Mashinky

Mashinky, from Czech developer Jan Zeleny, is a strategy game centered on rail transport. Your aim is to grow a transport empire of your own across a procedurally generated map, in an unusual mix of realistic visuals, a classic isometric build mode and rules that feel like a board game.

You take charge of a transport company, laying tracks across difficult terrain, researching and buying new vehicles, managing routes and competing against economic rules to turn the biggest profit possible by carrying passengers and cargo. The isometric construction mode works on a grid where every change to the traffic layout becomes a rewarding puzzle, connect two stations with a simple line, or design elaborate networks of junctions and signals for maximum efficiency.

As you progress, you extend and customize the empire, upgrading factories, stations and depots and fitting trains with new engines and special wagons, with every upgrade handing you a distinct bonus. Viewing modes let you ride one of your trains or watch the network run, and the game spans seven historical eras, its Early Access release starting with the first five, carrying you from the Age of Steam toward the modern world and beyond.