13 minor companies dominate the gameplay. Within the borders of the Hungarian part of the Austria-Hungarian empire you build up a road network. You invest the money you will earn in shares of companies which provide special benefits.
Solo version included!
Special 2-player-board included!
1840 is an 18xx game that tells the story of Vienna’s tramway system. Each player controls a holding company that can operate up to three tramway lines. Each of these lines lay track and stations on the map and run its trains, earning income from the stations they run through. All money is collected in the holding company and every couple of turns a company round commences where the players have to decide how much money they will pay out to the shareholders and how much will be kept in the holding company for better trains, more stations, and track building.
You use the yellow, green, brown and gray tiles to create a rail network on the map. Just as in a real railway business, the track in the game connects railway stations to each other. The trains (train cards) make notional journeys from one station to the next and thereby earn money. The (imaginary) passengers pay for their journeys. The more numerous and the more important the stations on a train's journey are, the more money it earns for the company and its shareholders.
In the game you and your fellow players can own up to 6 Mountain Railways, 4 Coal Railways, 7 forerunners of the National Railways, as well as shares in 3 National Railways and 5 Regional Railways. The Major Companies (the National and Regional Railways) belong to their shareholders. The player with the most shares in the company is the Director of that company and decides how the company will act.
18CZ simulates the development of railway construction in today's Czech Republic. There are 15 companies in three different sizes, three types of local railways and three different types of trains. A larger company can overtake on smaller one. With the local trains you can lay special track tiles or save terrain costs.
The 18xx supertrump game. If you don't feel childish enough to play this game you certainly get a good overview about 18xx games.