One of my more recent passions in the area of board gaming has been the 18xx series of games. The first game, 1829 by Francis Treasham, was released in 1974 and now probably number in the hundreds of different adaptations, sometimes bringing their own flair – or “mcguffin”, other times marrying several together from different games. Ostensibly “train games” but, for me at least, this aspect simply drives the stock market and share prices which is where players win or lose the game. With no luck involved (no dice, no cards, just a player driven tug of war) and a fairly simple ruleset players take turns across a number of rounds floating new companies, buying and selling shares, and – of course – running the trains (calculating the revenue earned and how much to pay out in dividends or hold in the company treasury). I really can’t do the games justice with my short description so I’ll probably add a more detailed post later, although there are many such articles around the web already which do a far better job than I’ll be able to cobble together.
My enthusiasm for 18xx, which began with 1889: History of Shikoku Railways and 1830 Railways & Robber Barons (one of the original games), grew immesurably as soon as I tried the “partial cap” style of company floatation allowed in 1846 The Race for the Midwest. This essentially allows companies to begin operations without having to put up 100% of it’s treasury. It adds a wonderful new dimension of risk, and opportunity. 1846 was my first experience of this type of company formation although I soon discovered that many 18xx games offer this (and other types of capitalisation). And so began my journey down the rabbit hole looking for games that offer more financial mechanisms with which to devise ever more nefarious plans to win…
Early in the process I had looked for an 18xx game based on locations I knew. 1822: The Railways of Great Britain was one of the first I discovered, although actually being able to purchase a copy is rather difficult (a sad fact of many 18xx games), and I suppose for obvious reasons (being born there) I looked for one based on the London Underground. Surprisingly I found that none existed. A couple of forum posts alluded to a few people who had considered it but none to my knowledge had ever completed a test, let alone release, even as print and play which – perhaps due to the low print runs and long wait times – is fairly prevelent in 18xx. So several months ago, with the Tube in mind, I decided to try putting something together as I currently find myself with rather a lot of time on my hands.
The beginnings of 1863 London Underground
The history of the London Underground is rather fascinating. It was entirely funded and constructed by private companies until its eventual nationalisation. It has wonderfully colourful characters (Charles Yerkes of Chicago among others) and so much more to draw upon I sometimes still find myself wondering why 18xx hasn’t trodden this road before.
So, with what amounts to probably way too much time spent I put together a map (nicely printed at a local print shop due to it’s size) and home printed the various other components. If I ever have to cut another hex tile I’ll probably go mad… a possibility that is actually highly likely as I’m heavily considering changing the tile set to be used (or simply adding a rule disallowing tight corners in a route).
After a few false starts this was the first play test (3 player) that went very nearly to completion (ended by a gust of wind 🙁 ). However, it was enough to understand some of the basics of what works and what doesn’t. What needs to be simplified or trimmed entirely.
Another play test is scheduled in about a week. I’ve got an updated map to print and am working on getting a better set of draft rules and play aids together.
As I write I’m unsure of where any of this will end. Perhaps as a free (or cheap) print and play. An idea that seems to worry the wife who has not been unaware of how much time I have dedicated to this project. Perhaps as a kickstarter or made to order. The rules are heavily based on 1817 as I really felt the financial flair and option to short sell are perfectly suited to a game set in London so perhaps I should send the creators and publishers (All Aboard Games) of that game an email.
If you stumble on this post with an idea in mind I’d love to hear from you.
J