Once in a while someone gives you an idea so simple you wonder why you never thought of it yourself. “Jon, did you ever think of making a board game to explain the problems with international rail in Europe?” the producer of a documentary I am working on asked me last week.

No was the answer then, but yes is the answer now! I now have a working prototype of a #CrossBorderRail Board Game ready to download and print at home and play. I might eventually make this game available for sale, but for the moment a print your own edition is going to have to do!

This is what it looks like:

The idea is to replicate my projects, in the form of a board game, explain the problems and the joys of European rail travel in a fun way.

Up to 6 players participate, and have to race from the extremities of Europe (Oslo, Riga, Sofia, Roma, Madrid and Dublin) to Bruxelles to win the game. They have to cross some international railway borders as they go, and need some special permissions to cross some borders (bikes, buses, ferries etc.)

As the players go along some incidents – based on real life incidents on Europe’s railways – hamper their progress. And at some points the players can pose problems for each other.

So download it, print it, play it with your families over the holiday season and let me know what you think!

Photo Rights

15032013-7369 – SNCF – BB26158 @Barisey-la-Côte
Renaud CHODKOWSKI
March 15, 2013
CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Deed