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1825

Designer: Francis Tresham

The modular successor to 1829: maps split into Units (1, 2 and 3) that can be combined depending on player count.

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1825 Contents

How it works

Setup
  • Choose the Unit (or Units): it sets the map, companies, money and certificate limit
  • Unit 1 with 4 players: £630 each and at most 12 certificates
  • Each player is dealt a private (with 5+ players, also the [LNWR] director's certificate) and pays for it
  • First stock round: buying only, and no auction
  • The holder of the cheapest private goes first
Stock round ×1
  • In turn, each player buys one share
  • You may sell as many as you like (not in the first round)
  • New shares at par, in a fixed order: most expensive company first
  • The next one isn't available until one in the band has sold out
  • Pool shares at the current share price
  • Ends when everyone passes in a row; the player left of the last buyer starts next
Operating round ×1-3
  • Private income
  • Each company, highest par value first:
  • 1. Track: 1 or 2 non-adjacent yellows or 1 upgrade
  • 2. A new base (£40, later £100)
  • 3. Run trains: major city to major city
  • 4. Pay out (up if it pays more than half the share price) or withhold (down)
  • 5. Buy trains (from the bank or another company)
↻ Repeats until the end
End
  • The bank runs out: the current operating round finishes
  • Or a share reaches the top of the market: the game ends after that company's turn
  • Cash + shares at share price + privates at face value
  • Companies don't count: the highest total wins

Components

Players
  • Their own cash
  • Shares and privates (certificate limit)
  • The director is whoever holds the most shares; their certificate counts as two
Companies
  • Par value printed on the charter (£67 to £100)
  • Form with 6 shares sold and receive 10 × par
  • Company credits, separate from players' money
  • No director: receivership, always withhold and may lease a train for £10
Bank
  • Cash, new shares and the pool
  • Trains, in order of size
  • Single-row stock market [SPI]
Map
  • Yellow in phase 1, green in 2, brown in 3
  • Mountain £100, river or estuary £40
  • Bases only in major cities
  • Printed green hexes (London, Birmingham) are upgraded in phase 3
Privates
  • Four per Unit, £30 to £210
  • Only pay a fixed income
  • Can be sold to the pool for £30 less than face value

Where the money goes

  • Players Bank Buying shares (new at par, pool at share price) and privates
  • Bank Companies On forming: all the capital, 10 × par
  • Bank Players Dividends, private income, share sales
  • Companies Bank Trains, mountains, rivers and bases
  • Bank Companies Withheld revenue
  • Players Companies Player money into the company: doesn't exist

Phases

1
Start
2 · £180
Yellow only; 4 trains per company; 1 operating round
2
1st 3-train
3 · £300 · 4 · £430
Green; 2 operating rounds. The 4-train doesn't open a phase
3
1st 5-train
5 · £550
Brown; 2-trains are removed; 3 trains per company; 3 operating rounds
  • Buying or selling doesn't move the share price: only the company's results do.
  • No company has to own a train, and the president never puts their own money in.

A round, step by step

Illustrative example (the rulebook doesn't include one): Unit 1 with 4 players. We follow [P1] and the [LNWR] through the first stock round, the first operating round and the next set, all in phase 1.

  1. Before starting A private for each player Phase 1

    Each player gets £630. The banker deals out Unit 1's four privates at random: [P1] gets the [S&M], worth £30, and pays for it out of their own cash. The others get the [C&HP] (£75), the [C&W] (£130) and the [L&M] (£210).

    Players sit in order of their private's price: [P1], with the cheapest, opens the first stock round.

    [P1] cash
    £600
    [LNWR] treasury
    —
    [LNWR] share price
    —
    [LNWR] trains
    —
  2. Stock round 1 The director's certificate Phase 1

    Shares come out in a fixed order, from the most expensive company to the cheapest. First up is the [LNWR] (£100), and the first certificate is always the director's, which counts as two shares. [P1] buys it for £200.

    Nothing can be sold in the first stock round.

    [P1] cash
    £400
    [LNWR] treasury
    —
    [LNWR] share price
    —
    [LNWR] trains
    —
  3. Stock round 1 One share per turn Phase 1

    Each player buys just one share per turn. The other three take [LNWR] shares and [P1], over the next turns, buys two more at £100. The [LNWR] sells out: [P1] holds 40% and each of the others 20%.

    [P1] cash
    £200
    [LNWR] treasury
    —
    [LNWR] share price
    —
    [LNWR] trains
    —
  4. Stock round 1 The [GWR] opens Phase 1

    With the [LNWR] sold out, the [GWR] (£90) comes up. [P2] takes the director's certificate and [P1] buys two £90 shares on two consecutive turns. The [GWR] reaches 9 shares sold.

    The [GER] and [LSWR] (£76) won't come up until the [GWR] is fully sold.

    [P1] cash
    £20
    [LNWR] treasury
    —
    [LNWR] share price
    —
    [LNWR] trains
    —
  5. Stock round 1 Everyone passes Phase 1

    Nobody can afford another share and everyone passes in a row: the round ends. The priority card goes to the player left of the last buyer.

    [P1] cash
    £20
    [LNWR] treasury
    —
    [LNWR] share price
    —
    [LNWR] trains
    —
  6. Operating round 1 The [LNWR] forms Phase 1

    First the privates pay: [P1] gets £5. Companies with 6 or more shares sold form: the [LNWR] sets its share price at £100, places its base at Wolverton and receives £1,000, the value of all ten shares.

    Full capitalisation: the company gets all its capital at once, even if some shares haven't sold.

    [P1] cash
    £25
    [LNWR] treasury
    £1,000
    [LNWR] share price
    £100
    [LNWR] trains
    —
  7. Operating round 1 Two separate yellows Phase 1

    The [LNWR] operates first, having the highest par value. It lays a yellow linking Wolverton with Birmingham and another towards London. The two tiles can't touch.

    A mountain would cost £100, and a river £40. There are none here.

    [P1] cash
    £25
    [LNWR] treasury
    £1,000
    [LNWR] share price
    £100
    [LNWR] trains
    —
  8. Operating round 1 First turn with no train Phase 1

    Trains are bought at the end of the turn, so a new company can never run the first time. No dividend, and the share price drops one space, from £100 to £90.

    [P1] cash
    £25
    [LNWR] treasury
    £1,000
    [LNWR] share price
    £90
    [LNWR] trains
    —
  9. Operating round 1 Two 2-trains Phase 1

    At the end of its turn, the [LNWR] buys two 2-trains at £180. This Unit has only six. The [GWR], operating next, also takes two.

    In phase 1 each company can own up to 4 trains.

    [P1] cash
    £25
    [LNWR] treasury
    £640
    [LNWR] share price
    £90
    [LNWR] trains
    2 + 2
  10. Stock round 2 A quiet round Phase 1

    Selling is now allowed, but [P1] doesn't need to, and with £25 can't buy anything: they pass. Since we're in phase 1, just one operating round follows.

    Selling shares doesn't lower the share price, unlike 1830.

    [P1] cash
    £25
    [LNWR] treasury
    £640
    [LNWR] share price
    £90
    [LNWR] trains
    2 + 2
  11. Operating round 2 All the way to London Phase 1

    The [S&M] pays £5 again. The [LNWR] lays the missing yellow: Wolverton now connects to London.

    [P1] cash
    £30
    [LNWR] treasury
    £640
    [LNWR] share price
    £90
    [LNWR] trains
    2 + 2
  12. Operating round 2 Two runs Phase 1

    One 2-train runs from Wolverton (£10) to Birmingham (£40): £50. The other from Wolverton to London (£50): £60. Total: £110. Both trains start at Wolverton, but they don't share any track section.

    A route must start and end in major cities. Two 2-trains can be run together as if they were a 3-train.

    [P1] cash
    £30
    [LNWR] treasury
    £640
    [LNWR] share price
    £90
    [LNWR] trains
    2 + 2
  13. Operating round 2 Paying out Phase 1

    The [LNWR] pays out: £11 per share. [P1] holds four and collects £44. Since £110 is more than half the share price (£45) but less than double (£180), it moves up one space: back to £100.

    Two, three or four times the share price would move it up 2, 3 or 4 spaces.

    [P1] cash
    £74
    [LNWR] treasury
    £640
    [LNWR] share price
    £100
    [LNWR] trains
    2 + 2
  14. Operating round 2 A third train Phase 1

    It buys another 2-train for £180. Just one is left in the bank: once they're gone, the first 3-train will take the game into phase 2.

    [P1] cash
    £74
    [LNWR] treasury
    £460
    [LNWR] share price
    £100
    [LNWR] trains
    2 + 2 + 2
  15. Towards phase 2 What now? Phase 1

    If the [GWR] buys the last 2-train and the first 3-train, green tiles arrive and, after the next stock round, two operating rounds per stock round. The [LNWR]'s 2-trains will only last until the first 5-train: it needs to save credits for bigger trains.

    [P1] cash
    £74
    [LNWR] treasury
    £460
    [LNWR] share price
    £100
    [LNWR] trains
    2 + 2 + 2

1825 — Summary

Capitalization type

  • Full capitalization for the fourteen historic companies (LNWR, GWR, Midland, Caledonian, GER...): when they float they receive their entire capital at once, calculated on their printed par value (not chosen by the founder).
  • The three "minor" companies in Unit 3 (Great North of Scotland, Highland Railway and Maryport & Carlisle) use incremental capitalization (they float at 40%, with shares split 40/20/20/20): instead of a normal IPO, they "form" once they have enough treasury to pay for their required train (a 5-train, U3-train or 3T-train respectively).

Floating percentage and per-player share limits

  • The fourteen base historical companies (Units 1-3) float at 60% (the standard threshold); the additional Regional and Kit companies (GNoS, HR, M&C, Cam, TV, S&DR, M&GN, FR, NS, LT&S) float at 40%
  • No corporation has a real per-player ownership limit: all of them have the threshold set at 100% (a player could in theory end up holding every share of a company)
  • 1825 doesn't define its own CERT_LIMIT, so it inherits the engine's default: 2 players — 28; 3 players — 20; 4 players — 16; 5 players — 13; 6 players — 11

Starting cash by player count

  • Depends on which Unit(s) are being played, not just the player count:
  • Unit 1 alone: 2p £1,200, 3p £830, 4p £630, 5p £504
  • Unit 2 alone: 2p £1,200, 3p £800, 4p £600
  • Unit 3 alone: 2p £750
  • Units 1+2: 3p £840, 4p £630, 5p £504, 6p £420, 7p £360
  • Units 2+3: 3p £840, 4p £630, 5p £504
  • Units 1+2+3 (all three): 4p £630, 5p £504, 6p £420, 7p £360, 8p £315, 9p £280
  • Bank: £5,000 when playing Unit 1 or Unit 2 alone, £4,000 with Unit 3 only; when combining Units without the optional BigBank rule, the bank uses the value of the first Unit chosen, while with BigBank the banks of each Unit are added together; £1,000 is added for every extra minor company brought in by optional kits or regionals (plus £2,000 more if Kits 2 or 3 are added), unless the StrictBank rule is used

End game triggers

  • The bank runs out of money: the current operating round is finished
  • A company's share price reaches the top square of the Share Price Index (SPI): immediate end once that company's turn is over, even if the bank still has money left

Number of phases

  • 3 base phases: Phase 1 (yellow tiles only, 1 operating round), Phase 2 triggered by the first 3-train (yellow and green tiles, 2 operating rounds), Phase 3 triggered by the first 5-train (yellow, green and brown tiles, 3 operating rounds)
  • The first 4-train, oddly, doesn't trigger a new phase at all
  • With the optional Kit 3 (Phase Four) up to two more phases are added, triggered by 6-trains and 7-trains

Train list and prices

  • 2 train — £180 (rusts once the first 5-train is bought)
  • 3 train — £300 (never rusts, unless Kit 3 is used, in which case it rusts on the first 7-train)
  • 4 train — £430 (never rusts; buying it triggers no new phase)
  • 5 train — £550
  • 6 train — £650 (only available with the optional Kit 3, or included outright if Unit 2 is played alone)
  • 7 train — £720 (only available with the optional Kit 3)
  • 3T — £370, available from Phase 2; a "minor"-only train (required by Maryport & Carlisle)
  • U3 — £410, available from Phase 2; pays for up to 3 cities but runs through towns without limit (required by Highland Railway)
  • 4T — £480, available from Phase 3; only with certain regional kits
  • 2+2 — £600 (a doubled train), available from Phase 3; only with Kit 7
  • 4+4E — £830 (a doubled train), only available with Kit 3, in its Phase 4a
  • The exact quantity of each train type depends on which Unit(s) and kits are used; for example, Unit 1 on its own includes six 2-trains, four 3-trains, three 4-trains and four 5-trains

List of private companies

  • The available privates depend on which Unit(s) are being played; there are eight possible companies in total, grouped into value tiers:
  • Swansea & Mumbles Railway (S&M) — £30, revenue £5 (Unit 1)
  • Leeds & Middleton Railway (L&MI) — £30, revenue £5 (Unit 2, replaces the S&M when Unit 1 isn't in play)
  • Arbroath & Forfar (A&F) — £30, revenue £5 (Unit 3, replaces the above when played alone)
  • Tanfield Wagon Way (TWW) — £60, revenue £10 (Unit 3)
  • Cromford & High Peak Railway (C&HP) — £75, revenue £12 (Unit 1 and Unit 2)
  • Stockton & Darlington (S&D) — £160, revenue £25 (Unit 2 and Unit 3)
  • Canterbury & Whitstable Railway (C&W) — £130, revenue £20 (Unit 1)
  • Liverpool & Manchester Railway (L&M) — £210, revenue £30 (Unit 1 and Unit 2)
  • When Units are combined, if two privates share the same value only one is kept, so any given game only ever has four in play

List of corporations

  • Unit 1 (South-East England) — six full-capitalization companies: London & North Western (LNWR), par £100, home at T16; Great Western (GWR), par £90, home at V14; Great Eastern (GER), par £76, home at V20; London & South Western (LSWR), par £76, home at V20; South Eastern & Chatham (SECR), par £71, home at W23; London Brighton & South Coast (LBSC), par £67, home at X20
  • Unit 2 (the Midlands) — six full-capitalization companies: LNWR (par £100, home at Q11 when Unit 2 is played alone), Midland (MR), par £82, home at Q15; North Eastern (NER), par £82, home at L14; Great Central (GCR), par £71, home at O15; Great Northern (GNR), par £71, home at O15; Lancashire & Yorkshire (L&Y), par £71, home at O11
  • Unit 3 (Northern England and Scotland) — three full-capitalization companies: Caledonian (CR), par £76, home at G5; North British (NBR), par £76, home at G5; Glasgow & South Western (GSWR), par £67, home at G5
  • Unit 3 — three "minor" companies with incremental capitalization and no fixed par: Great North of Scotland (GNoS), home at B12, forms by paying for a 5-train; Highland Railway (HR), home at B8, forms by paying for a U3-train; Maryport & Carlisle (M&C), home at K7, forms by paying for a 3T-train
  • With the optional kits and regionals, up to seven more companies can be added (Cambrian, Taff Vale, Somerset & Dorset, Midland & Great Northern, Furness, North Staffordshire, London Tilbury & Southend), all with incremental capitalization

Game-specific mechanics

  • A modular game sold as three independent Units that can be combined, spanning 2 to 9 players depending on the combination
  • Share price only changes based on company performance (dividend and earnings), never from player buying or selling in the stock round
  • No personal bankruptcy: if no shareholder wants to be director, the company passes into Receivership (run by the banker), which always retains earnings and can lease a train from the bank for just £10 a turn instead of buying one
  • Flat cost for extra station tokens across all companies: £40 for the first, £100 for each one after
  • Privates sold in ascending price order during the first Share Dealing Round, with no auction

Emergency sell

There's no emergency sell mechanic in the ordinary sense: a company is never required to own a train, so president cash and forced share sales never come into play in normal operation. The only related safety net is receivership — a company that finishes an operating round with no train and can't run any route falls into receivership and is then auto-piloted, buying the cheapest depot train it can afford from its own treasury; if it can't even cover the minimum lease fee, the company itself takes on a receivership loan to lease a train from the bank. No player's personal cash or shares are ever touched.

Comparison with 1830

1. Setting, map and number of players
1830 covers the northeastern USA for 2-6 players on a single fixed map. 1825 — Tresham's modular successor to his own 1829, the game that started the genre — moves the action to Victorian Britain and is sold as three independent Units (Unit 1: South-East England, Unit 2: the Midlands, Unit 3: Northern England and Scotland) that can be played alone or combined. Depending on the combination, player count ranges from 2 (Unit 3 on its own, an unusually low count for the genre) up to 8-9 when all three Units are combined with the regional kits.

2. Historic companies with a printed par value, not chosen
In 1830 the player who founds a company chooses its opening price. In 1825 each of the fourteen historic British companies already has its par value printed on the certificate — between £67 and £100 — and no player can choose it: shares always sell at that fixed price.

3. Privates sold in price order, not auctioned
In 1830 the six private companies are distributed through a blind auction at the start of the game. In 1825 there is no auction: privates go on sale in ascending price order during the first Share Dealing Round, and each player, on their turn, can only buy the one currently on offer at its marked price or pass.

4. Share price is moved by company performance, not by players
In 1830 every buy or sell during the stock round immediately shifts the share price up or down. In 1825 buying or selling shares never changes the price at all: it's only reassessed once, at the end of the company's operating turn, based on whether it paid a dividend and how much it earned relative to its value.

5. No personal bankruptcy: Receivership replaces a struggling president
In 1830, if a company can't pay, the burden eventually falls on the president's personal cash. In 1825 players' money and companies' "Company Credits" are completely separate pools: no player ever puts in their own money. If no shareholder is willing to hold the two shares needed to become director, the company instead passes into the hands of a Receiver (usually the banker itself), who always retains earnings and can lease trains from the bank for just £10 a turn.

6. Two capitalization systems coexist in the same game
In 1830 every company capitalizes the same way (full, on floating at 60%). In 1825 the fourteen major historic companies capitalize fully at a printed value, while Unit 3's "minor" companies capitalize incrementally and don't even float the usual way: they simply "form" once they have enough cash to pay for their required train.

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