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1860: Railways on the Isle of Wight

Designer: Mike Hutton

The Isle of Wight in an 18xx designed for 2 players, with no bankruptcies and progressive nationalization.

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1860: Railways on the Isle of Wight Contents

How it works

Setup
  • Starting cash: £1,000 (2 players), £670 (3) or £500 (4); £10,000 bank
  • Initial auction: you bid for a buying turn, and the winner chooses
  • The choice: one of the 4 privates at its price, or the president's share of a first-tier company
  • The 8 companies come out in 4 tiers of two, with ever lower par prices
Stock round ×1
  • Turn: sell as you like, then buy one certificate
  • Start a company from the open tier: president's share (20%) at 2 × par
  • With 50% sold it floats and receives 10 × par
  • The president's certificate can be sold to the bank
  • From the second round, buy or sell privates with the bank
Operating round ×1-3
  • Private income
  • Each company, highest share price first:
  • 1. Track: 2 yellows without a city, 1 yellow with a city or 1 upgrade
  • 2. One station
  • 3. Trains: cities + towns; halts (£) give a subsidy
  • 4. Pay out or withhold
  • 5. Buy trains
↻ Repeats until the end
End
  • A share price reaches the last space: that operating round finishes
  • The bank runs out before nationalisation: that operating round finishes
  • Nationalisation ends: the game ends immediately
  • Most cash plus shares at share price wins

Components

Players
  • Cash the companies never touch
  • Shares: up to 100% of a company
  • No personal bankruptcy
Companies
  • Full capitalisation, in 4 tiers
  • No train: "insolvent", leases a train and must withhold
  • Share price at zero: goes bankrupt and can be restarted
  • President's share sold to the bank: receivership
Privates
  • 4 port privates, each exchangeable for a share of a company
  • The [FFC] comes out with the first 6+3 and closes the others
  • Can be sold to the bank (£30 fee)
Bank
  • £10,000 bank
  • Initial offering and open market (no limit)
  • New trains

Where the money goes

  • Players Bank Initial auction, privates and all shares
  • Bank Companies On floating: 10 × par; withheld revenue; halt subsidies
  • Bank Players Dividends, private income, sales of shares and privates
  • Companies Bank Trains, stations and terrain
  • Players Companies President's cash for a train: doesn't exist

Phases

2
Start
2+1 · £250
Yellow; 1 operating round; 4-train limit
3
1st 3+2 train
3+2 · £300
Green; 2 operating rounds
4
1st 4+2 train
4+2 · £350
2+1s rust; limit of 3
5
1st 5+3 train
5+3 · £400
Brown; 3 operating rounds
6
1st 6+3 train
6+3 · £500
3+2s rust; limit of 2; the [FFC] comes out
7
1st 7+4 train
7+4 · £600
4+2s rust
8
1st 8+4 train
8+4 · £700
5+3s rust; no more certificate limit
9
1st 9+5 train
9+5 · £800
The Southern Railway forms and nationalisation follows
  • An M+N train visits M cities and N towns or halts; any spare city slots can be used for towns.
  • The share price only rises if the company earns at least its share price, and by up to four spaces.

A round, step by step

Illustrative example with the rules and prices from the 18xx.games implementation (second edition; we couldn't consult the third edition rulebook): 3 players with £670 each. We follow [P1] and the [IOW], based at Ryde Esplanade, through the initial auction and the first two operating rounds.

  1. Initial auction The right to choose Phase 2

    What's auctioned isn't a specific item, but the buying turn. [P2] bids £10 and [P1] £20; [P2] passes. [P1] pays £20 to the bank and picks what they want.

    There are six auctions: one for each of the 4 privates and the 2 first-tier companies.

    [P1] cash
    £650
    [IOW] treasury
    —
    [IOW] share price
    —
    [IOW] trains
    —
  2. Initial auction [IOW] president Phase 2

    They choose to start the [IOW], from the first tier, at a par price of £90 (this tier runs from £74 to £100). The president's certificate (20%) costs £180, which goes to the bank.

    [P1] cash
    £470
    [IOW] treasury
    —
    [IOW] share price
    £90
    [IOW] trains
    —
  3. Stock round 1 Up to 50% Phase 2

    With the auction over, [P1] buys three [IOW] shares at £90 over three turns. With 50% sold, the [IOW] floats: the bank pays it 10 × £90 = £900 and it places its station at Ryde Esplanade.

    Full capitalisation: shares bought from now on pay the bank, not the company.

    [P1] cash
    £200
    [IOW] treasury
    £900
    [IOW] share price
    £90
    [IOW] trains
    —
  4. Operating round 1 Ryde Phase 2

    A company can lay two yellows without a city or one with a city. The [IOW] lays a yellow city (£20) at Ryde, southeast of its station.

    [P1] cash
    £200
    [IOW] treasury
    £900
    [IOW] share price
    £90
    [IOW] trains
    —
  5. Operating round 1 Second station Phase 2

    It places its second station at Ryde for £40.

    [P1] cash
    £200
    [IOW] treasury
    £860
    [IOW] share price
    £90
    [IOW] trains
    —
  6. Operating round 1 No revenue Phase 2

    No trains yet: no revenue, and the share price drops one space, from £90 to £82.

    [P1] cash
    £200
    [IOW] treasury
    £860
    [IOW] share price
    £82
    [IOW] trains
    —
  7. Operating round 1 A 2+1 train Phase 2

    Since it has a route and the cash, it must buy a train: a 2+1 for £250. It visits 2 cities and 1 town or halt.

    If it ended the round without a train, it would be insolvent: it would lease a train and have to withhold until it could buy one.

    [P1] cash
    £200
    [IOW] treasury
    £610
    [IOW] share price
    £82
    [IOW] trains
    2+1
  8. Stock round 2 One more share Phase 2

    [P1] buys another share from the initial offering at £90: the money goes to the bank. They now hold 60%, and in this game could go all the way to 100%.

    [P1] cash
    £110
    [IOW] treasury
    £610
    [IOW] share price
    £82
    [IOW] trains
    2+1
  9. Operating round 2 Ryde Esplanade – Ryde Phase 2

    The 2+1 runs Ryde Esplanade (30) – Ryde (20): £50.

    A halt (£) adds nothing to the run, but gives the company a £10 subsidy. A route can't start or end at a halt.

    [P1] cash
    £110
    [IOW] treasury
    £610
    [IOW] share price
    £82
    [IOW] trains
    2+1
  10. Operating round 2 Paying out Phase 2

    It pays £5 per share: [P1], with 60%, collects £30. Shares not owned by players get nothing. Since £50 doesn't reach the share price (£82), it doesn't rise.

    Had it withheld, it would have dropped one space. To rise four spaces it would need to earn four times the share price.

    [P1] cash
    £140
    [IOW] treasury
    £610
    [IOW] share price
    £82
    [IOW] trains
    2+1
  11. Operating round 2 A second 2+1 Phase 2

    It buys another 2+1 for £250. There are five: when they run out, the 3+2 will open phase 3 and the first 4+2 will rust them.

    [P1] cash
    £140
    [IOW] treasury
    £360
    [IOW] share price
    £82
    [IOW] trains
    2+1 + 2+1
  12. Towards stock round 3 What now? Phase 2

    Once the [IOW] has operated, the second tier of companies opens, with lower par prices. The [IOW] will need to grow towards Ryde Pier, worth more in the green and brown phases, and towards Newport. [P1] will never put their own money in: if the [IOW] is left without a train, it'll be insolvent.

    [P1] cash
    £140
    [IOW] treasury
    £360
    [IOW] share price
    £82
    [IOW] trains
    2+1 + 2+1

1860 Railways on the Isle of Wight — Summary

Capitalization type

  • Full capitalization: when it floats (50% sold), the company receives its entire capital (par price × 10) in the treasury at once.

Floating percentage and per-player share limits

  • Floats once 50% of shares are sold (the same threshold for every corporation)
  • No player may hold more than 100% of a single corporation (there's no real ownership cap)
  • Certificate limit per player: 2 players — 32; 3 players — 21; 4 players — 16

Starting cash by player count

  • 2 players: £1,000 starting cash
  • 3 players: £670 starting cash
  • 4 players: £500 starting cash
  • The bank has £10,000 (plus £10,000 more in company credits, £20,000 total), regardless of player count

End game triggers

  • A share price hits the highest space on the market: the game ends at the conclusion of the current operating round
  • The bank runs out of money (breaks): the game ends at the conclusion of the current operating round
  • Nationalization completes (only two non-nationalized companies remain): immediate end

Number of phases

  • 8 phases (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), triggered by the purchase of the first combined train of each level

Train list and prices

  • 2+1 train — £250 (5 units; rusts once the first 4+2-train is bought)
  • 3+2 train — £300 (4 units; rusts once the first 6+3-train is bought)
  • 4+2 train — £350 (3 units; rusts once the first 7+4-train is bought)
  • 5+3 train — £400 (2 units; rusts once the first 8+4-train is bought)
  • 6+3 train — £500 (2 units; never rusts; buying it puts the Fishbourne Ferry Company up for sale)
  • 7+4 train — £600 (1 unit; never rusts)
  • 8+4 train — £700 (1 unit; never rusts; buying it removes the certificate limit and selling shares no longer lowers their price)
  • 9+5 train — £800 (unlimited; buying it sets up the formation of the Southern Railway, and once every company owns a train, nationalization begins)

List of private companies

  • BHC - Brading Harbour Company — £30, revenue 5, exchangeable for a share of BHI&R
  • YHC - Yarmouth Harbour Company — £50, revenue 10, exchangeable for a share of FYN
  • CMH - Cowes Marina and Harbour — £90, revenue 20, exchangeable for a share of C&N
  • RPSC - Ryde Pier & Shipping Company — £130, revenue 30, exchangeable for a share of IOW
  • FFC - Fishbourne Ferry Company — £200, revenue 25, cannot be bought until the first 6+3 train is bought; buying it closes every other remaining private

List of corporations

  • C&N - Cowes & Newport — home at F2 (layer 1)
  • IOW - Isle of Wight — home at I3 (layer 1)
  • IWNJ - Isle of Wight, Newport Junction — home at G7 (layer 2)
  • FYN - Freshwater, Yarmouth & Newport — home at B4 (layer 2)
  • NGStL - Newport, Godshill & St. Lawrence — home at G9 (layer 3)
  • BHI&R - Brading Harbour Improvement & Railway — home at L6 (layer 3)
  • S&C - Shanklin & Chale — home at F12 (layer 4)
  • VYSC - Ventor, Yarmouth & South Coast — home at E9 (layer 4)

Game-specific mechanics

  • All 8 corporations unlock in 4 layers of two, as the game progresses
  • There is no bankruptcy: a company without a train becomes "insolvent" and rents a train of the current phase, withholding revenue until it buys one of its own
  • A player can own up to 100% of a single company
  • The president's certificate can be sold directly back to the bank
  • Progressive nationalization: once the first 9+5 train is bought and every company already owns a train, the two lowest-earning companies are nationalized each round, until only two remain

Emergency sell

Differs sharply from 1830: a corporation is only forced to buy a train at all if its own treasury cash already covers the cheapest one on offer — if it can't, it's simply not required to buy. The president is never asked for personal cash and shares are never forced onto the market. A corporation left without a train instead becomes "Insolvent": it may still run routes as if it owned the cheapest available train (for route-length purposes) but must withhold all its earnings, staying that way until its own treasury can eventually afford a real one. This is separate from 1860's Receivership (triggered by the president selling their own president's certificate) and Bankruptcy (triggered by the share price sliding into the market's closing zone).

Comparison with 1830

1. Setting and map: a small, very enclosed island
1830 covers the northeastern United States with a large map. 1860 takes place on the Isle of Wight, a very small map full of "chines" (small coastal valleys) that force tracks to wind around them. The reduced size forces direct contact between companies from very early on, and the game is known as one of the best 18xx options for just 2 players, something 1830 doesn't specifically aim for.

2. No one is ever left without a train: insolvency instead of bankruptcy
In 1830, if a company cannot pay for a mandatory train, it may end up bankrupt and be liquidated, and the president must cover the difference from personal funds if the treasury falls short. In 1860 companies are never required to own a train: if they don't have one, they simply become "insolvent" and must rent a train corresponding to the current phase, withholding all their revenue until they eventually buy one of their own, without the president ever having to put up personal money.

3. A player can own 100% of a company
In 1830 the individual ownership limit for a company is 60%. In 1860 a player can own up to 100% of the shares of a single company, without the limit that applies in 1830.

4. Progressive nationalization of the lowest-earning companies
A mechanic completely absent from 1830: when the first "9+5" train is purchased and every company already has at least one train, a nationalization process begins. From that point on, the two companies with the lowest revenue progressively stop operating (are nationalized), and the game continues until only two active companies remain — an ending determined by this chain, not by the bank running dry as in 1830.

5. Topography that forces winding routes
The "chines" (coastal inlets) on the Isle of Wight map force tracks to zigzag around the terrain, a geographic restriction far more pronounced than that of 1830's relatively open map.

6. A game designed and balanced for 2 players
While 1830 shines best with 3 or more players, 1860 is specifically designed and highly regarded as a 2-player experience, preserving the tension and interaction typical of 18xx games in a smaller format.

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