Steam Power
- Players
- 1-5
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 4 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 90 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 14+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 2.3 / 5
- Year
- 2025
About the game
Steam Power is Martin Wallace's latest take on train-building economics, tasking players with racing to construct the best rail network to fulfill contracts and turn a profit. Each turn allows two actions chosen from laying track, building factories, fulfilling contracts, earning money, or collecting new contracts, with factories creating shared resource points that come at a price. The game ends once a set number of contracts are fulfilled, scaled to player count. Combining network-building with resource management, it's a modern update on the classic train-game formula.
Hobbli's Notes
Martin Wallace has a long pedigree in train games, and Steam Power channels that experience into a tighter, more contract-driven experience than some of his earlier heavyweight designs. The two-action turn structure keeps decisions crisp without sacrificing the genre's signature network-building tension. As a brand-new 2025 release, we're still gathering feedback on how it holds up across many plays.
What we like
- Streamlined two-action turns keep the pace brisk for a network-building game.
- Contract-fulfillment goal gives clear direction to strategy.
- Shared factory resources create meaningful player interaction.
- Supports solo play as well as groups up to five.
Keep in mind
- As a new release, long-term replayability is still unproven.
- Network-building genre may feel familiar to veterans of train games.
- Moderate-to-high complexity may not suit casual players.
Who it's for
Suited to 2-5 players (or solo) aged 14+ who enjoy economic network-building and train games of moderate-to-high complexity.
