Trains Archives

Hornby’s Hogwarts Express Electric Train Set Hits the Tracks

September 1, 2019September 1, 2019Sophie Brown

Reading Time: 6 minutes <img data-attachment-id="322032" data-permalink="https://geekmom.com/2019/09/hogwarts-express-electric-train-set/hogwarts-express-electric-train-set-image-hornby/" data-orig-file="https://i1.wp.com/geekmom.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/08/Hogwarts-Express-Electric-Train-Set-Image-Hornby.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1200,675" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Hogwarts Express Electric Train Set, Image: Hornby" data-image-description=" Hogwarts Express Electric Train Set, Image: Hornby ” data-medium-file=”https://i1.wp.com/geekmom.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/08/Hogwarts-Express-Electric-Train-Set-Image-Hornby.jpg?fit=600%2C338&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i1.wp.com/geekmom.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/08/Hogwarts-Express-Electric-Train-Set-Image-Hornby.jpg?fit=1000%2C563&ssl=1″ class=”size-full wp-image-322032″ src=”https://i1.wp.com/geekmom.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/08/Hogwarts-Express-Electric-Train-Set-Image-Hornby.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1″ alt=”Hogwarts Express Electric Train Set, Image: Hornby” width=”1200″ height=”675″ data-recalc-dims=”1″ />Hogwarts Express Electric Train Set, Image: Hornby It’s September 1st which means that […]

Build Your Own Wizarding World With Wrebbit 3D Puzzles

March 19, 2019March 19, 2019Sophie Brown

Reading Time: 5 minutes

3yo plays with a Thomas the Tank Engine while his 1yo sister looks on closely

Goodbye, Thomas: Train Geeks Growing Up

September 1, 2017Amy Weir6

True train geeks don’t really outgrow their early childhood obsessions. They just change the focus to more grown up styles of train.

GeekMom Holiday Gift Guide #1: Toys

November 8, 2016December 16, 2017GeekMom

Welcome to the start of this year’s holiday gift guides! The GeekMom guides will run each week on Tuesday mornings. We start it off this year with Toys, with a few of the GeekMom writers’ favorites.

GeekDad Travel: Wunderbar Wunderland

June 22, 2016Robin Brooks

There are planes, trains, and automobiles galore at the wonderful Miniatur Wunderland.

Visit Town and Country with BRIO’s Wooden Railway

March 25, 2016Robin Brooks4

BRIO have long been the Rolls Royce of wooden train manufacturers. You can visit town or country and even use a remote controlled train.

Stack Overflow: Beyond Sodor – Readable Books About Trains

February 8, 2016Robin Brooks5

Thomas the Tank Engine may be popular across the world, but some of the stories can be deathly to read. Here are a few alternatives to entertain your train-obsessed child.

GeekDad Review: 'Lionel City Builder 3D: Rise of the Rails'

January 25, 2016Jenny Bristol

Newly out for the Nintendo 3DS is ‘Lionel City Builder 3D: Rise of the Rails’ made by Big John Games. This downloadable game is affordable and fun. With both structured and freeform elements, there’s something here for every level of player.

‘Mini Metro’: Unique Style and Addictive Gameplay

December 31, 2015Michael LeSauvage

Plan your routes, place your engines, and keep your city moving in this puzzle-like strategy game. With a minimalist interface in the style of classic subway maps, ‘Mini Metro’ is a route optimization game at its finest and is sure to appeal to anyone who has ever enjoyed the likes of ‘Railroad Tycoon’ or ‘Cities in Motion’.

Game of the Week: ‘Ticket to Ride – Europe’

November 13, 2015May 20, 2020Admin

Build a railroad empire and learn your geography during your next family game night!

Father’s Day Gift Guide

June 2, 2014Dave Banks3

Father’s Day is just around the corner and we’ve got some gift ideas to make sure the holiday for dads is anything but a dud.

Pick Your Playlist for International TableTop Day

April 4, 2014Jonathan H. Liu3

Hosting an event for International TableTop Day? One of the most important questions you’ll need to answer is: what games are you going to play? For those of you looking to fill out your playlist, here are a few suggestions.

The Cost of Licensing a Birthday Party

February 27, 2014Sarah Pinault1

A birthday party using licensed characters is no mean feat, as GeekMom Sarah found out while planning her son’s Thomas themed party.

Best Board Games of 2013

January 9, 2014Jonathan H. Liu

Here are our picks for the best board games of 2013. What were your favorites?

GeekMom 2013 Holiday Gift Guide: TOYS!

December 6, 2013December 16, 2017Cathé Post1

Toys that push, toys that inspire art, toys that look like famous geeky characters, and more!

All Aboard: Deck-Building + Rail-Laying = Trains

October 9, 2013December 13, 2017Jonathan H. Liu4

Trains was one of AEG’s big releases this year, and I’ve finally gotten a chance to sit down and play it a few times. It’s a great blend of deck-building (like Dominion) and track-laying (not quite like Ticket to Ride), and I have a feeling I’ll be playing this a bit more in the near future.

HIT Entertainment’s 2013 Holiday Preview

July 9, 2013Jackie Reeve3

HIT Entertainment was in New York City last week to preview their new Thomas the Tank Engine and Mike the Knight toys.

Map of London Showing "Live" Positions of Underground Trains © Matthew Somerville

“Live” Maps of UK Railways to Aid Your Procrastination

April 12, 2013Sophie Brown1

A collection of maps at Train Times show the approximate real-time positions of trains on the London Underground and those at and surrounding many major UK stations.

App Review: All Aboard the Toca Train

July 31, 2012Melissa Wiley

Toca Boca delivers another quality kids’ app with Toca Train.

Ticket to Ride Steams Onto PC

May 24, 2012Jonathan H. Liu

Ticket to Ride is now available on Steam for PCs. The game costs $9.99 and comes with the USA map — but for the first week you’ll also get the map of Europe for free. If you download it, you’ll …

Are You the Parent of a Train Geek? Throw a Birthday Party at a Tourist Railroad!

April 21, 2012Patricia Vollmer4

I almost didn’t post anything for Birthday Week. It wasn’t until GeekMom Kelly posted about banning the goody bags that I remembered a clever goody bag idea… which was in itself part of a wonderful birthday experience for my oldest son. In 2006, when the family was living in Apex, North Carolina, we had the […]

Ticket to Ride Now Available for the Mac

April 5, 2012Jonathan H. Liu

If you’ve been jealous of everyone who’s been playing Ticket to Ride on their iPads and Ticket to Ride Pocket on their iPhones, now you’ve got another group to envy: Mac users. Days of Wonder announced today that Ticket to …

The Art of the Brick Exhibit at Portland’s OMSI

March 17, 2012Jonathan H. Liu

I’ve seen photos of Nathan Sawaya’s Lego sculptures in the past, but up until now I’ve never had the opportunity to see them in person. This weekend The Art of the Brick, Sawaya’s touring show, is opening at Oregon Museum …

Ticket to Ride Pocket Gets the 1910 Expansion

February 23, 2012Jonathan H. Liu

If you’ve been enjoying multi-mode on Ticket to Ride Pocket (I actually installed both the Pocket and HD version on my iPad since they have different play modes), today you’ll be getting another new option: the 1910 expansion. I actually …

Spending Time With Walter Wick

November 25, 2011Andrea Schwalm1

Back in our preschool years of parenting, my family spent a great deal of time with Walter Wick’s books. To be truthful, we spent a great deal of time with a great many books–almost universally those that created anthropomorphized-machine worlds filled with earnest steam engines, recalcitrant backhoes, or steam shovels of derring-do. Mr. Wick’s I […]

Kickstarter Alert: Kings of Air & Steam by Tasty Minstrel Games

November 11, 2011December 13, 2017Jonathan H. Liu

Tasty Minstrel Games is no stranger to Kickstarter campaigns: their deck-building strategy game Eminent Domain was originally funded last year through Kickstarter and hit over 200% of its funding goal. Since then TMG has streamlined their game-production process so they …

The Rise of the Play Center

October 26, 2011GeekMom4

In Maine we are housebound for much of January through March because of snow. Often this can include April, and it can also include the restrictive cold weather of December. Last year was my first year with a toddler, so gone were my housebound days of curling up in front of the woodstove with a […]

Ticket to Ride for iPad Gets a Much-Appreciated Update

July 15, 2011Jonathan H. Liu

When Ticket to Ride was released on the iPad in May, I thought it was a fantastic adaptation of the game, but it was missing a few key features that would make it even better. In particular, the lack of …

Ode to a Great Geek Dad… and his Geek Hobby

June 19, 2011Patricia Vollmer1

No, he isn’t one of those GeekDads… although he’d certainly fit the bill. After all, he’s getting Brian Greene’s latest book for Father’s Day! My Dear Husband Dave is a great Air Force professional, husband, and father to our two Geek Spawn sons. He has several other great hobbies, from art to Civil War reenacting. […]

Ticket to Ride Arrives on the iPad

May 19, 2011Jonathan H. Liu

Yes, that is, in fact, Ticket to Ride on the iPad. Days of Wonder announced today that their popular train-building board game is now available as an iPad app, which lets you play solo games against up to four AI …

Tag: Trains