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18USA: The Railways of the United States of America

Designer: Edward Reece, Mark Hendrickson, Shawn Fox

1817's financial engine (loans, short selling, mergers) applied to the whole USA map, with random setup every game.

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18USA: The Railways of the United States of America Contents

How it works

Setup
  • The whole United States, 2-7 players: from $630 to $225 (4 players: $315)
  • 3 metropolises drawn at random from 6 possible cities
  • Random subsidies on 14 cities: money towards starting a company, a station, +$10…
  • Auction of the drawn privates (P1-P4 always), with no seed money: bidding starts at half face value
  • $100 loans as in 1817 (with 5 or more players, 60 loans in rows of 6)
Stock round ×1
  • In turn, each player, in this order:
  • · sell shares (not 2-share companies)
  • · short one share
  • · buy one share or start a company (bidding from $100)
  • Or act for a company: loans and share buybacks
  • At the end: 100% player-owned goes up; each share in the market goes down
Operating round ×2
  • Interest rate is set; income-paying privates pay
  • Each company, highest share price first:
  • 1. Up to 2 tiles (the 2nd costs $20; only 1 upgrade)
  • 2. One station, if it has any on its charter
  • 3. Run trains (and Pullman from phase 5)
  • 4. Pay out, pay half or withhold
  • 5. Buy trains
  • 6. Pay interest and repay loans
  • At the end, trains are exported (see phases)
Mergers and acquisitions ×2
  • After each operating round
  • Merger round: convert (2→5, 5→10) or merge
  • Acquisition round:
  • · liquidate companies in the red zone
  • · buy those in the grey zone
  • · sell companies to other companies
↻ Repeats until the end
End
  • The first 8-train is bought or exported
  • 3 more operating rounds are still played, as in 1817
  • Net worth = cash + shares − shorted shares, at current share price
  • Company assets don't count

Components

Players
  • Cash
  • Shares: at most 60% of a company
  • Short shares: a debt that pays the dividends
  • Liable for their companies' debts
Companies
  • 20 companies of 2, 5 or 10 shares, no fixed home
  • The president wins the opening auction
  • Treasury, trains, stations
  • Loans: as many as shares; each one lowers the share price
Bank and market
  • Unlimited bank
  • Loans and interest, as in 1817
  • Open market and shares to short
  • New trains and Pullmans ($200)
Map
  • Metropolises with their own tiles
  • City subsidies until the end of stock round 1
  • Mexico: at most 2 trains from each company can go there
Privates
  • 30 privates, a selection of which are drawn
  • Coal, oil and iron mines: resource tiles with a bonus
  • Bridges, engineers, stations, trains…
  • Can be used to pay for starting a company

Where the money goes

  • Players Companies The winning opening bid (cash, privates and the city's subsidy) and treasury shares
  • Players Bank and market Buying from the open market, privates, and the dividend on each short share
  • Bank and market Players Dividends, sales and short sales
  • Bank and market Companies $100 loans, withheld revenue, private income
  • Companies Bank and market Trains, terrain, interest, loan repayment, stations
  • Companies Companies Buying another company or its trains
  • Players Companies President's cash to buy a train: doesn't exist

Phases

2
Start
2 · $100
Yellow only; 2-share companies; 4 trains
2+
1st 2+ train
2+ · $100
At the end of [OR] 1.1 all unsold 2-trains are exported
3
1st 3-train or end of OR 1.2
3 · $250
Green; 2- or 5-share companies; at the end of [OR] 1.2 all 2+s are exported
3+
1st 3+ train
3+ · $250
At the end of [OR] 2.2 all unsold 3s are exported
4
1st 4-train
4 · $400
2s rust; 3 trains; 5-share only
4+
1st 4+ train
4+ · $400
There's only one
5
1st 5-train
5 · $600
Brown; 5 or 10 shares; Pullman; oil rises to $20
6
1st 6-train
6 · $750
3s rust; 2 trains; 10-share only
7
1st 7-train
7 · $900
Grey
8
1st 8-train
8 · $1,100
4s rust; no more shorting; final countdown
  • The underlying rules are 1817's: loans, shorting, conversions, mergers and liquidations. No company has to own a train, but without one it's liquidated.
  • "Plus" trains (2+, 3+, 4+) don't rust: they become obsolete and get one last run. With fewer than 5 players there's one fewer 2+, 4, 5 and 6.
  • The Pullman (from phase 5) is attached to a train and adds $20 per stop; each company can only have one.

A round, step by step

Illustrative example with 18xx.games rules: 4 players with $315 each. Suppose Columbus has drawn a $40 subsidy. We follow [PL1] and the 2-share company they start there, the [PRR], through the first stock round and the two operating rounds after it.

  1. Initial auction A coal mine Phase 2

    The drawn privates are auctioned with no seed money: the first bid is half the value. [PL1] opens [P1] (value $30) at $15, [PL3] bids $20 and [PL1] wins it for $25.

    1817 has $200 of seed money and no bid may exceed the private's value.

    [PL1] cash
    $290
    [PRR] treasury
    —
    [PRR] share price
    —
    [PRR] loans
    —
    [PRR] trains
    —
  2. Stock round 1 Starting the [PRR] Phase 2

    [PL1] starts the [PRR] in Columbus and wins the president's certificate auction at $140. The share price is half that: $70. It can only be a 2-share company.

    The auction starts at $100 and has no ceiling.

    [PL1] cash
    $290
    [PRR] treasury
    —
    [PRR] share price
    $70
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    —
  3. Stock round 1 The subsidy Phase 2

    Columbus came with a $40 subsidy: the bank puts it towards the bid and [PL1] only pays $100. The full $140 goes into the treasury.

    Unused subsidies are removed at the end of this stock round.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $140
    [PRR] share price
    $70
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    —
  4. Stock round 1 Everyone passes Phase 2

    The round ends when everyone passes in a row. 5- and 10-share companies get adjusted now; the [PRR], a 2-share company, doesn't move. [PL1] keeps [P1] for another company.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $140
    [PRR] share price
    $70
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    —
  5. Operating round 1.1 Columbus and Cleveland Phase 2

    Interest at $5. The [PRR] lays the yellow Columbus city with an exit towards Cleveland and pays $20 for a second tile: the yellow Cleveland city, with exits towards Columbus and Detroit.

    Never more than two track actions per turn, and only one may be an upgrade.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $120
    [PRR] share price
    $70
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    —
  6. Operating round 1.1 No trains, price drops Phase 2

    No trains, no run, no payout: the share price drops one space, from $70 to $66.

    18USA's market has more spaces than 1817's: the steps are smaller.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $120
    [PRR] share price
    $66
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    —
  7. Operating round 1.1 A 2-train Phase 2

    It buys a 2-train for $100. It takes no loans: it only has one route, and a second train would have no track of its own.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $20
    [PRR] share price
    $66
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    2
  8. Operating round 1.1 Out go the 2-trains Phase 2

    At the end of the round all unsold 2-trains are exported. From now on, 2+ trains are bought.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $20
    [PRR] share price
    $66
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    2
  9. Mergers and acquisitions 1.1 Nothing to do Phase 2

    A merger and conversion round comes next, then an acquisition round. The [PRR] is in the white zone: [PL1] leaves it alone and nobody can buy it against their will.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $20
    [PRR] share price
    $66
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    2
  10. Operating round 1.2 Interest goes up Phase 2

    With all the loans taken around the table, interest for this round is $10. The [PRR] lays the yellow Detroit city, connected to Cleveland.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $20
    [PRR] share price
    $66
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    2
  11. Operating round 1.2 Withholding Phase 2

    The 2-train runs Columbus–Cleveland: $20 + $20 = $40. The [PRR] withholds it all to pay for a second train, and the share price drops to $62.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $60
    [PRR] share price
    $62
    [PRR] loans
    0
    [PRR] trains
    2
  12. Operating round 1.2 A loan and a 2+ train Phase 2

    It takes a loan: $100 comes in and the share price drops to $59. It buys a 2+ train for $100, which already has its own route: Cleveland–Detroit.

    Two trains can pass through the same city, but can't share any track section.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $60
    [PRR] share price
    $59
    [PRR] loans
    1
    [PRR] trains
    2 + 2+
  13. Operating round 1.2 Interest Phase 2

    It pays $10 on the loan. At the end of the round all remaining 2+s are exported, and phase 3 begins even though nobody has bought a 3-train.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $50
    [PRR] share price
    $59
    [PRR] loans
    1
    [PRR] trains
    2 + 2+
  14. Towards stock round 2 What now? Phase 2

    With green and 3-trains at $250, the [PRR] will be able to upgrade its cities. [PL1], with $190 and [P1], can now start a 5-share company. At the end of [OR] 2.2 all remaining 3-trains will be exported.

    [PL1] cash
    $190
    [PRR] treasury
    $50
    [PRR] share price
    $59
    [PRR] loans
    1
    [PRR] trains
    2 + 2+

18USA — Summary

Capitalization type

  • Incremental capitalization, inherited from 1817: the treasury only receives the money actually paid as each share is sold, not a fixed amount on floating.

Floating percentage and per-player share limits

  • Floats once 20% of shares are sold, for every corporation
  • No real cap: a player may hold up to 100% of a single corporation, for every corporation
  • Certificate limit per player: 2 players — 32; 3 players — 21; 4 players — 16; 5 players — 16; 6 players — 13; 7 players — 11

Starting cash by player count

  • 2 players: $630 starting cash
  • 3 players: $420 starting cash
  • 4 players: $315 starting cash
  • 5 players: $300 starting cash
  • 6 players: $250 starting cash
  • 7 players: $225 starting cash
  • Unlimited bank (never the game-end trigger)

End game triggers

  • A company goes bankrupt and can't complete a mandatory payment: immediate end
  • The first 8-train is bought: one more full set of rounds is played through the end of the phase
  • The bank never runs dry (it has unlimited money), unlike 1830

Number of phases

  • 10 phases (2, 2+, 3, 3+, 4, 4+, 5, 6, 7, 8), with the maximum corporation size (2/5/10 shares) growing as the game progresses
  • With the optional "1817 trains" variant, 1817's 8 phases and train manifest are used instead

Train list and prices

  • 2 train — $100 (40 units; rusts on the first 4-train)
  • 2+ train — $100 (5 units; becomes obsolete with the first 4-train, but isn't removed the same way rusting removes a train)
  • 3 train — $250 (12 units; rusts on the first 6-train)
  • 3+ train — $250 (2 units; obsolete with the first 6-train)
  • 4 train — $400 (8 units; rusts on the first 8-train)
  • 4+ train — $400 (1 unit; obsolete with the first 8-train)
  • 5 train — $600 (6 units)
  • 6 train — $750 (5 units)
  • 7 train — $900 (3 units)
  • 8 train — $1,100 (unlimited; triggers the end of the game)
  • P train (Pullman) — $200 (unlimited; available from phase 5; attaches to an existing route, doesn't count as a normal train)

List of private companies

  • 30 privates numbered P1-P30, priced between $30 and $120; each game only about 15 are drawn (P1-P4 are always in, P10 only with 5+ players, the rest split by value tier)
  • Resource privates (coal mines, oil, ore): tile discount plus a fixed revenue bonus at the hex (e.g. P1 Lehigh Coal Mine $30, P3 Reece Oil and Gas $30, P4 Hendrickson Iron $40, P12 Standard Oil $60, P18 Peabody Coal $60, P24 Anaconda Copper $90, P28 Consolidation Coal $90)
  • Construction and tile privates: P7 Track Engineers $40 (two extra yellow tiles), P9 Boomtown $40 (upgrades a yellow city to green), P11 Pettibone & Mulliken $40 (two upgrades in one turn), P16 Regional Headquarters $60 (upgrades non-metropolis cities from phase 5), P26 Rural Junction $90 (three rural junctions), P27 Company Town $90 (company town tile)
  • Financial and train privates: P13 Pennsy Boneyard $60 (saves a train from rusting), P15 Western Land Grant $60 (extra loan), P20 Suem & Wynn Law Firm $80 (extra token in a full city), P25 American Locomotive Co. $90 (10% train discount)
  • Others: P2 Fox Bridge Works $40 and P21/P22 (bridge tokens for rivers), P6 Import/Export Hub $30 and P8 Express Freight Service $40 (bonuses for red areas), P17 Great Northern Railway $60 (Fargo-Helena-Chicago bonus), P19 Union Switch & Signal $80 (skip a blocked city), P23 Bailey Yard $80 (extra token), P29 Bankrupt Railroad $120 (free 2-train), P30 Double Heading $120 (extend a route)

List of corporations

  • 21 fixed railroad companies, all floating at 20% and with no fixed home on the map (the starting city is chosen during the selection auction, as in 1817): Atchison-Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF), Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O), Denver & Rio Grande (DRG), Great Northern (GN), Illinois Central (IC), Kansas City Southern (KCS), Milwaukee Road (MILW), Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT), Missouri Pacific (MP), New York Central (NYC), Norfolk & Western (N&W), Northern Pacific (NP), Pennsylvania (PRR), Southern Pacific (SP), Southern Railway (SR), St. Louis-San Francisco (SLSF), Texas & Pacific (TP), Union Pacific (UP), Western Pacific (WP)
  • As in 1817, every company starts as a 2-share "minor" and can grow to 5 and then 10 shares through conversion

Game-specific mechanics

  • Inherited from 1817: corporate loans with variable interest, short selling of shares, and friendly or hostile mergers/acquisitions between operating companies
  • Continental USA map, supporting up to 7 players, with up to three additional metropolises randomly chosen from six possible locations each game
  • City subsidies: each subsidized hex gets a different random subsidy (cash, revenue bonus, free tile, or free token) to incentivize founding companies there
  • No more than two trains may run to Mexico at once; there's a dedicated off-map area for that region

Emergency sell

Follows the standard order — company treasury, then the president's personal cash, then a forced sale of the president's personal shares — but widens a protection 1830 only applies narrowly: a forced sale here can never change the presidency of any corporation, not just the one buying the train. Corporations can also take out voluntary bank loans as an ordinary financing tool, separate from this emergency sequence, and one that still can't get a train simply enters a formal liquidation and is closed off the stock market, rather than triggering the 1830-style bankruptcy/game-end.

Comparison with 1830

1. Not a 1830 variant — it's an expansion/application of 1817
Unlike most titles on this list, 18USA does not build directly on 1830: it inherits almost all of 1817's financial rules. Because of this, every way that 1817 already differs from 1830 (loans, short selling, hostile mergers) also applies here, amplified by a much larger map.

2. Map: the entire continental USA, up to 7 players
While 1830 is limited to the Northeastern USA for 2-6 players, 18USA covers the whole continental United States, supporting up to 7 players.

3. Loans, short selling and hostile mergers (inherited from 1817)
As in 1817, and unlike 1830, companies can take out loans to pay for trains or upgrades, players can sell shares they don't own, and operating companies can merge or absorb one another, either friendly or hostile. None of these three mechanics exist in 1830.

4. Companies with no fixed home: chosen during a selection auction
In 1830 each company has a home city printed on the map. In 18USA, as in 1817, the 21 companies have no fixed home: each player picks the starting city when buying control of a company during the selection auction.

5. Randomized map and private companies every game
Unlike both 1830 and 1817 (fixed maps), 18USA randomly selects which private companies enter play (roughly 15 out of 30 available), randomly picks up to three additional metropolises from six possible locations, and randomizes the value of several off-map areas.

6. City subsidies to incentivize less attractive routes
The game introduces specific subsidies (cash, revenue bonus, free tile, or free token) to encourage founding companies in locations that would otherwise be economically unattractive. This incentive mechanism exists in neither 1830 nor 1817.

7. Even higher financial risk than 1817
The combination of loans, short selling and hostile mergers from 1817, applied over a much larger map with randomized setup, makes 18USA one of the riskiest and least predictable titles to compare against 1830, which by comparison is the most conservative game of the series.

8. Designed for groups already experienced with 1817
Because of its dependence on 1817's rules, 18USA is best understood as a "large-scale expert mode" for groups that already know 1817 well, rather than as an entry point coming from 1830.

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