18ZOO

18ZOO — Summary

Capitalization type

• Incremental capitalization throughout the game: the treasury only receives the money actually paid for each share sold, not a fixed amount on floating (unlike 1830).

Floating percentage and per-player share limits

• Floats once 20% of shares are sold (single threshold for every corporation)
• No player may hold more than 120% of a single corporation (single threshold for every corporation)
• Certificate limit per player, depending on the chosen map block: Maps A-C (5 corporations) — 2 players: 10; 3 players: 7; 4 players: 5; 5 players: 6. Maps D-F (7 corporations) — 2 players: 12; 3 players: 9; 4 players: 7; 5 players: 6

Starting cash by player count

• The game requires choosing one of six maps/variants (A-F): A-C (5 corporations) are recommended for 2-3 players, D-F (7 corporations) for 4-5 players.
• Maps A-C — 2 players: $N40; 3 players: $N28; 4 players: $N23 or $N27 depending on the map; 5 players: $N22
• Maps D-F — 2 players: $N48; 3 players: $N32; 4 players: $N27; 5 players: $N22
• Unlimited bank

End game triggers

• The game has a fixed length: it always ends when the third stock round and its set of operating rounds finish (OR 3.3)
• If a company reaches the top cell of the market ($N24) before that, the game ends immediately at that point

Number of phases

• 6 phases (2S, 3S, 4S, 4S Perm, 5S, 4J), triggered by the purchase of the first train of each type
• The game always has 3 turns (Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday): 2 operating rounds in turns 1 and 2, and 3 in the last one

Train list and prices

• 2S train — $N7 (one unit per player; rusts on the first 4S-train)
• 3S train — $N12 (3 units; rusts on the first 5S-train)
• 3S Long train — $N12 (1 unit; obsolete on the first 4J-train)
• 4S train — $N20 (2 units; obsolete on the first 4J-train)
• 4S Perm train — $N20 (1 unit; permanent, never rusts)
• 5S train — $N30 (2 units)
• 4J train (or 2J variant) — $N47 / $N37 (unlimited; ×2 revenue multiplier; buying the first one immediately rusts the buying company's own 3S Long and 4S trains)
• 1S train — free (1 reserved unit; a special "Patch" train that saves another train from rusting)
• Buying the first train of each new type bumps the buyer's share price up one space

List of private companies

• 18ZOO replaces classic privates with low-cost "Powers" ($N1-3): Days off, Midas, Too much responsibility, Leprechaun pot of gold, It's all greek to me, Whatsup (all used during the stock round, $N1-3); and Rabbits, Moles, Ancient maps, Hole, On a diet, Shining gold, That's mine!, Work in progress, Wheat, Two barrels, A squeeze, Patch, Wings, A tip of sugar (used during the operating round, $N1-3)
• Each Power alters one specific rule (extra or illegal tiles, additional tokens, revenue bonuses, rust protection, etc.); they're revealed in batches over the game rather than all being available from the start
• On top of that, each player receives 2-3 personal "ZOOTickets" (depending on player count), which can be cashed in for money; their value rises from $N4 to $N20 as the game progresses

List of corporations

• Up to 8 animal families available across the whole game (some are used or not depending on the map chosen): Crocodiles (CR), Giraffes (GI), Polar Bears (PB), Penguins (PE), Lions (LI), Tigers (TI), Brown Bear (BB), Elephant (EL)
• All float at 20%, with 5 starting shares of 20% each (plus a sixth that activates in the final round, when "the cousins join the family")
• Maps A-C use 5 of these corporations; maps D-F use 7

Game-specific mechanics

• A stock market where every cell shows the price, the revenue threshold needed to advance, and the fixed dividend paid out, all at once; the thresholds rise as the price climbs
• An extra dividend bonus exclusive to the president on the market's top ("blue") rows
• The "neighbour" rule: every company founded after the first must be numerically adjacent to one already in play (this restriction doesn't apply in 5-player games)
• Villages/dits and hills/mountains are terrain that can never be upgraded
• Bankruptcy is disabled: if a player can't afford a mandatory purchase, the bank covers the cost and the player receives a penalty equal to twice that amount

Emergency sell

Follows the same order as 1830 — treasury, then the president's personal cash, then a forced sale of the president's personal shares — but with two twists: once a share of a given corporation has been sold, no further shares of that same corporation can be sold in the same emergency, forcing the president to spread sales across different companies; and if the president still can't raise enough after selling everything sellable, they can take an actual personal bank loan as a genuine last resort, something 1830 doesn't offer.

Comparison with 1830

1. Setting, map and length
1830 covers the northeastern USA for 2-6 players, in games of 3-4 hours. 18ZOO moves the action to a zoo populated by anthropomorphic animals, and cuts the length drastically: the game requires choosing one of six available maps (A-F), with 5 corporations for 2-3 players or 7 for 4-5, and always runs for exactly 3 fixed turns.

2. 20% shares, not 10%
In 1830 each company has 10 shares of 10% each. In 18ZOO companies start with just five 20% shares, and later (in the final round) a sixth share is added. Capitalization is incremental throughout the game, not delivered in one lump sum at flotation like in 1830.

3. A stock market that does the math for you
In 1830 the market chart only shows the share price: players have to calculate the dividend and check whether the price should rise. In 18ZOO every market cell shows three values at once: the current price, the revenue threshold a run must clear to advance to the next cell, and the fixed dividend paid out.

4. Privates become "Powers": rule-benders, not income streams
1830's six privates basically just pay a fixed revenue each turn. 18ZOO replaces them with around twenty "Powers/Inventions," priced at only $N1-3 each, each one bending a specific rule of the game; they're also not all available at once, but revealed in batches.

5. You can only found a company "neighboring" the last one launched
In 1830 a player can found any of the available companies as long as they can afford its president's certificate. In 18ZOO, after the first company is chosen freely, the "neighbour" rule requires every subsequently launched company to be numerically adjacent to one already in play (except in 5-player games).

6. A shorter train progression, with two special car types
1830 runs the progression 2-3-4-5-6-Diesel. 18ZOO's basic progression only goes up to the 5S-train, but adds 4J/2J trains (which multiply a route's revenue by 2) and a 4S Perm train that never rusts — mechanics with no equivalent in 1830.

7. Fixed terrain that can never be upgraded
In 1830, virtually any tile can eventually be upgraded as new colors become available. In 18ZOO, villages/dits and hills/mountains are deliberately never upgradable at all, permanently constraining the routes that pass through them.

8. No bankruptcy: the bank covers the debt with a penalty instead
In 1830 a company that can't pay for a mandatory train can end up bankrupt. In 18ZOO bankruptcy doesn't exist (BANKRUPTCY_ALLOWED = false): if a player can't afford a mandatory purchase, the bank covers the cost and the player takes a penalty equal to twice that amount at the end of the game.