The Depot: 1842: A Review
by Nick Wedd
There are seven major corporations, of which the first four must be launched in fixed order - the shares of each are only available after the preceding one has been launched. After the first four majors have been launched, the other three all become available, but may not all be desirable.
The are also five minor companies, rather like the pre-Prussians in 1835. Three of these are exchangeable for shares in majors, and must be so exchanged when these majors launch, the major acquiring their assets. Three of them may be closed in another way: by being sold to a major. This sale is made at the start of an operating round, by putting the minor up for auction and allowing all the majors to bid for it - the successful bidder acquires all the assets of the minor.
The running of the minors presents a choice for their owners: whether to run them for short-term profit and dispose of them when they run out of trains, or whether to build them up into cash cows.
The most interesting innovation is the company which develops Hamburg (and its suburb Harburg). Hamburg is far the most valuable hex on the board, but no train-running company is allowed to lay tiles on it. This may only be done by the HAV, a company with the usual ten shares, whose only function is to develop these hexes and collect revenue for trains which run there. But shares in the HAV may only be owned by the majors. So there is some incentive for these to try to control it, and decide which connections from Hamburg will be made.
Another unusual feature is a rule restricting the replacement of town tiles until there is a coast-to-coast route running through them. This rule is headed "Restrictions for Coastal Towns", but actually restricts all promotions of town tiles. There are four designated east-coast towns, and four west-coast. A town tile may only be upgraded if (after the upgrade) it lies on a coast-to-coast route (disregarding station-markers). The distance to the far coast never exceeds six hexes, so this is not too difficult to achieve.
This also produces some interesting decisions: whether to go for short-term profit, or to ensure the connection which will lead to greater long-term profit?
At least one of a company's runs must involve its starting-point. This tends to reduce the value of those companies which fail to guarantee a route from there to Hamburg.
I shall definitely be playing this game again - easy to learn, but interesting new features and decisions.
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