Could the greatest subway stations in any nation boast such a tangled web of rails as the one in this not-to-scale model of the 1900 Paris Metro? Start with your color tokens occupying prescribed stations along the perimeter of the board. You start with a rail tile, and on your turn may either play your tile and draw a new one, or pick a new tile and play it. When one of your stations connects to another, you score a point for each section in the route--so make it as long as possible. Score double if you connect to a station in the center of the board. Plenty of opportunity exists for nastily abbreviating your opponents' routes, thus stopping them cold in their tracks.

Excellent tile game.

Try to make your train tracks the longest while containing your opponents. Land your track onto one of the four middle squares and you get double points. The best moves are those that advance your train while ending theirs.

Lots of thought goes into this. Excellent game, fun bits.

I learned how to play Metro from someone who was already a huge fan of these gorgeous games. The sturdy board and tiles, the wooden pieces and clean graphics really lend charm to playing.

While there is certainly an element of the 'luck o' the draw' with this game, there is also a high screw-your-neighbor factor. This is what made the first game I played so engaging. Players can plan just far enough ahead to block someone else's train, or they can work to keep their own options open as each tile comes into play.

This is a fun game for non-gamer types or for devotees of great board games. It is easy to learn and has a high replay value, on the same level as any puzzle/memory type of game.

Every time we introduce this game (the Iron Horse edition, later republished as Metro) to new people, they look a bit puzzled and are sometimes overwhelmed by the visually daunting nature of the pieces. But within minutes, they've overcome the fear and they're laying track like professional railroaders.

The beauty of this game is

1. its simplicity--with only a couple of rules about tile-laying, it doesn't tax anyone's resources;
2. its strategy--it does offer agonizing decisions;
3. the constructive nature of the game--everyone is assisting in building a common network;
4. the destructive or antagonistic aspects--everyone is also thwarting other players' rail lines to achieve their own goals; and
5. the short length of play (max of an hour).

What is not to like?