Rail Maze gives new urgency to the lyrics “I’ve been workin’ on the railroad”—because if you don’t finish working in a matter of seconds, the train will likely careen off into a ditch, which is just no fun for anybody.
Rail Maze gives new urgency to the lyrics “I’ve been workin’ on the railroad”—because if you don’t finish working in a matter of seconds, the train will likely careen off into a ditch, which is just no fun for anybody.
This free puzzle game comes complete with four modes of play. In them, you’re either changing the direction of train tracks, or building your own rail from scratch. In Labyrinth mode, you’ll guide a train along a map of pre-made railroads, flipping switches to change the train’s direction. You’ll also teleport your locomotive through tunnels and avoid a skull-and-crossbones-marked pirate train that serves as a moving obstacle.
In Build Railroad, you’ll be given differently shaped chunks of rail to fashion your own path of wood and metal. You’re also given three bundles of dynamite to level pesky trees or undo ill-placed hardware. As in Labyrinth, the goal is to guide your train to the finish line in one piece. Longest Railroad, meanwhile, is an open-ended version with no finish line, testing how long you can keep that train rollin’.
Finally, there’s Snake mode, a take on the old classic. Collect stars scattered throughout the course while adding new train cars onto your growing tail. Just don’t run into your own caboose or run into the shadowy pirate train.
With the four different modes, each with a unique goal, Rail Maze does feel like a four-for-the-price-of-one deal. I also really liked the fact you’re given a restart button in case things start to look dire.
Repetitive songs and sound effects kept this game from having a completely polished presentation, however. And while the game is awesomely free, the advertisements, as well as the instructional text boxes that pop up at the bottom of the screen, sometimes obstruct your view of the map.
Rail Maze, with over 100 levels and thousands of downloads, certainly seems to be one of the hotter casual games out there at the moment. If you’re looking for a puzzle game that puts you under pressure and also allows for some creativity on your part, you’ll want to be hopping on this train.
