Removing money from Iron Roads

This update is a big shift for Iron Roads. We’ve stripped out the money system and replaced it with track, platform and train tokens. We’ve always envisioned Iron Roads as more of a strategy game rather than detailed simulation, and this change shifts it a little further in the game direction. One track token gives you one tile of track, connecting the currency with its in-game effect more clearly. That in turn makes it easier for us to balance challenges in the game.

An associated change is that tokens are a reward for town growth. Towns grow as they handle more and more passengers, so the overall effect is that you get more resources as a reward for using the ones you have more effectively. We hope this encourages people to lay track better rather than just lay more track!

Other changes

• It is now free to buy tiles back from a town. But this is not without cost, as doing so will undo one tile's worth of growth, and the town will generate fewer passengers
• The old power, cement and aluminium resources have been “tokenified” as well to fit with the new style
• Fix for bug where track purchase would double charge when drawing over existing track

Home screen change

We've also promoted the timed challenge to the front screen of Iron Roads. It works well with the new system, and it has always been one of our favourite ways of playing, so it has been moved to a prime spot on the front page!