1844 (board game)

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1844
1844 as published by Helmut Ohley
Players 3–7
Age range 12+
Setup time 10 minutes
Playing time 4-7 hours
Random chance None
Skills required Strategy

1844 is a railroad operations and share trading board game in the 18XX series, designed and published by Helmut Ohley in 2003. It is currently out of print, but is being reprented as of 2006. Peter Minder collected extensive background material and drew the map.

1844 is a large game, consisting of three different types of companies (government, regional, and historical railways), tunnel companies, mountain railway companies, and a large map. There are two types of trains — H-trains which are limited to a range in hexes, and normal trains which count stops instead of hexes. Pre-government railroads (4-share companies) eventually merge into the Swiss State Railway (SBB), regional railways (5-share companies) receive less capitalization and are restricted to H-trains, while historical companies are typical 18XX companies with 10 shares, full capitalization, and no train restrictions.

1844 introduced two several new concepts to the 18XX hobby:

  • Player order is determined by money on hand (least money goes first after the private companies are auctioned, most money goes first thereafter).
  • Foreign investors buy the cheapest available train at the end of each set of operating rounds. This avoids the "poisoned" train frequently present in other games, and ensures the game will make progress to a conclusion.
  • Players may buy tunnel and mountain companies instead of a normal share, which can be used by companies in the game to improve their runs. Once activated, these companies will continue to pay dividends to the owner.
  • Incremental obsolescence of trains — normal trains become H-trains before they become obsolete.

[edit] Railroad Companies Represented in the Game

[edit] External links

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