Ride the Rails: France & Germany Expansion

Played the France board twice now and the Paris connection rules really change how you plan your routes — suddenly everyone's fighting over that one city. The double-sided board is a nice touch too, since Germany plays completely differently and keeps the expansion from getting stale.

Paris always having a passenger available changes the whole route-planning puzzle, way more than I expected from an expansion. My group played France twice in one night and the special connection rules kept every game tight.

I’d played the base game dozens of times, so the France side was a breath of fresh air—the way Paris forces you to rethink which lines you claim early changes everything. Having a passenger guaranteed in Paris every round is a subtle rule tweak that adds a lot of tension.