Games like Great Western Trail

01

Great Western Trail: Second Edition(2021)

★ 8.31–4 players75 minWeight 3.7

ISO Match

84/100

Great Western Trail: Second Edition is, unsurprisingly, one of the closest matches in feel you'll find. The same deck, bag, and pool building, hand management, ownership, set collection, track movement, and variable set-up drive everything. At an identical 3.70 weight, its depth mirrors the original exactly. It supports 1–4 players and, like the first edition, is best at three — now with a solo mode included. The differences are small: contracts and income are listed only for the original, while this edition adds tags alongside that solo option. If you want the design refined rather than reinvented, this is the obvious pick.

02

Great Western Trail: New Zealand(2023)

★ 8.51–4 players75 minWeight 4.0

ISO Match

79/100

Slightly heavier at 4.00 against the original's 3.70, Great Western Trail: New Zealand keeps the full engine intact — deck, bag, and pool building, hand management, ownership, set collection, track movement, and variable set-up all return. It's a near-perfect match if you want the same decision space with more to chew on, and the 8.5 community rating suggests it delivers. Player counts line up too: 1–4, best at three, with a solo mode added. What's missing is the American West setting plus the listed contracts and income systems; what you gain is a tougher, standalone take on a design you already know.

03

Great Western Trail: Argentina(2022)

★ 8.21–4 players75 minWeight 3.9

ISO Match

78/100

Shares Deck, Bag, and Pool Building + 5 more

04

Great Western Trail: El Paso(2025)

★ 7.11–4 playersWeight 2.8

ISO Match

69/100

Shares Deck, Bag, and Pool Building + 5 more

05

Ark Nova(2021)

★ 8.51–4 players90 minWeight 3.8

ISO Match

66/100

Animals are the throughline here, and so is a surprising amount of machinery: Ark Nova shares contracts, hand management, income, set collection, track movement, and variable set-up with Great Western Trail. Depth is nearly identical — 3.80 against 3.70 — so if the original's weight suits you, this will too. Both handle up to four, though Ark Nova is rated best at two where the original prefers three, and it adds solo play. Instead of deck, bag, and pool building and ownership, you get tile placement on a hexagon grid, open drafting, and variable player powers — a different engine in familiar territory.

06

Grand Austria Hotel(2015)

★ 8.02–4 players60 minWeight 3.2

ISO Match

65/100

Contracts, hand management, set collection, and variable set-up form the connective tissue between Grand Austria Hotel and Great Western Trail — it shares the core of what makes the original tick, with some genuine divergence around the edges. At 3.20 versus 3.70, it's noticeably lighter, a friendlier weight for a shorter evening. Both support 2–4 players, though this one peaks at two rather than three. Gone are the deck, bag, and pool building, ownership, income, and track movement; in their place, action drafting and dice rolling in an economic setting, which changes the turn-to-turn texture considerably.

07

Rats of Wistar(2023)

★ 7.51–4 players90 minWeight 3.4

ISO Match

62/100

Shares Contracts + 2 more

08

Barrage(2019)

★ 8.11–4 players90 minWeight 4.1

ISO Match

62/100

At 4.11, Barrage is a definite step up in weight from the original's 3.70, so come prepared for a heavier session. Still, the overlap is real: contracts, income, ownership, and variable set-up all carry over, and the economic backbone will feel familiar to Great Western Trail players even as the games diverge elsewhere. It plays 1–4 with solo support and hits its stride at a full table of four, whereas the original favors three. You lose the deck, bag, and pool building, hand management, set collection, and track movement in favor of worker placement and network building in an industrial setting.

09

Bitoku(2021)

★ 7.81–4 players120 minWeight 3.8

ISO Match

61/100

Bitoku matches Great Western Trail on several core systems: deck, bag, and pool building, hand management, income, and set collection all appear in both, so the engine you're growing turn to turn will feel familiar even as the surroundings diverge. Depth is nearly identical too — 3.77 weight against 3.70 — and both games play best at three, though Bitoku stretches to solo across its 1–4 range where the original supports 2–4. The differences show at the edges: this game leans on contracts, ownership, and track movement, while Bitoku brings area majority, claim-action turn order, and end-game bonuses, trading the American West for fantasy and mythology.

10

Darwin's Journey(2023)

★ 8.11–4 players60 minWeight 3.9

ISO Match

61/100

Shares Contracts + 3 more

11

Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road(2020)

★ 7.51–4 players90 minWeight 3.4

ISO Match

61/100

Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road overlaps with Great Western Trail on contracts, ownership, set collection, track movement, and variable set-up — substantial common ground, with real departures elsewhere. It sits somewhat lighter at 3.44 against the original's 3.70: still meaty, but quicker to get to the table. Merv is rated best at a full four, a shift from the original's three, and covers 1–4 with a solo mode. In place of deck, bag, and pool building, hand management, and income, you'll find a rondel, auction-driven turn order, and a modular board, all in a medieval city-building setting rather than the West.

12

Brass: Birmingham(2018)

★ 8.62–4 players60 minWeight 3.9

ISO Match

60/100

Shares Hand Management + 3 more