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18GB: The Railways of Great Britain

Designer: Dave Berry

Great Britain with companies randomly split into two tiers, blending ideas from 1825 and 1860.

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18GB: The Railways of Great Britain Contents

How it works

Setup

Scenario by player count: map, companies, privates, money and certificate limit
Companies are randomly split into two tiers: tier 2 ones can't be started until stock round 2
All home stations are already on the map and block from the start
Private auction: minimum bid is the price; whoever ends with the least cash opens stock round 1

Stock round ×1

Sell, then buy, each turn
Start a company: director's certificate (40%) at par
Max 60% from the [IPO]; from the open market, no limit
Or convert a company to 10 shares
First to pass starts the next round

Operating round ×2

Income from open privates
Each company, highest share price first:
1. Track: 2 tiles (only one in a city)
2. Stations (£50)
3. Run trains
4. Pay out (up 1-4 spaces) or withhold (down)
5. Buy trains
If nobody bought a train from the bank, one is exported

↻ Repeats until the end

End

A share price reaches £350 or more
Or all trains have been sold or exported
The game ends after that operating round
Most cash plus shares wins

Components

Players

Cash
Shares, up to 100% of a company
Privates (don't count toward the limit)

Companies

Start with 5 shares (40/20/20/20) and 5 × par
Can convert to 10 shares: more capital and stations
No train: insolvent, leases the cheapest train and withholds
No director: receivership (always withholds)

Privates

Always owned by a player, never a company
Open: income and blocks a hex
Closed by the owner: stops paying and unlocks its ability
The ability can be used by any of the owner's companies

Bank

Unlimited money
[IPO] and open market
New trains

Map

Restrictive track: the company must be able to use the new track
Hills: £50 per section
North-south, east-west and estuary bonuses

Where the money goes

Bank Companies On floating, 5 × par; on converting, 5 × the new share price
Players Bank Buying shares ([IPO] ones too) and privates
Bank Players Dividends, private income, sales
Bank Companies Withheld revenue and dividends on [IPO] shares
Companies Bank Trains, terrain and stations
Players Companies Putting in cash to buy trains: doesn't exist

Phases

2+1

Start

2+1 · £80

Yellow only; floats at 40%

3+1

1st 3+1 train

3+1 · £200

Green; new companies float at 60%

4+2

1st 4+2 train

4+2 · £300

Blue (estuaries); 2+1s rust; track can be built on privates

5+2

1st 5+2 train

5+2 · £500

Brown; unstarted companies become 10-share

1st 4X train

4X · £550

3+1s rust

1st 5X train

5X · £650

1st 6X train

6X · £700

Grey; 4+2s rust; unstarted companies are removed

X trains don't count towns and add £10 for each hex in a straight line between the two ends.
The director never puts in money for trains: the company converts to 10 shares or falls into insolvency.

A round, step by step

Illustrative example with 18xx.games rules, standard 4-player scenario (£330 each). We follow [P1] and the [MR], based in Derby, through stock round 1 and the two operating rounds after it.

Before starting Two tiers of companies Phase 2+1

With 4 players there are 9 companies, and 4 end up in tier 2 at random. The [MR] came up in tier 1, so it can be started in the first stock round. Its Derby station is already on the map.

The [LNWR] is always tier 1.

[P1] cash

£330

[MR] treasury

—

[MR] share price

—

[MR] trains

—
Private auction The Liverpool & Manchester Phase 2+1

All privates are auctioned at once. [P1] takes the [LM] for £45, its price. It pays £15 every operating round while it's open.

You can only pass if you're winning a bid or every private already has one. Those left without a bid drop £10.

[P1] cash

£285

[MR] treasury

—

[MR] share price

—

[MR] trains

—
Stock round 1 Starting the [MR] Phase 2+1

Those who spent most in the auction go first. When their turn comes, [P1] starts the [MR] at £90: the director's certificate (40%) costs £180. With 40% sold, the [MR] floats and the bank gives it 5 × £90 = £450.

Full capitalisation: whatever is paid later for [IPO] shares goes to the bank, not the company.

[P1] cash

£105

[MR] treasury

£450

[MR] share price

£90

[MR] trains

—
Stock round 1 One more share Phase 2+1

On their next turn they buy another 20% from the [IPO] for £90. They now hold 60% of the [MR], the most you can take from the [IPO].

You can buy more from the open market: up to 100%.

[P1] cash

£15

[MR] treasury

£450

[MR] share price

£90

[MR] trains

—
Stock round 1 Passing Phase 2+1

With no money left for anything else, they pass. When everyone has passed the round ends and share prices don't move.

There's no rise for sold-out companies.

[P1] cash

£15

[MR] treasury

£450

[MR] share price

£90

[MR] trains

—
Operating round 1.1 Private income Phase 2+1

The round starts by paying open privates: [P1] collects £15 from the [LM].

If they close it, it pays one last time and their companies get +£30 at Liverpool.

[P1] cash

£30

[MR] treasury

£450

[MR] share price

£90

[MR] trains

—
Operating round 1.1 Two tiles Phase 2+1

The [MR] lays a yellow in Derby (a £10 city) and another on the Lincoln town. Only one of the two can be in a city.

Restrictive track: every tile must be usable by the company laying it.

[P1] cash

£30

[MR] treasury

£450

[MR] share price

£90

[MR] trains

—
Operating round 1.1 No train, price drops Phase 2+1

It has no train yet, earns nothing and the share price drops one space: from £90 to £80.

[P1] cash

£30

[MR] treasury

£450

[MR] share price

£80

[MR] trains

—
Operating round 1.1 A 2+1 train Phase 2+1

It buys a 2+1 from the bank for £80. It runs up to 2 cities plus 1 town.

A company that ends its turn without a train becomes insolvent: it'll lease the cheapest train and must withhold.

[P1] cash

£30

[MR] treasury

£370

[MR] share price

£80

[MR] trains

2+1
Operating round 1.2 Leicester Phase 2+1

Another £15 from the [LM]. The [MR] lays a yellow at Leicester, a double city worth £20 in yellow.

[P1] cash

£45

[MR] treasury

£370

[MR] share price

£80

[MR] trains

2+1
Operating round 1.2 The train runs Phase 2+1

The 2+1 runs from Leicester to Lincoln via Derby: 20 + 10 + 10 = £40.

[P1] cash

£45

[MR] treasury

£370

[MR] share price

£80

[MR] trains

2+1
Operating round 1.2 Paying out Phase 2+1

It pays £8 per 20% share. [P1], with 3 shares, collects £24. The 2 in the [IPO] pay £16 to the [MR] itself. The share price moves up one space, from £80 to £90.

If the dividend reaches double, triple or quadruple the share price, it moves up 2, 3 or 4 spaces.

[P1] cash

£69

[MR] treasury

£386

[MR] share price

£90

[MR] trains

2+1
Operating round 1.2 A second train Phase 2+1

It buys another 2+1 for £80. A 5-share company can own 3 until phase 4+2.

At the end of each operating round, if nobody has bought a train from the bank, one is exported.

[P1] cash

£69

[MR] treasury

£306

[MR] share price

£90

[MR] trains

2 × 2+1
Towards stock round 2 What now? Phase 2+1

Tier 2 companies can now be started. [P1] can also convert the [MR] to 10 shares: the share price would drop 2 spaces, to £75, and the company would receive 5 × £75 = £375 and 2 more stations.

[P1] cash

£69

[MR] treasury

£306

[MR] share price

£90

[MR] trains

2 × 2+1

18GB — Summary

Capitalization type

Full capitalization: on floating (40% sold initially), the company receives all the capital for its initial shares at once (4 × par price). Companies start as 5-share companies (40/20/20/20) and can later convert into 10-share companies, at which point they receive additional capital equal to share price × 5.

Floats once 40% of shares are sold (a single threshold for all corporations)
There is no per-player ownership cap: a player may hold up to 100% of a single corporation
Certificate limit by player count (set per scenario, not a single fixed table): 2 players — 19; 3 players — 14; 4 players — 14; 5 players — 14; 6 players — 12

Starting cash by player count

2 players: £375 starting cash (certificate limit: 19)
3 players: £330 starting cash (certificate limit: 14)
4 players: £330 starting cash (certificate limit: 14)
5 players: £320 starting cash (certificate limit: 14)
6 players: £305 starting cash (certificate limit: 12)
The bank has unlimited money

End game triggers

The depot runs out of trains (the last train leaves the bank's supply): the game ends once the current operating round is finished
A share price reaches a marked end-game space on the stock chart: the game ends once the current operating round is finished
Bankruptcy doesn't exist as such (BANKRUPTCY_ALLOWED = false): an underfunded company becomes "Insolvent" or goes into "Receivership" (managed by the bank) instead of being liquidated

Number of phases

7 phases (2+1, 3+1, 4+2, 5+2, 4X, 5X, 6X), triggered by the purchase of the first train of each type
Buying the first 3+1 train makes new companies float at 60% instead of 40%
Buying the first 5+2 train converts every company that hasn't started yet into a 10-share company
Buying the first 6X train removes any company that still hasn't started, retiring one 6X train from the depot for each one removed

Train list and prices

2+1 train — £80 (rusts once the first 4+2 train is bought) — pays for 2 cities/off-board plus 1 town
3+1 train — £200 (rusts once the first 4X train is bought) — buying it raises the float threshold to 60%
4+2 train — £300 (rusts once the first 6X train is bought)
5+2 train — £500 — buying it converts every unstarted company into a 10-share company
4X train (express) — £550 — ignores towns and counts only cities/off-board locations; adds a £10 bonus per hex of straight-line distance between the route's start and end
5X train (express) — £650
6X train (express) — £700 — the last available type; buying it removes any unstarted companies
The quantity of each train type depends on the number of players (it varies by the chosen scenario)

List of private companies

The exact set of privates in play depends on the number of players (the scenario picks between 6 and 9 of the 9 possible ones). All of them block a hex while open, and once closed, the owner keeps the special ability for any company they control
London & Birmingham (LB) — £40, revenue £10 — the owner has priority to start the LNWR; can't buy shares in another company until they do
Arbroath & Forfar (AF) — £30, revenue £10 — grants an extra tile action in Perth once closed
Great Northern (GN) — £70, revenue £25 — grants an extra station token in York (free if a route can be traced there, £50 otherwise) and enables an early green tile in York
Stockton & Darlington (SD) — £35, revenue £12 — £10 bonus at Middlesbrough
Liverpool & Manchester (LM) — £45, revenue £15 — £30 bonus at Liverpool
Leicester & Swannington (LS) — £30, revenue £10 — grants an extra tile action in Leicester once closed
Taff Vale (TV) — £60, revenue £25 — allows laying the Severn Tunnel tile (C22) for free
Maryport & Carlisle (MC) — £50, revenue £20 — grants an extra station token in Carlisle (free if a route can be traced there, £50 otherwise) and enables an early green tile in Carlisle
Chester & Holyhead (CH) — £30, revenue £10 — £20 bonus at Holyhead

List of corporations

Caledonian Railway (CR) — home at G4
Great Eastern Railway (GER) — home at J25
Glasgow and South Western Railway (GSWR) — home at F5
Great Western Railway (GWR) — home at D23
London and North Western Railway (LNWR) — home at F21
London and South Western Railway (LSWR) — home at D25
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) — home at H15
Midland Railway (MR) — home at H19
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) — home at H17
North British Railway (NBR) — home at I6
North Eastern Railway (NER) — home at J13
South Wales Railway (SWR) — home at A20
All start as 5-share companies; the game's scenario (based on player count) picks a subset of between 6 and 12 of them

Game-specific mechanics

Fully variable setup: different scenarios depending on player count (2-player games even have two possible maps, North-South or East-West, depending on the chosen variant), each with its own map, set of companies and privates, certificate limit, and starting cash
Companies randomly split into two tiers at setup: tier-2 companies can only be started from the second stock round onward
5-share to 10-share conversion (via a phase event, or during an emergency recapitalization), with additional capital coming in and, often, extra tokens
A player can own up to 100% of the shares of a single company (no 60% cap)
A player can sell any number of their own shares on the market, including the director's certificate
Express (X) trains: ignore towns and add a £10 bonus per hex of straight-line distance between the route's start and end
"Compass" bonuses (north/south, east/west) and estuary bonuses (Severn, Forth) for routes connecting specific parts of the map
No bankruptcy: underfunded companies become Insolvent or go into Receivership instead of being liquidated

Emergency sell

A fundamental departure from 1830: the president is never asked for personal cash, and personal shares are never forced onto the market at all — the corporation raises the money itself instead. A trainless 5-share corporation that can't afford one converts into a 10-share corporation: its price drops three steps on the market, five new 10% shares are issued to the pool, and the bank pays the treasury directly for them — real fresh capital, not a sale of anyone's personal holdings. The president can then choose to buy back one of those freshly issued shares. A corporation that's already the larger, 10-share size and still can't afford a train has no more room to convert, and is instead expected to fall into insolvency/receivership rather than face bankruptcy, since bankruptcy itself is disabled in this game.

Comparison with 1830

1. Setting and map
1830 covers the northeastern USA. 18GB takes place in Great Britain, but should not be confused with 1822 (which carries the subtitle "Railways of Great Britain"): 18GB is a different design, by Dave Berry, that combines elements of 1825 and 1860 with the classic base of 1830 and its descendants.

2. Companies grouped into two random tiers
In 1830 all companies are available from the start on equal terms. In 18GB, during game setup, the railway companies are randomly split into two tiers: tier-2 companies can't be started until the second stock round. Which companies end up in each tier varies from game to game, so the map develops differently each time it's played.

3. You can own 100% of a company, and freely sell the director's certificate
In 1830 the individual ownership limit is 60%, and the president's certificate is normally not freely sold on the market but rather transferred. In 18GB a player can buy up to 100% of the shares of a single company, and can sell any number of their own shares on the open market, including the director's certificate.

4. Companies are born with 5 shares and convert into 10
In 1830 every company shares the same 10-share structure from the start. In 18GB companies are born as 5-share companies (40/20/20/20) and convert into 10-share companies later on -via a phase event or during an emergency recapitalization- receiving additional capital in the process. This two-stage structure has no equivalent in 1830.

5. No bankruptcy: Insolvency and Receivership instead
In 1830 a company that can't pay for a mandatory train can end up liquidated if the president also can't cover the shortfall. In 18GB bankruptcy doesn't exist as such: an underfunded company becomes "Insolvent" or is placed into bank "Receivership," staying in the game but under restrictions, rather than disappearing.

6. Fully variable setup depending on player count
In 1830 the map and the set of companies are fixed, regardless of player count. In 18GB every player count uses its own scenario, with its own map, its own subset of companies and privates, its own certificate limit, and its own starting cash -including two possible different maps for 2 players (North-South or East-West)- which gives it far greater game-to-game variability than 1830.

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