Game Summary

Railway Nomads

This game is not about winning, or even surviving. It's about delaying the inevitable end of humanity. Players work in teams - each with a unique role such as Maintenance, Medic or Hunter - journeying through a series of biomes, collecting resources and maintaining their creaky train. Desperately trying to outrun a corrupting Fog that scorches anything it touches, they must constantly communicate or fall behind. As the game progresses, resources begin to run low and repairs become more expensive. Eventually the train gives out. This is The End.

A Strong Community

Each player must do their part within the group to ensure the ongoing survival of the team. One player being ‘better’ doesn’t cut it and there is no ‘most important role’. Each role has its time in the sun through the overall game’s cycle, and each player will be the lynchpin of the team at that moment. Theoretically, players can branch off on their own, but this is a dead-end plan. To survive, you must work together.

The World is Dying

Players will take their train from zone to zone, encountering different biomes which they can plunder for supplies. As the Fog catches up with their train it will begin to corrupt those areas, forcing them to move on.

The rail network is a closed system and players will eventually need to circle back to places they’ve already visited. They’ll find in their absence the land has recovered somewhat from the Fog - but not completely, and getting worse each time. Eventually the land won’t recover, and that zone becomes unusable.

You Can’t Stop, You Can’t Escape

The players will need to stop the train in each zone they visit to open a gate before moving on - clear a blockage, activate a rail-switch or some other task. They will also need to gather supplies. The longer they take doing so the more the Fog will catch up with them, which will lead to game over if they take too long.

But they can never escape; they’re in a closed network, looping endlessly between zones until they can no longer run.

There is no way they can escape the Fog; it’s drawn to the train and created by it. Only by abandoning the train can they stand a chance.