The Balkans have long been a land of mystery and strife. The promise of the newfangled railways has brought unusual co-operation to the leaders of the disparate states of this land. Players are rich merchants and powerful leaders investing their wealth and status in building railroads in this forbidding land. Loans are taken and serviced, opportunities must be recognized and seized. Savvy fiscal manipulators will come out on top in this no-luck economic knife fight.