It's an easy concept to understand but some of the stages are fiendishly difficult to master. A typical mission has you collecting and dropping off items but there's also the odd sorting stage or game of hangman. Including the tutorial, there are 6 stages of difficulty each with their own selection of missions. Even the missions objectives themselves can be enjoyably off-beat.

From a frozen tundra in the North Pole to a toy-strewn playroom or a picnic at a park, you won't be short on variety. There are over 70 levels in total, many of which are located in some crazy places in keeping with the series' wacky ethos. The idea is to manipulate trains and manoeuvre their cargo to the correct position or use unique carriages to perform certain tasks. Cool Pool came about during this time too, but it's TrainTown in partnership with a brand of model locomotives that's truly the odd duck by being an out-and-out puzzle game. Releasing in 1999, the developers at Dynamix were trying to shake up the formula by branching into other styles and genres.

trains? For a franchise that's been more about quick bursts of arcade fun, 3D Ultra Lionel TrainTown is a bit of a departure. We've had Pinball, Pool and Minigolf in Sierra's 3D Ultra series.

3d ultra lionel traintown deluxe