Home Links 1876 18CH xtgs Contact

Introduction 1876-30 1876-35 Designer's Notes FAQ 1876v2

General 76v2 Rulesheet 76v2 Playtest Kit 76v2 Rule Comparison List 76v2-30 Rulesheet 76v2-x Stock Round 76v2-x Operating Round

Original Location

Please go to http://www.maproom.co.uk/18xxcomp.htm for the master copy of this list.

1876v2 Rule Comparison List

This is the famous 18XX Rules Difference List by Nick Sauer, Nick Wedd et al. Data for 1876v2 has been inserted to clarify its rules.

I formatted all my insertions italic

18XX Rules Difference List

Games covered:
1876v2 Trinidad. In beta test stage.
1825 South Eastern England. (Two more "units" of 1825 were promised, for the English Midlands, and for Northern England and Scotland. This document may apply only to unit 1.)
1827 Jr. U.S.A. Beta version
1829 Southern England; Northern England/Scotland. (two games with the same rules)
1830 Eastern U.S.A.
1835 Germany
1837 Austria-Hungary
1841 Northern Italy (originally issued as "1839")
1842 Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein
1847 Pfälz area of Germany
1849 Sicily (originally issued as "1850"). Releases 1, 3.0 and 4.16.
1851 Tennessee & Kentucky
1853 India
1856 Ontario
1870 Mississippi Valley
1876 Trinidad. Two miniatures, one using 1830 rules, one using 1835 rules.
1898 France
1899 Northern China and Korea
18AL Alabama
18DT "DownTown". Abstract city underground. (Name may be changed).
18GA Georgia
2038 Asteroid Belt

This document was originally created by Nick Sauer, and modified by Nick Wedd. It includes contributions by David Allsopp, Dave Berry, Elliott Bonnett, Michael Brünker, Arthur Bullock, Bill Dixon, John David Galt, Jeff Goldsmith, David Grabiner, Aaron Haag, Andy Holt, Mike Hutton, Robert Jasiek, Hunter Johnson, Matthias Klose, Chris Lawson, Lonny, Ryan Moats, Alex Rhomberg, Nick Sauer, Robert Stimets, Steve Thomas, Nick Wedd, Rick Westerman, Jeff Wilson, Paul Work, and Dafydd Wyn Evans.

[ Text in square brackets is the opinion of Nick Wedd, and may be disregarded. ]

Contents

1. First Share-dealing Round
2. Subsequent Share-dealing Rounds
3. Operating rounds: companies that float
4. Operations
5. Tile Lay
6. Station Markers
7. Train Runs
8. Payment of Earnings
9. Purchasing Trains
10. Private Companies
11. Presidency of a Share Company
12. Game Phases
13. End of Game
14. Secrecy
15. Inventories
16. Miscellaneous points

1.1) Starting cash

1.2) Five subtracted from private company price for no sale in the first round?

1.3) Can you sell company shares in the first round?

1.4) Can you make advanced bids?

2.1) Is there a specific order to buying and selling on your turn?

2.2) Are you limited to buying one certificate on your turn?

2.3) Can you sell shares in a company before it floats?

2.4) Can you sell shares in a company that has just floated this Share Round?

2.6) Does the Bank Pool have a per company share limit?

2.7) Player certificate limit:

2.8) Player certificate limit for shares in one company:

2.9) Stock price drop when stock sold:

2.10) Does stock price go up at the end of the Share Round for a fully held corporation?

2.11) Can you buy and immediately sell the same certificate?

1876v2 Yes
1825 No; nor may any share in the company bought be sold until the next round
1827 Jr., 1841, 1842, 1849, 1851, 1898, 2038 No. All selling precedes all buying.
1829, 1830, 1835, 1837, 1853, 1870, 18GA Yes
1856 No; but you can buy and then sell a different, identical, one(s).
18DT Players may, companies may not.

2.12) Can companies buy shares?

2.13) What ends a share-dealing round?

2.14) Can a player sell private companies to another player?

3.1) Do you lay the base station token immediately upon floating?

3.2) Number of shares needed to float:

3.3) Does a company get full capitalisation upon floating?

4.1) Companies operate in order by:

5.2) Double tile lays allowed:

5.3) Must a tile replacement extend existing track?

5.4) Do villages upgrade?

6.1) Cost:

6.2) Can you lay more than one per turn? (This does not include the token in the company's starting hex: you may always lay one in addition to this)

6.3) Where can you lay a station marker?

7.1) Can you run into a city completely filled by rival station marker(s)?

7.2) Can you do a run that passes through a city completely filled by rival station marker(s)?

7.3) Unusual rules about running:

7.4) Can one train run to two stations on the same tile?

7.5) Is double-heading allowed?

7.6) Rules about villages

In 1830 and some other games, villages are a nuisance. They count towards the station count of a train, but add little to revenue. In such games it is almost always better to build a line through an empty field than through a village, if other things are equal. While this is not a problem for gameplay, some people feel that it makes an unsatisfactory simulation. This may be why various authors have found various ways of changing it.

1876v2 Villages count 1/2 a stop to the run limit
1825, 1829 A run may not start nor end in a village. Double-heading (see previous item) reduces the severity of this restriction.
1827Jr, 1849 Trains count hexes not stations.
1830, 1842, 1870 No special rule. Villages are genreally a nuisance.
1835, 1847 As well as N-trains that visit up to N stations, there are N+n trains that visit up to n villages as well as up to N stations.
1837 As for 1835 and 1847, but N+m trains are rarer. Also, for coal trains villages contribute to the run, but do not count towards the station count; and express trains ignore villages.
1841, 1898, 18AL, 18GA Villages contribute to the run, but do not count towards the station count. In 1841 this rule is in §4.3.1.
1851, 18DT, 2038 There are no villages.
1853 Villages contribute to the run, but do not count towards the station count. They can also be upgraded to cities. 1856 Villages may eventually be upgraded to cities or "downgraded" to empty fields.

8. Payment of Earnings

8.1) Stock moves right for payment of dividend:

8.2) Dividend to shares in the Bank Pool goes into the company's treasury?

8.3) Dividend to unissued shares goes into the company's treasury?

8.4) Stock moves leftwards for withholding earnings?

9.1) Can companies buy trains from one another?

9.2) Must a major share company buy a train if it does not have one?

9.3) Can trains be sold back to the bank?

9.4) When a company has no train, and cannot buy one with its own means, it must use its director's money. What train may it then buy?

9.5 Must a minor company buy a train if it does not have one?

9.6 Can trains of the final type be purchased as soon as one train of the next-to-last type is purchased?

10.1) Purchasable by share companies?

10.2) Does a private company prevent builds in its home hex(es) while it is owned by a player?

10.3) Does using the company's special property close it?

10.4) All private companies close on:

11.1) Can be sold into the bank pool?

11.2) Can you exchange the director's share for regular shares from another player when you sell shares to the Bank Pool?

11.3) After a sale of shares forces a change in director, who gets it in case of a tie?

1876v2
 1½  Yellow train limit four
 2½  Yellow 
 3½  Green  1½-trains rust, green tiles, companies may buy privates, 2 ORs
 4½  Green  2½-trains rust, train limit three
 5½  Brown  brown tiles, privates close, 3 ORs, train limit two
 6½  Brown  3½-trains rust, diesels available
 D   Gray   4½-trains rust, gray tiles

1825
2  One   Train limit four, 1 OR
3  Two   Green tiles, 2 ORs,
4
5  Three Brown tiles, 2-trains rust, train limit three, 3 ORs

1827 Jr.
1H  1H   Train limit four, 1 OR
2H  2H   Green tiles, 2 ORs, privates may be bought by share companies,
         -  more share companies available, more privates available
3H  3H   1H trains rust, train limit three, bonds available,
         - another private available
4H  4H   2H trains rust, prestige items available, another private available
5H  5H   Brown tiles, 3 ORs, high value for OBHs, another private available
P8H P8H  3H trains rust
F7H F7H  4H trains rust, 5H trains require maintenance

1829
2  One   Train limit four, 1 OR
3  Two   Green tiles, 2 ORs
4
5  Three Brown tiles, 2-trains rust, train limit three, 3 ORs
7  Four  Gray tiles, 3-trains rust, train limit two, 4 ORs

1830
2  Yellow Train limit four, 1 OR
3  Green  Green tiles, privates may be bought by companies, 2 ORs.
4         2-trains rust, train limit three
5  Brown  Brown tiles, train limit two, 3ORs, higher values for obhs,
          - privates close
6         3-trains rust, D-trains available immediately
8         4-trains rust

1835
2    1  Train limit four(two), two tile lays by majors
2+2
3    2  Green tiles, transfer of trains, 2 ORs, one tile-lay per company,
        - mid value for obhs, trains may be bought from other companies
3+3
4       2 trains rust, train limit three(one), Prussia may start
4+4     2+2 trains rust, Prussia must start
5    3  Brown tiles, train limit two (Pr 3), high value for obhs, 3 ORs,
        - all minors must fold into Prussia and all privates close
5+5
6       3 trains rust
6+6     3+3 trains rust

1837
2    1  Train limit four for majors, two for minors
3    2  Green tiles, transfer of trains, 2 ORs, Bosnia-Herzegovina open, 
        - passes may be built without help of mountain railways, 2G trains available, 
        - train limit three for majors, trains may be bought from other companies
3+1     Train limit one for minors and coal companies
4       2 trains rust, 3G trains available (once 2Gs have sold out),
        - Italy secedes, Bozen upgraded to green, Sudbahn launched, K+K may be launched,
        - train limit for Sudbahn and K+K is four.
3G      1G trains rust
4E      Hungarian may launch - its train limit is four.
4+1     K+K must launch.
5    3  Brown tiles, train limit two (three for fused companies), 3 ORs,
        - 4G trains available once 3Gs have sold out, Hungarian must launch,
        - private companies closed, coal companies fused into majors
4G      2G trains rust.
5+2     3+1 trains rust.

1841
2  2  train limit four(two)
3  3  Yellow tiles, 2 ORs, two track-lays per major,
      - track-lays across borders, non-historic companies may start
4  4  2-trains rust, borders change, IRSSF split, Tuscan merge,
      - mid values for obhs, train limit three(two)
5  5  3-trains rust, borders change again, brown tiles, 3 ORs,
      - one track-lay per major
6  6  high values for off-board hexes, train limit two(one)
7  7  4-trains rust
8  8  5-trains rust

1842
1  Yellow Train limit four, 1 OR
2
3  Green  1-trains rust, train limit three, green tiles, 2 ORs,
          - privates may be bought by companies, trains may be bought from other companies
4         2-trains rust
5  Brown  Brown tiles, train limit two, 3ORs, higher values for obhs
6         3-trains rust
7         4-trains rust

1847            [ This needs checking ]
3    yellow Train limit four(two), two tile lays, no development of others' home bases
3+3
4    green  Green tiles, transfer of trains, 2 ORs, one tile-lay per company,
            - mid value for obhs, stone mines may be bought,
            - others' home bases may be developed
4+4         3 trains rust
4           train limit three(one)
5    
5+5  brown  Brown tiles, 3 ORs, high value for obhs
            - (in alternative version 3+3 trains rust)
6           3+3 trains rust (in normal version), train limit 2, 
            - stone mines except Rammelsbach close 
6+6         (in alternative version 4 trains rust)

1849
 4   4  Train limit four, companies start at 68 or 100
 6   6  Green tiles, 2 ORs, companies also start at 144 
        - (ver4 only, privates may be bought by companies)
 8   8  4-trains rust, mid value for off-board hex, train limit three
10  10  6-trains rust, red tiles, train limit two, 3 ORs, companies also start at 216
12  12  Earthquake, high value for off-board hex (ver 4 only, privates eliminated
        - and if playing the electric variant, electric tokens and trains are available)
16  16  8-trains rust, R6 trains available immediately, share prices may enter the 
        - final section of the stock market
R6

1851
 2  Two    Train limit 4, 1 OR, reds + specials use small values, one yellow
 3  Three  Two yellows/one green, 2 ORs
 4  Four   Train limit 3, reds & specials use middle value, 2-trains rust
 5  Five   Brown tiles, privates close. Train limit 2, 3ORs
 6  Six    3-trains rust, reds & specials use high values
 8  Eight  4-trains rust, grey tile

1853
2   1  Train limit four, 1 OR*
3   2  Green tiles, 2 ORs*, 2M trains available
4   3  Orange tiles, 3 ORs*, train limit three, 2-trains rust, 3M trains available
5   4  Grey tiles, train limit two 4, 3-trains rust, 4M trains available
6

1856
2  one   train limit four
3  two   Green tiles, companies may buy privates, 2 ORs
4  three 2-trains rust, train limit three
5  four  Brown tiles, private companies close, 3 ORs,
         - use "5" value for obhs, train limit two
6  five  3-trains rust, repay loans, CGR starts, villages can go,
         - port token dies, diesels available, gray tiles
D  six   4-trains rust, use bottom value for obhs

1870
 2  one   train limit four
 3  two   Green tiles, companies may buy privates, 2 ORs
 4  three 2-trains rust, train limit three
 5  four  Brown tiles, privates close, 3 ORs, use mid value for obhs,
          - train limit two
 6  five  3-trains rust, port & cow tokens go, diesels available,
          - gray tiles
 8  six   Use bottom value for obhs
10  seven
12  eight 5-trains rust

1898
1 - start of the game, concessions phase
2 2 train limit four (two)
3 3 green tiles, 2 ORs, two track-lays per major, 
     - non-historic companies may start
4 4 2-trains rust, TDF split, Rhône Valley merge, second values for off-board hexes, 
     - train limit, three (two), two track-lays per minor
5 5 3-trains rust, brown tiles, 3 ORs
6 6 third values for off-board hexes, train limit two (one)
7 7 4-trains rust, grey tiles, 4 ORs
8 8 highest values for off-board-hexes, 5-trains rust

18AL
2  Yellow Train limit four, 1 OR
3  Green  Green tiles, privates may be bought by companies, 2 ORs.
4         2-trains rust, train limit three
5  Brown  Brown tiles, train limit two, 3ORs, higher values for obhs,
          - privates close
6         3-trains rust
7         4-trains rust
4D

18DT
2   2   train limit four
3   3   orange tiles available
4   4   2-trains rust, train limit three, brown tiles available
5   5   3-trains rust, blue tiles available, signals may be replaced
E4  E4  train limit two, grey tiles available
E5  E5  4-trains rust
E6  E6  5-trains rust, red tiles available

18GA
2  Yellow Train limit four, 1 OR
3  Green  Green tiles, privates may be bought by companies, 2 ORs.
4         2-trains rust, train limit three
5  Brown  Brown tiles, train limit two, 3ORs, higher values for obhs,
          - privates close
6         3-trains rust
8         4-trains rust

2038
5/1,3/2  I   spaceship limit four(two)
6/2,4/3  II  Probe rusts, growth corps may start,
             - corps may buy each others' assets
7/3,5/4  III Phase I ships rust, AL may form,
             - spaceship limit three(one, four-AL)
8/4,6/5  IV  AL must form, transshipment hexes count higher value
9/5,7/6  V   Phase II ships rust, indies must join AL,
             - privates and pilots go, phase VI ships available
9/7      VI  Phase III spaceships rust, ship limit two(three-AL)

13. End of Game

13.1) Game ends immediately with a bankruptcy?

13.2) When bank runs out of money during an OR:

13.3) What happens when a first stock hits the top end of the market?

13.4) What happens if the bank runs out of money during a stock-dealing round?

[ In my own circle, we play with all money open for inspection, because of a mythical player called "Clive". Clive always knows exactly how much money each player and company has, because he mentally notes the effect of every transaction. However he takes time to do this, and makes the game unbearably slow when secrecy is in force.
Note that secret transactions foil even Clive. ]

14.1) Is a player's cash secret, or open for inspection?

14.2) Is a company's cash secret, or open for inspection?

14.3) Is the cash involved in transactions secret, or must it be made public?

15.1) Total cash in game.

15.2) Trains available.

[ Where the above lines end with a "?", I do not know if the largest trains are meant to be unlimited in number. I will be grateful for any information. ]

When the largest trains are specified as "unlimited", only a finite number is issued with the set. If they run out [improbable in my experience] you manufacture some more.

15.3) Tiles available.

1876v2

Panic Threshold

When 50% or more of a share are in the bank pool, the selling player only gets the share price after the token movement. When the share price token is at the bottom, it moves left. See rules for details.

Train Limit

Diesels don't count against the train limit.

Assisted train buys

Assisted train buys can be forced (no train) or voluntary (restrictions apply). All shareholders must contribute according to their share percentage or must sell their shares. See rules for details.

>STR pool share

At game start a STR 10% share is in the pool. This and the STR share going to the SFDS buyer cannot be traded until the STR director share is sold.

San Fernando and Port of Spain

Even when all station circles in these cities are occupied, every railroad is allowed to run its train to the port station on the same tile (only, no other routes through these cities are allowed for non token holders, as usual).

Laying tokens in home cities

In contrast to 1830 r19.0 railroads may be place their tokens on base stations of a other corporations provided, even if the only free station circle is "reserved" for that corporation. But when the railroad having this city as a base later starts operating, and no empty station circle is available, the previously laid token is removed from play without compensation.

STR Home Cities

In the turn the STR starts operating, the company may place tokens in any or all of their home cities (Point Fortin, Debe, Basse Terre). The usual token costs apply (laying all three tokens will require $140). Other companies tokens are removed (if necessary) in the cities only the STR places its token in. The STR may lay tiles from any of these tokens, but the one tile per turn limit applies even when the STR has more than one home city. When the SFDS is in player hand, the initial token may be place in Debe, but no tile can be layed there until the SFDS is sold to a company or closes.
This action cannot be postponed. In following rounds the usual rules for token placements apply and other companies tokens can no longer be removed to lay a STR token.

1825

1827 Jr.

For tables to explain the share-price movements, see http://www.maproom.co.uk/1827jr.htm.

1829

Players may sell their private companies to other players.

1835

1841

It costs 50 to upgrade mountain track.

1841, 1849 and 1898

1842

There are special bonuses (see rule 6.2.4) for connecting hexes F18, and O13.

Rule 6.2.2 "Restrictions for Coastal Towns" describes restrictions on upgrades of all towns, not just coastal ones.

If a player holds at least two shares in each of at least three companies, her certificate limit is increased by one. This increase may be anticipated in buying the second share in a company.

There are hexes on the board which are yellow but have no track. These may not be developed until the green phase, and the first tiles laid on them must be yellow.

1849

It costs the full price to upgrade mountain track.

1853

1856

After the sale of a 6-train, villages may be removed, either by promoting them to cities, or by downgrading them to plain track. Double villages may be promoted but not removed.

A company can fall off the bottom of the stock market. It then ceases to exist.

The initial state of Toronto is two 30-cities, as on the map - the tile manifest is wrong (Bill Dixon, rgb, May '97).

1870

Has "share protection" in which the president immediately buys sold shares, to protect the price. Also "share redemption" in which a company buys one of its own shares, and "share reissue" in which the shares bought back in this way are offered for sale again.

A company that connects to its "destination" does a special bonus run.

There is a "ledge" on the stockmarket. Tokens trying to move downwards through this do so normally except if this would cause them to stop immediately below it, when they instead stop immediately above it. Tokens trying to move upwards through the ledge do so normally. Tokens trying to move rightwards through the ledge get diverted upwards by arrows. Tokens trying to move leftwards through the ledge do so normally. [This is not obvious from the published rules. It was stated by Bill Dixon, the designer of 1870.]

Two of the companies may buy the bridge private before a 3-train has been sold. Bill Dixon has stated:

"The Mississippi River Bridge Company may be purchased by one of the two companies on the Mississippi River (Missouri Pacific or St. Louis Southwestern) in phase one for $20 to $40. If one of these two public companies purchases this private company during their first operating round, the company may use the private company to lay a tile at its starting city for no cost. This tile lay is in addition to its normal tile lay(s). This uses up the private company. The company cannot lay a tile in their starting city and upgrade it during the same operating round."

18AL

18DT

Glossary

block

A group or tranche of shares, sold simultaneously.

destiny

An incentive assigned to a company, to encourage it to build in a specific direction, as in 1856, 1870 and 18AL.

double-heading

Operating a pair of trains of the same size as if they were a single longer train.

city

One of the blob-shaped, or multiple-blob-shaped, places on the map, where station-markers can be. Cf. "village".

clarification

Statement contradicting or obfuscating an earlier statement.

ledge

A feature of the stockmarket in 1870.

left

References to the "next player to the left" assume that the game is being played clockwise.

NA

Abbreviation for "Not Applicable".

OBH

Abbreviation for "Off-Board Hex". These are areas near the edge of the board, usually red and rarely hexagonal, at which routes may start or finish.

OR

Abbreviation for "Operating Round".

rust

The process which causes small trains to disappear when certain larger ones are bought.

SR

Abbreviation for "Share-dealing Round".

village

One of the blip-shaped places on the map, with no room for a station-marker. Cf. "city".