The Depot: Federico Vellani's Future Projects
The production of this game is now being resumed by Chris Lawson. A major upgrade (1841 2.0) is currently planned within a couple of years, and will chiefly involve the map (redesigned at a slightly smaller scale) and H trains.
This game is currently undergoing a major update, to correct some problems. The upgrade is touching the following items:
This is the first 18XX monster game, but with its seven scenarios can be adapted to every gaming situation. The game can (and should) be produced and sold in two parts, the eastern and the western.
The work on 1827 began at the end of 1993, with the first in-house (alpha) playtesting at the end of 1994. The beta playtesting (with four independent european and american groups) has begun in fall 1995, and its formal end is scheduled for June, 1996.
This game, due to its size and graphical quality (most components are in full color) cannot be produced "at home" like 1841 or 1849, and some kind of professional help will be needed.
Map: 86, 119, 203 or 322 hexes, depending on the scenario, covering the continental United States from Boston to San Diego and from Seattle to Miami. The northeastern region (Boston to Louisville and Chicago to Norfolk) is depicted at a larger scale than the remaining map.
# of trains: from 21 to 67 (of the H type, like in 1849), of 14 different classes.
# of tiles: 104 or 208 yellow; 67, 75, or 142 green; 48, 53, or 101 brown; 8, 12, or 20 gray. The two map scenarios include a total of 471 tiles.
# of corporations: 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 16.
# of scenarios: 7.
# of players: 3 to 12.
Best # of players: 3 to 10.
Private companies: 19 (11 of which are available at start).
Hex types: plains, rough, hills, mountains (M hexes, with special tiles).
Cities: single dot, double dot, standard, Y (like 1835 or 1841), Z ($40/50/60/80), and special (12 different cities). Los Angeles has a 7 cm. hex, while New York has a 10 cm hex.
Other features: 16 or 32 prestige items, 2 or 4 bonds for each corporation, transcontinental bonus, 12 leader cards, systems (corporation conglomerates), linear stock market (with different buying and selling prices for each position).
Money: from $16,640 to $31,640.
This game is largely derived from 1827, and was at first designed as a stripped down version of 1827. After a complete redesign 1827 Jr. is now a game of its own, and some rules (i.e.: the movement of the current market value token on the stock market chart) are actually more complex than the corresponding rules in 1827.
The beta playtesting phase was begun in May, 1996, and it is expected that it will end the following winter.
Map: 65 hexes and 6 external boxes, covering the continental United States, with the exception of the area east of Chicago and north of Richmond.
# of trains: 28 (of the H type, like in 1849), 16 non-permanent (1H to 4H) and 12 permanent (5H, P8H, and F7H).
# of tiles: 52 yellow, 36 green, 26 brown.
# of corporations: 6, each with 2 20% certificates, 6 10% certificates (like in 1849) and four to six tokens.
# of scenarios: 1.
# of players: 3 to 5.
Best # of players: 4.
Private companies: 13 (5 of which are available at start).
Hex types: plains, rough, hills, mountains (M hexes, with special tiles)
Cities: single dot, standard, and special (Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco)
Other features: 16 prestige items, 2 bonds for each corporation, transcontinental bonus, linear stock market (with different buying and selling prices for each position).
Money: $11,640.
Go back to the Arrivals Board.
Go back to the platform.
