The Layout as a Board Game

Bill,

Great story and nice pictures. Glad to see your grandson getting into the trains. 

Thanks for posting,

David

Great idea. Thanks for posting. 

Wonderful idea.  I congratulate you on your ingenuity!

Great idea

Bill,

 

"Busy, Busy Freight" is a great game idea! It never occurred to me to turn the layout into a game. This is definitely going to be tried on our layout. Thanks for taking the time to share this with all of us.

What a great idea, kind of like a car card system "lite" version!  You could even add a "breakdown" card that forces you change engines, a "special order" card that limits the length of your train, or a "hotbox" card where you have to set off a car, and find another one of the same type to haul the cargo.

 

I would like to see Lionel program some of this kind of randomness into its Layout Control System, with interactive accessories that have an "appetite" for freight and reward timely service.  I like trains, but IMO this kind of thing is much more fun than just running around in circles.

Thanks for sharing Bill.

Sounds like a great idea, and keeping the attention of a 5 year old for an hour is quite a feat. Maybe that will even be a game you and he can play for a few years to come and keep his interest in trains going. It's also great time spent with grandpa and grandson.

A C Gilbert did something similar in the 1960's with The Game Train. 

 

G

A boy and his Grandpa played together and the boys voice was heard and imagination was used. I think he will be telling that story to your great grand kids, some day. What a great time.

It could work, but the game would have to be fun without a layout as well. Most kids do not have a train layout. A computer interface could work, but Lionel has tried that with little reaction from the market. Their game was based on building a layout not operating it. I like the idea.

This looks like a great way to get started in operations.  I have actually come to view operations-oriented layouts as giant board games (albeit without an actual winner) when you factor in car cards, waybills, event cards, and other paperwork.

Bill, 

 

Thanks for sharing!  That's a great idea!  I may do something similar with my kids on the layout.  

 

-Dustin

We could have a list of cargo for each train, and the first one to fill their train would be the winner...

 

Hmmm....

 

That sounds like a switch list for an operating session.  Or, it could be a day on a local freight.  He who works the fewest hours for a day's pay wins. 

 

 

Bill,

What a great idea. I will have to try that with my son and his friends next time they ask to run the trains. Thanks for posting!

 

Jay in Ottawa

Thanks, everyone for your comments and great suggestions!  I had also thought of a "cow on tracks, blow whistle 3 times.." card and things like that.

 

So A.C. Gilbert did it?  Just goes to show there is nothing new in the world!

 

 

Bill.......that is fantastic!

 

Peter

What a great idea! Trains, Imagination and quality time with your grandson. You can't beat that combination.  Another suggestion. If you use two trains a hotbox card or a stop for fuel card could cause a loss of turn. 

Great idea and a great way to get the kids involved.

That's great Bill,

I like the option of adding a train for each player.

Of course there has to be a winner and looser. But keep it simple with the only objective of creating the game being to have fun. Sure some adult modelers can't help but to see a resemblance between the game cards and waybills. A five year old isn't going to care about that nor find any entertainment value in the explanation. So don't bother with it.

Keep an open mind for improvisation. You never know what will come from the mind of a child.

Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!

Bill,

 

  I echo what everyone has said so far. Excellent   .

 

Bill

Bill:

 

This is a wonderful idea to draw in the attention of your grandson. Package it and get Lionel to put their name on it. 

Sounds like you had a great time. Children have a way of making you shed the bonds of adulthood, enjoy the simple things and experience imagination again. What a great thing to do with your grandchild. The only thing I want to know is who had more fun!  

This would be a great idea to make a starter set much more interesting.  The game pieces and cards could be packaged as a separate item for sale.  The game could be setup to allow and encourage expansion of the starter set and adding more engines for more players.  This is an awesome idea.  LC and LC+ engines would be great because you can easily add more players without advanced wiring or expensive command systems.  I know my son and daughter would love it.  You should document your idea and send it to Lionel for them to develop and market if you do not want to do it.

Great idea.

What you need is a passing siding, so that the player who is waiting can keep their train off of the main.

Nice idea.  I will think about it.  Good for my grandkids, too.

 

And I have to add this, just can't resist.  Make sure it is not a bored game!

I was thinking it could be like Monopoly.  You could have properties that produce things.  As you get paid to ship the goods, you can build up money to buy the properties.  When you pass a certain point like GO in Monopoly you could pay trackage rights fees.  You could add more industries to your properties as the game goes on.  You could buy more cars to haul more goods to get money faster.

You guys are giving me great ideas! Just now, I thought about relocating my Log loader so that the logs are actually "loaded" by the accessory rather than by hand, and there would be a card for "deliver logs."  The possibilities are endless!

 

I need to get another post-war log dump car (3461 I think) ......anybody got one they want to part with? LOL

 

 

 

 

B&O Bill,  Super idea.  I will also start this up, this weekend.  I have two grandsons coming to spend the night and they love the trains.  We'll be playing the game. 

 

On a second note.  I also have the Legacy UP GP7 105 which is one of my most dependable and versatile engines.  I primarily use it as a yard switcher because it runs so well on all of my track segments. 

 

Posted by B&O Bill:

 

What a great idea!  It goes back to earlier comments about how boring it is to just watch trains run around in circles.  I think you need to have some kind of operating aspect to make it fun and interesting.  Thanks for sharing this idea.

 

Art

Bill,

That is a dandy idea.  Keeping him occupied for an hour is excellent!  I will have to keep it in mind when we have grand children.

That is a very clever idea. You could even set up a squared oval, say 4 x 4 on the floor and turn it into a game. I will have to remember this. My grandson, and daughter for that matter would love it.

Very neat concept.  With a little imagination, the possibilities could be endless.

 

 

for the older kids.......woman on tracks (somebody save her!), head-to-head (get to the switch first to avoid collisions), and zombietown (don't let your train stop there and get taken over by zombies!)

and for the adults......have a brewery or bar stop and the goal is to get your train to stop there for engineer "refreshments"

I don't know how familiar you are with more advanced games for serious board game hobbyists, but they might have some elements that could be integrated into your railroad game.  Two relevant games that my brother and I have are Coal Baron, which is about coal mining; and Power Grid, a Railroad Tycoon-style game about building power plants and providing cities with electricity.  If you want to integrate passenger service, Ticket to Ride may have some applicable elements.  The object of this game is to take the longest rail journeys on existing routes.

Things should start out simple right now, but as your grandson gets older, gradually introducing more advanced concepts, be they board game-inspired or true operations, ought to maintain interest and challenge in the trains.

Great idea, Bill, such a nice and creative way to spend time with your grandson.  I agree that an hour is an eternity for keeping a 5 year old interested.  It is clearly something others, including myself, can try as well.  I can see introducing coupling and uncoupling cars, blowing the whistle, the bell, even turning on and off smoke as other "useful" actions to consider.  Thanks a lot for sharing this.

That's a clever and fun way to involve young kids in the hobby. I like it.