Ride the Rails in Train of the Century!

After running a beta for the past four months, Train of the Century takes a huge leap forward with the official launch and release of 1.0 for their play and earn, train simulation. This brings several new features to the game, including varying cargo payouts, Golden Runs, and chance to find parts for the titular Century train. So get ready to ride the rails and earn in Train of the Century!

Running on the WAX blockchain, Train of the Century is a game for those who love railroads, casual gamers, and min/maxers. Train of the Century has no free to play option. Players must own at least one Locomotive, one Conductor, one Rail Car, and one Cargo in order to play. Luckily, prices for Common NFTs are pretty cheap. A player could spend under a dollar and have enough to get started in the game!

Whats new in the 1.0 release?

Version 1.0 brings us flexible station payments. This is probably one of the most important features for creating a sustainable, play to earn ecosystem in Train of the Century. Flexible rates means that each stations pays out different percentages for the different commodities. This is reflected in the Station details. Station rate payouts are adjusted every 12 hours based on what sort of commodities arrived there since the last adjustment. So, for example, if a bunch of trains bring ice cream to the same station, the value that Station rewards to transport of refrigerated goods decreases.

Another new feature, Golden Runs, are special, one-time achievements. Each Conductor has a preferred Locomotive, Rail Car, and Commodity. The first person to make a run that matches all the Conductor’s preferences in the first car of your train, will win a unique 1 of 1 Conductor’s Journal NFT. This NFT provides some sort of unknown in-game boost. But finding a Golden Run isn’t passive. You have to check each of your train runs via an in-game menu to see if you accomplished the feat. As of now, no Golden Runs have yet been discovered!

And finally, we have the Century Trains themselves. Players assemble Century Trains from 18 parts, found through special, NPC encounters. Century Trains have unknown capabilities, though rumor says they don’t require fuel and can travel through time! Alternately, players can fit individual Century Train parts onto regular trains to give them a permanent boost!

Train of the Century Gameplay

Train of the Century features relatively basic gameplay with a lot of underlying complexity for those who want to dig into the details. Players send trains from station to station, earning Tocium (TOC) along the way. Tocium is a tradeable token on the WAX blockchain.

There are five basic types of NFTs. Locomotives, Conductors, Rail Cars, Cargo, and Stations. Stations are equivalent to land ownership. The other four are all used for train runs. Trains require either Coal or Diesel, depending on the train model. This is purchased in-game with Tocium. Tocium is also used for upgrading trains and purchasing Century Train Parts.

The main strategy in the game comes from trying to maximize earnings for each run. In general, the fuller the train the better the payout. However, given that fuel has an in-game cost and is based on train weight, there may be times where it’s better to take a less full train to another station in order to set up for a more lucrative run. This is where the min/maxers can crunch numbers and break out the spreadsheets to make the most from this game. As long as you’re bringing in more Tocium per run than you’re spending on fuel, there is a chance to play and earn here.

Station owners receive income from trains visiting their stops. They can also improve their station facilities, allowing for players to stake extra Trains and Conductors for a passive Tocium income.

Here come the monKeys!

WAX has long been king of cross-collaboration NFT projects. And CryptomonKeys has to be one of the top participants. Well wouldn’t you know it. Now we have Monkeys running the stations! The CryptomonKeys purchased a triangle of stations and are offering incentives to new players who drive the rails in their area. Seems like a good place to get started!

Phil Hall has been a gaming enthusiast since birth and a crypto enthusiast since 2017. He enjoys new discoveries and sharing those with others via blogging and photography. You can follow him on Twitter or read his other articles on Medium.