A railway of your own

Rail Capital is a real-time railway strategy game about running trains and making money. You'll lay track, connect towns and work out which cargo is worth carrying. You'll also have shareholders, and some of them may fancy running your company themselves.

Start by founding a company and selling shares to pay for your first line. From there, the railway is yours to plan: pick a route across the hex map, bridge a river, or pay for a tunnel through the hills. Keep an eye on what the other companies are building, too.

Mind whose money you're spending

A profitable railway doesn't automatically make you rich. Its money belongs to the company. Keep the profits in the business and you can afford more track and better trains. Pay a dividend and some of that money reaches your own pocket, along with everyone else who owns shares.

You can buy into other railways as well. Overtake the president's shareholding and you can take their job, with their network to manage. Of course, someone can do the same to you. Mergers are another option when the conditions are right.

If you've played an 18xx board game, this tug of war between the railway and its shareholders will feel familiar. If you haven't, don't worry, it's not that tough!

Give your trains a reason to run

A mine needs a customer. A factory needs materials. Passengers need a way to get where they're going. Join them up with services that earn their keep, choosing what each carriage picks up and where it unloads. Warehouses let you gather cargo before sending it on, while factories give you finished goods to carry as well as raw materials.

Help fund the next factory

You can invest in industry as well as railways. Help fund a factory, then plan how to serve it. Supply and demand affect prices, so a route that looks promising today still needs watching. Public contracts, private deals and ports trading with distant markets give you more places to look for business.

Going once, going twice...

The auction house sells prototype locomotives, blueprints, company bonuses and freight consignments. Bidding happens in real time, with the other companies after the same lots. That blueprint might be worth stretching the budget for. Just remember what else you were saving up to buy.

The Iron Road

For a longer challenge, take a company through The Iron Road, a roguelite campaign of railway contests. Pick a branch on the route map and tackle its next contest, Railway Exchange or tougher rival challenge. Seeded maps and regional modifiers give you different conditions to work with.

Each contest starts with a fresh railway to build. Your company identity and the bonuses you've earned come with you, including improvements to revenue, train speed or construction costs. Win contests to add to your Rail Fund, then spend it at Railway Exchanges on more bonuses and reward rerolls.

You'll have to make those advantages work on each new map. Reach the final challenge and win it to complete the journey. Lose a contest and that run is over.

Pick your next game

Play against AI rivals with different personalities, or compete with other players in real-time multiplayer. There are seeded sandbox maps, handcrafted scenarios, guided campaigns and daily challenges. The level editor is there if you'd like to make your own.

The free demo is available now. Give it a go and see how your first company fares.