18xx
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18XX is the generic term for a series of board games which recreate the building of railroads during the 19th century, since the individual games use particular years in the 19th century as their title (usually the date of the start of railway development in the area of the world they cover).
This series has its origins in the game 1829 first produced by Francis Tresham in the mid 1970's. 1829 was chosen as it was the year of the Rainhill Trials.
Contents
Gameplay
Common features
18XX games vary, but most follow this general pattern:- The objective is to enhance personal wealth, not the assets of any companies a player may be operating. Personal wealth consists of cash, company stock (which increases wealth both by receiving dividends and by capital appreciation), and other investments (such as private companies).
- Players don't directly interact with the game board, but do so indirectly through companies they control. Generally, the player who owns the most stock of a company is the president of that company and makes all decisions on behalf of that company. Usually, the president is also required to help fund the company when it lacks sufficient funds to pay a required expenditure (such as a train).
- The president's certificate must be the first one purchased for a company, and the purchaser sets the price for regular shares of stock. Certain games may impose restrictions on the order in which companies may be started, and they vary in how many shares must be purchased before the company may operate ("floats").
- The game alternates between a stock round and one or more operating rounds. In a stock round, players buy and sell stock (some games have company actions during a stock round as well), while in an operating round players take actions on behalf of companies they control, including laying track, placing station tokens, operating trains, and buying trains.
- The map is usually a hex grid that depicts cities and terrain features. Tiles are laid on top of this map to represent track development, and tokens are placed on the board to represent stations (as well as special abilities from private companies). Cities have values which can vary based on which tiles have been laid on the city, the phase of the game, or even which type of train is used to reach them. Different color tiles are available in succession, and in phases. These phases are typically determined by train purchases.
- A company's stock price is adjusted based on the revenues earned and whether the president chose to pay dividends or to withhold the earnings in the company treasury. Stock prices are usually also affected by actions in the stock round, and some games have other mechanisms that affect the stock price.
- Trains become obsolete, and must be replaced by ever more expensive trains which also have greater capacity for earning revenue. Purchase of a new type of train usually triggers other events in the game, such as when older trains become obsolete, the availability of different sets of tiles, closure of private companies, etc.
- Game end is usually determined by bankruptcy (when a player cannot pay the debt of a company he controls) or the bank running out of money. Some games do not end when a player goes bankrupt, while others add other conditions for ending the game such as when a stock reaches a certain value on the stock market.
Differences
A new 18XX game is usually different in significant ways from predecessors. A few games are produced which basically only change the names of the companies and the map on which the game is played, but those are less popular. As with games in general, each individual mechanic has probably been used before, but a new game can put together a set of mechanics which provide a new and interesting challenge. Some typical areas of difference are:- Initial Auction - there are many different ways to distribute the initial privates and corporations.
- Private Companies - most 18XX games have private companies which are entirely owned by one player, and represent the earliest companies in the game or provide special abilities. Some games have very similar private companies, some have very different private companies, and some dispense with having private companies at all.
- Corporation Funding - some games have full funding for a corporation as soon as it floats, while others have the company receiving money only as each share is sold. Some games require the corporation to reach a historically relevant destination in order to receive some of its capital.
- Company Types - some games have multiple company types. These types may vary based on how many shares are available for purchase, the funding model for the company, the number of station tokens available, or which types of trains may be purchased by the company.
- Train Types - some games may offer multiple types of trains with distinct capabilities or lifetimes.
- * Some trains may "degrade" into other train types upon certain events (for example, delayed obselescence of 4-trains in 18MEX, or normal trains becoming H-trains in 1844).
- * Trains may become available in unusual orders. For example, in 1830, Diesel engines are available as soon as the first 6-train is purchased — all the 6-trains are not required to be purchased first. In 1824, G-train availability is controlled by when normal trains are purchased.
- * Certain trains may be restricted in terms of which locations they may run to or may count revenue from, or they may provide bonuses for running to certain locations. For example, in 1844, H-trains are prohibited from running to off-board locations. In 1854, only Orient Express trains may run to certain off-board areas. In 1889, Diesels get special bonuses for off-board locations. In 1826, E-trains and TGVs ignore dot-towns. TGVs in 1826 and 4D-trains in 18MEX double the value of cities they count. In 1824, only G-trains may run to mines and the corporation always gets the value of the mine rather than it being potentially paid to stockholders.
List of titles in the series
Published games
- 1800 Colorado, released 2002 by David Methany, designed by Antionio Leal
- 1824 Austria, released 2005 by Double-O Games, designed by Lonny Orgler and Helmut Ohley
- 1825 England, released 1995 (Unit 1), 2000 (Unit 2), 2004 (Unit 3), designed by Francis Tresham
- 1826 France and Belgium, released 2000 by Chris Lawson, re-released in 2004 by Deep Thought Games, LLC, designed by David G.D. Hecht
- 1829 (South) England, released 1974, designed by Francis Tresham, started the series
- 1829 (North) England, released 1981, designed by Francis Tresham
- 1829 Mainline England, released 2005 by Tresham Games, designed by Francis Tresham
- 1830 Northeastern United States, released 1986, designed by Francis Tresham and Bruce Shelley, published by Avalon Hill
- 1832 Southeastern United States, released 2006 by Deep Thought Games, LLC, designed by Bill Dixon
- 1835 Germany, released 1990, designed by Michael Meier-Bachl and published by Hans im Glück
- 1837 Austria-Hungary, released and designed 1994 by Lonny Orgler
- 1837SX Saxony, self-published in 2003 by Wolfram Janich
- 1838 Rheinland, self-published in 2001 by Wolfram Janich
- 1841 Italy, released by Chris Lawson, designed by Federico Vellani
- 1842 Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein, self-published in 1995 by Wolfram Janich
- 1844 Switzerland, released 2004 and designed by Helmut Ohley
- 1846 Mid-western United States, released 2005 by Deep Thought Games, designed by Thomas Lehmann
- 1847 Germany-Pfalz, self-published in 1996 by Wolfram Janich
- 1849 Sicily, released by Chris Lawson, designed by Federico Vellani
- 1850 Mid-western United States, released 2006 by Deep Thought Games, designed by Bill Dixon
- 1851 Tennessee, released by Chris Lawson, designed by Mark Derrick and Chris Lawson
- 1853 India, released 1989, designed by Francis Tresham
- 1854 Austria-Hungary, designed and released 2002 by Lonny Orgler, re-released 2004 by Deep Thought Games
- 1856 Canada, released 1995, designed by Bill Dixon and published by Mayfair Games
- 1860 Isle of Wight, released 2004 by JKLM Games, designed by Mike Hutton
- 1862 United States, self-published in 2000 by Helmut Ohley
- 1870 Mississippi Valley, United States, released 1995, designed by Bill Dixon and published by Mayfair Games
- 1889 Shikoku Japan, released by Wild Heaven Productions, re-released 2006 by Deep Thought Games, designed by Yasutaka Ikeda
- 1890 Osaka Japan, released 1999 by Nobuhiro Izumi, designed by Shin-ichi Takasaki
- 1895 Namibia, released 2005, designed by Helmut Ohley and Adam Romoth
- 1898 France, self-published in 1999 by Michael Brünker
- 1899 China and Korea, released by Chris Lawson, designed by Dirk Clemens and Ingo Meyer
- 18AL Alabama United States, self-published in 1999 and later by John David Galt, designed by Mark Derrick
- 18C2C United States, released 2003 by Designs in Creative Entertainment, designed by Mark Frazier
- 18EU Europe, released 2004 by Deep Thought Games, designed by David G.D. Hecht
- 18FL Florida United States, released 2006 by Deep Thought Games, designed by David G.D. Hecht
- 18GA Georgia United States, self-published in 1998 and later by John David Galt
- 18GL Great Lakes area United States, released 2005 by Deep Thought Games, designed by Gary Mroczka
- 18MEX Mexico, released 2005 by Deep Thought Games, designed by Mark Derrick
- 18NL Netherlands, self-published in 2005 by Wolfram Janich
- 18Scan Scandinavia, released 2005 by Deep Thought Games, designed by David G.D. Hecht
- 18VA Virginia United States, released 2004 by Deep Thought Games, designed by David G.D. Hecht
- Ur 1830BC A game about irrigation in Mesopotamia, released 2001, designed by Jeroen Doumen and Joris Wiersinga
- 2038 Asteroid belt, released 1995, designed by James Hlavaty and Thomas Lehmann
Related information
External links
- [18xx Games] at the Open Directory Project
- [Blackwater Station], an 18xx fansite
- [18XX Yahoo! Group]
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