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1880: China

Designer: Helmut Ohley, Leonhard "Lonny" Orgler

19th-century China with fixed operating order and personal foreign investors for each player.

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1880 China — Summary

Capitalization type

Starting cash by player count

End game triggers

Number of phases

Train list and prices

List of private companies

List of corporations

Game-specific mechanics

Comparison with 1830

1. Fixed operating order, determined by the par price
In 1830, the order in which companies operate is set by their position on the stock market and changes every round. In 1880, the operating order is fixed from the moment the company is founded, based on the chosen par price, and never changes again. There are only 4 slots available for each par price, so once they're filled, no other company can be founded at that price.

2. The operating round doesn't end when every company has operated
In 1830 an operating round ends when every company has taken its turn. In 1880 the operating round ends when all trains of a given type have been exhausted. This means that if trains are bought slowly, the same company might end up operating several times within a single round; and if they're bought very quickly, some company might not get to operate at all in that round.

3. The director chooses between three ownership stakes, with different construction phases
In 1830 the founder always buys 20% (the president's certificate). In 1880, when founding a company, you choose between a director's stake of 20%, 30%, or 40%. This choice isn't purely financial: a company with a 40% director can only build during one construction phase, a 30% one during two phases, and a 20% one during up to three phases. The smaller the initial stake, the more building flexibility the company has.

4. Personal foreign investors
A mechanic with no equivalent in 1830: each player receives their own "foreign investor," a sort of mini-company that can lay track and pay dividends directly to the player. A player's foreign investor becomes tied to the first company that player floats, and when the investor's track and the company's track connect, they merge, transferring all of the investor's money to the company.

5. Limited number of par price slots
Each available par price only has 4 slots. In 1830 there is no limit of this kind: any number of companies can be founded at the same par price (subject to certificate availability).

6. More rigid long-term planning
Since the operating order never changes once set, choosing a par price in 1880 is a much more permanent and strategic decision than in 1830, where market position (and therefore operating order) is constantly reshuffled based on each company's performance.

7. Unpredictable operating round pace
Since the operating round doesn't have a fixed number of turns per company, the pace of play in 1880 is more unpredictable than in 1830: you need to keep an eye on how many trains of a given type remain available in order to anticipate when the current round will end.

8. Theme and map: 19th-century China
1880's backdrop is the development of Chinese railways, with its own map and network of cities, completely different from 1830's northeastern US corridor.