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1846: The Race for the Midwest

Designer: Tom Lehmann

A fast entry point into 18xx set in the US Midwest, with incremental capitalization and drafted minors.

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1846: The Race for the Midwest Contents

How it works

Setup
  • 3 to 5 players: $400 each
  • $6,500, $7,500 or $9,000 bank ($500 notes are held back for the end)
  • With fewer than 5 players, some privates and companies are removed at random
  • Private draft: draw cards, keep one face down (or a blank card)
  • Two independent railroads, the [MS] and the Big 4, with a train and debt
Stock round ×1
  • In turn: sell, then buy one certificate
  • Start a company: choose a price ($40-$150) and pay double to the company
  • Treasury shares: the price goes to the company
  • Only the president's sales drop the share price
  • Max 60% per player
  • At the end: shares in the market go down; 100% player-owned goes up
Operating round ×2
  • Private income; the [MS] and Big 4 operate
  • Each company, highest share price first (lowest first in the 1st round):
  • 1. Issue or redeem shares
  • 2. 1 yellow + 1 yellow or upgrade, and one station
  • 3. Run trains
  • 4. Pay out in full, pay half or withhold
  • 5. Buy trains (must own one)
↻ Repeats until the end
End
  • The bank runs out: the set finishes (stock + 2 operating rounds)
  • Or only one player is left not bankrupt
  • Cash + shares at share price
  • Company treasuries don't count

Components

Players
  • Cash
  • Privates and shares (limit by players and companies)
  • The president pays for the mandatory train out of pocket if needed
Companies
  • A 20% president's share and eight 10% shares in the treasury
  • Incremental capital: they collect every share sold from the treasury
  • Issue shares to the market or redeem them
  • The [IC] gets its par price as a gift
Independents
  • [MS] (Detroit) and Big 4 (Indianapolis)
  • Lay track and run a 2-train
  • Split revenue 50/50 with their owner
  • A company can buy them
Bank and market
  • Linear stock market, up to $550
  • Double-sided trains: choose the type when buying
Privates
  • Abilities: free tiles, bonus markers, a station in Chicago…
  • A company can buy them up to the printed price
  • Removed in phase III (except a company's Mail Contract)

Where the money goes

  • Players Companies Starting a company (double the price) and buying treasury shares
  • Players Bank and market Market shares, privates and the independents' debt
  • Bank and market Players Dividends, income, sales, half the independents' revenue
  • Bank and market Companies Withheld revenue, share issues, dividends on its own shares
  • Companies Bank and market Trains, track, stations, buybacks
  • Companies Players Buying a private or an independent from its owner

Phases

I
Start
2 · $80
Yellow; 4 trains per company
II
1st phase II train
3/5 · $160 / 4 · $180
Green
III
1st phase III train
4/6 · $450 / 5 · $500
Brown; 2-trains make their last run; privates removed; off-boards worth more; 3 trains
IV
1st phase IV train
7/8 · $900 / 6 · $800
Grey; phase II trains make their last run; 2 trains
  • The par price drives the game: cheap gives the president lots of shares; expensive gives the company capital.
  • Shares left in the treasury earn dividends and can be issued later, when they're worth more.

A round, step by step

The rulebook's detailed example: 3 players with $400. We follow [P1] and their [GT] from the private draft to the end of the second operating round.

  1. Private draft Face-down cards Phase I

    With 3 players, the Erie and Pennsylvania are removed. The privates are shuffled with blank cards and, in reverse order, each player draws five and keeps one face down. [P1] picks the [MS], an independent railroad.

    [P1] cash
    $400
    [GT] treasury
    —
    [GT] share price
    —
    [GT] trains
    —
  2. Private draft Paying for the [MS] Phase I

    The Mail Contract is left on its own: [P1] passes, [P3] too, and [P2] takes it for $60 ($20 off). Everyone reveals and pays. The [MS] costs $140: $60 becomes its treasury and $80 is debt that goes to the bank.

    [P1] cash
    $260
    [GT] treasury
    —
    [GT] share price
    —
    [GT] trains
    —
  3. Stock round 1 Starting the [GT] Phase I

    [P1] starts the [GT], based in Port Huron, next to Detroit, where the [MS] is. They pick a $60 price and pay double, $120, into the treasury. [P2] starts the [NYC] at $80 and [P3] the [IC] at $80.

    Cheap: more shares for the president, but less capital for the company.

    [P1] cash
    $140
    [GT] treasury
    $120
    [GT] share price
    $60
    [GT] trains
    —
  4. Stock round 1 More shares Phase I

    [P1] buys a third [GT] share at $60, which goes to the treasury. Then they buy an [NYC] share for $80 and run out of cash.

    [P1] cash
    $0
    [GT] treasury
    $180
    [GT] share price
    $60
    [GT] trains
    —
  5. Stock round 1 Everyone passes Phase I

    Nobody can sell shares in a company that hasn't operated yet unless they're its president. Everyone passes. There are no shares in the market and no sold-out companies: share prices don't move.

    [P1] cash
    $0
    [GT] treasury
    $180
    [GT] share price
    $60
    [GT] trains
    —
  6. Operating round 1.1 The [MS] runs Phase I

    Independents operate first. The [MS] spends $20 on track to Port Huron and runs its 2-train for $60: half to [P1], half to its treasury.

    [P1] cash
    $30
    [GT] treasury
    $180
    [GT] share price
    $60
    [GT] trains
    —
  7. Operating round 1.1 The [GT] issues shares Phase I

    In this first round, companies operate from lowest to highest share price: the [GT] starts. It issues two shares to the market at $50, one column below its share price, and reaches $280.

    It can issue as many shares as players hold, minus those already in the market.

    [P1] cash
    $30
    [GT] treasury
    $280
    [GT] share price
    $60
    [GT] trains
    —
  8. Operating round 1.1 Toledo Phase I

    It lays track from Detroit to Toledo ($40) and a station in Toledo ($80).

    [P1] cash
    $30
    [GT] treasury
    $160
    [GT] share price
    $60
    [GT] trains
    —
  9. Operating round 1.1 No train, price drops; two 2-trains Phase I

    No train, no payout, and it drops to $50. Now it must buy at least one: it buys two 2-trains for $160 and is left with nothing.

    [P1] cash
    $30
    [GT] treasury
    $0
    [GT] share price
    $50
    [GT] trains
    2 + 2
  10. Operating round 1.1 The [NYC] opens phase II Phase II

    The [NYC] issues four shares, buys the three remaining 2-trains and then the first 3/5 for $160: phase II begins and green tiles arrive. The [IC] also buys a 3/5.

    [P1] cash
    $30
    [GT] treasury
    $0
    [GT] share price
    $50
    [GT] trains
    2 + 2
  11. Operating round 1.2 The [MS] upgrades Phase II

    The [MS] lays a green city in Port Huron ($60), which helps the [GT], and runs for $70: $35 for [P1]. The [NYC] pays half its revenue, $19 per share, and [P1] collects $19.

    [P1] cash
    $84
    [GT] treasury
    $0
    [GT] share price
    $50
    [GT] trains
    2 + 2
  12. Operating round 1.2 Two runs Phase II

    The [GT] lays no track. Its two 2-trains run Toledo to Detroit on different lines, $80 each: $160.

    [P1] cash
    $84
    [GT] treasury
    $0
    [GT] share price
    $50
    [GT] trains
    2 + 2
  13. Operating round 1.2 Paying it all out Phase II

    It pays $16 per share. [P1] holds three and collects $48. The five treasury shares give the [GT] $80. Paying double the share price or more moves it up two columns: from $50 to $70.

    The two shares in the market get nothing, but their dividend counts toward moving the share price.

    [P1] cash
    $132
    [GT] treasury
    $80
    [GT] share price
    $70
    [GT] trains
    2 + 2
  14. Operating round 1.2 Buying the [MS] Phase II

    The [GT] buys the [MS] from [P1] for $60, the maximum its price allows. It keeps the [MS]'s train and its $45, and the Detroit station becomes the [GT]'s.

    [P1] cash
    $192
    [GT] treasury
    $65
    [GT] share price
    $70
    [GT] trains
    2 + 2 + 2
  15. Towards stock round 2 What now? Phase II

    [P1] heads into the stock round with $192. The [GT] has three 2-trains that will be gone in phase III, no 3/5 and still no good east-west route. In its favour: five treasury shares to issue once they're worth more.

    [P1] cash
    $192
    [GT] treasury
    $65
    [GT] share price
    $70
    [GT] trains
    2 + 2 + 2

1846 The Race for the Midwest — Summary

Capitalization type

  • Incremental capitalization: the company doesn't receive its full capital at once when it floats (unlike 1830); instead it collects the par price each time one of its shares is actually sold, both during the IPO and in later share issues.

Floating percentage and per-player share limits

  • Floats once 20% of shares are sold for every major corporation (unlike 1830's 60%); the minors (Michigan Southern and Big 4) don't float at all, they start operational from the beginning
  • No player may hold more than 60% (6 of 10 certificates) of a single major corporation, no exceptions
  • Certificate limit per player (with the standard number of active corporations): 2 players — 19; 3 players — 14; 4 players — 12; 5 players — 11 (varies slightly depending on how many corporations are removed from the game under optional rules)

Starting cash by player count

  • 2 players: $600 starting cash (bank has $7,000) — played with the dedicated 2-player variant
  • 3 players: $400 starting cash (bank has $6,500)
  • 4 players: $400 starting cash (bank has $7,500)
  • 5 players: $400 starting cash (bank has $9,000)

End game triggers

  • The bank runs out of money: the current full operating round set is finished
  • The last 6-train is bought: one more full set of operating rounds is played, then the game ends
  • A company goes bankrupt and only one solvent player remains: immediate end
  • All companies close: immediate end (exceptional case)

Number of phases

  • 4 phases (I, II, III, IV), triggered by the purchase of the first 4-train, 5-train and 6-train respectively
  • Phase IV removes private company bonuses and any pending token reservations

Train list and prices

  • 2 train — $80 (rusts once the 6-train appears)
  • 4 train (or 3/5 variant) — $180 / $160 — buying it closes any privates still owned by players
  • 5 train (or 4/6 variant) — $500 / $450
  • 6 train (or 7/8 variant) — $800 / $900 — the last available type, permanent (never rusts)
  • The quantity of each train type depends on the number of players

List of private companies

  • Michigan Southern (minor) — $60 — floats with $60, a 2 train and a token in Detroit; always operates first
  • Big 4 (minor) — $40 — floats with $40, a 2 train and a token in Indianapolis; operates right after the MS
  • Chicago & Western Indiana — $60, revenue $10 — reserves an extra token slot in Chicago
  • Mail Contract — $80, revenue $0 — adds $10 for each city visited by a train; never closes once owned by a corporation
  • Tunnel Blasting Company — $60, revenue $20 — $20 discount when building on mountain/tunnel hexes
  • Meat Packing Company — $60, revenue $15 — $30 bonus at St. Louis or Chicago
  • Steamboat Company — $40, revenue $10 — bonus at a port city
  • Lake Shore Line — $40, revenue $15 — extra free green tile upgrade at Cleveland or Toledo
  • Michigan Central — $40, revenue $15 — up to two extra free yellow tiles at B10/B12
  • Ohio & Indiana — $40, revenue $15 — up to two extra free yellow tiles at F14/F16
  • Boomtown — $40, revenue $10 — $20 bonus at Cincinnati
  • Little Miami — $40, revenue $15 — extra free connection between Cincinnati and Dayton

List of corporations

  • Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) — home at Ft. Wayne/F20
  • New York Central Railroad (NYC) — home at D20
  • Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) — home at G19
  • Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad (C&O) — home at I15
  • Erie Railroad (ERIE) — home at E21
  • Grand Trunk Railway (GT) — home at B16
  • Illinois Central Railroad (IC) — home at K3; receives an initial subsidy equal to its par price
  • Michigan Southern (MS) and Big 4 (BIG4) — single-token "minor" companies, absorbable by the majors

Game-specific mechanics

  • Map with river hexes placed differently each game
  • "Minor" companies with an exchange round to absorb them
  • Privates distributed by draft, with progressive $10 price drops
  • Privates with active bonuses on specific routes, not just passive revenue
  • Privates always sold at their exact face value

Emergency sell

Unlike 1830, a corporation forced to buy a train here doesn't jump straight to president cash: it must first issue (sell) its own treasury shares to the bank pool for cash, moving its own share price down as it does. Only once that's exhausted does the standard fallback kick in — the president's personal cash, then a forced sale of the president's shares of any corporation. A corporation forced to buy this way can only buy from the bank or bank pool, never from another corporation's holdings.

Comparison with 1830

1. Variable map, not fixed
1830 has a fixed map. In 1846, certain river hexes (Mississippi, Ohio) are placed randomly from a predefined set each game, so the exact geography changes slightly each time.

2. Private auction by draft, not bidding
In 1830 privates go up for a classic auction with open bidding. In 1846 they're distributed through a draft system: each player, in turn, takes a private (or a "blank" card) from an available selection; the last one nobody wants drops $10 in price as it passes from player to player, until someone buys it or ends up receiving it for free.

3. Privates can only be sold at face value
In 1830 a private can be sold to a company for up to double its face value, depending on negotiation. In 1846 a private can only be sold for its exact face value, with no room to negotiate upward.

4. Designed to be a shorter game
1846 is explicitly designed as a faster entry point into 18xx: a game typically wraps up in 2-3 hours, noticeably less than a typical game of 1830.

5. A less "obvious" par price choice
In 1830 there's a clear tendency to found the first company at a low par price. In 1846 the design explicitly aims to make the par price choice less of an obvious answer, forcing players to better weigh the context of each specific game.

6. Minors with an exchange round, a concept 1830 doesn't have
1830 only has major companies, all founded and grown independently from scratch. 1846 includes a specific phase where major companies can buy or absorb the remaining minors, incorporating their track and treasury.

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A term you do not recognise? They are all explained in the 18xx glossary. Glossary →