A Gamer Dad’s Review: Train Valley

A charming mix of trains, tracks, and tiny chaos—where my son learned planning, problem-solving, and that sometimes it’s okay to crash a few times along the way.

Jun 14, 2025

Hey there! I’m ROP, and this is the third article in my Gamer Dad Review Series. After the whimsy of The Tiny Bang Story and the balance of, well... Ballance, we moved onto something a little more... managerial:

Train Valley! It turned out to be the perfect mix of building, thinking, and giggling—a strategic puzzle game that delivers both challenge and charm.

Planning, Playing, and the Joy of Little Trains

If there's one thing Junior loves almost as much as puzzles, it’s trains. The moment he saw that first engine chugging across the screen, he was hooked. But Train Valley isn't just about watching trains go by—it's about building tracks, managing routes, and avoiding collisions. (Or, depending on Junior’s mood, creating them 😅).

The game starts simple enough for a preschooler to grasp—you build tracks and guide trains to their stations—but, each new level layers in just the right amount of challenge and new mechanics to learn. So... He’d giggle every time the last train, in each level, zoomed by to its correct and final destination.

And the presentation? A treat. The game’s visuals are cute, bright, with cheerful landscapes that feel like a Saturday morning cartoon.

Castle in the center, trains all around… Junior called it “*The Train Kingdom*.”

And the music? Relaxing enough to make you forget it’s a puzzle game, but peppy enough to keep you on your toes. It’s the kind of game that makes you want to lean back, enjoy the view, and let your brain quietly click into gear... if you’re not too busy stopping train wrecks, that is.

But here’s where it gets geeky: Train Valley is secretly teaching Junior some serious life skills. It’s like a crash course in planning and prioritization—laying tracks for future routes and deciding which train goes first to avoid delays. I’d catch myself saying, “Okay, Junior, let’s think ahead. If we build the track here, what happens next?” It felt like prepping him for life’s little logistics, minus the coffee and chaos. And when we’d finally get all the trains home without a hitch, his high-fives were pure magic.

Tracks, Crashes, and Learning by Doing

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. At one point, he triggered three trains at once and just sat there wide-eyed as the entire valley turned into a rail disaster. And you know what? He loved it. So much so that his new favorite "strategy" was now... crashing trains, just for the sheer joy of it. Classic kid chaos!

Spoiler: you can’t stop the big train. We tested it. Thoroughly.

Yet, even that was a lesson in consequences—every crash meant a delay, and we’d have to rethink our approach. It was like watching him learn resilience in real time, and honestly, I was learning right alongside him.

When he finally pulled off a perfect run—every train on time, no crashes, money left in the budget—he turned to me and said, “I think I’m getting good at this!” Imagine how proud I was in that moment, as a dad. 🙂

*The snow didn’t slow us down. Final train in, budget intact. Victory cocoa, anyone?* ☕

Some levels got too tricky, especially later in the game when the pressure ramps up. But the beauty of Train Valley is that it never punishes failure too harshly. You can restart, try again, test a new layout. It encourages trial and error in the best way.

Why it worked for us:

Trains! (Need I say more?)
Teaches planning, prioritization, and spatial thinking
Encourages experimentation through low-stress failure
Easy to co-play—he built while I handled the tougher logistics
Short levels, perfect for bite-sized play sessions

Father Thought

Train Valley showed me that kids can surprise you when you give them space to think. Watching Junior plan routes, prevent crashes, and celebrate those small victories reminded me that games aren’t just about winning—they’re also about learning, and discovering new ways to learn.

This one became our go-to evening wind-down game. Not too flashy, not too complex—just thoughtful, relaxing fun with the occasional disaster for flavor. And if you’re a parent looking for something fun, educational, and genuinely enjoyable to play together, this one’s a must-try. Junior gives it two thumbs up—and trust me, that’s impressive, especially coming from a kid whose favorite button used to be “SEND ALL TRAINS NOW!”. 😆

If you enjoyed this, you might like the full 3-part Gamer Dad Review Series—where I reflect on the first games I played with my son:

1️⃣ The Tiny Bang Story → 1st Part
2️⃣ Ballance (2004) → 2nd Part
3️⃣ Train Valley → you’re here!

Want to share your own gaming memories? Or maybe your kid's first big strategy moment? I'd love to hear about it. 👇 Let's talk… trains, parenting, or any pixel-powered lessons!