3D Ultra Lionel Traintown - Gameplay

Gameplay

There are six job bins, starting with tutorials, followed by Caboose Washer (easy), Hobo Bouncer (average), Grease Monkey (hard), Fire Stoker (very hard), and Whistle Blower (intense).

Each job bin contains 12 jobs. The last one is a special unlockable job that can only be done if all 11 prior jobs are completed. The exception is the Tutorials bin, where all jobs are available at any time. The unlockable jobs are themed somewhat festively, and usually have an animated cutscene at the end of some sort (e.g., a circus, the Colosseum).

Most jobs involve the basic concept of picking up and delivering loads via different freight and passenger cars. However, some are completely different. The "School Daze" series involve moving numbered freight cars to make valid addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equations at six difficulty levels (kindergarten through 5th grade). The "Sister's" jobs involve sorting freight cars coming down the track into the right siding at six different levels. Three different jobs are like a game of concentration, in which the player tries to match the loads in the cars as quickly and in the fewest guesses as possible. The job "Dung Wars" is like a game of pick-up sticks, "The Gallows" like hangman, and the challenging "Tower of Power" like the Tower of Hanoi game. In "Sort of Tricky", the job is to unscramble seven anagrams before time runs out, although bonus time is given for each completed word.

In the Tutorials bin, there are five guided jobs which teach different steps in the road to becoming a successful engineer. The next four jobs are free-play train parks with unlimited time and loads. The last three in the Tutorials bin are build parks, where it is possible to lay out track however the player wants, with a few limits, and then play on it like a free-play level.

Also, there are seven different base areas for layouts to be set up in. They are: Oak Valley, a generic wooded plain; Cactus Valley, a sprawling desert; North Pole, a wintery world filled with holiday decoration; Living Room; Backyard; Planet X, a rarely used layout on a moon-like surface; and one on a piece of yellow notebook paper, used for the School Daze missions.