Customer Reviews

Railroad Tycoon 3 Official Strategy Guide

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Why, oh why did I buy this book without reading these reviews first? It's terrible! Some of the lines in this book were almost comical, they were so bad. How's this for a strategy: "Do everything within your power to make as much money as possible." So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong! Seriously, this book reads like a spoof of itself. It would be hilarious if it weren't for the fact that I spent perfectly good money on it.

By about page 15 I had determined that the book must have been written by a high school student. Very light on content, with bad, bad writing just to fill up space. Then there is the poor editing. And the many, many typos. Plus the factual errors! The Alps are the highest mountain range in the world? Wow.

Did I mention the author's ignorance of basic economic principles? When describing the game's economic cycles, he admits that he has no idea why laying track would be more expensive during boom times ..."because you would think that everything would be better during a boom." Let's see. You're getting top dollar for everything you're selling, but you can't figure out why the stuff you're buying would also cost more? Who let this guy write a book about a game based on economics?

By far, the worst thing about this book is its poor strategy advice. Early in the book he says that you can't make money without laying track. Wrong--you can buy profitable industries without a foot of rail or a single train. Later, he says that you should use some of the proceeds from a bond issue to buy stock in other companies to increase your personal wealth. Sounds like a great strategy! Too bad it's IMPOSSIBLE. You can't buy stocks for your personal account with company money, although I'll admit it's one of the first things I tried to do. Which leads me to believe that he hasn't even played the game.

I'm sorry for the rambling, but I'm almost offended by the abyssmal quality of this work. Avoid it at all costs.

This is a horrible 'book'. I apply that term with much regret, because books contain words, strung together in sentences in order to express thought. This contains pictures of the game with a caption such as 'new train', following a single sentence informing the reader that at a certain point in the scenario, they will indeed be offered a new train. Sentences are repeated often; peppered throughout the scenarios section are such insights as 'expand quickly', and 'issue a bond'. The 'author' had 206 pages to fill, and succeeded with minimal effort. He likely played each scenario once, and makes no effort to explain the new economy. The industry chart contains less information than the poster shipped with the game. Overall, there is better documentation in the box.

This book contains nothing of any value for the serious railroad developer. Virtually nothing on the economy, cargo or advanced play issues. Don't waste your money.

THIS IS THE WORST BOOK EVER
This is a horrible 'book'. I apply that term with much regret, because books contain words, strung together in sentences in order to express thought. This contains pictures of the game with a caption such as 'new train', following a single sentence informing the reader that at a certain point in the scenario, they will indeed be offered a new train. Sentences are repeated often; peppered throughout the scenarios section are such insights as 'expand quickly', and 'issue a bond'. The 'author' had 206 pages to fill, and succeeded with minimal effort. He likely played each scenario once, and makes no effort to explain the new economy. The industry chart contains less information than the poster shipped with the game. Overall, there is better documentation in the box.
This book contains nothing of any value for the serious railroad developer. Virtually nothing on the economy, cargo or advanced play issues. Don't waste your money.

If you want strategy. This book is not for you.
If you want guides to the scenarios. This book is not for you.
If you want to waste your money. This book is for you.

Railroad Tycoon and Civilization spawned the strategy guide industry. It is a shame that this is their legacy. If you want to see a lot of graphic design this is the place. If you want to read about the game beyond what you get for free in the tutorials, then you should look elsewhere.

I was hoping this book would reveal the deep secrets of the games's economy and talk more about overarching strategy. It wastes a LOT of page space just talking about the basics, with HUGE and useless screenshots peppered throughout. It has a decent walkthrough of the campaign, but if you're looking for a tell-all book on what makes this game tick, this doesn't quite cut it.

As a player new to the "Railroad Tycoon" series, I found this book to be worth the cost. It gave me insights not included in the manual and reduced my occasional frustration with the game. Not all of its advice is correct, and in spots it is dead wrong, but that makes it feel less like a cheat.