Video game:Railroad Tycoon II

During the nineteenth century railroads started appearing everywhere in the United States. By the end of the Civil War, Cornelius Vanderbilt had become the first railroad tycoon and controlled a majority of the nation's lines. In 1990, Sid Meier created the videogame "Railroad Tycoon" in order to give gamers the opportunity to create their own iron empires. The game is equally entertaining and educational, and teaches users about business planning, competition, and economics.

With a starting amount of one million dollars, gamers must build and manage a railroad company. Players use different locations, as well as multiple types of stations and trains in building their empires. The game features a miniature stock market where players buy, sell, and manage stocks of their choosing. In order to win the game, players must earn enough money to build their railroad in a certain amount of time.

"Railroad Tycoon" received excellent reviews from critics. In its review, "Computer Gaming World" magazine wrote, "Richly detailed and graphically inspiring, this is a gamer's game," and gave it five out of five stars. "Computer Gaming World" named it as "Game of the Year," and in 1992 they added it to their Hall of Fame. The game also won the "Software Publishing Association Excellence in Software" award for best strategy program. Because of the success of the original, Take-Two Interactive released a sequel entitled "Railroad Tycoon II" in 1998.

Similar to the first "Railroad Tycoon," "Railroad Tycoon II" revolves around an entrepreneur aiming to build a business empire. This game also includes a campaign mode, as well as single scenarios that gamers can play. Like its predecessor, "Railroad Tycoon II" received rave reviews from critics. They complemented its graphics, sound, gameplay, and historical accuracy. Trent C. Ward of IGN wrote that gamers will "have a hard time finding a game that will keep [them] more entertained than this remarkable product."

Because of the game's success, Take-Two Interactive released "Railroad Tycoon II: Gold" and "Railroad Tycoon II: Platinum," two special edition games which included expanded maps and other bonus features. In 2003, PopTop Software released "Railroad Tycoon III," and 2K Games published "Sid Meier's Railroads!," the final game in the "Railroad Tycoon" series, in 2006.

At a time when videogames were making a comeback, and many were doing so using violence and action, the "Railroad Tycoon" series showed that videogames could be educational and based on strategy, yet still extremely entertaining and very successful.