System18 - tobymao/18xx GitHub Wiki

Table of Contents

General Information

Rules Highlights

System18 is a format for 18xx microgames. Playtest Feedback Thread (BGG)

  • It is up to the map designer to provide rule differences from the base System18 rules.
  • System18 is expected to be published with two rulesets: Full Capitalization Rules and Incremental Capitalization Rules. These are currently unpublished, but the implementations are generally close to 18Chesapeake and 18Texas. A list of rules differences will be provided later.
  • Game End: Bankruptcy (full capitalization rules), one player remains (incremental capitalization rules), Complete one full set of operating rounds after the final phase has begun (full and incremental capitalization rules)
  • 1846 rules for dealing with bankrupt players' companies if it does not end the game

Map Special Rules

Northeast US (Scott Petersen)

  • Full capitalization rules
  • Add tiles 54, 62, X1-X2
  • Remove tiles 5-6, 12-13, 205-206, 619
  • Add a single private, "Locomotive Works" (for all player counts). Face value is $150, revenue is $30. Private is sold in an ISR in an upwards auction. If owned by a player when the first 5 train is bought it does not close and the revenue increases to $50. May not be sold to a corporation after that point.

France (Scott Petersen)

  • Incremental capitalization rules
  • Add tiles X1, X3-X4

UK Limited (Scott Petersen)

  • Full capitalization rules
  • Remove tiles 12-13, 205-206
  • For the cities that are outlined circles with no fill, when tiles are built in these hexes, the player laying the tile may choose to place it as either a city or plain tile and the hex retains that type for the rest of the game, upgrades are as usual.
  • Trains do not rust based on new train purchases.
  • There is a new tracker for the rusting schedule. At the end of each OR, increment the rusting round tracker. First and second ORs have no effects.
  • At the end of the third OR, the 2-trains rust.
  • At the end of the fourth OR, the 3-trains rust.
  • At the end of the fifth OR, the 4-trains rust.

Twisting Tracks (Scott Petersen)

  • Full capitalization rules
  • Use new 5-train and 6-train (revised rusting)
  • Add new D trains in phases Pink, Purple, Orange, Navy
  • Add tiles X1-X6, 2× 59
  • Remove tiles 1-2, 7-9, 12-13, 23-29, 39-47, 53, 55-56, 61, 69, 205-206
  • Each corporation has three extra "ticket counters." When a company's home hex is upgraded to a 14/15/619 tile, the company that upgrades it must immediately place a ticket counter in that hex as their station marker placement. Ticket counters may be placed in the same hex as a company’s own station marker (maximum one ticket counter and one station marker per company per hex). Ticket counters may also be placed following the rules for placing station markers for $25. Ticket Counters function like tokens (including blocking other companies and operating trains), but each route can only pass through ONE of the company's own ticket counters. Ticket counters can be bypassed if there is an open slot in the city or if the city contains the company's own token.

China Rapid Development (Scott Petersen)

  • Incremental capitalization rules
  • Add tiles X1-X9
  • Remove tiles 12-13, 53, 61, 205-206
  • Corporation value increases one space for each town or city tile company lays/upgrades (may lay 2 yellows or upgrade 1)
  • Corporation must pay half their current market value for each build that contains a town or city (rounded up, move price after each build)
  • If the corporation does not build, its value goes down one space
  • There is no stock price movement for revenue

Poland (Ian Wilson)

  • Partial cap.
  • Extra tiles: Green ‘D’ tile like #12 for Danzig. ’61 Moscow green & brown for Warsaw, plus grey (three slots, value 100). Also, two more #8 tiles, and two grey B tiles (two slots, value 70).
  • Remove tiles #59, #64, #65, #66, #67, #68, #12, #13, #205 & #206.
  • The map is divided into three countries: Russia, Prussia & Austria.
  • Before each SR there is a PR (Parliament Round). In their turn, a player may start an (upwards) auction for the right to start a company in the subsequent SR. Minimum bid $0, bids in multiples of $5. (Use the charters to show the winners.) The round ends when all players pass. Winning bid money is paid to the Bank.
  • The priority does not change during a PR.
  • A player may only buy the presidents certificate of a company if they acquired the rights in the preceding PR.
  • If a player does not buy the presidents certificate, the rights lapse at the end of the SR.
  • Prior to phase 5, a company may not lay a token outside their home country.
  • There is a bonus for running North-South and East-West (see map).
  • If no company is floated during the first stock round, then the game ends immediately at the end of that round.

Britain (Ian Wilson)

Common Rules

  • Partial cap.
  • Mine tokens – place these on the relevant hexes during setup.
  • Before each SR there is a PR (Parliament Round). In their turn, a player may start an (upwards) auction for the right to start a company in the subsequent SR. Minimum bid $0, bids in multiples of $5. (Use the charters to show the winners.) The round ends when all players pass. Winning bid money is paid to the Bank.
  • The priority does not change during a PR.
  • A player may only buy the presidents certificate of a company if they acquired the rights in the preceding PR.
  • If a player does not buy the presidents certificate, the rights lapse at the end of the SR.
  • During its token placement step, if the Company is connected to a hex containing a mine token, the Company may take the token – this incurs no extra cost. Maximum one per Company. Mine tokens are permanent. Provided the Company runs at least one train, the Company’s earnings are increased by an amount (see map).
  • Certain hex-sides incur extra build costs: this must be paid when the link is completed.
  • When upgrading a city, use a tile with as many exits as possible.
  • If a route includes a city/red offboard in Wales and a city outside Wales it gains a bonus (see map).
  • If a route includes a city/red offboard in Scotland and a city outside Scotland it gains a bonus (see map).
  • If a route includes London and a red offboard with a port symbol it gains a bonus (see map).
  • If no company is floated during the first stock round, then the game ends immediately at the end of that round.

North

  • Four majors – one of the majors is new (Pegasus).
  • Extra tiles: Two grey OO tiles (two slots, 6-ways, value 70), two each of #8 and #9, and one #448 (brown plain city K-shape).
  • 2-3 player. Start capital 480/320, cert limit 16/11.
  • Trains: 4x2, 3x3, 2x4, 2x5, 1x6, unlimited 8 (no D).
  • When building or upgrading hexes on the southern edge of the map, it is allowed to point track off the edge (towards the other map).

South

  • Four majors.
  • Extra tiles: One grey OO tile (two slots, 6-ways, value 70), two each of #8 and #9, two #448 (brown plain city K-shape), and one #895 (grey plain city, value 50).
  • Remove tiles #53, #59 & #61.
  • 2-3 player. Start capital 480/320, cert limit 16/11.
  • Trains: 4x2, 3x3, 2x4, 2x5, 1x6, unlimited 8 (no D).
  • When building or upgrading hexes on the northern edge of the map, it is allowed to point track off the edge (towards the other map).

Combined

  • Six majors. Two choose which of two places to place their first token when they first operate – the other place will then be no longer reserved.
  • All majors have 4 tokens – 4th token costs 100.
  • Extra tiles: As North and South together, plus one each of #23, #24, and #25.
  • 3-5 player. Start capital 420/315/250, cert limit 16/12/10.
  • Trains: 6x2, 4x3, 3x4, 3x5, 2x6, unlimited 8 (no D). Also unlimited 4D (cost 1000): these run as a D, count 4 stations (one of which must have a token of the Company) and double income (including all bonuses, except mine); available after purchase of first 8.
  • If a Company wishes to lay a yellow tile which has “run out”, it may – as part of its tile lay action – upgrade a relevant tile to green and then lay the yellow tile. The upgrade must otherwise be legal in all respects.

North Italy (Ian Wilson)

  • Partial cap, except use 2D stock chart with full cap share movement rules and special zones.
  • Extra tiles: grey tiles for Turin, Milan & OO, plus one each of #513 and #895. Also, two more #8 tiles.
  • Remove tiles #12, #13, #205 & #206.
  • 2-4 player. Start capital 480/320/240, cert limit 20/13/10.
  • Trains: 5x2, 4x3, 3x4, 2x5(cost 450), 1x6, 1x8, unlimited D. 5 rusts 3 & D rusts 5.
  • The map is divided into four regions.
  • Before each SR there is a PR (Parliament Round). In their turn, a player may start an (upwards) auction for the right to start a company in the subsequent SR. Minimum bid $0, bids in multiples of $5. (Use the charters to show the winners.) The round ends when all players pass. Winning bid money is paid to the Bank.
  • The priority does not change during a PR.
  • A player may only buy the presidents certificate of a company if they acquired the rights in the preceding PR.
  • If a player does not buy the presidents certificate, the rights lapse at the end of the SR.
  • Prior to phase 5, a company may not lay a token outside their home region.
  • No half-pay, no double-jump, any payout to move right (as full cap rules).
  • A company may, as its last action in the OR, issue its shares to the Pool. This drops the price down one space per share sold. This cannot be done on its first operating turn (except for EMR).
  • EMR: issuing shares drops the price one space per share sold.
  • If a player goes bankrupt, they drop out of the game with a score of zero, and the game continues. Their remaining assets are sold to the Pool (in this special case, presidencies and over 50% can be in the Pool); this money is given to the company in EMR and must be used to buy a train if possible.
  • If bankruptcy causes another player to become director of the company in EMR, the new director must carry on with the EMR process.
  • Cert limit does not change with a bankruptcy.
  • Train limit is 4 in phases 2 & 3.
  • If no company is floated during the first stock round, then the game ends immediately at the end of that round.
  • Game end is triggered by the purchase of the first D-train (not 8).

Mississippi (Ian Wilson)

  • Full cap.
  • Extra tiles: grey tile for B (2 slots, 4 exits), two #895, plus three more of #8 and one more #9 tiles.
  • Remove tiles #12, #13, #205 & #206.
  • Trains: 4x2, 3x3, 3x4, 2x5(cost 450), 1x6, 2x8, unlimited D. D rusts 5.
  • Bank size: $8000.
  • Setup: randomly select five out of the nine companies. Place their home tokens and destination tokens on the map.
  • Each company has a destination (see map). Their third token is not available until the company does its ‘destination run’ (see below).
  • At the beginning of the game, after setup but before SR1, there are a series of auctions to determine seating order. Minimum bid $0, bids in multiples of $5. Winning bid money is paid to the Bank.
  • The D-trains become available once the first 8 has been bought.
  • Each new non-permanent train (2, 3, 4 and 5) comes with a free token (warranty). A train with a token does not rust until it has been removed. The token is removed once the train has run for its first time. This is similar to the warranty rule in 1862 (except that you cannot purchase extra warranties).
  • Once per game, in its operating turn, a corporation may do a ‘destination run’ (after laying track and before laying a token). The run must have one train running a route which includes its home station and its destination hex. The destination hex is doubled (for this train only). Other trains (if any) run as normal. The earnings may either be paid out as dividends or withheld; in either case, the share price does not move.
  • Game end is triggered by the purchase of the first D-train.
  • The final set of rounds is a triple.
  • Alternatively, the game end can be triggered by the bank busting. Finish the current set of operating rounds. Ignore the bank busting if a D-train is bought before the end of the set.

Scotland (Ian Wilson)

  • Full cap.
  • Five majors.
  • Extra tiles: green, brown & grey tiles for Glasgow.
  • Remove tiles #12, #13, #205 & #206.
  • 2-4 player. Start capital 860/575/430, cert limit 16/11/8.
  • Trains: 42, 33, 24, 25, 1*6, unlimited D (no 8).
  • Add a single private, "Aberdeen Ferry" (for all player counts). Face value is $150, revenue is $30. Private is sold in an ISR in an upwards auction. Never closes. When owned by a corporation, increases value of Aberdeen (A11 by 20).
  • A train may not run Glasgow-Glasgow.

Russia (Ian Wilson)

  • Partial cap.
  • Four majors + State (Sphinx).
  • Three privates: TS (face 20, income 10, no power); MY (face 40, income 20, +10 Moscow); MR (face 50, income 25, +10 Moscow).
  • Privates close on purchase of first 8 train.
  • Eight minors (2-share companies): N, MNN, MK, SPW, KR, KK, KB, RO.
  • Privates are auctioned in order of face value - min bid face, increments of 5, PD to left of purchaser.
  • All privates must be sold before play progresses to the first SR. If all players decline to auction a private, reduce its minimum bid by 5. If, by this process, the minimum falls to zero the player with PD must take it for free.
  • In the Stock Rounds, minors can be auctioned in any order, min bid 100, increments of 5, PD left of purchaser. Bid money goes to the treasury, share price is half the winning bid (round down).
  • As a stock action from phase 3, a player may either merge two of their connected minors, or convert one minor, to form a major. Share price is sum (merger, round down) or same (conversion); player gets president cert, then may buy one share of the new company. Major gets both tokens in a merge, unless both in the same hex (must choose which one to keep).
  • Minors which merge or convert may not be restarted.
  • To be connected, two minors may trace a route more than once through Moscow/St-P/Kiev.
  • From phase 4, majors may be started – place its home token immediately in any empty, unreserved slot.
  • EMR: president may not put in from hand. If a company ends its turn trainless it is nationalised: token(s) to Sphinx, cash to Bank, players get current share price per share from Bank (minor = 2 shares).
  • Nationalised majors may be restarted, but minors may not.
  • Max one Sphinx token per hex.
  • Sphinx has up to 5 tokens but no shares.
  • Sphinx takes the next new train at the end of each set of ORs.
  • Dots are optional when running trains.
  • Minors run before majors.
  • Minors always split, single jump.
  • Buy-in of privates is between 50% and 150% of face value.
  • A train may not run Moscow to Moscow, St-P to St-P, nor Kiev to Kiev.

Gotland (Solo) (Pontus Nilsson)

Setup

  • Incremental Cap
  • Find a D6 and roll it for each D-hex and place the D-tiles accordingly.
  • Shuffle Company Charters and place them in a single queue.
  • Place the President's Certificate and 3 additional shares on each Charter (All companies start as 5-share Minors).
  • Place the additional 5 shares per company next to the map.
  • Place home token for each company on the map.
  • Choose Difficulty Level: Easy (X=10), Normal (X=20), Hard (X=30), #$@! (X=40).

Operating Round

  • Placing a token is yielding instead of costing a company the printed amount.
  • All track placements and upgrades cost $X (dependent upon chosen Difficulty Level).

Stock Round

  1. Game End Check - If phase 8, then Game Over after next OR set.
  2. Rival Share Roll - Roll die and consult the Rival Share Randomizer.
  3. Sell shares (although no President's Certificates may be sold).
  4. Buy shares
  • Each company floats on 40%, i.e. only the 2-share President's Certificate is required.
  • Which Presiden'ts Certificate you purchase first is free of choice, and without an additional fee if the first company in the queue is chosen. But for each company skipped an additional fee of $X is solicited. When the first company has floated, all following companies need to float according to queue (wrap-around).
  • No limit on number of certificates per company.
  1. If no new company floated this SR, export same number of trains as unfloated companies.

Nationalization Round (only in Green and Brown)

  • You may select a company, roll a die and consult the Nationalization Probability Table.
  • If success, then add 5 shares to the Company Charter. Subsequently, SJ (The State Railway) buys one of those shares for market value, place it in the SJ box. This company is now a 10-share Major.

Game End

  • If a company's share value moves below 40 or if you go bankrupt...
  • GAME OVER, YOU LOSE!
  • Otherwise, after positive Game End Check, the game ends after the following OR set, and if you're still in the game...
  • SUCCESS! Your score equals (portfolio value + cash on hand) multiplied by X.

PNW (Ian Wilson)

General:

  • Partial cap.
  • Five majors. They start as 5-share, with only 2 tokens.
  • Extra tiles: #202, #207, #801 and #248 for Seattle, plus two each of #8 and #9. Also special tile for Victoria.
  • Remove tiles #12, #13, #205, #206, #53, #59, #61, #64, #65, #66, #67, #68.
  • 2-4 player. Start capital 480/320/240.
  • Cert limits: 2-player 10/12/14/16/18/20; 3-player 7/8/10/11/12/13; 4-player 5/6/7/8/9/10 (for 0/1/2/3/4/5 10-share companies).
  • Trains: 4X2, 3X3, 2X4, 2X5, 1X6, unlimited 8 (no D).

Extras:

  • Set-up: choose 3 privates randomly – these will be auctioned in the ISR.
  • Five lumber markers: place on the indicated spaces at setup.
  • Six privates:
  1. Ski Resort (face 20, income 10): may place the ski token in hex C5, B6 or A7. This gives +10 income for all trains passing through that hex.
  2. Boom Town (face 30, income 15): once per game, may upgrade a yellow double-dot tile to a green city tile. This counts as the Company’s tile action.
  3. Shipping (face 50, income 25): may lay the special V tile in hex B2. This counts as the Company’s tile action.
  4. Lumber Mill (face 40, income 20): the bonus for lumber hexes is doubled.
  5. Mail Contract (face 70, income 35): add 10 per stop on one train.
  6. Mining (face 60, income 30): may open the pass in hex B6 for free. This counts as the Company’s tile action. The Company (only) gets +20 income running through that hex.
  • All privates are permanent.

Stock rounds:

  • In the Initial SR, only three privates are available. Once these privates have been bought, determine seating order according to ‘least cash first’ (resolve ties by previous order). Then proceed to the first SR.
  • If all three privates are not bought in the ISR, execute two ORs and then resume the ISR.
  • The other three privates become available from phase 3 onwards.
  • Privates are auctioned (in any order) by upwards auctions, min bid face, bids in units of 5.
  • Privates count towards the certificate limit.
  • Maximum holding is three shares in a 5-share company.
  • 5-share companies do not rise for 100% in players hands.

Operating rounds:

  • From phase 3 onwards, privates may be bought in for between 50% and 150% of face value. Privates must be owned by companies to use their special abilities.
  • Each time a train passes through a lumber hex, it adds 10 to its revenue. (This is doubled with the Lumber private.)
  • Track may point towards the blue hex (B2).
  • Each track in hex C5, and the tracks in B6 and A7, cost the indicated amount (to open the mountain pass) – place a blank token to show it has been paid. This counts as the Company’s tile action.
  • Note: the share price rise is determined by the earnings per share, so it is easier for a 5-share Company to increase in value.
  • 5-share Companies may not double-jump.
  • Train limit in 5-share Companies is one less.
  • A 5-share company may grow to 10-share after laying track (but before placing tokens). However, to be eligible, the company must be able to trace a legal route from one of its tokens to its destination hex (or have a token there). The company receives its third token. The director may then buy more shares, using cash on hand, but must not exceed the share or certificate limits. Destinations are: DGN: C11 GFN: C3 KKN: F19 PHX: A11 SFX: F2

Rules Clarifications

  • None

Implementation Notes

  • Warranties on trains (Mississippi map) are indicated by an appended * on the name of the train.

Open Issues