The game comes in a nice square box which contains a mounted board and some good quality components with which to play the game. In reviewing this game, I can't help drawing comparisons to that well known game 'Trivial Pursuit'. In Name Train the object is to collect passengers, just as in TP you collect wedges. But there the comparison ends.

TP gathers dust on the shelf because if your playing with someone with good general knowledge they will always win TP. With Name Train, the squares you land on give you the category, but then the answer you provide has to be a name of something or someone in that category.

For example, The game is underway and the previous player said the name Bruce Lee, that then leaves you with an 'E'as your starting letter for whatever category you land on. You land on 'Music' so have sixty seconds to name a singer or group beginning with 'E'. You say Elvis Presley, which leaves the next player with a 'Y' as their starting letter for whatever category they land on. Easy as that.

There are six categories on the board, Music, Film, Sport, Actor/actress, Well Known People and TV - categories in which everyone will know a name for, but the catch is it has to be a name that begins with the last letter of the previous players answer.

There are also four special squares to move faster, turn you round, collect passengers and the central area which is both the category spinner as well as where you need to take your train once you have it full of passengers.

Which leads me onto the passengers. Certain squares let you gain passengers. After collecting a passenger, on your next go you roll both the number die and letter die to give variety in the letters used. A nice twist here is that when a person cannot say a name, they have to forfeit a passenger they have collected to the previous player, but if they haven't a passenger you need they lose a random passenger. The next player then has to say a name with that letter and if they cannot do so then another passenger is forfeit and so on. So by setting up the play with an awkward letter, you could gain several passengers. Each train can only hold six passengers and each must be a different colour.

Once the train is full of passengers you then head for the central station space, which is also the category spinner. Arriving here with a full train, you spin the spinner and say a name in that category beginning with a letter left by the previous player.

SUMMARY:
The Name Train game has obviously been inspired by Trivial Pursuit, but unlike TP, this game will not date and I can see this as being an excellent party game with players working in teams. Log on to www.nametrain.co.uk and get a copy now!

Review by Brian