''NIMBY Rails'' is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

simulation game Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...

developed by Carlos Carrasco. The game involves developing a railway network on an in-game map based on the real world. It was released as an

early access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...

game in 2021.

Gameplay

''NIMBY Rails'' is entirely set on an

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...

-based map of the whole world, without computer-generated maps or levels. The game map starts out empty, without any preexisting trains or buildings, and the player builds railway track and stations with little restriction save for existing roads and bodies of water. Similarly, despite being the game's namesake,

NIMBY NIMBY (, or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "Not In My Back Yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed real estate development and infrastructure developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land us ...

s are not currently featured in-game. Players can choose to play with money implemented, or disable it and build without funding restrictions. The game includes a simplistic passenger demand system and time zones, with fluctuations in passenger count based on the in-game time. Gameplay includes not only building railway lines and tracks, but also purchasing trains and rolling stock, and scheduling services. A multiplayer mode is available, allowing multiple players to build in the same game map. As of 2023, the game does not include any sounds or music.

Development

''NIMBY Rails'' is developed by

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

-based developer Carlos Carrasco, who was inspired to develop the game after playing the transport simulation game ''

OpenTTD ''OpenTTD'' is a business simulation game, which players try to earn money by transporting passengers, minerals and goods via road, rail, water and air. It is an open-source remake and expansion of the 1995 Chris Sawyer video game '' Transport ...

''. According to Carrasco, ''NIMBY Rails'' began development in late 2018. In order to keep the game's filesize under 20 GB while including the whole world map, Carrasco opted to remove building layers from OSM data and reduced the map's resolution before adding topographical and land use data from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

and ESA, and an early version of the game was publicly revealed in mid-March 2020, and was released as an

game on

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

on 26 January 2021. Carrasco stated that he came up with the title ''NIMBY Rails'' as '

clickbait Clickbait (also known as link bait or linkbait) is a text or a thumbnail hyperlink, link that is designed to attract attention and to entice users to follow ("click") that link and view, read, stream or listen to the linked piece of online cont ...

Reception

Aaron Gordon of ''

VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' called the game "possibly the most complicated transit-development game ever devised". In his review, Gordon mentioned how while the game appears boring to viewers, it "feeds the ultimate

YIMBY The YIMBY movement (short for "yes in my back yard") is a pro-housing social movement that focuses on encouraging new housing, opposing density limits (such as single-family zoning), and supporting public transportation. It stands in opposition ...

fantasy". ''

Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...

''s review praised the premise of the game allowing for free building on a real-world map and the simple, easy-to-learn gameplay, while noting deficiencies in the game's controls and text interface.

References

{{reflist Upcoming video games Windows games Multiplayer and single-player video games Railroad business simulation video games Transport simulation games Early access video games Video games developed in Spain Indie games YIMBY movement