1877: Stockholm Tramways

1. Setting, map and number of players
1830 covers the northeastern USA for 2-6 players. 1877: Stockholm Tramways moves the action to Stockholm and spans a very long historical period, from 1877 to 1966, on a smaller, denser map built for urban trams rather than intercity trains. It's designed for 3-6 players (best with 4) and games of 3-4 hours.

2. No private companies
1830 starts with six private companies that can be bought and sold between players and that grant income or special powers. 1877 drops privates entirely -a direct borrow from 1862-: there are none at all, and all of the players' starting capital goes straight into operating companies.

3. Corporations aren't all available from the start
In 1830 all eight operating companies can be founded from the very first stock round. In 1877 each corporation enters play on a staggered schedule based on the color of its home station: yellow-station companies appear in phase 2, green ones in phase 3, and brown ones in phase 6, and they're won at auction rather than simply founded by buying shares.

4. Mergers and hostile takeovers between different players' companies
In 1830 companies never merge with or absorb one another. In 1877, by contrast, one company can acquire another even when they're controlled by different presidents: that's a hostile takeover, and it's exactly the mechanism by which you can end up losing control of your own company. The only constraint is that, combined, the two companies can't have stations on more than six hexes.

5. The merged company's president buys shares at half price
After a merger, the president of the resulting corporation may buy shares in it at half the usual price -a way of rebuilding control right after the takeover. This mechanism doesn't exist in 1830, where there are no mergers of any kind.

6. You can't resell a share you just bought
In 1830, within a single stock round you can buy and sell shares of a company in either order. In 1877 (another inheritance from 1862) a share can't be sold in the same stock round in which it was bought: you have to wait at least one round, which slows down a raided president's ability to buy back control immediately.

7. Trains measured in hexes, not stops
In 1830 a train's size is defined by how many cities and towns it can visit (a "4-train" makes 4 stops, for example). In 1877, following 18Ireland, trains are defined by the number of track hexes they can travel through rather than the number of stops -a design better suited to a dense urban tram network.

8. No emergency stock sale to pay for trains
In 1830, if a company can't afford a mandatory train, the president must contribute personal money and, as a last resort, the company can end up liquidated. In 1877 there's no emergency stock-sale mechanism at all: the president simply contributes the minimum cash needed (or everything they have) to complete the purchase, without the personal-bankruptcy spiral found in some other 18xx titles.

9. Trainless companies can still buy a train right at game end
Normally a company needs to operate to earn the cash for a train. 1877 relaxes that requirement exactly when the endgame trigger fires: even a trainless company can still buy one at that point, a one-off exception with no equivalent in 1830.

10. Game end triggered by share price or the first 10H train, not the "diesel"
In 1830 the game ends when the bank runs dry or the last train of the last type is bought. In 1877 the end comes when a share reaches the top of the market track, or right after a full round of operations following the purchase of the first 10H train (colored grey purely as a visual end-game signal, not because there are any grey tiles on the map).

1877: Stockholm Tramways — Schematic summary (vs 1830)

SETTING

• Stockholm, spanning 1877 to 1966; small, dense map built around urban trams
• 3-6 players (best with 4), games of 3-4 hours

COMPANIES AND FOUNDING

• No private companies (as in 1862)
• Corporations aren't all available from the start: they enter play at auction, staggered by home station color (yellow phase 2, green phase 3, brown phase 6)

MERGERS AND HOSTILE TAKEOVERS

• A company can absorb another even with a different president (hostile takeover) - the central mechanism by which you can lose control of your own company
• Limit: combined, the two companies can have stations on at most six hexes
• The merged company's president may buy shares in it at half price

STOCK MARKET

• A share can't be resold in the same stock round in which it was bought

TRAINS AND GAME END

• Trains defined by hexes traveled, not stops (as in 18Ireland)
• No emergency stock sale to pay for trains: the president only contributes personal cash
• Trainless companies can still buy one when the game-end trigger fires
• Game end: a share reaches the top of the market, or a full round after the first 10H train is bought