Idk I have tried and failed to marry anyone but Cartwright lol. But whatever interaction I’ve had with RO’s is just on a couple of encounters then I have to ask them out when dad pressurizes Mc so it feels bit forced romance like it is there just to… be there and doesn’t feel ‘natural’.
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Personally, I think the author did a fantastic job with the characters. The characters all have depth and personality, and all have their own agency outside the interests of the player (this is something that is a big plus to me — it’s easy to have characters who seem to revolve around the central character and have no goals of their own). Likewise, the game provides a wide array of personality traits, motivations, and options for the player character to explore both these characters and conduct their business.
Second, I think that the writing is superb. I could see someone with no interest in railroad management or the politics of the time be taken purely by the writing style of the author. It’s fun and charming while also having the range to extend to elegance and command gravity where the situation demands.
The plot is just what it says in the description. There are a lot of options and tools to use for the management of your railroad, but I can see where @Logan3000x is coming from. For the most part, it feels like the management of the railroad runs in the background — you make managerial decisions and then leave it alone (there are a couple of events pertaining to your railroad that mandate your attention and action — I feel like the game could have benefited from one or two others). That isn’t to say what you decide to do is ignored because the narrative does take steps to address the outcomes of your decisions. It’s because of this and the myriad of social interaction available to the character that the management part of the game can feel less deep than the rest of it.
However, I believe that this can largely be mitigated if the player allows themselves to be immersed in the character they create and the setting in which they find themselves. The game will reward you if you don’t act as if you are playing two games in one. For example, if you declare that you want create change in the industry and have the character reflect that in social intereaction while treating the actual management of your business a separate issue instead of driven by the policy you support, you are bound to be disappointed with your outcomes. It pays to have a unified narrative in this case.
As @Mary_Duffy stated, the playthrough for this game isn’t short, and I think you could have a good run and be satisfied because as I said, writing is great. However, I think if you are the type to replay games, you will enjoy this one more — there a ton of characters to explore and many different ways to recreate the player character.
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Okay, how do you propose to Carol? I’ve gone through a dozen playthroughs and haven’t even found a way to get her on the stat bar. I know she’s an option because of the achievements.
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So…about Isaac…any helpful hints for this poor unfortunate souls who dares romance him…
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You kinda can’t. They’ll always hate you, the only marriage is a purely business one for them.
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Okay, anyone know how to prevent the decrease of your insight stat when you talk to Victor during the soiree? No matter if I agree or disagree with him about theatre it still goes down.
Also shame about Isaac, he was my top guy when I first played the intro.
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how do you read the code?
If purchase the game, you could send the receipt to CoG support to unlock the website version of the game.
From there, just add /startup.txt at end of the game’s online address. See more instructions here:How To See Other Games' Code (current info posted in OP and Post 146 on 6/18/19)
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Thank you because I’ve bought the mobile version of the game
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Just want to be clear, what I meant was if you bought from Android or IOS, you could sent the receipt but if you bought it from the CoG site, you just need to add /startup.txt.
I apologize if I am not much clear. 
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Yeah I’ve been wondering about Carl/Carol too. I can talk to them, but they don’t show up in the stats. Also how do you romance Thomas/Temperance?
You were very clear Thank you. I’m just waiting on receiving the receipt as apple has been rather slow lately with receipts for me.
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Because I am this close to throwing my phone out of the window could someone please tell me how to romance Isabell/Isaac? I know that some people have already said that only a business marriage would be possible but I can’t even do that, so I would greatly appreciate some help here 
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I’m not going to write a whole walkthrough because, um, 340k is already a lot. But since people have asked very nicely and I don’t want to just say no, here’s an official list of hints/clarifications:
- Rochester: You can get engaged, but you cannot get married, no matter what you do. The game tells you pursuing Rochester is a bad idea that won’t work out. It doesn’t lie.
- Relationships generally: There are quick character descriptions in the extended materials off the stats screen. They include hints about how to pursue each character. Cartwright is your goto in a clench character at nearly every turn unless you’re a jerk. Everyone else will require you to do something to align yourself with their interests elsewhere in the game. What that is and how easy it is to do will vary based on which character and how you configure your character in Ch 1.
- Business management: There are hints about this in the extended materials, too. Also, the mechanics for how the business/management works are inspired by this game. They aren’t directly related to each other, but the core internal logic is consistent, so it might give you a leg up. If not, it’s my favorite board game, so I’m going to recommend it to you anyway.
- If you’re interest in your relationship with your dad, then I strongly encourage you to go through Gerald-focused playthroughs with all three race choices. His back story and anecdotes change a lot. The changes are all flavor text, but there’s a lot.
- Difficulty settings: The very first choice in the game will set a difficulty setting. This difficulty setting applies only to the business mechanics, and functionally insulate you from the fallout of going bankrupt. This will make it somewhat easier to do a playthrough where you want to focus just on the dating since you won’t wind up with the reputation hits for the failed business. But it will also insulate you from a lot of the variety available at the ending, since when and how often you go bankrupt will set you up for different outcomes there. Also, there’s a fun bit of Julius’s backstory you’ll never see if you never go bankrupt. (Basically, don’t look at bankruptcy or failing the business as “losing”. There’s a ton of material you can’t get to unless you take the kinds of risks that put you in that situation.)
- Results of business decisions: Depending on how you go through the game, the line can wind up with a strike, a boycott, the offices can be vandalized, your suppliers can cut you off, you can be forced to sell, and there are two different ways the government could interfere. These stack up to a point, so you can hit more than one. If you get to the end of the game and think nothing happened, you probably managed very conservatively, or very well. In that case, if you don’t wind up with permanent control, you probably upset Gerald a lot somehow.
- Bonus hint: There are some situations with some NPCs where the clothing you choose will substitute for success in a skills check. Keep that in mind if you feel like you’re failing a lot.
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Has anyone managed to actually expand the rail line without basically killing the business? It destroys your money stockpile, and you can’t keep up with the constant cost without cutting basic things like services or pay. Not to mention that, regardless of what I do, I can’t seem to actually increase revenue for the line, even when I went the “make our customers love us” route.
Also, am I missing something when it comes to the Railmasters/Reformists? Whenever I try to play as a reformist I get invited to visit with the Railmasters, while if I try to play as a corrupt guy trying to abuse the railway system I get invited to the Reformists.
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I think if you keep from investing in it until the latter part of the game, it should work out. Just make sure to have your monthly expenses below the amount you make.
The way I played during my first playthrough was by investing in storage space first, then the equipment uppgrade after the first one finished, which left me with a bit more income per month. Next uppgrade was investing in more passager cars (I don’t this it matters which one you choose, as long as it aligns with your goal and your supporters)
I decreased the philantropic expenditures when necessary, but never the other options. I also increased the salary of the workers ($5,000) once, so if you don’t that ought to save you some money. I hadn’t used all my pocket money either, I think $10,000 was left.
Hope this helps!
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I followed this to the letter but no matter what I do I can’t get Lessing’s romance stat to budge above 50. Tbh hardly any of the stats make sense to me, things I think would effect a stat don’t and vice versa. I like hard choice of games with stat management but I’ve replayed this game with varying choices for 7 hours straight now and come out the other end with an underwhelming railway legacy and no interest in marrying anyone. Am I the only one bitterly disappointed? I don’t really get the point of this story at all, every character I’ve met has basically told me I’m a bad person and a failure, the end. And my dad’s kind of a prick, he can stuff his muffins up his railway tunnel.
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I think it was on that post in which I listed my stats. You’ll want to try to make sure your own stats mirror mine, as the guide was written with said stats in mind. For the first interview with Lessing to yield the outcome I mentioned, you’ll want have your high stats match — I had high Insight and Gravitas, you’ll want high Insight and Gravitas; I had high Wit and Integrity so you’ll want high Wit and Integrity. (I think Wit is particularly important during the first encounter if you follow my guide).
I think the difficulty is justified concerning the speed dating. Many have mentioned that they find the short time frame jarring concerning marriage. So it makes sense that you’d either have to have a character be completely infatuated with you or absolutely certain about the value of a business alliance between the two of you, no? The time frame is short for them too so it makes sense things would need to “perfect.”
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This is why I chose not to buy the game after playing the demo. I tried four times to get a good initial reaction from Lessing, and failed all four times. After I peeked at the code I discovered that it was all about guessing which of the choices go with your particular high stats when the stat connection is far from obvious. I hate games like that, so I passed on this one. I don’t like it when non-sensical game mechanics create a sense of frustration and distract from the story.
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@sebastienflight @Comiccow6 @Kasan the game has been updated. Now it is possible to marry Evans - before there was a bug, I think. Anyway, I finally was able to marry them, I hope you can get it too!
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