🚂 Hauler: a multiplayer game about trains and secrets

Games
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The idea: you’ve got this train with different cargo on it, and you really want 3 particular carriages to be at the front

The problem: there are 3 other people with their own secret carriages they really want at the front too :bangbang:

The solution: battle it out in a little multiplayer Playdate game and rule the railways

Concept art:

A digital drawing showing a steam locomotive hauling three carriages with different cargo. The background shows a hilly landscape. Text above the train says, “‘A’ to confirm. ‘B’ to pick another card. Below the train, there are three boxes with text. The first reads, “Promotion: Move any carriage forward.” The second reads, “Shunt: Swap any two carriages.” The third reads, “Slip Coach: Remove the last carriage.”
A digital drawing showing a steam locomotive hauling three carriages with different cargo. The background shows a hilly landscape. Text above the train says, “‘A’ to confirm. ‘B’ to pick another card. Below the train, there are three boxes with text. The first reads, “Promotion: Move any carriage forward.” The second reads, “Shunt: Swap any two carriages.” The third reads, “Slip Coach: Remove the last carriage.”1114×1110 176 KB

Also follow along on Bluesky or Discord

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I like train games!
Is this turn based multiplayer (pass and play) or WiFi/internet ?
Why are 4players needed (player + 3 others)?
How do you use the crank, to select the target car?

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Hey, thanks!

Hauler will support both pass-and-play local multiplayer and online multiplayer. You can play with 2–4 players, but in my playtesting, it’s best with 4.

There are no crank mechanics (right now) but you’ll be able to use it to select things as an alternative to using the d-pad.

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Woah—it’s been a while, but we’re still alive and kicking!

After almost a year of getting distracted by playing with friends, Hauler is finally in good enough shape to share with everyone. My friends and I have had so much fun playing Hauler together over the past year, and I hope everyone else can enjoy it as much as we have.

Fill in your email on the Hauler website, and I'll send you over a copy of the latest version. An in-game tutorial is coming, but for now the full instructions are also available on-line.

Screen recording of a single move of Hauler gameplay. A train enters the screen from the left side, and a floating hand moves carriages around while captions appear on the bottom of the screen describing the action, like, "Olive used Promotion III on the Lumber car". Then, a hand of cards are dealt onto the bottom of the screen. The user selected the 'Promotion I' card, and then uses a floating hand to select a carriage to move. After the carriage is moved, the screen fills with an interstitial that says, "Pass to Olive Dennis, then press A."

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