The Depot: 1831

Country of Origin: United States
Designed by: Carl Burger
Published by: will be publised by Winsome Games (US)
Released: projected for 1997
Licensing Status unknown (though 1831 is one of the years reserved by Hartland Trefoil, and is mentioned on the box of 1825

This title is set in the same general area as 1830, with a little wider scope and a lot of extra chrome. The game features no privates and 30 (count 'em) corporations. The overriding premise for the game design is "railroads made their money from passengers initially, but, as time passed, relied more and more on frieght for revenue."
Companies have two types of tokens: freight and passenger, and they add revenue to a run for the token owner: $10 for passenger tokens, $20 for freight tokens. Tokens do not block other companies - any time they are run into and/or through, the owning company gets income.
There are two types of stock: preferred and common. Preferred stock is used to determine the presidency of a company, and alway gets paid a dividend (even when the company holds). Common stock sets the market price, rises in value quicker than preferred stock (and eventually will be worth more). A varying number of preferred certificates (totalling 50%) and 10 common certificates exist for each company. 2 companies have a 50% presidency share. There are no certificate holding limits in 1831.
Stock market: No colored zones, shelves, or ridges. If a corporation's stock value is on the bottom row, and a share is sold, the value moves down (to the left). If a stock gets to the lower left of the Share Price Index, it closes. If it gets to the upper right of the Share Price Index, it splits (a token is placed on the market allowing it to increase further in value). Par values range from: $77 to $150. Top of the market (prior to split): $750 (common stock), $550 (preferred stock).
Systems: 4 coroporations start the game designated as "systems": New York Central, Pennsylvania Rail Road, Chesapeake & Ohio, and Baltimore & Ohio. New ones may be created by mergers. Systems always have two trains, and may have more than plain companies.
Mergers: Either hostile takeovers or friendly buyouts are possible, A major motive for merging is that the surviving company will retain all tokens of both former companies. Two 5% common shares are swapped for a 5% common share in the merged company. Likewise, the preferred stock is swapped 2 for 1 for the preferred stock in merged entity. The market value for the merged company is the average of two companies, moved a column to the right. When a hostile takeover starts, the value of the company to be taken over moves three rows to the right, the larger company's value moves two rows to left.
Terrain track-laying costs: All tile lays cost money.
Eventually the Taft-Hartley act comes into play, which will limit some of the stock-market tactics we have all come to love in 18xx games...
Hexes are 20mm (smaller than the standard 25mm found in most 18xx games) - some cities have extra off board boxes to accommodate extra tokens.
Floating companies: Preferred stock is available for sale first. When all of it is sold, the company is floated. Then common stocks go on sale. When 80% of all stock is sold, share price goes up 1 row. When 90% is sold, it goes up again; and when 100% is sold, it goes up another time.
Instead of a forced purchase, a company will go into receivership. This means that no one can sell stock in the company until it leaves receivership. The stock value will move one column to the right upon entering receivership. The company will be operate on a train on loan from the bank, and will withhold until the train is paid for.
The number of people playing influences the number of trains and companies in the game. 3 to 10 players can play the game. Each player starts with $800.

Not to be confused with the 1830 variant by Auke Stegink and Han Heidema, 1831

The designer will be showing this game at Origins and GenCon.

Money Unit: US Dollars
Off-board Connections: ?
Stock Market: Dynamic
Stock Purchase order: ?
Tile Colors: ?

More will be added when available.

Go back to the platform.

dmreed@bihs.net last updated 8 August 1996