Comparison

1849 vs Sid Meier’s Railroads!

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

1849

Build and manage towns during the California Gold Rush. Coordinate production and trade networks to ensure your settlements thrive, from mining camps to bustling cities. Explore diverse scenarios and a procedurally generated sandbox map.

Highlights
  • Campaign mode with unique city scenarios
  • Procedurally generated sandbox maps
  • Extensive production and trade management
  • Over 50 resources to manage
  • New Nevada scenarios with train trading
  • Post-Gold Rush epilogue scenarios
Features
Read full description

"1849 ... might just be the only real city-building game on iOS" - Owen Faraday, Pocket Tactics *** "1849: Gold Edition" combines the base game "1849" plus the "1849: Nevada Silver" and "Epilogue: After the Gold Rush" content packs. *** Gameplay 1849 is a city management game set during the California Gold Rush. Your task is to build towns, populate them with workers, and make sure that they are housed, fed, and entertained. You’ll have to manage and coordinate extensive production and trade networks to make sure your towns thrive. Key Features Of 1849 - A campaign mode that traces the development of the Gold Rush from mining camps to bustling cities. Each city scenario presents players with unique starting conditions, victory goals, and obstacle events. - Sandbox mode with a procedurally-generated map for your location, based on geography (from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada mountains), precipitation, resource availability, and starting lot size. - Vivid old west towns with buildings lining the streets directly inspired by California’s Gold Country. - Over 50 resources that players can dig up, farm, refine or manufacture as they build complex towns and cities. 1849: Nevada Silver expands on 1849’s simulation gameplay to provide more challenge on a bustling new frontier. - Six new Nevada city scenarios, from frontier outposts to bustling boom towns, plus sandbox mode - Train-based trading system adds a new strategic dimension - New buildings, mines, and resources based on the industry and technology of the era The Epilogue presents two final scenarios, taking place in the period after the gold rush, as the people of California attempted to forge a new identity in a state that went through an irreversible transformation. "1849 is a neat city builder which works well within its theme and is quite satisfying to play if you enjoy city-builders." - Lena LeRay, IndieGames.com "1849 seems to be an accurate simulator in terms of its focus on 1850s city building. It's also a compelling and, at times, highly challenging strategy game." - Chris Priestman, KillScreen Daily

About

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

Become a railroad tycoon by building and managing intricate railway networks. Optimize routes, transport goods and passengers, and grow your profits through shrewd business decisions and innovation. Compete with historical figures to become the greatest rail baron.

Highlights
  • Lay tracks and design routes
  • Transport freight and passengers
  • Acquire patents and trade stocks
  • Build or buy industries
  • Compete with historical figures
  • Collect 40 famous trains
  • Train Table Mode for creative building
Read full description

Become history’s greatest rail baron in Sid Meier’s Railroads!, a classic of the tycoon genre now available for iPhone and iPad. In this captivating mix of model train set and railway management simulator, lay tracks and optimise routes to establish lucrative networks of cities and industries, transporting passengers, raw materials and goods across continents. Grow profits through efficiency, innovation, and shrewd business decisions as you acquire valuable patents, trade stocks, and build or buy industries. Compete with world leaders and industrial titans to achieve the ultimate goal — becoming the greatest railroad tycoon of the age! === TRY BEFORE YOU BUY Lay the foundations of your railroad empire during the Gold Rush, then unlock the full game for more maps, trains, and 16 charming scenarios spanning the golden age of rail. CREATE AN EMPIRE OF THE RAILS Carefully lay tracks and design routes to transport freight and passengers, refining and improving operations until your railroad runs like clockwork. STEAM ACROSS 16 CHALLENGING SCENARIOS Test your entrepreneurial mettle in a mix of historical and fictional scenarios, each with a distinctive map and unique objectives. Establish the first passenger line in 1830s Great Britain, stitch together the American West during the Gold Rush, or help Santa with the Christmas rush at the North Pole! COMPETE WITH HISTORY’S BEST Take on world leaders and captains of industry. Grow your business by acquiring industries and railroad-revolutionising patents, or play the stock market and buy out the competition. BRING 40 FAMOUS TRAINS TO LIFE Play with historically important engines from early steam locomotives like Stephenson’s Planet, to the high-speed French TGV, and many iterations and innovations in between. BUILD THE MODEL RAILROAD OF YOUR DREAMS Take the pressure off in Train Table Mode. No competition, time limits, or financial constraints — just all you need to create a railroad that’s as fun to watch as it is satisfying to build. === We recommend playing Sid Meier's Railroads! on iOS 15.5 or later. You need 1.7GB of free space on your device, though we recommend at least double this to avoid initial installation issues. Supported iPhones: • iPhone 6S / 6S Plus and later • Any iPhone SE • iPod Touch (7th generation, 2019) Supported iPads: • iPad mini (5th generation, 2019) and later • iPad Air (3rd generation, 2019) and later • iPad (5th generation, 2017) and later • Any iPad Pro • If you require assistance, please contact our support team at support@feralinteractive.com © 2006-2024 Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Originally developed by Firaxis Games. Sid Meier’s Railroads!, Firaxis Games, 2K, Take-Two Interactive Software and their respective logos are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed for and published on iOS by Feral Interactive. iOS and the iOS logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Feral and the Feral logo are trademarks of Feral Interactive Ltd. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Screenshots

Sid Meier’s Railroads!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sid Meier’s Railroads! at Free against 1849's $5.99. Sid Meier’s Railroads! also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (1.4K vs 24). 1849's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months). On review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Sid Meier’s Railroads! is free to download; 1849 costs $5.99 up front. Sid Meier’s Railroads! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 1849 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sid Meier’s Railroads! holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sid Meier’s Railroads! has 1.4K ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of 1849's written reviews are positive against 59% of Sid Meier’s Railroads!'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

1849 ships an update every 2 weeks, Sid Meier’s Railroads! every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
1849 versus Sid Meier’s Railroads!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter1849Sid Meier’s Railroads!
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (24 ratings)4.7 (1.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.7% of reviews — better59.4% of reviews
Number of ratings241.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS6.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB1.6 GB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperSomaSimFeral Interactive Ltd

Customer experience

1849

All ratings24 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral4.2%
Negative20.8%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive64.7%
Neutral11.8%
Negative23.5%

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

All ratings1,304 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral2.7%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews187 reviews
Positive59.4%
Neutral16.0%
Negative24.6%

Bugs and requests

1849

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Disappearing tracks
  • Routing issues and inability to connect stations
  • Map freezing and becoming unresponsive

Requested features

5 requests
  • Larger maps
  • More scenarios and campaigns
  • Multiplayer mode
  • Ability to buy/sell shares
  • More train and engine variety

In-app purchases

None

1849

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

One-time1
  • Full Game Unlock$12.99

Questions

Is 1849 free?
1849 costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sid Meier’s Railroads! free?
Sid Meier’s Railroads! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 1849 or Sid Meier’s Railroads!?
Sid Meier’s Railroads! is rated higher. 1849 averages 4.0 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while Sid Meier’s Railroads! averages 4.7 from 1.4K ratings.
Do 1849 or Sid Meier’s Railroads! have ads?
Neither 1849 nor Sid Meier’s Railroads! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 1849 or Sid Meier’s Railroads!?
1849 ships an update every 2 weeks, and Sid Meier’s Railroads! every 5 months. Most recently, 1849 was updated on November 1, 2026 and Sid Meier’s Railroads! on November 6, 2026.

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