Iron Roads is a board game-style train management sim out now on iOS
Optimisation is the only way to survive
- Iron Roads has officially launched on iOS
- Reconnect animal communities to each other
- Place tracks efficiently while juggling constraints
Train management sims aren’t exactly rare, but every now and then, one comes along that feels more like solving a moving puzzle than running a spreadsheet. Iron Roads, now out on iOS, builds on that idea with a track-laying strategy release that’s less about chasing profits and more about shaping the world your railway moves through.
You might remember when we covered it previously, because its premise is a little unusual. Instead of hauling people around a modern city, you’re reconnecting animal communities after humanity has already left its mark on the planet.
It sounds whimsical at first, but it gives your decisions a bit more weight. Expanding industry too aggressively can change the map itself, while shortcuts that look efficient early on can create long-term problems you’ll have to work around later.
On a mechanical level, it’s still about building a smart network. You will place tracks, purchase trains, and set routes between towns and factories, all while juggling constraints like limited space and resource tokens like a board game. A single overcrowded junction will slow everything down, so success will only come from adjusting layouts rather than endlessly expanding.
What I find interesting is how it avoids feeling like a traditional tycoon sim. There’s optimisation here, sure, but it’s framed more like a strategic puzzle where you refine and reshape your lines until everything clicks into place. That sense of constant adjustment is where most of the challenge lives.
Iron Roads uses a try-before-you-buy approach too. You can test a portion of the experience for free and unlock the full version with a one-off purchase of $4.99.
And if solving logistical headaches sounds like your kind of thing, you might also want to browse our picks for the top strategy games on iOS to see what else is worth lining up next.
