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1836Jr30

Designer: David Hecht

A short, kid-friendly 18xx built from 1830's components, set in the Netherlands and Belgium.

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1836Jr30 Contents

How it works

Setup

1830's rules on a Benelux map, for 2-4 players
1,800 F split among the players (4 players: 450 F each); 6,000 F bank
Auction of the 6 privates, as in 1830
The [CFL] comes with 10% of the [GCL]; the [CFLV] with the [Nord] president's certificate
6 companies, each with its own home city

Stock round ×1

In turn: sell (not in round 1), buy one certificate, and sell again
Whoever buys a president's certificate sets the par price: 67-100 F
Each share sold drops the share price one row
Floats at 60% sold: the company receives 10 × par
At the end: sold-out companies go up

Operating round ×1-3

Privates pay income to their owner
Each company, highest share price first:
1. One tile (new or upgrade)
2. One station
3. Run trains: the best route is mandatory
4. Pay out (up) or withhold (down)
5. Buy trains; with no train, it must
Phases 3 and 4: the company may buy privates

↻ Repeats until the end

End

The bank runs out of money
Play continues to the end of that set of operating rounds
Or a player goes bankrupt: the game ends at once
Most cash plus shares at current share price wins

Components

Players

Cash
Shares: normally at most 60% of a company
Privates
Certificate limit (4 players: 10)

Companies

10 shares; the president holds the 20% certificate
Treasury, trains, stations
Fixed home city

Bank

6,000 F
Initial offering and market
New trains and trains in the market

Privates

Fixed income every operating round
Abilities: tiles, stations, shares…
All close with the first 5-train

Map

The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg
Water 40 or 80 F, mountain 60 F
Ports (Harwich, Dover, Paris): from green, +20 F (+30 F in brown) for each of the company's own stations on the route

Where the money goes

Players Bank Shares (from the initial offering or the market) and privates in the auction
Bank Companies On floating, 10 × par in one go; withheld revenue
Bank Players Dividends, private income, share sales
Companies Bank Trains, terrain, stations
Companies Players Buying a private from a player (phases 3 and 4)
Players Companies The president tops up a mandatory train the company can't afford
Players Companies Shares bought after floating: that money goes to the bank, not the company

Phases

Start

2 · 80 F (5)

Yellow; 4 trains; 1 operating round

1st 3-train

3 · 180 F (4)

Green; 2 operating rounds; companies can buy privates

1st 4-train

4 · 300 F (3)

2s rust; 3 trains

1st 5-train

5 · 450 F (2)

Brown; privates close; 2 trains; 3 operating rounds

1st 6-train

6 · 630 F (2)

3s rust; diesels become available

1st diesel

D · 1,100 F (5); 800 F trading in a 4, 5 or 6

4s rust

It's 1830 in miniature: the same rounds, the same market and the same full capitalisation, with fewer trains, fewer companies and half the bank.
With only 5 2-trains and 4 3-trains, the phases move fast: trains rust sooner than in 1830.

A round, step by step

Illustrative example using 1830's rules and 1836Jr30's numbers: 4 players with 450 F each. We follow [P1] and the [B], the Belgian company based in Brussels, through the first stock round and the first two operating rounds.

Initial auction The [GCB] Phase 2

In turn, each player either buys the cheapest private at face value or leaves a bid on another. [P1] leaves 115 F on the [GCB] (value 110 F). Nobody else bids: when its turn comes, it's theirs for 115 F.

The [GCB] can be exchanged for 10% of the [B], and then it closes.

[P1] cash

335 F

[B] treasury

—

[B] share price

—

[B] trains

—
Stock round 1 President of the [B] Phase 2

[P1] buys the [B] president's certificate (20%) and sets its par price at 82 F: they pay 164 F to the bank.

Possible par prices: 67, 71, 76, 82, 90 or 100 F.

[P1] cash

171 F

[B] treasury

—

[B] share price

82 F

[B] trains

—
Stock round 1 Two more shares Phase 2

Over two more turns they buy two 10% shares at 82 F. They now hold 40% and have 7 F left.

Only one certificate per turn.

[P1] cash

7 F

[B] treasury

—

[B] share price

82 F

[B] trains

—
Stock round 1 Exchanging the private Phase 2

On their next turn they exchange the [GCB] for a 10% [B] share from the initial offering: now they hold 50%. The private closes and stops paying them 20 F a round.

[P1] cash

7 F

[B] treasury

—

[B] share price

82 F

[B] trains

—
Stock round 1 The [B] floats Phase 2

[P3] buys 10% of the [B]. With 60% out of the initial offering, the [B] floats and the bank pays it 10 × 82 F in one go.

[P1] cash

7 F

[B] treasury

820 F

[B] share price

82 F

[B] trains

—
Operating round 1 Antwerpen Phase 2

The [B]'s station is in Brussels, already printed on the map with two exits. It lays the yellow Antwerpen city on the northern exit. No terrain: it pays nothing.

Just one tile per turn.

[P1] cash

7 F

[B] treasury

820 F

[B] share price

82 F

[B] trains

—
Operating round 1 No trains, price drops Phase 2

No trains yet: no revenue, and the share price moves one space left, from 82 F to 76 F.

[P1] cash

7 F

[B] treasury

820 F

[B] share price

76 F

[B] trains

—
Operating round 1 Two 2-trains Phase 2

It buys two 2-trains from the bank at 80 F each. There are only 5 in the whole game.

[P1] cash

7 F

[B] treasury

660 F

[B] share price

76 F

[B] trains

2 + 2
Stock round 2 [P1] comes up short Phase 2

With 7 F, [P1] can't buy anything and passes. The others buy [B] shares, but not all of them: the share price doesn't rise.

[P1] cash

7 F

[B] treasury

660 F

[B] share price

76 F

[B] trains

2 + 2
Operating round 2 Gent Phase 2

The [B] lays the yellow Gent city on Brussels' other exit.

[P1] cash

7 F

[B] treasury

660 F

[B] share price

76 F

[B] trains

2 + 2
Operating round 2 Two trains, two routes Phase 2

One 2-train runs Brussels–Antwerpen: 30 + 20 = 50 F. The other runs Brussels–Gent: another 50 F. Total: 100 F.

Two trains can leave from the same city, but they can't share any track section.

[P1] cash

7 F

[B] treasury

660 F

[B] share price

76 F

[B] trains

2 + 2
Operating round 2 Paying out Phase 2

The [B] pays out: 10 F per share. [P1], with 50%, collects 50 F. The share price moves one space right, from 76 F to 82 F.

Shares still in the initial offering get nothing.

[P1] cash

57 F

[B] treasury

660 F

[B] share price

82 F

[B] trains

2 + 2
Operating round 2 The first 3-train Phase 3

The other three 2-trains are already sold. The [B] buys the first 3-train for 180 F and phase 3 begins: green, two operating rounds per stock round, and private purchases.

[P1] cash

57 F

[B] treasury

480 F

[B] share price

82 F

[B] trains

2 + 2 + 3
Towards stock round 3 What now? Phase 3

Only three 3-trains are left: the first 4-train could come soon and rust the [B]'s two 2-trains. With 480 F in the treasury, the [B] should think about having a 4-train ready.

[P1] cash

57 F

[B] treasury

480 F

[B] share price

82 F

[B] trains

2 + 2 + 3

1836Jr30 — Summary

Capitalization type

Full capitalization, just like 1830: when it floats (60% sold), the company receives its entire capital (par price × 10) into its treasury at once.

Floats once 60% of shares are sold (a single threshold for all corporations, like 1830)
No player may hold more than 60% (6 of 10 certificates) of a single corporation, no exceptions
Certificate limit per player: 2 players — 20; 3 players — 13; 4 players — 10

Starting cash by player count

2 players: 900 F starting cash
3 players: 600 F starting cash
4 players: 450 F starting cash
The bank always starts with 6,000 F, regardless of the number of players

End game triggers

The bank runs out of money: the current full operating round set is finished, then the game stops
A company goes bankrupt and can't complete payment for a mandatory train: immediate end

Number of phases

6 phases (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, D), triggered by the purchase of the first train of each type
Green tiles are enabled in phase 3, brown tiles in phase 5

Train list and prices

2 train — 80 F (5 copies; rusts on the first 4-train)
3 train — 180 F (4 copies; rusts on the first 6-train)
4 train — 300 F (3 copies; rusts on the first Diesel)
5 train — 450 F (2 copies; buying it closes any private companies still owned by players)
6 train — 630 F (2 copies; the last type before the Diesel, permanent, never rusts)
Diesel (D) — 1,100 F (only 5 copies, not unlimited; available from phase 6; allows trading in old trains for a 300 F discount each)

List of private companies

Amsterdam Canal Company (ACC) — 20 F, revenue 5 F — no special ability; blocks hex D6 while owned by a player
Enkhuizen-Stavoren Ferry (E-SF) — 40 F, revenue 10 F — lets its owner lay a free tile on hex B8 (the old Zuiderzee water crossing), in addition to the normal tile lay for the turn
Charbonnages du Hainaut (CdH) — 70 F, revenue 15 F — lets its owner lay a tile and station token on hex J8 for just the mountain terrain cost, with no need to connect to the existing network (a "teleport" effect)
Grand Central Belge (GCB) — 110 F, revenue 20 F — can be exchanged for a 10% certificate of company B (from the bank or the pool), closing the private when it happens
Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL) — 160 F, revenue 25 F — buying it also gives the player a 10% certificate of the GCL
Chemin de Fer de Lille à Valenciennes (CFLV) — 220 F, revenue 30 F — comes with the President's Certificate of the Chemin de Fer du Nord (forcing its par price to be set immediately), can never be sold to a corporation, and closes when the Nord buys its first train
All privates close, at the latest, once the first 5-train is bought

List of corporations

Chemins de Fer de l'État Belge (B) — home at H6
Grande Compagnie du Luxembourg (GCL) — home at I9
Chemin de Fer du Nord (Nord) — home at I3
Noord-Brabantsch-Duitsche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NBDS) — home at E11
Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg Maatschappij (HSM) — home at D6
Noord-Friesche Locaal (NFL) — home at A9

Game-specific mechanics

A private with a "teleport" effect: tile-and-token placement with no connection to the existing network (Charbonnages du Hainaut)
Two privates that convert directly into shares (Grand Central Belge and Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois)
Ports (Harwich, Dover, Paris) that pay no revenue of their own: they add +20 F (green phase) or +30 F (brown phase) to a route that already includes at least two other stops
Reuses 1830's stock market grid and some tile types (NY at Amsterdam, OO at several cities, B at Brussels and Lille)
Optional rule: allow buying more than one brown share from the IPO in a single operation

Emergency sell

Matches the 1830 baseline exactly: company treasury first, then the president's personal cash, then a forced sale of the president's shares in any corporation he holds, at full market price, exempt from the normal stock-round-only and pool-limit restrictions, with bankruptcy as the final backstop.

Comparison with 1830

1. Setting, map and number of players
1830 covers the northeastern USA for 2-6 players. 1836Jr30 moves the action to the Netherlands and Belgium (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, with off-board destinations toward Paris, Cologne, Hamburg and Strasbourg), designed for 2-4 players only. It's literally a "junior" game: it reuses physical components from 1830 (trains, the stock market, and some tile types) but with a map and numbers built for much shorter, simpler games.

2. Six companies and an economy cut exactly in half
1830 has eight operating companies and a $12,000 bank; 1836Jr30 has only six, and its bank holds 6,000 F, exactly half. Starting cash and certificate limits scale down proportionally too (for example, at 4 players the limit drops from 16 in 1830 to 10 in 1836Jr30). Interestingly, the six privates keep exactly the same price and revenue scale as 1830's own privates (20/40/70/110/160/220 F), just with different names and abilities.

3. Charbonnages du Hainaut: the only private with "teleport" power
It lets its owning company lay a tile and a station token on hex J8 for just the mountain terrain cost, without needing the track to connect to any existing tile of that company (or any company at all). None of 1830's six privates ever allows such a disconnected placement.

4. Two privates that convert directly into shares
The Grand Central Belge can be exchanged for a 10% certificate of company B (from the bank or the pool), closing the private when it happens. The Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois comes bundled, from the moment it's bought, with a 10% certificate of the GCL. None of 1830's six privates behaves this way.

5. A "B&O-style" private
The Chemin de Fer de Lille à Valenciennes comes bundled with the President's Certificate of the Chemin de Fer du Nord (forcing its par price to be set immediately), can never be sold to a corporation, and closes when the Nord buys its first train. It's exactly the same concept as 1830's B&O private.

6. Train prices identical to 1830's, but with limited Diesels
The price and rust schedule for every train type (2/3/4/5/6/Diesel) follows the exact same progression as 1830: 80/180/300/450/630/1,100 F, with the same 300 F trade-in discount per old train when buying a Diesel. The difference is that 1830 has unlimited Diesels, while 1836Jr30 has only 5 copies.

7. Ports that add a bonus instead of paying their own revenue
Harwich, Dover and Paris don't work like 1830's off-board destinations (which pay their own value when a route ends there): a route can never end at these ports, but if it passes through one — as long as it includes at least two other real stops — it adds a flat bonus (+20 F in the green phase, +30 F in brown). In 1830 off-board destinations simply pay their own value just like any other city.

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