Merger Mania

Ten Players. 130 Railroads. One Winner

Merger Mania is a homemade digital board game, played on Google Earth and scored with a spreadsheet. Starting with a random railroad, players take control of unclaimed railroads to build out an empire that stretches across North America. Points are awarded for states, metro areas, coasts and countries, and sheer number of rail miles.
Games take ~120 minutes and are best with 4-10 players.

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Game rules and instructions are included in the files.

Version 1.2 - Last Updated 2025-07-01

  • To play the game at least one player will need to download both the game sheet and the game maps. These files are periodically updated for balance.

    The game sheet has five pages. Only the first two are relevant to gameplay.

    The game maps have 130 US railroads. 20 Canadian railroads and 10 Mexican railroads are in development.

  • At least one player needs a program that can open and edit .xlsx files (spreadsheets). Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel are recommended.

    At least one player needs a program that can open and view .kmz files. Google Earth Pro is recommended.

  • The original edition. Merger Mania 1.0 is a game about outmaneuvering your opponents. Take the railroads you need before they do as you build out your network. Final systems are scored heavily on completeness of coverage of the United States—Mexico and Canada DLCs are not compatible with this game mode.

  • New & improved. Merger Mania 2.0 is a competitive game about finding railroad acquisitions that cut into the point shares of your opponents and protect your own interests. Final systems are scored not only on coverage of the North American continent, but also proportionally on coverage of states and metro areas.

  • The base game includes 130 railroads, primarily from the United States, from the Ann Arbor to the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley. There are exactly enough railroads that a game played perfectly will use every single one, but most will use 50-60 percent of them.

  • Thanks to the diligent work of community members, Canadian railroads are in development. 20 railroads are expected and will expand scoring into the Canadian provinces, metropolitan areas, and the ports on Hudson Bay.

  • Map files for the major Mexican railroads have been acquired. 10 railroads are expected and will expand scoring to include Mexican states and metro areas.

  • Merger Mania .kmz files are based on those originally created by David Price and Tony Howe of Mississippi Rails. Used with permission.

    Merger Mania gameplay was designed and created by Ellis D Tammelleo and The Iron Horsemen Co.

    Special thanks to Kevon Bradford, Aidan Jansen, John VanAken, and Andrew Willms for their contributions to game files.

See 1.0 In Action!