1894

Designer: Jan Kłos

Northeastern France and Belgium with two companies that start the game already floated, green cities that split in two when upgraded to brown, and trains that can be traded up for newer models — for 3-4 players.

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1894 Contents

How it works

Setup

3 or 4 players: F570 or F480; the bank is unlimited
One random French company ([PLM], [CFOR], [Nord], [Ouest] or [Est]) and the [Belge] start floated
Each player gets 10% of both
Private auction, cheapest to most expensive
The major shareholding gives the presidency: its buyer sets the price (67, 80, 95 or 100) and the company receives 10 × that price

Stock round ×1

Sell, buy one share and sell again
Floats once no more than 40% is left in the [IPO]
Each share sold drops one row
At the end, companies with no shares in the [IPO] or open market go up

Operating round ×1-3

Private income
Each company, highest share price first:
1. Redeem shares or reissue them
2. Track: two actions (two yellows, or yellow + upgrade)
3. One station (F40, later F100)
4. Run trains
5. Pay out (right) or withhold (left)
6. Buy trains or upgrade one

↻ Repeats until the end

End

A share price reaches F450, or a bankruptcy: the game ends at once
First full set of operating rounds in the purple phase, with no track or stations
Cash + shares at share price + privates at face value
Highest total wins; there's no tiebreak

Components

Players

Cash
Shares (max. 60%, except in the grey zone)
Privates (count toward the 18 or 14 certificate limit)

Privates

Lines and stations with income from F5 to F20
London shipping: station at A12 and cheaper ferry
[Nord] minor shareholding: 10% of the [Nord]
Two major shareholdings: presidency of the French company and of the [Belge]

Companies

7 companies, fully capitalised; [Ouest], [Nord] and [CFOR] have two homes
[LF] and [LB], the late ones: from the brown phase, home of your choice
[IPO] and redeemed shares pay into the treasury

Bank

Unlimited money
[IPO] and open market (max. 50% of a company)
Trains by colour: yellow, green, blue, brown, red, grey and purple

Map

Northern France and Belgium
London: needs a ferry (F80, only 4)
Netherlands + another off-board: +F100
Normal green cities become doubles when upgraded to brown

Where the money goes

Players Bank [IPO] shares (at par) and open market shares, privates at auction
Bank Companies On floating, 10 × par; dividends on [IPO] and own shares; F100 per reissued share
Bank Players Dividends, private income, share sales
Companies Bank Trains, terrain, stations, ferries and share buybacks
Companies Players Buying a private from a player (green, blue and brown phases), half to double its value
Players Companies Forced train purchase: the president makes up the shortfall

Phases

Yellow

Start

2 · F80

1 operating round, 4-train limit

Green

1st 3-train

3 · F120

Green tiles, 2 operating rounds, private purchases

Blue

1st 4-train

4 · F300

2s rust; limit of 3

Brown

1st 5+1 train

5+1 · F400

Brown tiles, brown values, 3 rounds; 3s rust; [LF] and [LB] come out

Red

1st 6-train

6 · F600

Privates close (except Saint-Quentin à Guise)

Grey

1st 7-train

7 · F700

4s rust

Purple

1st diesel

D · F800

5+1s rust; limit of 2; last set of rounds

Once per operating round, a company can upgrade a train to the next colour by paying the new price minus half the old one, even at the train limit.
In the grey zone of the market, shares don't count toward the limit and the president can buy two per turn.

A round, step by step

Illustrative example with the game's rules: 4 players with F480 each; setup drew the [Est] as the starting French company. We follow [P1] and the [Belge], based in Mechelen, from the auction to the second operating round.

Before starting Two companies already running Phase Yellow

Each player gets F480, 10% of the [Est] and 10% of the [Belge]. Both have their president's certificate tied to a private. At random, the Gare de Liège-Guillemins stays and the Station Antwerpen Centraal leaves the game.

[P1] cash

F480

[Belge] treasury

—

[Belge] share price

—

[Belge] trains

—
Private auction The [Belge] major shareholding Phase Yellow

Privates are sold from cheapest to most expensive. When the [Belge] major shareholding is the cheapest, [P1] buys it at face value: F200. It pays F60 income and gives the [Belge] president's certificate (20%).

Had it received bids, there would have been an auction among the bidders.

[P1] cash

F280

[Belge] treasury

—

[Belge] share price

—

[Belge] trains

—
Private auction Price and capital Phase Yellow

[P1] picks the highest possible par price: F100, which only the [Belge] and the starting French company can use. The bank puts 10 × F100 = F1,000 into the [Belge]'s treasury, which has already floated.

[P1] cash

F280

[Belge] treasury

F1,000

[Belge] share price

F100

[Belge] trains

—
Stock round 1 A [Belge] share Phase Yellow

Nothing can be sold in the first stock round. [P1] buys a [Belge] share from the [IPO] at par, F100. They now hold 40%. 3 are left in the [IPO].

Money from an [IPO] purchase goes to the bank, not the company.

[P1] cash

F180

[Belge] treasury

F1,000

[Belge] share price

F100

[Belge] trains

—
Operating round 1 Income and closing Phase Yellow

The [Belge] major shareholding pays [P1] F60. Then, when the [Belge] operates for the first time, the private closes. The [Belge] places its station in Mechelen and skips the step of redeeming or issuing shares.

[P1] cash

F240

[Belge] treasury

F1,000

[Belge] share price

F100

[Belge] trains

—
Operating round 1 Two yellows Phase Yellow

Each company has two track actions per round. The [Belge] lays a yellow in Mechelen (F20) and the Brussels yellow (F30), neither with a terrain cost.

Later on it can do a yellow and an upgrade, but not upgrade the tile it has just laid.

[P1] cash

F240

[Belge] treasury

F1,000

[Belge] share price

F100

[Belge] trains

—
Operating round 1 No trains, no revenue Phase Yellow

No trains yet: the dividend is zero and the share price moves one space left, from F100 to F93.

[P1] cash

F240

[Belge] treasury

F1,000

[Belge] share price

F93

[Belge] trains

—
Operating round 1 Two yellow trains Phase Yellow

It has a route, so it must own a train. It buys two 2-trains (F160).

[P1] cash

F240

[Belge] treasury

F840

[Belge] share price

F93

[Belge] trains

2 + 2
Stock round 2 Another share Phase Yellow

[P1] buys another [Belge] share from the [IPO] (F100) and passes. They now hold 50%. 2 are left in the [IPO].

As long as the [Belge] has shares in the [IPO], it won't rise at the end of the stock round.

[P1] cash

F140

[Belge] treasury

F840

[Belge] share price

F93

[Belge] trains

2 + 2
Operating round 2 On to Antwerp Phase Yellow

The [Belge] lays a yellow city tile in Antwerp (F20). It places no station there: the Mechelen one is enough.

[P1] cash

F140

[Belge] treasury

F840

[Belge] share price

F93

[Belge] trains

2 + 2
Operating round 2 Two runs Phase Yellow

One 2-train runs Mechelen–Brussels: 20 + 30 = F50. The other runs Mechelen–Antwerp on a different line: 20 + 20 = F40. Total: F90.

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

[P1] cash

F140

[Belge] treasury

F840

[Belge] share price

F93

[Belge] trains

2 + 2
Operating round 2 Paying out Phase Yellow

The [Belge] pays F9 per 10%. [P1] collects F45. The two shares in the [IPO] don't pay the bank: they go to the [Belge]'s treasury, F18. The share price moves right: back to F100.

Open market shares, on the other hand, get nothing.

[P1] cash

F185

[Belge] treasury

F858

[Belge] share price

F100

[Belge] trains

2 + 2
Operating round 2 The green phase begins Phase Green

All seven 2-trains have been sold. The [Belge] buys the first 3-train for F120. The green phase begins: green tiles, two operating rounds per set, and private purchases.

[P1] cash

F185

[Belge] treasury

F738

[Belge] share price

F100

[Belge] trains

2 + 2 + 3
Operating round 2 Upgrading a train Phase Green

Once per round, a company can swap a train for one of the next colour if that's what's on top of the stack. The [Belge] hands in a 2-train and pays 120 − 40 = F80 for another 3-train.

It can do this even at the train limit.

[P1] cash

F185

[Belge] treasury

F658

[Belge] share price

F100

[Belge] trains

2 + 3 + 3
Towards stock round 3 Before blue arrives Phase Green

Each stock round will now be followed by two operating rounds. The first 4-train (blue) will rust its remaining 2-train. The [Belge] can buy the Liège private from whoever owns it, for F25 to F100, to lay track there and get a free station.

[P1] cash

F185

[Belge] treasury

F658

[Belge] share price

F100

[Belge] trains

2 + 3 + 3

1894 — Summary

Capitalization type

Full capitalization: IPO purchases are paid to the bank and, once the company floats (60% sold), it receives 10 times its par price into its treasury at once.
The two starting companies (the randomly drawn French one and the Belge) receive that money as soon as their "major shareholding" private is bought, which also sets their par price.
Shares still in the IPO and shares the company has redeemed pay their dividends into the company's own treasury.

Floats once no more than 40% of its shares remain in the IPO (i.e. with 60% sold); the drawn French company and the Belge start the game already floated
A player may not buy a share of a company they already hold 60% of, unless its stock price is in the gray area of the market, where there is no cap
Certificate limit per player: 3 players — 18; 4 players — 14. Private companies count towards it; shares of companies in the gray area don't
At most 5 shares (50%) of each company may be in the bank pool

Starting cash by player count

3 players: 570 F starting cash
4 players: 480 F starting cash
The bank is unlimited: the game can never end from the bank running out of money
Only 3 or 4 players are supported

End game triggers

The first complete set of operating rounds in the purple phase (the one after the first Diesel) finishes: no track or stations may be built in that final set
A stock price reaches 450 F: immediate end (if it happens during the end-of-stock-round rise, the other eligible companies are moved up first)
A player goes bankrupt: immediate end
All players agree on who has won
The winner is the player with the highest net worth (cash, shares at their final price and privates at face value); there is no tie-breaker

Number of phases

7 phases (yellow, green, blue, brown, red, gray and purple), triggered by the purchase of the first train of each colour
Operating rounds per set: 1 (yellow), 2 (green and blue) and 3 (brown onwards)
Train limit: 4 in the yellow and green phases, 3 from blue to gray, and 2 in purple
Green phase: green tiles, and companies may now buy private companies (up to and including the brown phase)
Brown phase: brown tiles, "brown" values apply to revenue centres with two values, and the late companies become available
Red phase: private companies close, except the Ligne de Saint-Quentin à Guise, which closes in the purple phase
Purple phase: regular green cities can no longer be upgraded to brown

Train list and prices

2-train (yellow) — 80 F — 7 units; rusts on the first 4-train
3-train (green) — 120 F — 5 units; rusts on the first 5+1-train
4-train (blue) — 300 F — 4 units; rusts on the first 7-train
5+1-train (brown) — 400 F — 5 units; counts up to 5 revenue centres plus 1 town; rusts on the first Diesel
6-train (red) — 600 F — 2 units
7-train (gray) — 700 F — 3 units
Diesel (purple) — 800 F — unlimited; runs to any number of revenue centres
Once per operating round, a company may trade one of its trains up for the next available colour (or for a Diesel), paying the new train's price minus half the old one's, even while at the train limit: 2→3 for 80 F, 3→4 for 240 F, 4→5+1 for 250 F, 5+1→6 for 400 F, 6→7 for 400 F, and to a Diesel for 600 F (from a 5+1), 500 F (from a 6) or 450 F (from a 7)

List of private companies

Ligne de Reims à Charleville — 20 F, revenue 5 F — blocks I14; once per game, the owning company may pay 60 F to lay an extra yellow tile; if all players pass during the auction, its price drops by 5 F
Antwerpen-Rotterdamsche Spoorwegmaatschappij — 25 F, revenue 5 F (10 F when owned by a company) — no special power
Gare de Liège-Guillemins — 50 F, revenue 10 F — blocks Liège (H17); the owning company may lay or upgrade the yellow tile in Liège without being connected to it and place a free station there
Station Antwerpen Centraal — 50 F, revenue 10 F — the same power, in Antwerpen (D17). Only one of these two 50 F privates is used: the other is removed at random during setup
Ligne de Saint-Quentin à Guise — 70 F — revenue 0 F, rising to 70 F when Saint-Quentin (G10) is green and 100 F when it is brown; closes in the purple phase
London shipping — 90 F, revenue 15 F — free station in A12, a ferry marker for just 40 F, and its company's trains running through London add the highest other value on the route (ignoring London and Luxembourg)
Nord minor shareholding — 140 F, revenue 20 F — comes with a 10% share of the Nord
Major shareholding of the drawn French company (PLM, CFOR, Nord, Ouest or Est) — 180 F, revenue 40 F — comes with the president's certificate; the buyer sets the par price (67, 80, 95 or 100 F); it can't be sold to a company and closes when that company operates
Belge major shareholding — 200 F, revenue 60 F — the same, for the Belge
Companies may only buy private companies during the green, blue and brown phases, for between half and twice face value

List of corporations

Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) — home in Paris (G6), on the space marked "PLM" — 5 stations
Chemin de fer d'Orléans à Rouen (CFOR) — two homes: Rouen (D3) and Chartres (H3) — 5 stations
Chemins de fer du Nord (Nord) — two homes: Lens (D9) and Charleroi (G14) — 4 stations
Chemins de fer de l'Ouest (Ouest) — two homes: Le Havre (B3) and Amiens (E6) — 5 stations
Chemins de fer de l'Est (Est) — home in Reims (I10) — 5 stations
Chemin de fer d'Anvers à Gand (AG) — home in Gent (D15) — 5 stations
Chemins de fer de l'État belge (Belge) — home in Mechelen (E16) — 3 stations
Late French (LF) — late company, available from the brown phase, with a home of its choice in France — 3 stations
Late Belgian (LB) — late company, available from the brown phase, with a home of its choice in Belgium — 3 stations

Game-specific mechanics

A randomly drawn French company and the Belge start already floated, with a 10% share of each dealt to every player (plus one more in the bank pool with 3 players)
Gray area of the market: players may exceed 60%, the president may buy two shares per turn, shares don't count towards the certificate limit, and the stock price rises an extra step
Companies may redeem shares from the bank pool (one per round, two in the first round of each set) or reissue all the shares they hold at once for 100 F each, which resets their par price to 100 F
Trains can be traded up for the next colour, paying the difference with a discount of half the old train's price
Regular green cities split into two separate cities when upgraded to brown: stations are relocated, and routes that used to be connected can be cut
Up to two track actions per round: two yellow tiles, or one yellow tile and one upgrade
London can only be reached with a ferry marker (there are 4, at 80 F); Luxembourg is worth as much as the most valuable revenue centre on the route, and a route between the Netherlands and another off-board area earns 100 F more
At the end of a stock round, companies with no shares in the IPO or bank pool rise one step, plus another if the company and its president hold 8 or more of its shares
Player order for the next stock round follows the order in which players passed

Emergency sell

A company is only required to own a train if it has a route from one of its stations to another revenue centre. If it can't afford one, the president contributes personal cash —never more than the chosen train requires— and, if that isn't enough, must sell shares under the normal selling rules (without exceeding the 5-share bank pool limit and without handing over the presidency of the company currently operating). If one of those sales changes the presidency of another company, that change happens before the train is bought. The train may also be bought from another company, but with the president's help it can't cost more than face value, and the company then ends its turn with an empty treasury. If there's still not enough money and no other company will sell a train at an acceptable price, the player goes bankrupt and the game ends immediately, just as in 1830.

Comparison with 1830

1. Setting, player count and an unlimited bank
1830 covers the northeastern USA for 2-6 players and ends when the bank runs out of money. 1894 is a fictional history of railways in northeastern France and Belgium, for 3-4 players only, with an unlimited bank: the game ends after the first complete set of operating rounds in the purple phase (with no track or station building), when a stock price reaches 450 F, or with a bankruptcy.

2. Two companies start the game already floated
In 1830 no company starts floated (the B&O private only grants the president's certificate). In 1894, one of the five French companies is drawn at random during setup and every player receives a free 10% share of it and of the Belge. Each one's president's certificate comes with an expensive private (180 F and 200 F): whoever buys it in the auction chooses the par price, and the company immediately receives 10 times that price. These two companies can't redeem or reissue shares.

3. Late companies with a home of their choice
In 1830 every company has a fixed home printed on the map and is available from the start. In 1894, besides the seven regular companies (three of which have two homes), there are two late companies, Late French and Late Belgian, whose shares can't be bought before the brown phase. Whoever buys the president's certificate chooses its home among the cities in its country with a free station space, preferably in a hex that has no track yet.

4. A gray area in the market that speeds up price rises
In 1830 the coloured cells of the market lift the certificate limit and the 60% cap, and the brown ones allow buying more than one share per turn. 1894 folds this into a single gray area, taken from 1828: players can go past 60% and the shares don't count towards the limit, but only the president may buy two shares per turn. The new twist is that a company in the gray area moves up an extra step every time its price rises, and at the end of a stock round a sold-out company rises yet another step if it and its president hold 8 or more of its shares.

5. Companies can redeem and reissue shares
In 1830 a company can't buy back or issue its own shares. In 1894 it may redeem shares from the bank pool at the market price (one per round, two in the first round of each set), and those shares, like the ones still in the IPO, pay dividends into its treasury. If it holds more of its own shares than remain in the IPO, it may reissue all of them at once for 100 F each, and its par price becomes 100 F.

6. Trains can be traded up for newer models
In 1830 only the Diesel lets a company hand in an old train for a discount. In 1894, with a rule borrowed from 1824, a company may once per round trade one of its trains for one of the next colour up (or for a Diesel), if it is the next one available, paying the new train's price minus half the old train's price, even while at the train limit. There are seven train colours, including a 5+1 that counts one extra town.

7. Cities that split in two when upgraded to brown
In 1830 upgrading a city always preserves the existing connections. In 1894 regular green cities become two separate cities when upgraded to brown: their stations are lifted and their owners place them again in one of the two, so routes that used to run through the city can be cut. On top of that, each company may take two track actions per round (two yellow tiles, or one yellow tile and one upgrade) rather than a single tile.

8. London, ferries and off-board bonuses
In 1830 off-board areas simply have a fixed value per phase. In 1894 a company needs one of the four ferry markers (80 F each, at most one per company) to run routes through or into London, and to build track or stations it can only connect by going through London; Luxembourg is worth as much as the most valuable revenue centre on the route, and a route joining the Netherlands with another off-board area earns 100 F more. The London shipping private also makes London add, for its company's routes, the highest value among the rest of the route.

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