Scenario 6 - France | Game scenarios Railroads Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Important! Following hints are based on these scenario settings:

Time limit - 1842-1989; Number of AI Players - 2. Randomize landscape and Randomize locations features have been deactivated.

The game won't force you to do anything. As a result, you will be able to customize the gameplay. For example, you have an opportunity to play each scenario without having to worry about the competition.

Here's the list of main mission objectives. You will have to fulfill them in order to succeed:

LEVEL 1 - All Roads Lead to Paris

You will have to complete all of these tasks by: 1870.

Level one objectives:

1) Construct a line that stretches from Marseille to Lyon and Paris.

You will have less than 30 years to fulfill all objectives from the first level of this scenario. As a result, a lot will depend on where you have decided to start your game. You could make your life a lot easier, however you will have to choose wisely. I'd strongly recommend starting this scenario in Monaco (you can look for additional info in the 'hints' section). Choosing this city will allow you to reach two of the required towns (Marseille and Lyon) much faster. You will have to start off by creating a connection that will allow you to reach Marseille. Sadly, this will probably cost you a lot of money. You will have to build several bridges and tunnels. The same goes with the connection between Marseilles and Lyon. I had to build one large tunnel here. It was an expensive investment, however you won't be able to reach this city from any other side (without having to build a tunnel). Additionally, you will have to build new tunnels here, later during this mission. You shouldn't wait this for too long, especially a lot of different trains will be using these tracks. Thankfully, these connections will be very profitable, so you won't have to worry about losing too much money. You mustn't forget about the competition. Sooner or later, other railway companies will try to take away some of your clients. You will have to be ready for that. Make sure that you modify your existing connections. Reaching Paris is going to be very difficult. I had to avoid one of my competitors, by building a large number of bridges. You could also try and reach Paris from the other side, however that would require you to reach the northern part of the map (preferably from the east). You'd also have to connect Geneva and other towns from that region to your existing grid.

2) Establish an early empire. Buy a 10% minority share in all of your opponents' companies.

Thankfully, this is a much easier objective. You shouldn't have any problems finishing it, especially since your competitors aren't playing too aggressively (on the stock market) here. You will have to buy 10% shares of each company. I would recommend that you perform these actions during the early part of the game. You could leave this for later, however this would require you to spend more money. You should know what has to be done here. You will have to invest your money into the most profitable connections and factories. This will allow to save up a lot of cash. Just make sure that you buy the stocks before the time limit runs out.

You will probably have to construct a much larger tunnel in order to be able to reach Lyon. Also, make sure that you have built additional tunnels here later during the game.

LEVEL 2 - The War Effort

You will have to complete all of these tasks by: 1914.

Level two objectives:

1) Do your part to defend your country. Deliver 10 carloads each of troops to Paris and Orleans.

You shouldn't have any problems with the first part of this objective (delivering troops to Paris). All you have to do here is to use your existing connection (probably the one between Lyon and Paris). It's best to deliver passengers (the game will count them as troops) from the south. You could also choose Dijon for your start location, however you'd probably have to build a second bridge that would be heading towards Paris. Delivering 10 carloads of troops shouldn't take you too long. Thankfully, this will allow you to focus all of your attention on the second part of this assignment or other task that haven't been finished. Delivering troops to Orleans is going to be much more difficult. First of all, you will have to make some adjustments. I'd strongly recommend that you buy a terminal in Paris. You should also create a large number of parallel tracks there. The rest depends on the competition. You might have an open space to build a connection, however this is very unlikely. You'll probably have to build new bridges and the connection itself is going to be longer. Sadly, you won't be able to avoid these restrictions, because you probably won't have an opportunity to reach Orleans from any other side. Remember to connect Orleans with Paris, so you won't have to worry about delivering troops. Also, make sure that the connection isn't too long. I wouldn't recommend connecting Orleans with any other town at this point of the game. Loading troops in Paris won't be much of a problem. As a result, you should be able to fulfill this objective within several game years.

Important! You will also have to remember about something else. Orleans may be too small during the early part of the game. As a result, this city won't demand any troops to be delivered. You will have to help it to grow in the first place before you decide to finish the main task.

2) Paris pushes its borders. Grow nearby Orleans into a city to support the mega-metropolis.

You will probably have to finish task right away. Otherwise you would have some serious problems finishing the second objective from this level of the scenario. Growing Orleans into a city isn't going to be simple, however you should be just fine. Additionally, you won't have to grow it into a metropolitan area status. Reaching the city status will be just fine. You've got nothing to worry about here, especially since you have 40 game years to finish this level of the scenario. Start off by supplying Orleans with much needed goods (check the 'demand' window). I had to deliver some coal. Thankfully, there was a mine in that area, so I didn't have any problems creating a proper connection. I wouldn't recommend connecting these tracks, especially if you have a Paris-Orleans line. It would be best to create a separate line that would only allow you to supply Orleans with certain types of resources. You could also consider building a steel mill Orleans, especially if you have an opportunity to deliver coal to that place. Once Orleans has reached a higher status, you should also purchase an arms factory. Thanks to that, you will be manufacturing very luxurious goods (arms). This is important, mostly because you'll need arms to complete one of the upcoming objectives of the scenario. You will have to wait for the game to unlock a possibility of transporting passengers (troops). Only then you will be able to fulfill the remaining objective.

Orelan citizens will probably demand that you deliver some coal. As a result, you will have to locate a mine and create a new connection.

LEVEL 3 - Into The Breach Once More!

You will have to complete all of these tasks by: 1945.

Level three objectives:

1) Build or purchase an arms factory to assist in the war effort.

This is a very simple objective. If you're lucky, you should be able to finish this task much earlier (during the second phase of the scenario). You will even have an opportunity to buy several arms factories, mostly because there should be a lot of coal mines on the map. Buying these building would allow you to create one of the most profitable production chains. My first arms factory has been built in Toulouse. I didn't have any problems delivering steel to that place and I could sell arms in Dijon or Lyon. The more important thing, however, is to build an arms factory in Orleans. I've already mentioned this before. Building (or winning in an auction) this structure will allow you to fulfill one of the more complicated mission objectives. You shouldn't have any problems supplying Orleans with coal (there should be a steel mill there), so you should build this factory as soon as possible.

2) Help your countrymen fight back the enemy by delivering 10 carloads of arms to Paris.

You will have to deliver only 10 carloads of arms, however this is a very difficult task. Arms are considered to be one of the most luxurious goods, so you'll have some problems acquiring them. Additionally, other railroad companies may try to "steal" your arms, by building terminals in the same cities. You will have to remember about that. It's best to order your trains to wait for a full load. It would be very easy to deliver arms from Orleans to Paris. That's why I suggested that you should build a factory there, as well as a steel mill. You will have to make sure that there aren't any delays, especially when it comes to resources (coal for Orleans). This will allow the factory to manufacture these goods without any unwanted delays. I wouldn't recommend delivering arms from other sections of the map, mostly because it would take a lot of time and effort, especially if you have only one line connecting Paris with Lyon and Dijon.

3) Help keep citizens abroad in touch with home. Ship 20 carloads of mail from both Paris and Orleans to Marseilles.

Just as before, you will be able to separate this mission objective into two different parts. You will be able to fulfill both tasks at the same time, however this won't be necessary, especially since you'll have a lot of time to do that. Your job will be to deliver 20 carloads of mail, both from Paris and Orleans. Your target city is Marseilles (that's where you've probably started your game). It'll be much easier to accomplish the first part of this objective (delivering mail from Paris). First of all, Paris should have already became a metropolitan area, so you won't have any problems loading four carriages with mail, even if there are other companies in this area. You should also consider cancelling mail transportation from your other connections. As for the task itself, you should still have a connection between Paris and Lyon. Use it to reach Marseilles. You won't have to build any additional lines, however constructing parallel tracks will be most welcome. It's going to be much more difficult with Orleans. First of all, you will have to wait for this city to expand. You could wait for the first part to be completed in order to use the same line, however this won't be necessary. I would recommend creating a new connection. The objective will be to connect Orleans with Lyon or one of the bridges near Marseilles. As you've probably suspected, this is going to cost you a lot, however you should have some extra cash at this point of the game. Additionally, you will be able to use the same connection later during the game. There are also some factories here. You may consider adding them to your newly acquired connection.

Building a connection between Orleans and Lyon is going to be very expensive, however you'll be able to use it in the future.

LEVEL 4 - A Modern Miracle

You will have to complete all of these tasks by: 1989.

Level four objectives:

1) Solidify your standing as France's greatest industrialist by attaining a net worth of F20 million.

I'm sure that you remember similar assignments from the previous scenarios of the game. You don't have to worry about completing this objective. It should be rather simple. Just as before, you will have to increase an overall value of your company. This is one of the longest scenarios of the game, so you'll have plenty of time to do this. Just make sure that you invest your money into profitable connections and industries. Also, focus your attention on the other goals from this group, as these tasks are far more complicated.

2) Remove the last obstacles in your path to complete domination of the French railroads. Eliminate all competition.

This task looks like one of the toughest ones. Thankfully, you should be able to finish it without any major problems. You just have to wait about a few important things. AI players aren't playing too great on this map, so you won't have to worry about their companies increasing the overall values too much. As a result, you should have plenty of money to buy their stocks. Just make sure that you don't do this too quickly. You should have a large and highly profitable grid of connections. You could also monitor their movements. Notice that computer players will sometimes buy expensive connections. As a result, they will lose a lot of their current funds. This is an excellent moment to make a move. Once you've bought a company, make sure that you have modified all of the existing connections, as some of them won't any significant income. I wouldn't recommend destroying the tracks, mostly because you'll be able to use them yourself.

3) Build a new camaraderie with your neighbors. Connect Madrid, Paris and Bern.

This is the last main objective of this scenario. There's a lot of work ahead of you, however you won't have to worry about anything in particular. You already have a large number of good connections, so you'll be making a lot of money. As a result, connecting the cities shouldn't be much of a problem. Let's start with Bern, as it's going to be very easy to add it to your grid. You've probably started the game in Monaco. You will have to expand your grid to the northern side of this territory. Establish a connection between Monaco and Geneva. Once you're there, you shouldn't have any problems reaching Bern. Just make sure that you also add other towns from this area of the map. Sadly, there aren't too many factories here. As for Madrid, it's going to be more difficult to add it to your grid. You've got a lot of choices here. Like I've said before, one of the computer players will probably decide to build a tunnel under the Alps. The tunnel will have an end near Spain. You could wait for this to happen in order to buy the entire company. As a result, you would fulfill one of the previous objectives. Additionally, you wouldn't have to build any tracks yourself. It's going to be much more interesting if you decide to take on this objective on your own. I wouldn't recommend building a large tunnel. Instead, center the view on Marseilles. There should be a factory of some kind to your south. I was able to find a ranch there. Add this object to your grid. Keep moving towards Spain. You will have to stay near the water. You should be able to reach Barcelona. If you're lucky, you will able to sell resources from the factory there. Now you may proceed to Madrid. There's at least one more town here. You may consider adding it to your existing grid, however this won't be necessary. The most important thing is that you reach Madrid. This will allow you to finish up with this task.

It would be wise to build a connection near the water. You should be able to reach Barcelona. You won't have any problems creating a second line that will lead you straight to Madrid. You should also consider adding other towns and factories to your main grid.

This picture shows the most important cities of the region:

1 - Nancy; 2 - Bern; 3 - Geneva; 4 - Monaco; 5 - Marseilles; 6 - Lyon; 7 - Dijon; 8 - Paris; 9 - Orleans; 10 - Nantes; 11 - Toulouse; 12 - Bordeaux; 13 - Barcelona; 14 - Madrid; 15 - Zaragoza.

Red line shows cities that need to be connected in the first place (not necessarily in a straight line). Green line show two cities that need to be connected during the third level of the scenario. Blue lines show three cities that need to be connected during the final (fourth) phase of this mission.

Additional hints for the entire scenario:

The first thing to do here will be to choose a place from where you'll start your game. I'm sure that you already know how this works. You will have an opportunity to choose between several interesting towns, including Toulouse or Nantes. I would recommend that you choose between Nancy and Monaco (I've taken the second option). If you decide to choose Nancy, you wouldn't have any problems reaching Paris, however you would have to spend more time to get to the remaining two towns. I'd personally recommend choosing Monaco for your start location, mostly because you'll be able to find some factories and towns in this area of the map, as well as Marseilles. You'll also have an easier start, mostly because you will have an opportunity to create a larger number of profitable connections.

I would recommend starting the game by creating three different connections. Two of them should lead to other cities. I'm sure that you know what I'm talking about. Connect Marseilles and Geneva (it's to the north) to your tiny grid. You should also be able to find at least one factory here. I was able to add a mine to my main grid. You should also take a closer look at the demand windows. Thanks to that, you'll know exactly where to deliver the newly acquired resources. Modify your existing connections or create some new ones. Bear in mind, though, that you shouldn't be spending your money on unnecessary connections. There are also a lot of hills in this area, so you shouldn't add too many carriages to your trains. Otherwise you would have paralyzed your traffic. Try upgrading your existing connections before you decide to proceed to other areas of this map.

You should start your game in Monaco. There are several other towns in this area, so it would be wise to connect them to your grid. You should also find at least one factory (probably a mine) here.

You should consider taking a closer look at the northern part of the map (near Geneva and Paris). It's not necessary, however you should be able to find a lot of interesting towns and factories here. As a result, you wouldn't have to worry about additional income. There should be at least a few mines here, as well as some other industrial facilities. Most of them will have to be connected to your grid, especially if nearby towns are demanding these resources to be delivered. Sadly, you will probably have to build a lot of parallel tracks, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. Also, you'll be able to earn a lot of money here. This will allow you to expand even more into this section of the map. You shouldn't forget about your current locomotives. Upgrading them is very important, especially in the early part of the game. It's because you have started this scenario with one of the worst available models. This mission is also very long, so you'll be able to use a lot of different locomotives.

Let's proceed with the more important goals. You will have to connect Marseilles with Lyon and Dijon (both of these towns are to the north). Like I've said before, you will have to build one large tunnel in order to perform this action. Thankfully, you won't have to worry about losing too much money here. All of these towns will start to grow, so you'll be able to upgrade your existing connections. You should also take a closer look at Toulouse. I was able to manufacture steel here. Also, later the during the game I've started to manufacture arms. Selling these goods will allow you to earn A LOT of money, so I wouldn't recommend skipping such an opportunity.

You should be able to find a lot of towns and factories to the north of Geneva. It would be wise to connect some of them to your main grid.

Sooner or later, you will have to start thinking about reaching Paris. I would recommend that you choose one of the described approach methods. You could try and reach Paris from the north/east or build a single connection from the south (Lyon/Dijon). Either way, you will have to construct a depot here. Also, make sure to upgrade it to a terminal in a nearby future. Once you've added Paris to your grid, make sure that you have built parallel tracks. You'll need them in the future, especially since a lot of other lines will have to be connected to Paris. You mustn't forget about Orleans. You're going to have to expand this city, so it would be best to add it to your grid as soon as possible. Now you should focus on expanding to this section of the map. You should be able to find a lot of towns and factories here, especially to the west and north. I was able to create several production chains here, including food, milk and wine. You shouldn't have any problems selling these objects, as most of the large towns will be demanding them to be delivered.

Don't forget about your locomotives. Make sure that they're upgraded after 40-50 years of service. This is very important, especially if the trains are hauling more expensive goods. Keep building parallel tracks. Every large town should have at least a few of them. Thankfully, most of the mission objectives are going to be quite simple, so you won't have to worry about that too much.

Take a closer look around Paris. There are a lot of interesting towns here, including La Havre.

You can't forget about the possibility of modifying your existing connections. As you probably remember, all of the connected towns will grow during the course of the game. This means that the citizens will demand new types of goods to be delivered to them. Plan your actions carefully, so you won't have to spend too much money on new or upgraded connections. Also, you shouldn't forget about the competition. Thankfully, computer players won't be too aggressive on this map. Nevertheless, you will have to respond to some of their actions. It would also be wise to participate in several auctions. Thanks to that, you should be able to purchase factories. Try creating complex production chains. For example, delivering steel will allow you to produce arms. You will be able to earn a lot of money if you decide to deliver these types of goods.

You should consider moving towards Bordeaux area during the final phase of the mission, mostly because you'll be able to find a lot of interesting farms, ranches and mines here. You could also take a closer look at some of the nearby towns. Make sure that you're not building any unnecessary tunnels. Thankfully, you will be able to avoid Alps entirely. Try moving towards Spain. You will find several interesting objects here. You will also be able to earn additional cash by creating new connections. Most of the computer players will still be in France, so you should have an opportunity to expand your railroad empire without any other problems.

You should be able to find a lot of towns and factories in Spain. Try moving there as soon as possible, especially if there are no competitors in that area.