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I am a reasonably regular player of 18xx games, and have a friend who has collected quite a few. I started out with 1830, and was introduced to a very cutthroat and competitive format of play. Its not often I win a game of this, but its a game that I definately enjoy playing, as much for the social aspect as anything else.
Most 18xx games tend to be long games, you take most of a day to sit down and play through with friends. I have played two games of 1848 and both of them were played in under 6 hours. Its a refreshing game with a couple of new aspects, and its wonderful being an Aussie myself, to have one set in Australia at last. I won't go into the rules so much since they are available online.
At its basics, its like any other 18xx game, you buy shares, start companies and run them for maximum profit. It does have a number of interesting twists however, some of which will be enjoyed by 18xx games, and some of which might not be enjoyed so much. Historically, Australia at the start of its rail system, had different guages of rail running in different states, and this is represented on the map, with different coloured hex's. Crossing from one guage to the next "costs" a major station stop, reducing the range of the non plus (+) trains. There is also the addition of shares in the Bank of England and how its loans can affect the game.
Components:
These are reasonable quality, very playable, and they will last many games. In addition to the game board map, and the share market, a number of additional small boards make this game easier to play.
These include the Bank of England board which holds the money the Bank has as a resource, and also records the companies which go into recession and the reduction in share limits this creates. There is a inital offer board that holds unpurchased shares and also records the increasing share price of the Bank of England from the issue of loans. In addition to that a train board holds the trains and clearly shows the differnt phases and what is available in each phase. There is also a board that is only used at the start of the game which takes a lot of confusion out of the way the private companies are auctioned.
The cards, boards and hex's are all laminated in the copy we have, and all look quite durable. When we play the game, we lay a sheet of perspex over the boards, which keeps them from shifting and protects them somewhat from spills and the like, not that it protects the cards and hexs laid on top. Train cards in particular are worth mentioning in that they have photos of the historical trains on them, instead of diagrams, and some of the trains are named after trains which run in Australia. Plus trains are on the back of the normal trains, and cost slightly extra. This means that you also have to remember they are available, which might take you by surprise for the first few games a you base costs on the non plus side of the card and forget the reverse side is also usable.
Wooden tokens cover everything from station markers, to initial offer prices, and special abilities of private companies. The guage changes are also covered with wooden tokens, though we found them to crowd the board a bit as they are the same size as the other tokens. It makes sense from a design and play point of view, but we use smaller tokens which make the board easier to view.
The rules are clear and concise and we are yet to find any confusion in the wording, this is particularily good as they are a translation of the german rules set (if my understand is correct) which has been done very well.
Gameplay
This game plays reasonably fast, but there are quite a few diverse strategies available, and quite a few places where blocking can occur with the rail heads. An interesting selection of upgrade tiles can sometimes make it challenging to bypass certain station. The addition of the guage changes can also make things challenging.
Private companies are auctioned in a clear way using the board provided making the pricing of the companies clear, giving maximum and minimum prices and keeping you on your toes through the initial share round(s). You basically drop a share price or purchase a private company. Once the first private company has been purchased anyone can pass a turn, which can make for some interesting waiting while people still have money in hand. Once the privates are sold, the public companies and the Bank of England become available for purchase.
A quick note on the Bank of England - its share price is entirely reliant on the number of loans which have been issued. Loans don't get paid back, nor is interest paid on them. Once a certain number of loans have been issued (I believe 15) then the game ends. Taking loans affects a companies share price and can put it into recievership at which stage the Bank of England takes it over. BOE pays out at a standard rate in all four phases of the game, from $0 to $30 a share plus the addition of any stations from companies which have gone into recievership. The only time you can take more than a single loan an operating round is when you are forced to purchase a train.
Another interesting addition to the game is the inclusion of run bonuses. If you connect two or more of the state capitals with a single train run, you get a bonus of 50, 100, or even more (the most we have achieved in a game is 150 for connecting four cities). This is added to the run value of your trains.
Perhaps the only other different thing I can think of right now is the Tasmania tile. A port tile that counts as an off board destination, it can be places in one of two shadowed location on the board. It quickly becomes obvious that its placement affects the upgradability of a number of tiles, and control of this private company will generally mean starting up the Victorian rail lines to take the most advantage of it. Another two minor ports exist on the board and these take the form of bonus desinations much like the minor towns that don't count against the train run, but provide income.
Overall
I think this game is a good addition to any 18xx collection, its definately refreshing, and has good repeat playability. I have seen the Bank of England have two effects on the game, in one almost maximum loans were taken, due to good timing on rusting certain trains and it had a major effect on the game. In another almost no loans were taken and BOE shares remained low, making no overall different to the game.
I enjoyed playing it because the locations made a lot more sense to me, but I can see an interesting depth of strategy available in the game and look forward to playing it many more times to try some things out.
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Ah, finally a review of this one!
Did you get the fully assembled game, or did you get a kit and do some cutting?
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Graham Lockwood
Australia
Blacktown
NSW
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When ordering the game on-line, you can take a few choices on what you get and ultimately pay for.
I took the basic package, this included plastic counters & no money. All assembly of components were to be done by the customer (me!).
I took the option to up-grade the game (and price) to include wooden counters instead of the plastic ones.
The money cards looked nice, but I have another eight 18xx games in my collection, so I've heaps of money. Anyway, we always use a combination of paper money for personal cash & poker chips for railroad treasury. That way it's hard to get the two mixed up.
The game mats were a bit flimsy (but nicely printed), so I ended up laminating them all. I was going to mount the game map with A3 foamboard, but decided against it, since (as Ed says), we use plexi-glass when we play 18xx games. I guess the most hassle was laminating and cutting out 3-and-a-bit sheets of hex tiles. I'm an 18xx enthusiast (as per my micro-badge & collection), so this didn't present a problem.
The round stickers were nicely printed (you have to apply them to the wooden cylinders supplied) and the share certs, train cards, privates and all other cards are stout enough to get through many playings and they were all back-printed too.
My opinion is (all in all) that the game represents good value for money.
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Michael Leuchtenburg
United States
Sunderland
Massachusetts
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How dynamic would you say the stock market is? Where does the balance between running roads well and working the stock market lie?
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Graham Lockwood
Australia
Blacktown
NSW
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The stock market is not as dynamic as some, since selling a set of shares will only move the company down one row (you obviously have to sell 'em one at a time in order to trash someone else's company share price).
Dividend payment will only move one right (no partial dividends etc.) or one left (for non-payment).
The biggest effect on the market is when a company takes a cash injection from the Bank of England (loans is not really the proper term, since they are never repaid back). One 'loan' (100 pounds) may be taken each operating round to fund anything, (track costs/station purchase/private company purchase/trains etc.) & will move a company token two spaces back on the stock market. However, a forced train purchase may require multiple loans and is allowed under the rules. In this situation, the first loan will move the company back two spaces on the stock market and each other loan taken will move the company another back three.
Obviously, you can see that a company taking a 300 pounds cash injection to buy a train (if it has non) will be moved back eight spaces!
It is this single game mechanic that often has the largest effect on a company stock market price and often can send a railroad company to the wall (as happened with NSW & Victoria rail in our first game).
It's hard to say where the balance lies. I've only played this game twice (I only got it last Friday!). The general tenets of good 18xx play apply to 1848. Strive to own the best priced shares, and generate the most amount of cash. If you are an aggressive player, then trash your competitors shares and play a blocking game with your stations.
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Przemyslaw Gumulka
Poland
Warsaw
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I just received my copy. What would You say is the ideal number of players? Map seems way too small for 6
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