time when the rails were being laid down North America. You are placing the rails, building the routes between the cities, and investing more money in those cities. With a little luck, planning, and daring you could be the one coming out on top when the last rail is nailed down to the tie with the last spike driven.

Each player starts with a number of tiles. They decide which one to place, and when. A tile only fits in one place, so timing the placement of a section of rail is important. Track also costs money, and you have a limited amount supply. But, remember, it is also important to invest in the cities you are building the railroad to.

There are towns along the way as you stretch between St. Louis and Sacramento. You have the opportunity of buying up land in each. The more land you own when a section completes linking your land to another city earns you money—money needed to place more track and buy more land.

This leads to different strategies on how you place track and buy land, creating sets which increase the value, but also cost more to buy. So, you have to balance your expenses between how you extend your track and what property you own.

Play continues until the last spike is driven completing passage between the two endpoints. A bonus is received for completing the final route, which introduces an endgame strategy. Do you go for ending the game to block other players from the bonus, does the bonus give you enough money to move you into the lead, or do you hold onto the tile so you can work on completing other sections to build your bank account?

I played Last Spikeat SaltCon. It was quick to learn. Three new players sat down with an instructor and there was only one question that came up because I was pushing the bartering rule (I was way behind). Set up and clean up were also quick. The components, although simple, were quality made and will last for some time.

Last Spike was designed by Tom Dalgiesh and published by Columbia Games. It is designed for 2–6 players of ages 10+ (I believe you can go a little younger, especially for kids who have played other board games). The game is designed to take 30 minutes, and our game with three new players took about that long.

So the only question is, do you have the steel to take it to the end of the line?

Thanks to Columbia Games and Utah Geek Magazine for introducing me to Last Spike at SaltCon 2016.

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