A great railway game condensed into 30 minutes.
Each player has a set of 5 cities strung across Europe that need to be connected by rail. Players place either 1 or 2 rails each turn. The game ends when the first player completes a connected route between his 5 cities. The player who can make the best use of the other players' networks is generally victorious.
Trans Europa now includes Vexation, a nasty little expansion, which adds new tactical opportunities and more tension to the game.