Rolling Stock Stars

1. A standalone reimplementation, not an expansion, matching 1830's player range
Rolling Stock (2020) supported 3 to 5 players. Rolling Stock Stars is a self-contained game — you don't need the original Rolling Stock to play it — designed for 2 to 6 players, exactly matching 1830's range.

2. A historical arc spanning decades and sectors, not a fixed region
1830 always stays in the mid-19th-century northeastern USA. Rolling Stock Stars starts in 1830s Prussia with early railroads, and as the game progresses it adds companies from Germany, then all of Europe, and eventually even non-railroad sectors: the final tier of cards represents container ports and airports.

3. No board, no routes: "Companies" generate the income printed on the card
In 1830, the president has to find the best route across their tile network to generate income. In Rolling Stock Stars there's no board, no hexes, no trains at all: each "Company" card declares its own fixed income, and "Synergies" between pairs of companies with matching codes inside the same corporation abstractly stand in for a transportation network.

4. Stock price moves by "stars," not a book-value table
In 1830, the stock price moves along a fixed grid based on dividend policy. In Rolling Stock Stars, each Company card carries a number of stars based on its color (from red at 1 up to blue at 5), and every 10 coins of cash also counts as one more star. Each round, if a corporation's star count doesn't match what's printed on its current price card, the price moves up or down one or two spaces depending on the gap.

5. Eight fixed corporations with unique, permanent powers, not identical companies
In 1830, every company operates under exactly the same rules. In Rolling Stock Stars there are only eight corporation cards, each with a permanent special power: Prussian Railway earns +1 coin per company it owns, Doppler AG doubles the income of its best company, Overseas Trading always gets first priority buying from the foreign investor, and so on for the other five.

6. Nine phases per turn, not a simple stock/operating alternation
In 1830, each cycle is simple: a stock round followed by one or more operating rounds. In Rolling Stock Stars, every full turn runs through nine fixed phases (investment, order wrap-up, acquisition, closing, income, dividends, end card, issue shares, and IPO), many of which do nothing until enough corporations exist in the game.

7. "Receivership": a corporate zombie state with no equivalent in 1830
In 1830, a bankrupt company is liquidated and that's it. In Rolling Stock Stars, if all of a corporation's issued shares end up owned by the bank, the corporation enters "receivership": it keeps running under an automated (not very smart) receiver that always pays zero dividends and closes companies following fixed rules, until some player buys a share and claims its president's certificate.

8. Three independent end-game triggers, none tied to trains (because there aren't any)
In 1830, the game ends when the bank runs dry or the last train of the last type is bought. In Rolling Stock Stars the game ends if a corporation reaches the 75-coin share price while buying a share, if that price card is still in use when phase 7 begins, or if phase 7 begins with the end card already flipped from a previous turn.

9. Final scoring ignores corporate assets entirely
Just like in 1830, a corporation's treasury and holdings don't count toward determining the winner. In Rolling Stock Stars, final scoring only adds up personal cash, the face value of privately-owned (unconverted) companies, and the current price of personally-held shares — nothing owned by a corporation counts at all.

10. New companies take a full turn before they can be auctioned
In 1830, an available private can be auctioned as soon as it comes up. In Rolling Stock Stars, when a new company is revealed during an auction, it's marked unavailable and no one — not even the foreign investor — can buy it until the following turn.

Rolling Stock Stars — Schematic summary (vs 1830)

CONCEPT

• Card game for 2-6 players, a standalone reimplementation of Rolling Stock (base game not required)
• No board, hexes, tiles, or trains; thematic arc running from 1830s Prussia to modern ports and airports

COMPANIES AND CORPORATIONS

• 36 Company cards with fixed income and stars by color (1 to 5)
• Synergies between pairs of companies with matching codes inside a corporation
• Only 8 fixed corporations, each with a unique permanent special power
• New companies can't be auctioned until the turn after they're revealed

STOCK MARKET

• Share price moves by comparing a corporation's star count against what's printed on its price card (1-2 spaces up or down)
• Nine fixed phases per turn, instead of 1830's simple stock + operating cycle

BANKRUPTCY AND GAME END

• "Receivership": if the bank ends up with all of a corporation's shares, an automated receiver runs it until someone buys a share
• Three possible end triggers, all tied to the 75-coin price or the end card — never to trains
• Final scoring ignores corporate assets, just like in 1830