Tips railroadink

Try and pick a starting point, then head in one direction with roads, and in the other direction with railroads, to maximize points for longest highway/railroad. While most of your points will come from connecting exits, having one route run through the center is a good idea for additional points.

Remember you can let roads and railroads end on the side of the board, even when there is no exit. These do not count as a penalty.

Be smart about bridge use - this does not count as a connection between your road and railroad, but it does double dip in terms of points for longest road and railroad if placed well. When you do not have a good place, try to use it as a straight road/railroad along the edge as this mitigates the point loss to -1 instead of -2.

Don't forget to use your first special route by the end of the 5th round, as you only get 3 and can only use one per round. Ideally it should be one of the two railroad, two road junctions and be played early in the game to ensure your longest road and railroad are part of a single network. The best places for it are one of the center exits, one up from each exit in a corner, or in the actual center. Special routes should either be planned around explicitly or used in place of 3-way connectors that never come. Unless desperate in the last couple rounds, you should never throw a converter in the middle of your road/railroad. Converters should be placed at "in-betweener" exits to ensure your longest road/railroad can continue connecting exits uninterrupted. Use 3-way pieces in tandem with the converters to maintain one network.

A well-played game generally scores in the 60s: 36-45 from exits, 20-30 total between longest road and railroad, 3-9 for center, and negative 0-10 for broken ends. There is a lot of variation based on routes offered. High scoring rolls can get into the 70s or even low 80s.