Railroad Rush Hour

Railroad Rush Hour - A great visual perceptual & logic puzzle with 50 challenges.

Rush Hour Railroad is a very fun one-person logic game that includes 50 challenges over five levels of play (junior to expert), challenges that increase in difficulty as you go. If you're a fan of Rush Hour Traffic, you're sure to like this train-themed version. For more information on the Rush Hour games, click on the links below to go to my past posts.

It's looks like an impossible task to move the red engine from one side of the grid, through a traffic jam of train cars, to the opposite side of the grid in the image above. But it can be done! A popular game for working on logic and spatial skills, Railroad Rush has all the fun of the classic traffic jam Rush Hour Traffic Jam puzzle game, but it's made for train enthusiasts.

Railroad Rush Hour includes 50 challenge cards in five levels: beginner, junior, intermediate, advanced, and expert. Puzzles increase in difficulty (more cars, more moves to complete) with each new challenge. The answer to each puzzle is given, step-by-step, on the back of each card (image below right). Here are the first cards for each level and solutions:

Front of card - Challenge

 

 

Back of card - Solution for challenge.

To set up, choose a challenge card and place your train cars on the grid according to the picture (see image below). An error in setting up the puzzle (placing a train car on the wrong path or in the wrong spaces) may result in an unworkable puzzle.

To solve the puzzle, move the vehicles from top to bottom, bottom to top, left to right, and/or right to left to clear a path for the red engine to drive off the grid through the open gate on the right. Pieces must stay on the path they are on when the game is set up, no lifting pieces off the grid and placing them somewhere else. It helps to think several steps ahead.

 To solve the puzzle from the back of a card it will give you the letter coinciding to the piece to be moved, the direction, and number of spaces to move at each step.

There are a couple of ways this version differs from the original Rush Hour Traffic version. First, there are 2 gates on the top right for the engine to drive through. The puzzle card will tell you whether to open the top gate or the bottom gate. Second, there are also 2X2 square pieces (cargo) that can move both up and down as well as side to side (see brown square on the puzzle in the image at the top of the page).  

Also available are Rush Hour Safari, Rush Hour Junior, and the original Rush Hour Traffic Jam.

If you would like to read more about one-person logic puzzles, check out my post What's in Your Therapy Box? Logic Puzzles Edition. 


Try this:

• Make a game out of just setting up the trains, following the challenge cards, if the puzzles will be too difficult to complete.
• Complete the first couple of moves to get the individual started and model how to play.
• Work backwards. Do all but the last move and let the individual finish the puzzle. Then do all but the last two moves, then do all but the last three moves, each time allowing the individual to complete the puzzle each time.
• Complete a challenge as the individual looks on. Talk out loud as you problem solve to help the person learn. Then ask him to complete the same challenge.
• Ask the question "Who is blocking the exit?" If you can move the car and open the exit, go from there. If you can't move it, then ask who is blocking the car that is blocking the exit. Keep asking the question until you can move a car and then work from there.This strategy works best for me.
  
• Choose a challenge card and have the individual set up the board. Read the answer, step-by-step, from the back and have the individual follow your directions to complete the puzzle. For instance, in the example card above, move the A car to the left 2 spaces. Then move the D car up 2 spaces. And on and on until you complete the puzzle. You will need to call the cars by color instead of letter since letters are not printed on the cars. Good for working on left-right.
• Work on manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, visual discrimination, visual closure, visualization, figure ground, spatial relations, logic, planning, problem solving, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 1 traffic grid, 1 red train engine, 19 assorted train cars, 50 challenge cards, carrying bag 

If you are interested in purchasing a Rush Hour game or just want information, click on the image below.