Game: 18GA

Thread: Re: Playing Time?

friedricetheman — 2008-10-31T04:50:06+00:00

Around 2-3 hours for 18GA for semi-experienced players (with less than 100 games of 18xx under his belt). For an all newbie group, expect it to take 5 hours or more.

Thread: Re: Playing Time?

Iceberg1 — 2008-10-29T01:41:43+00:00

I'm playing 18GA by email right now and we're going on 3 months!

--James

Thread: Re: Playing Time?

TheCat — 2008-10-27T12:44:18+00:00

It's very group dependent. I've played with a group that regularly finishes 1870 in 4 hours, and I've played with a different group that regularly finishes it in 6 hours.

With the former group:

If everyone is experienced with 18AL, it is a 2.5-3 hour game.

If everyone is experienced with 18xx, but not with 18AL, it is a 3-4 hour game.

If everyone is not experienced with 18xx, it is a 5-6 hour game.

Thread: Re: Playing Time?

dr_canak — 2008-10-27T11:05:31+00:00

I am by no means an expert in the 18XX games, but I would imagine 4 completely new players to 18GA (assuming they are new to 18XX in general) would easily clock in at 4+ hours, and more likely 5+ hours. I would imagine 4 experienced players could knock a game out in around 3 hours.

hth,
jeff

Thread: Playing Time?

game_boy — 2008-10-27T09:51:01+00:00

How long does this game take to play, both for newbies and for experienced players?

Thread: Re: 18GA or why I love 18XX

aboveriver — 2008-09-29T10:30:53+00:00

A fun and valuable review to read after my first play this past weekend.

Thread: Re: 18GA Bank Size?

derscheid — 2008-06-15T02:10:26+00:00

For the curious, the list of many, many 18xx banks is here:

http://www.fwtwr.com/18xx/rules_difference_list/single_list....

Thread: Re: 18GA Bank Size?

jdludlow — 2008-06-13T18:53:12+00:00

FYI: It's rule 1.4.

Note that the game comes with exactly $8,000 in cash. Changing this total is
not recommended, because it will alter the length of the game. If your group
uses poker chips or other money substitutes, be sure to count out the correct
total before starting play.

Thread: Re: 18GA Bank Size?

jdludlow — 2008-06-13T18:51:37+00:00

8000

Thread: 18GA Bank Size?

CortexBomb — 2008-06-13T18:42:19+00:00

I know the 18AL bank is 8000 because of posts here in the forums, and I assume that it is the same for GA, but I thought I would ask. I cannot find the information anywhere in the rules or on Galt's site. Help would be very much appreciated

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Rusty567 — 2008-02-19T04:40:10+00:00

Trains used in 18GA

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Rusty567 — 2008-02-19T04:38:19+00:00

18GA Stock Market - note the lack of a "red zone"

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Rusty567 — 2008-02-19T04:37:19+00:00

18GA Private Companies

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Rusty567 — 2008-02-19T04:36:32+00:00

18GA Map (before play starts)

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Rusty567 — 2008-02-19T04:35:35+00:00

18GA - Cover page sticker which comes with the 2004 John David Galt production of this Mark Derrick game.

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Rusty567 — 2008-02-19T04:34:20+00:00

18GA Initial Offering - There are 6 corporations to start and 4 possible PAR values.

Thread: 18GA train mix variation

RoamDog — 2007-08-29T15:24:09+00:00

I like the "7" train used by 18AL to rust the "4"s (with the delay) and like the "4D" option (used in 18AL) better than the "8" train (used in 18GA). The "8" train seemed to cause significantly longer rounds for us (mostly newbies). Has anybody substituted the 7 & 4Ds from 18AL for one of the 6's and the 8s in 18GA? How did it go? Is this a viable switch?

Thread: 18GA Learning How to Play

TheCat — 2007-03-21T11:31:09+00:00

18GA Game #1 - Learning How to Play
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/157420

18GA Game #2 - Learning How to Play
http://boardgamegeek.com/article/1715043

18GA Game #3 - Learning How to Play
http://boardgamegeek.com/article/1715052

Thread: Re: 5-player game in M'sia

TheCat — 2007-01-17T00:33:20+00:00

Nice report.

I have never seen anyone start a company without enough cash-on-hand to float it, or an agreement with another player to work together to float it. Why in the world did Alan and Henry invest in the president's shares of Central and Georgia without an assurance that they could float their companies?

Also, in my experience, it's very rare for companies to withhold. Stock value is simply too important. This may be a group-think thing, but I was surprised to see how often you all decided to withhold shares.

As Marcus learned, it's very difficult to dump a company in 18GA.

Thread: 5-player game in M'sia

jack208 — 2007-01-15T20:02:36+00:00

(reported by ayheng)

At 12pm midnite, the girls bid the guys goodnite as the guys continue gaming back in Boardgamecafe.net with Marcus' favourite - 18GA. After a quick refresher for Alan and an explanation of the rules for Henry, the gamers are good to go. The private companies are bidded up separately by different players and Marcus triggered the purchase by going for the cheapest company. His strategy seems to be going for the public companies. The stock round sees four different companies startup by four different players while Heng opt to sit out and become an investor instead.

Marcus' ACL and Jeff's W&A got off to a flying start with a little boost from Heng's investments. Alan's Central and Henry's Georgia however did not acquire enough market capitalisation to startup. With W&A in the North and ACL in the south, both companies operated freely and the earnings start to come in. However, both CEO Jeff and Marcus were quite prudent with their earnings, resulting in non declaration of dividends a few times in a row. Investor Heng got frustrated and started investing in Central.

Pretty Soon, Alan's Central was up and running, playing with the big boys W&A and ACL. Investors this time were kept happy and CEO Alan declared dividends one after another. Henry's Georgia was another story as investors declined to invest due to its dimming prospects from the gradual hemming in by ACL and W&A.

As the railroads expand, so did the towns and suddenly, Georgia was back in the game. Georgia was allowed to run unchecked through the upgraded towns as ACL and W&A assessed each other as the greatest threat and started sabotaging each other. Central started facing problems from its dividend declaring ways when it found that it hit an expansion block and needed to save money to upgrade its trains. Sensing the end is near, investors unanimously dumped its stocks in favour of stocks managed by more prudent CEOs.

ACL and W&A continued to expand their horizons as their CEOs took the plunge and invest in another company each. Jeff started GA while Marcus brought up SAL. Both companies, however, were to experience different fortunes as it becomes clear that SAL was a fake front for CEO Marcus to make money! SAL sold all its assets to its sister company ACL and the company became a dead company. Marcus tried to offload his president's share certificate as part of his operation:hotsun campaign to bankrupt his rival CEOs. Unfortunately, the securities commission got wind of his dirty tactics and slapped him with a share selling restriction (codename: HS50SU), much to the relief of Henry. Muttering about pansy securities commission, Marcus lost wind as he thought that his career was over.

Jeff's GA was managed more prudently and he managed to work it up to a respectable position, much to the delight of its investors. By this time however, Henry's Georgia was making loads of money, drawing attention from investor Heng, who snapped up half of the shares. Central stocks was plunging to a new low as CEO Alan again declared no dividends in a desperate attempt to keep up with the train upgrades. ACL, W&A and GA now focused on the new Georgia threat and attempted to shut out Georgia's lucrative routes.

By now, the game was reaching a climax and one CEO after another started declaring dividends to buff up their own personal fortunes. CEO Henry has the last laugh as his company pushed him to the top as the richest person in 18GA, followed by Jeff with his twin investment machines W&A and GA. Heng narrowly missed second and had to settle for third with his investment strategies. Marcus got burned by his own hot sun, but still finished a respectable fourth. Alan did not recover from his early frivolous spending ways and finished last.

Overall, this was an interesting game in which the 'vets' (Henry) crushed the 'noobs' (Jeff and Marcus). However, it was a close race to the finish as the 'noobs' were close in overtaking the 'vets' as the money in the bank ran out, signalling the game end.

One thing which I learned in the game was to pick the proper investment but don't let go until the company was sure to go bust. The last part of the game came down to a frenzied dividend declaring session where the stock prices experienced a long and continuous bull run, which unfortunately I was unable to take part fully due to some ill-advised disposal of 'apparently' non-performing stocks.

Marcus still lamented about his attempt to bankrupt another player foiled by the rulebook while winner Henry was still bewildered about how he won as he was still reeling from the myriad of options offered in the game.

After the game, Jeff took out his copy of 7ages and Antiquity to wow us, which they do since both the games are stuffed chock full of bits... real gamers' galore. And after a bit of chit-chatting, the gamers then headed home... at 4.30am in the morning. Phew, a real eventful nite for all!

For the full meetup report with photos, pls visit our site
http://boardgamecafe.net/community/blogs/boardgamecafe_net/a...

Author Heng's Gaming Blog
http://aikyong.blogs.friendster.com/hengs_gaming_blog/2007/0...

Thread: Re: Are offboard cities end-points?

TheCat — 2007-01-08T21:11:24+00:00

Agreed - you can start, end or pass through both.

The red off-board locations can only be start or end points.

Thread: Re: Are offboard cities end-points?

BillSkulley — 2007-01-05T19:10:13+00:00

Montgomery and Tallahassee can be the midpoint of runs as well as endpoints.

Thread: Re: Which corp starts first in the Operating Round

Preacher — 2007-01-05T19:06:41+00:00

It is a pretty standard rule in 18xx that if two companies share the same stock price but are on different spaces on the stock chart, then the company that is farthest to the right goes first. So, in your game, SAL goes first.

Ricky

Thread: Re: Which corp starts first in the Operating Round

BillSkulley — 2007-01-05T19:05:01+00:00

Nope. The rule works exactly as stated: farthest right goes first, regardless of which is "higher" or "lower", so SAL in this case goes first.

Note that if two (or more) corps occupy the SAME space on the stock market, the one(s) on TOP has/have precedence.

Thread: Which corp starts first in the Operating Round

jack208 — 2007-01-05T18:49:42+00:00

In the Op Round, the corp with the highest market value starts first. In the case of a tie, the corp farthest to the right of the stock market starts first.

If ACL is on $70 and SAL is also on $70 but below ACL, you would notice SAL is one box to the right of ACL but at a row lower.

In this case, does ACL or SAL start the operating round?

If you consider only the stmt that in a tie, the corp that is farthest to the right in the stock market (ignoring the row level) starts first, then SAL would start.

But shouldnt ACL which is a row higher has higher precedence?

Thread: Are offboard cities end-points?

jack208 — 2007-01-05T18:41:51+00:00

There are two offboard locations which are considered as cities - Montgomerry and Tallahassee.

When running a route to these offboard cities,
- must these cities be one of the route's endpoint as in Altanta-Montgomerry for a 2-link route
- or can a route pass thru the cities such as Altanta-Montgomerry-Columbus for a 3-link route?

Thanks

Thread: Re: 18GA or why I love 18XX

TheCat — 2006-12-28T04:00:27+00:00

It was linked on the 18AL page, but not the 18GA page. I edited the description to add the link:

http://www.diogenes.sacramento.ca.us/18AL_18GA.html

Thread: Re: 18GA or why I love 18XX

Sprydle — 2006-12-28T00:44:27+00:00

If it's print-an-play, where are the files to print and play? They are not under the game description here on BGG--at least not under files or obvious links.

Thread: Re: 18GA or why I love 18XX

Sexy Amy — 2006-12-27T17:18:50+00:00

Both 18GA and 18AL sound very appealing. I have tried 1825 Unit 3 as a shorter and/or introductory game of the 18xx system and enjoyed it very much. I'm hoping these two games can serve the same purpose while adding variety to the game play. Thanks for featuring them.

Thread: Re: 18GA or why I love 18XX

TheCat — 2006-12-27T16:29:19+00:00

Nice review.

I suggest also looking at 18AL by the same designer, which I actually like a little better than 18GA. I find that 18GA's private companies are a little less interesting, and there's less competition for token space in 18GA because Atlanta locks up so quickly. That said, 18GA is a good starting game and I'll play it nearly anytime its suggested.

Thread: 18GA or why I love 18XX

friedricetheman — 2006-12-27T14:18:59+00:00

The Railways come to Georgia

18GA is a free print and play kit for the 18XX series. It is created as an alternative to the long and often tedious 18XX games found in the market today (Read : 10 hour marathon games). Instead of the behemoth task of begging people to play 1870 or 1856 with you, you can make them play 18GA without much persuasion as it will only take 3-4 hours as opposed to the half day sessions.

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The components of 18GA

The best part about this game is that it is a fantastic beginner's game. The map is very gentle and the stock market is forgiving (without the Red zone) of mistakes generally made by beginners.

Stock trashing and forced train purchases are controlled and made less severe as compared to the other games in the series. For one thing, there are less corporate companies to start with (only 6 of them) and the stock market chart has only a yellow zone so companies can never close or go bankrupt (the same cannot be said of the players).

As with all the other 18XX games, the game will end when either one of these conditions are fulfilled :

a) The bank is broke (no more money in the bank)
b) The stock price reaches a certain limit (300 in this case)
c) A player goes bankrupt (this can only happen during the Forced Train Purchase)

At heart, all 18XX games are business oriented games where players would start with a certain amount of cash in hand and have to balance between bidding for private companies and starting up corporate companies (In game term, 'floating' the companies). But remember, the corporate's money is kept separated from the player's money. All non-stock purchases and revenues are kept in the company's treasury while the player's money is used for buying stock. So, in essence, a company might be rich, but the president (the controlling player) is dirt poor.

During the operations round, the controlling player may lay tracks and run the trains (if any) to generate revenues. From the revenues, the corporation may either declare dividends for all stockholders (the company share moves one space to the right) or keep all the profits for themselves (the share goes down one space to the left).

The company's share prices may also move up and down depending on whether the corporation's share is fully subscribed (moves up by one) or share/s are sold (moves one space down for each share sold).

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The 2D stock market chart

Now, here lies the beauty of the game, a player may NEVER control more than 60% share in a company. So, the other 40% of the share may be manipulated by the other players if you're not careful.

So, with that being said, 18GA looks to be the easiest, shortest and most fun 18XX game around as it has all the rules of the more complicated versions (2D share market, private companies, limited track tiles etc.) but takes less than half the time to play it.

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The game board depicting Georgia in the 1800's

Think 18XX on steroids and you will get the idea behind 18GA. All the fun minus the calories of its bigger brothers, this is the game to start you on your journey into the wonderful world of 18XX.

Final Score

Components : (Average components)
Replayability :
Game Play :
Learning Curve : (Easiest 18XX game to learn)
Fun Factor : (A fun 18XX game)
Overall : (The best 18XX game around)

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paevett — 2006-02-12T18:14:22+00:00

Box cover using Levenger Atomic Clock box and homemade sticker

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paevett — 2006-02-12T18:00:04+00:00

What it looks like when operating a corporation

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paevett — 2006-02-12T17:50:00+00:00

Action Shot - Dumping the W&A on your opponant!

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paevett — 2006-02-12T17:30:47+00:00

Thread: Notes on initial strategy

paevett — 2003-03-31T07:13:37+00:00

The Board:
Atlanta rules in the 2nd half of the game. The joy run is to hit the 3 seperate Atlanta cities. Getting two is also solid, especially if you can end your run in Chattanooga.

Privates:
The privates are balanced, which is great. Be careful with the Free 2-Train, its hard to get going before the 4s show, since you can't buy it until the 3s are available. The CoG share is good, but CoG really stinks as a starting company. I would vote against starting CoG if at all possible, and then only if I owned the private so the company could buy it. Remember, all can only be sold for max 1.5 times price.

Start Ups:
ACL is best - 1. thru swamp and soft curve into Waycross (headed for Valdosta)[remember you can build in Waycross before the private is sold!] 2. Straight out of Brunswick (ready to soft turn to Statesboro and Savannah). Immediate 2 2-trains from home station. Build to Tallahassee and if you've got the W&S private, station in Waycross and rock on. Otherwise, I'd head up the coast.

Big discrepency on the other choices - some like GA, but I think W&A is far superior. Token Rome and run to Montgomery hoping to prep for multiple Atlanta runs later. This and the ACL have the top early dividends (although the ACL has quicker access to extra small town revenue- but has to pay more for building in swampy south).

CoG and SAL stink as starters, CoG often goes because of the private share.

Stock trashing is key for non-RR starters before the initial companies make it to the ledge.

Enjoy! -- PAE

Thread: Re:General Comment

loiosh13 — 2003-03-30T04:32:11+00:00

I concur - we play this not infrequently on weeknight evenings, starting around 6 or 6:30, and usually finish by 10 or so, so I'd be surprised if this game went over 4 hours.

A fun, quick 18xx, though - has most of the fun elements of other 18xx, in a quicker package.

Thread: Re:User Review

paevett — 2003-03-29T19:28:45+00:00

paevett (#5669),

Now that I have played the game several times let me touch up some of my earlier comments.

>we found that the fewer number of trains eliminated the privates too quickly. We'll see if that continues in future plays>

Not actually a problem, simply something that needs to be taken into account. Especially vulnerable is the Free 2-Train. You've got to work fast to get 1 or 2 routes out of it.

The Board has proven to be excellent. Challenging and competitive tile lays, especially in the center of the board.

Train play: a critical later game decision is whether or not to push for the 8 trains. There are few runs for an 8, but you may need to rust the 4s. The problem there is that the game ends on the round the bank runs out, not the full set of rounds so you may have a hard time getting your money back.

Great with 3 players. I think its solid with 4, but with only 6 companies the owners of the 2nd companies may have too much of an advantage. Also enjoyed it with 5.

Games have lasted 2.5 to 4 hours. Fun.

Thread: User Review

paevett — 2003-01-22T04:05:39+00:00

18GA is a gamekit, originally produced by Mark Derrick, employing the 18xx game system. I will not discuss the general 18xx system here, as that can be reviewed elsewhere. By reducing the map size (fewer hexes) and the number of companies the game length is reduced as well. The rules say 3-4 hours, which appears to be about right.

Gameplay is quicker and more friendly than in other 18xx games. The key friendly rule change is that companies are limited to a single train purchase per operating round, until the first 4 train is bought. Also, the stock market has fewer rows, and more ledges, which combine to limit the damage done by stock trashing. These combine to make the game much more survivable early on, and make it less overwhelming for the non-expert player.

The private companies offer some interesting play choices (a free two train, a free token, a free swamp tile lay, and a free share of stock), but we found that the fewer number of trains eliminated the privates too quickly. We'll see if that continues in future plays.

The map offers enough options that clear plays are not obvious. Atlanta is interesting in offering three seperate city circles on crossing, but not connecting, lines. This encourages creative tile play and intense token battles to take advantage of the key city. Atlanta starts as the biggest city ($30), then the green reduces it to ($20) -- General Sherman's damage, and the leaps to $70 in the brown. Even though the board is small there are 4 red border hexes, all valuable, and two valuable grey hexes on the border. Another interesting aspect of tile laying is that towns, while still providing $10 payments, do not count as connections for train runs. Thus, you try to go through towns, rather than around them.

Train purchasing, as usual with these games, is critical -- and probably the most difficult concept to for players to fully grasp (I'm certainly not there yet with any of these games). Here the small numbers of trains (4 2s, 3 3s, 3 4s, 2 5s, 2 6s, 4 8s) makes buying decisions difficult, and can create train-rust cascades in the critical mid-game turns. Multiple small trains can devastate a company.

After a single play I am looking forward to playing again soon. We played in under four hours (and much of that time was spent re-familiarizing ourselves with 18xx rules and play concepts). It felt much like 1851 (another kit). I really like the reduced size, and the more friendly rules.

I'll provide a stronger rating after my next play, but I would give it an 8 for now. -- PAE

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

I don't believe this game takes 6 hours to play. The games that I have played have all taken less than 4 hours and most have been done in close to 3 hours