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1877: Stockholm Tramways

Designer: Love Brandefelt

Trams (not trains) through Stockholm, built around the risk of losing control of your own companies.

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1877: Stockholm Tramways Contents

How it works

Setup
  • 12 tram companies in random order: 5 come out in phase 2, 4 in phase 3 and 3 in phase 6
  • All shares start in the bank
  • No privates
  • From 600kr (3 players) to 300kr (6); the bank never runs out
Stock round ×1
  • Sell first: the share price moves left
  • Buy one share from the bank
  • Or bid for the right to start a company (from 0kr)
  • The winner sets the price (50-100kr) and buys shares up to 50%
Operating round ×1-3
  • Each company, highest share price first:
  • 1. Absorb another company
  • 2. One tile
  • 3. One station (60kr)
  • 4. Run trains: they count hex edges
  • 5. Pay out (up) or withhold (down)
  • 6. Buy trains (mandatory)
  • 7. Absorb another company
↻ Repeats until the end
End
  • A share price reaches 400kr: that round finishes
  • The first 10H forms the [SL]: trainless companies can buy one or leave the game
  • Then one stock round and a set of operations where everyone pays out
  • Most cash plus shares wins

Components

Players
  • Cash and shares
  • Max 60% of a company
  • Pay for trains the company can't afford
Companies
  • Float at 50%; full capital: 10× the price
  • 60kr stations
  • Can absorb another, even one with a different president
  • Combined, at most 6 hexes with stations
Bank
  • Unlimited
  • All unsold shares
  • H trains, from 2H to 10H
Map
  • Stockholm: districts and bridges
  • Water: 40kr
  • Each stop counts only once per company

Where the money goes

  • Players Bank Bids to start companies and share purchases
  • Bank Companies Capital on floating: 10× par
  • Companies Players Dividends
  • Companies Bank Trains, stations and water
  • Bank Players Share sales

Phases

2
Start
2H · 80kr
1 [OR]; 4 trains; 5 companies
3
1st 3H
3H · 180kr
Green; 2 ORs; 4 more companies
4
1st 4H
4H · 280kr
2Hs rust
6
1st 6H
6H · 500kr
Brown; 3 ORs; 3 trains; the last 3 companies
8
1st 8H
8H · 600kr
3Hs rust
10
1st 10H
10H · 700kr
4Hs rust; the [SL] forms
  • Trains don't count stops but hex edges: a 2H can cross two.
  • If two trains of the same company pass the same stop, only the first one scores it.

A round, step by step

Illustrative example with the rules of the 18xx.games implementation, 4 players with 450kr. We follow [P1] and the [SS], based in Norrmalm, through the first two stock and operating rounds.

  1. Before starting Release order Phase 2

    The 12 companies are put in random order. The first 5, the [SS] among them, can be started now; the rest wait for phase 3 or 6. All shares are in the bank.

    [P1] cash
    450kr
    [SS] treasury
    —
    [SS] share price
    —
    [SS] trains
    —
  2. Stock round 1 Bidding for the right to start Phase 2

    [P1] opens an auction for the [SS] at 0kr. [P2] bids 10kr, [P1] 20kr and [P2] passes. [P1] pays 20kr to the bank for the right to start it.

    [P1] cash
    430kr
    [SS] treasury
    —
    [SS] share price
    —
    [SS] trains
    —
  3. Stock round 1 The president's certificate Phase 2

    They set the par price at 70kr and buy the president's certificate (20%) for 140kr. The money goes to the bank.

    Par prices range from 50 to 100kr.

    [P1] cash
    290kr
    [SS] treasury
    —
    [SS] share price
    70kr
    [SS] trains
    —
  4. Stock round 1 Floating at 50% Phase 2

    On the same turn they buy 3 more shares (210kr) to reach 50%. The [SS] floats and the bank gives it 10× the price: 700kr.

    [P1] cash
    80kr
    [SS] treasury
    700kr
    [SS] share price
    70kr
    [SS] trains
    —
  5. Operating round 1 Station and tile Phase 2

    The [SS] places its home station in Norrmalm, for free. It lays a yellow in Östermalm, the neighbouring city, with no water to pay, and places a station there for 60kr.

    Only one tile can be laid per turn.

    [P1] cash
    80kr
    [SS] treasury
    640kr
    [SS] share price
    70kr
    [SS] trains
    —
  6. Operating round 1 No train, move left Phase 2

    No train: no revenue, and the share price moves one space left, from 70 to 60kr.

    [P1] cash
    80kr
    [SS] treasury
    640kr
    [SS] share price
    60kr
    [SS] trains
    —
  7. Operating round 1 A 2H Phase 2

    It must own a train: it buys a 2H for 80kr. It can cover up to 2 hex edges.

    In phase 2 there's only one operating round per stock round.

    [P1] cash
    80kr
    [SS] treasury
    560kr
    [SS] share price
    60kr
    [SS] trains
    2H
  8. Stock round 2 Up to 60% Phase 2

    [P1] buys one more [SS] share from the bank, at 60kr. They now hold 60%, the maximum.

    Selling moves the share price left, one space for every two shares in the block (rounding up).

    [P1] cash
    20kr
    [SS] treasury
    560kr
    [SS] share price
    60kr
    [SS] trains
    2H
  9. Operating round 2 The tram runs Phase 2

    The [SS] lays another yellow. The 2H runs Norrmalm (30) – Östermalm (20): a single hex edge, 50kr.

    [P1] cash
    20kr
    [SS] treasury
    560kr
    [SS] share price
    60kr
    [SS] trains
    2H
  10. Operating round 2 Paying out Phase 2

    It pays 5kr per share. [P1] collects 30; shares still in the bank earn for the bank. Since 50kr doesn't reach the share price, it doesn't move.

    If the dividend matches the share price, it moves up one space; double, two; triple, three.

    [P1] cash
    50kr
    [SS] treasury
    560kr
    [SS] share price
    60kr
    [SS] trains
    2H
  11. Operating round 2 A second 2H Phase 2

    It buys another 2H for 80kr. To get value from it, it'll have to run it through new stops: a stop already scored by one train doesn't count for the second.

    [P1] cash
    50kr
    [SS] treasury
    480kr
    [SS] share price
    60kr
    [SS] trains
    2H + 2H
  12. Towards stock round 3 What now? Phase 2

    With the first 3H come green, two operations per round and 4 new companies. The 2Hs will rust with the first 4H. If the [SS] falls behind, another player's company could absorb it.

    [P1] cash
    50kr
    [SS] treasury
    480kr
    [SS] share price
    60kr
    [SS] trains
    2H + 2H

1877: Stockholm Tramways — Summary

Capitalization type

  • Full capitalization: upon floating, the corporation receives all of its capital at once. Unlike 1830, though, corporations aren't founded through a par-price auction: they all start with their shares distributed to the market and are obtained by winning an entry auction once they reach their assigned phase.

Floating percentage and per-player share limits

  • Floats once 50% of its shares are sold (same threshold for every corporation)
  • No player may hold more than 60% of one corporation (default threshold, no exceptions)
  • Certificate limit per player: 3 players — 16; 4 players — 12; 5 players — 10; 6 players — 9

Starting cash by player count

  • 3 players: 600kr starting cash
  • 4 players: 450kr starting cash
  • 5 players: 360kr starting cash
  • 6 players: 300kr starting cash
  • The bank is unlimited (no fixed amount of money)

End game triggers

  • A share reaches the top of the market grid (price 400e): the game ends at the end of the current round
  • The SL (Storstockholms Lokaltrafik) forms after the first 10H train is bought: one more full set of operating rounds is played before the game ends

Number of phases

  • 6 phases (2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10), triggered by the purchase of the first 3H, 4H, 6H, 8H and 10H train respectively
  • Green tiles unlock in phase 3 and brown tiles in phase 6

Train list and prices

  • 2H train — 80kr (rusts with the first 4H train) — 6 units
  • 3H train — 180kr (rusts with the first 8H train) — 5 units
  • 4H train — 280kr (rusts with the first 10H train) — 4 units
  • 6H train — 500kr (never rusts) — 2 units
  • 8H train — 600kr (never rusts) — 2 units
  • 10H train — 700kr, unlimited — buying it triggers the SL's formation and the game-end sequence
  • Train distance is measured in track hex edges traveled, not in stops

List of private companies

  • This game has no private companies at all: all of the players' starting capital goes directly into the corporations.

List of corporations

  • AB Stockholms Spårvägar (SS) — home at F6 (city 0)
  • AB Södra Förstadsbanan (SF) — home at H4
  • Djursholms AB (D) — home at C7
  • Järnvägs AB Stockholm-Saltsjön (JSS) — home at I13
  • Lidingö Trafik AB (LT) — home at D10 (city 0)
  • Råsunda Förstads AB (RF) — home at D4
  • Stockholm-Rimbo Järnvägs AB (SRJ) — home at A9
  • Stockholms Nya Spårvägs AB (SNS) — home at F6 (city 1)
  • Stockholms Stads Spårväg (SSS) — home at G1
  • Stockholms Södra Spårvägs AB (SSB) — home at G7
  • Södra Spårvägarnes Trafik AB (SST) — home at H8
  • Trafik AB Stockholm-Södra Lidingön (TSSL) — home at D10 (city 1)

Game-specific mechanics

  • All 12 corporations enter play staggered and randomly: 5 available from phase 2, 4 from phase 3, and 3 from phase 6, obtained by auction rather than direct founding
  • Mergers and hostile takeovers between corporations with different presidents, limited so that, combined, they don't exceed six hexes with a station
  • The merged corporation's president may buy shares in it at half price
  • A share just bought cannot be resold within the same stock round
  • No emergency stock sale to pay for trains: the president only contributes personal cash
  • Trainless corporations can still buy one when the game-end trigger fires

Emergency sell

No forced sale of personal shares happens here at all. Instead, when a trainless corporation still can't afford one after spending its own treasury, the owning player's entire available personal cash — not just the shortfall — is automatically poured into the corporation. If even that combined total still isn't enough for the cheapest train, the corporation simply isn't forced to buy; there's no bankruptcy trigger for this specific situation. Used trains can only be bought from another corporation controlled by the very same player.

Comparison with 1830

1. Setting, map and number of players
1830 covers the northeastern USA for 2-6 players. 1877: Stockholm Tramways moves the action to Stockholm and spans a very long historical period, from 1877 to 1966, on a smaller, denser map built for urban trams rather than intercity trains. It's designed for 3-6 players (best with 4) and games of 3-4 hours.

2. No private companies
1830 starts with six private companies that can be bought and sold between players and that grant income or special powers. 1877 drops privates entirely -a direct borrow from 1862-: there are none at all, and all of the players' starting capital goes straight into operating companies.

3. Corporations aren't all available from the start
In 1830 all eight operating companies can be founded from the very first stock round. In 1877 each corporation enters play on a staggered schedule based on the color of its home station: yellow-station companies appear in phase 2, green ones in phase 3, and brown ones in phase 6, and they're won at auction rather than simply founded by buying shares.

4. Mergers and hostile takeovers between different players' companies
In 1830 companies never merge with or absorb one another. In 1877, by contrast, one company can acquire another even when they're controlled by different presidents: that's a hostile takeover, and it's exactly the mechanism by which you can end up losing control of your own company. The only constraint is that, combined, the two companies can't have stations on more than six hexes. The resulting company's president may buy shares in it at half the usual price, a way of rebuilding control right after the takeover.

5. You can't resell a share you just bought
In 1830, within a single stock round you can buy and sell shares of a company in either order. In 1877 (another inheritance from 1862) a share can't be sold in the same stock round in which it was bought: you have to wait at least one round, which slows down a raided president's ability to buy back control immediately.

6. Trains measured in hexes, not stops
In 1830 a train's size is defined by how many cities and towns it can visit (a "4-train" makes 4 stops, for example). In 1877, following 18Ireland, trains are defined by the number of track hexes they can travel through rather than the number of stops -a design better suited to a dense urban tram network.

7. No emergency stock sale to pay for trains
In 1830, if a company can't afford a mandatory train, the president must contribute personal money and, as a last resort, the company can end up liquidated. In 1877 there's no emergency stock-sale mechanism at all: the president simply contributes the minimum cash needed (or everything they have) to complete the purchase, without the personal-bankruptcy spiral found in some other 18xx titles.

8. Trainless companies can still buy a train right at game end
Normally a company needs to operate to earn the cash for a train. 1877 relaxes that requirement exactly when the endgame trigger fires: even a trainless company can still buy one at that point, a one-off exception with no equivalent in 1830.

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