Which Expansion

Great Western Trail expansions

Base game: 1–4 players75–150 mineggertspiele / Plan B Games (Asmodee)2 expansions checked
  1. #1 overall

    Rails to the North (2nd Edition)

    Depends on your group

    Mostly positive for repeat players: branchlet auxiliary actions and a fix for end-game station token grabs (BGG 8.6). Some call it fiddly extra, so it suits experienced groups, not a first teach.

    Needs: Just the base game

    Adds: A board extension with rail paths north and west, branchlets for extra deliveries, reworked town tiles, new player boards and objectives, solo materials and a new cow breed.

    Fixes: Gives more delivery choices so you are less likely to be stuck delivering to cities close to Kansas City.

    Expansion1–4 playersAdds more rulesBest for experienced groupsPrice: $40–$60
    DetailsBuy:AmazonAsmodee US
  2. #2 overall

    Rails to the North (1st Edition)

    Most groups can skip

    Only worth chasing if you own the 1st-edition base. Amazon reviewers call it essential and BGG rates it 8.4; some experienced players find builder strategy too strong. Mostly secondhand now.

    Needs: Just the base game

    Adds: An extension board with a rail system to the northeast (Chicago, Detroit, New York), 60 branchlets, private buildings, town and station master tiles.

    Fixes: Same delivery-flexibility fix as the 2nd-edition version, for 1st-edition owners.

    Expansion2–4 playersAdds more rulesBest for experienced groups
    DetailsBuy:Amazon

Need the base game?

Buy:AmazonAsmodee US

Stuck between two?

Great Western Trail expansions: quick answers

Which Great Western Trail expansion should I buy first?

Rails to the North (2nd Edition). Opinion is split but mostly positive for repeat players. A BGG first-impressions review (Aug 2026) calls it effectively one extra auxiliary action (branchlets) that gives delivery and scoring options, says it fixes the old problem of one player grabbing every end-game station token, and says the reviewer now mixes the pieces into the base box and will not play without it; the BGG rating is 8.6 from about 1.1K ratings. A r/boardgames thread on teaching the 2nd edition finds some saying include it for experienced players (one says it fixes the game with much less chance of being unable to deliver), while others call it extra and fiddly, say it complicates a complex game and adds balance issues at higher levels, or prefer the Argentina or New Zealand standalones. A Reddit best-iteration thread has votes for 2e plus Rails (one group plays it every time) but also a player who found the branchlet mini-game stale quickly. The 2019 BGG thread on the 1st-edition version argues builder strategy becomes too strong, which many replies dispute; those concerns are about the first printing and may not match the 2nd edition rework. Net: good for people who already like the base game, not for a first teach.

Is Rails to the North (2nd Edition) worth it?

Our verdict: depends on your group. It adds: A game-board extension with new rail paths north and west (cities such as Montreal and Oregon City), branchlets you place in towns for extra delivery spots and rewards, reworked medium town tiles, dual-layer player boards, new objective cards, a revised building 13a/13b, solo materials for Sam and a new orange cow breed.

Rails to the North (2nd Edition) or Rails to the North (1st Edition): which first?

We’d buy Rails to the North (2nd Edition) first. See the side-by-side comparison for what each adds and needs.

Other games’ expansion guides

Rankings are our editorial picks, built from the reviews linked on each expansion page. Last checked 2026-10-08.