Looking for a few more Monopoly game images led me to vast railroad images, so the archives I’ve seen might be better for a railroad style game first or alongside a Monopoly style game. These are just some of the great Florida railroad images. A railroad game based on Florida would have so many possibilities because of the abundance of archival materials, so the question would be how to structure it.
Most railroad games are strategy, building different railroads to make money or to defeat rival businesses. To really use the historical materials, a railroad game set in Florida would need to follow the history, so a strategy game would be less useful. An adventure game, like The Last Express, which could use the archival materials for the setting and the actual history within the narrative would be a better way to use the materials. Otherwise, the game could end up being just a “Florida Railroad Tycoon” like a Gator- Simpsons- Anything-Monopoly game that changed the style, but not the structure and that would be a lot of work for not much return for this sort of project. Right now, I’m thinking an “Early Florida and the Railroad” adventure game would be the best choice, but I’ll plan more as I find more materials.
2007-10-07