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18xx
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 Main branches of the 18xx system
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18xx is the collective term used to describe a set of railroad-themed stock market and tile laying games. The 18xx set has two main branches: the 1829 branch (1829, 1825, 1853, and 1829 Mainline) and the 1830 branch (1830, 1856, 1870, etc). There are also a number of crossover games which sit somewhere between the two branches (e.g. 1860). While general railroad operations such as track laying are critical to both branches, the two branches are fundamentally quite different in character and player focus. The 1829 branch games emphasize stock-picking and portfolio management while the 1830 branch concentrates more on financial prediction and stock market manipulation. So in 1829 et al. players are rewarded for holding the right stocks at the right time and for running their companies well, while in 1830 et al. they are rewarded more for manipulating the stock market to their advantage and investing in the companies that thereby profit.
For more information about 18xx, visit the 18xx groups.io (formerly hosted as the 18xx YahooGroup), the 18xx Family, the Facebook group and the 18xx Slack chat group.
Features
- The original 18xx game from which all others trace their design lineage is Francis Tresham's 1829.
- The games involve railroads/railways. (This is somewhat controversial, as games like 1830 UR and 2038 are based on the 18xx system, but do not involve railroads/railways).
- Highest net worth (normally cash plus stock assets) determine the winner.
- Players can buy stock in companies.
- The player (or corporate entity, e.g. in 1841) with the most stock runs the subject company as president or director.
- Turns alternate between stock buying/selling rounds and operating rounds.
- In operating rounds, the president/director determines what track tiles to lay and where, what stations/bases to create, calculates the earnings of trains, decides whether to pay out the revenue as dividends to the shareholders or to retain it in the company, and may buy a new train. These don't necessarily have to happen in this order (e.g. train buying may occur before revenue calculations in some games).
- The purchase of new types of trains may trigger other actions (increased revenues, border changes, private company closures, new track tiles, etc.).
- The board has a hexagonal grid and track tiles are hexagonal in shape (though 18Lilliput uses a square grid and square tiles).
- Stock values rise or fall depending on whether revenues are paid out as dividends or retained by the company.
Games
Community
- 18xx Group (primary discussion list, formerly the YahooGroup)
- Indiana Google Group and Guild and Facebook Group
- Chicago, Illinois
- Portland, Oregon
- San Francisco, California
- http://www.kanataboardgamers.ca/
GeekLists and Threads
Current 18xx Publishers and Forecast
Game Conventions
- Chattanooga Rail Gaming Challenge - January-February in Chattanooga, Tennessee; run by Mark Derrick
- TempleCon - January in Providence, Rhode Island; run by Dave Lionett
- TotalCon - February in Mansfield, Massachusetts; run by Dave Mitton
- Hattanooga - May in Medicine Hat, Alberta; run by Tyler McLaughlin
- Portland 18xx Convention - June in Portland, Oregon; run by Dave Blanchard (magnate)
- DieCon - June in St. Louis, Missouri metro area; run by Chris Fawcett
- ManorCon - July in the United Kingdom
- World Boardgaming Championships (WBC) - End of July in Seven Springs, PA near Pittsburgh; 18xx Tournament run by Tom McCorry
- MidSumCon - August in Chicago, Illinois; run by Anthony Carver
- RailCon - Fall in the United States, location varies; Run by the Train Gamers Association; includes non-18xx rail games.
- Buckeye Game Fest - September in Columbus Ohio. Includes non--18xx games. Run by Columbus Area Boardgame Society (CABS).
- Conception Convention - September in Glen Ellyn Illinois. Features an 18xx Tournament. Tournament run by Joe Miller.
- Cardboard Caucus - October in Des Moines, Iowa. 18DSM - an 18xx Tournament run by Andrew Finke
- 18xxBelgium - 2 dedicated 18xx conventions a year in Belgium (summer and winter)
Play Online and by Email & Helper Tools
- 18XX play by email game clearinghouse
- 18xx-Online Live Gaming - Arrange and play in real-time live games with players around the world using wecams, audio, shared spreadsheets, etc.
- Cyberboard (gameboxes available on many sites)
- Vassal (open source)
- Rich Price's BOARD18 (open source)
- Rails: an 18xx game system (Java, open source)
- mais n’est-ce pas la gare (Contact Steve Thomas by email. You can find him on the 18xx YahooGroup.)
- Postscript maps
- Spreadsheet collections:
- rr18xx - Online play with rules enforcement, invitation only
- 18xx TTS - Tabletop Simulator on Steam
- https://18xx.games - 1889 & 18Chesapeake (beta) hot-seat and online multiplayer. More games on the way.
- Survey Party for face to face play
- Lemmi's Moderator for face to face play