18GB: The Railways of Great Britain Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1 Introduction
  • 1.1 Overview of Play
  • 1.2 Components
  • 1.2.1 Notes on the Components
  • 1.2.2 Notes on the Tiles
  • 1.3 Setting Up
• 2 Private Railways
  • 2.1 Private Railway Auction
  • 2.2 Player Order for the Initial Stock Round
  • 2.3 Effect of Private Railways
• 3 Companies and Shares
  • 3.1 Five-share and Ten-share Companies
  • 3.2 The Stock Market
  • 3.3 Limits on Share Ownership
• 4 Stock Rounds
  • 4.1 Converting to a Ten-Share Company
  • 4.2 Selling Stock
    • 4.2.1 Selling the Director's Certificate
    • 4.2.2 Share Price Movements
  • 4.3 Buying Stock
    • 4.3.1 Starting a Company
    • 4.3.2 Directors' Certificates in the Open Market
  • 4.4 Change of Director
  • 4.5 Ending the Stock Round
• 5 Operating Rounds
  • 5.1 Order of Actions
  • 5.2 Routes
  • 5.3 Building Track
    • 5.3.1 Private Railways and Track Building
    • 5.3.2 Laying Yellow Tiles
    • 5.3.3 Upgrading Tiles
    • 5.3.4 Hills and Estuaries
    • 5.3.5 Place a Station Marker
  • 5.4 Run Trains
    • 5.4.1 Bonuses
  • 5.5 Distribution of Income
    • 5.5.1 Share Price Adjustment
  • 5.6 Buying Trains
    • 5.6.1 Buying Trains from Other Companies
    • 5.6.2 Buying New Trains
    • 5.6.3 Emergency Money Raising
    • 5.6.4 Companies with no Director
  • 5.7 Insolvency
  • 5.8 Ending the Operating Round
• 6 Phases
  • 6.1 Phase Summary
  • 6.2 Train Obsolescence
  • 6.3 Train Limit
• 7 Ending the Game
  • 7.1 Determining the Winner
• 8 Private Railways
  • 8.1 Private Railways and Tile Actions
  • 8.2 Private Railways and Station Markers
• 9 Companies
• 10 Conflicts and Errata
• 11 Variants
  • 11.1 Distributing Private Railways
    • 11.1.1 Random
    • 11.1.2 Group Auction
  • 11.2 Random Setup
  • 11.3 Shuffle the LNWR
  • 11.4 No Tiers
• 13 Optional Rule: Characters
  • 13.1 Setup and Selection
  • 13.2 Optional Extra Characters
  • 13.3 The Characters
• 14 Tile Manifest

1 Introduction

1.1 Overview of Play

After initial setup [1.3], Private Railways are auctioned [2.1] and the player order for the first Stock Round is set [2.2].

During a Stock Round [4], players take turns to buy and sell shares in companies. Players may own shares in any company. The largest shareholder in each company becomes Director of that company [4.4] and will be responsible for making all decisions on behalf of that company. A Stock Round continues until all players pass in succession.

Every Stock Round is followed by two Operating Rounds [5], after which play continues with the next Stock Round. During an Operating Round, each company that has started takes one turn. Its Director lays track tiles and or Station Markers [5.3], raises income by running trains [5.4], and either retains that income in the company or distributes it to the shareholders as dividends [5.5]. Paying dividends or not may change a company's Share Price [5.5.1]. As the last action in its turn, a company may buy new trains [5.6].

The changes that occurred on the railways during this period are reflected by the five Phases of the game [6], denoted by the colours yellow, green, blue, brown and grey. The current Phase determines aspects of the game such as the track tiles that can be laid and how many trains a company may own [6.3]. The change from one Phase to the next does not affect the order of turns and rounds, which continue as normal.

This gradual improvement of technology is triggered in the game by the availability of new types of train. When a new type of train enters play, older types may become obsolete [6.2] and a new Phase may be triggered. The game finishes at the end of the Operating Round in which any company's Share Price reaches the top or when there are no more trains to purchase [7].

Throughout the game, all assets and transactions are public knowledge. Players may not transfer money, shares or any other holdings directly from player to player. All share trading is with the Initial Offering or Open Market. Similarly, the only transactions permitted between companies are when one company buys a train from another.

1.2 Components

• Rules booklet
• Map (including the Stock Market, Game Round Track and Income Track)
• Track tiles
• 40 Train Certificates and 6 phase change reminder cards
• 12 Company charters
• 108 Share Certificates
• 9 Private Railway Certificates
• Initial Offering and Open Market
• Company status cards ("Receivership", "Insolvent" and "Five-share Company/Ten-share Company")
• 6 Player Order and 5 Pass number cards
• Tokens for Station Markers and Private Railway bonuses
• Play money (optional; if not included you will need some other way to represent money such as poker chips)

The number of Companies, Private Railways, and trains in play varies with the number of players – see the back cover of this rulebook.

The map consists of a grid of hexes, on which the track tiles are laid during the game. Co-ordinates are printed on the map for reference purposes and postal play.

The track tiles are used for building the rail network. It is useful to sort these by colour and type. The grey tiles are only used when playing with five or six players and the red tiles are only used in the two-player scenarios.

The grey and red hexes on the map denote non-buildable areas on which tiles may never be laid. In these non-buildable hexes and around the edges of the map there is some permanent track that may connect to tiles in adjacent hexes. The thick tan-coloured hexsides represent hills which restrict track building. The two blue hexes are major estuaries and can only be upgraded by specific blue tiles representing the Severn Tunnel (marked "S") and the Forth and Tay Bridges (marked "FT").

Solid black dots or black oblongs in some hexes and tiles represent towns. Large circles represent the station or stations in a city. Some cities have one station and some have two. Black arrowheads in red hexes denote connections to London (G26), Hull/Grimsby (J17), and towns or cities beyond the edge of the map. The numbers in small circles on town and city tiles indicate the income yielded by those tiles. Hexes and tiles with two stations are labelled "OO" or "XX".

The Home city of each company is indicated by a station containing that company's shield. Some Home cities have a green outline: this indicates that the company may place a green tile in its Home city as its first tile action, instead of the usual yellow tile (even before green tiles are normally available).

The companies in the game are some of the major railway companies of the period. Each company is represented by a charter, a Director's Certificate showing 40%/20%, three Preferred Share Certificates showing 20%/10%, five Ordinary Share Certificates showing 10%, and a set of disc-shaped tokens. The company charter is a mat on which the company's assets (including train certificates and Station Markers) will be placed.

The Initial Offering area holds unsold Director's Certificates and Preferred Shares. The Open Market area holds Share Certificates that players sell during the game and the extra shares that become available when a five-share company converts to a ten-share company. The Stock Market will show the current Share Price of each company's shares, using one of the company's tokens. The numbers on the chart show the value of a single share. The Income Track can be used to record company income, using an extra token for each company.

Each company may place three or four tokens, called Station Markers, on the map during the game to claim access to run trains through particular stations. Most companies will begin with two Station Markers [9].

The Train Certificates represent the rolling stock available to the companies. Each certificate shows the type of the train, its price, and when it will become obsolete.

Private Railways represent small railway companies that either preceded or operated alongside the larger public companies. They are each represented by a certificate. Each Private Railway also has a corresponding hex on the map, which is indicated by a linked pair of small circles and the abbreviation of the Private Railway's name. The reverse side of each Private Railway certificate describes that Private Railway's special ability.

The Available Trains box holds the Train Certificates of the currently available type that have yet to be purchased. The Future Trains box holds train certificates of types that are not yet available. When the last certificate is taken from the Available Trains box, replenish it with the next type of train.

When the first 4X is taken from the Available Trains box, move the 5X train certificates into the Available Trains box alongside the remaining 4X train certificates. When the first 5X is taken, do the same with the 6X certificates. Thus several types of X train may be available for purchase.

Use the Game Round token to keep track of the current round on the Game Round record track as the game progresses.

The status cards are used to indicate certain statuses that may apply to companies during the game. A company has no director whenever its Director's Certificate is in the Open Market. A company may be Insolvent if it does not own a train. Either of these statuses may be removed when the company status ends. The third type of status cards is to show whether companies have five or ten shares. The number of markers provided should be sufficient; if more are required, players may improvise additional markers.

1.2.1 Notes on the Components

You can place one Station Marker per non-started company on the background of its Home city hex as a reminder that a station is reserved for it, provided it is clear that the Marker is not actually in the Station. You may find it clearer if this marker is placed upside down.

When auctioning the Private Railways, if you are using poker chips, you can place chips equal to your high bid on the corner of the certificate closest to you. If another player makes a higher bid, you remove your chips and they place chips equal to their new bid instead. Another option is for each player to choose tokens of a company to mark bids, or come up with your own approach.

If a Private Railway has the ability to confer an income bonus, it has a corresponding token. When the player first uses this ability, place the token in the relevant city to act as a reminder. This bonus token does not affect tile placement.

Each company has one or two Station Markers that it will only be able to use when it becomes a ten-share company. While the company is a five-share company, you may find it helpful to keep these extra markers upside down on the charter, as a reminder that you are not allowed to use them yet.

The Share Certificates are designed to be stacked on top of one another and fanned either horizontally or vertically to save on table space. For the benefit of the other players, you should clearly display all certificates so that they can be easily seen and counted.

During the Operating Round, when each company finishes operating, flip its marker on the Stock Market upside down. This way, you can easily see which companies are still to operate in that round.

1.2.2 Notes on the Tiles

The station tiles in 18GB have some notable differences from many other 18xx games. These differences allow the game to reflect the development of the major railways in Great Britain when mapped at this scale. They also give rise to some interesting trade-offs during play.

The most marked difference is in the OO and XX tiles. These begin with a through route on the yellow tiles. The green tiles then add a separate route that connects two different hexsides and another station. This pattern of track is akin to that on the brown OO tiles in games such as 1825 or 1830 but occurs here in the Green Phase. Care is required not to confuse the OO and XX yellow and green tiles when laying track.

A consequence of this tile design and the 18GB rules for upgrading is that a company running on a route through a yellow OO or XX tile may not upgrade that tile unless it can trace a route through a different hexside. See the first example in section [5.3.3] of the rulebook.

On brown OO tiles, the two stations and routes are conjoined, allowing all routes to pass through the city.

When upgrading a green OO tile to a brown tile, the upgrade is straightforward if either or both stations do not contain Station Markers, as any company that can trace a route to the hex will be able to reach the new track on the brown tile. Take care if both stations are occupied by markers of other companies. In this situation, the upgrading company will only be able to reach the new track by entering the hex via a new hexside.

The grey OO tiles add an extra connection and an extra station space, but unlike most city upgrades in 18xx games, they do not increase the income generated by the city.

The multiple stations on the OO and XX tiles mostly do not represent separate cities. Instead, they represent different routes through a city or conurbation, routes which were owned by different companies. Some of these are still evident in today's railway lines.

There are no yellow OO or XX tiles with a tight curve. This encourages the early routes to be through routes, which reflects historical reality and makes for a more open game.

The yellow tiles for single station cities are similar to those in other 18xx games, except they are value 10 instead of 20. The green tiles add two further connections, giving tiles that are similar to other 18xx games but unusual in that they retain a single station space.

This gives more control of the hex to any company with a Marker in the station, as a consequence of this tile design and the 18GB rules for upgrading. This is illustrated by the second example in section [5.3.3] of the rulebook.

The brown and grey city tiles each add one further connection and one extra station space. Care is required not to confuse the unmarked brown and grey city tiles with the equivalent OO tiles.

1.3 Setting Up

See the back cover of this rulebook for the recommended setup - the game uses different numbers of Companies, Private Railways and trains depending on how many people are playing. The chosen setup also determines the amount of money players start with, the certificate limit for each player, and tile availability. Some player counts have multiple options.

Lay out the map, the Initial Offering and the Open Market. Put the Director's Certificate of the LNWR in the marked space on the Initial Offering. Shuffle the Director's Certificates of the remaining companies in play, deal half (rounded down) into the first tier of the Initial Offering, and put the others in the second tier. Stack the three Preferred Share Certificates for each company below the Director's Certificate. Keep the five Ordinary Share Certificates aside for later.

Place the appropriate number of 2+1 train certificates in the Available Trains box. Stack the appropriate number of the remaining train types in order, with the 3+1 trains at the top and the 6X trains at the bottom. Place the appropriate reminder card below the first train of each type, and place the whole stack in the Future Trains box.

Place the "No Director", "Insolvent", and "Five-share Company/Ten-share Company" status cards in the appropriate spaces on the board.

Put the tiles near the board. Note that the grey tiles are only used with five or six players, and the red tiles are only used in the two-player games. Players also need room near the board for their Share Certificates, two or three company charters, and their personal cash. Set aside the charter and tokens for each company until it enters play.

Lay out the bank of poker chips or paper money. Give each player the appropriate starting money for the number of players. There is no limit on the size of the bank. You will need about £12,000 for a three-player game and as much as £20,000 for a five-player game.

Take player order cards numbered from 1 to the number of players, and the pass cards numbered from 1 to one fewer than the number of players. Stack the pass cards, in order, near the board. Randomly deal a player order card to each player to determine the initial order of play. (The order of play may change during the game, and is always determined by these cards rather than seating position). Put the Game Round token on the Game Round record track.

Put the certificates for the Private Railway in play somewhere where players can see and bid on them. Place the "GN reserved" station marker in York (I14). If the Maryport and Carlisle Private Railway is in play, place the "MC reserved" station marker in Carlisle (H9).

2 Private Railways

After setting up the game, the first step is to distribute the Private Railway certificates using the auction rules below.

2.1 Private Railway Auction

When auctioning Private Railways, the players repeatedly take turns, in Player Order, in which you may bid on any of the items on offer. If you have the existing (high) bid on one or more items, or if there are no items without a bid at all, you may pass instead of making an additional bid. (In two-player games, you must have the winning bid on two or more items). If you do pass, you may still make another bid in a later turn in the auction. When all players pass consecutively, you each pay for and take the items on which you have the high bid. (The pass number cards, marked "1st pass" etc., are not used during the auction).

Bids must be multiples of £5. The first bid on any item must be at least its face value, and each subsequent bid on that item must be higher than the previous one. For each player, the total of your current bids may never exceed your money. If you are outbid by another player, your bid on that item lapses.

If any items remain unsold after all players have passed consecutively, the minimum bid for each unsold item is reduced by £10. The auction then resumes where it left off; from this point on, any player may pass on their turn. This process may be repeated, if necessary. If any item's minimum bid becomes zero, the next player in the auction must bid at least £0 for that item on their next turn. The auction is complete when all items are purchased.

2.2 Player Order for the Initial Stock Round

After the Private Railways have been purchased, determine the Player Order for the first Stock Round. The player with the least money will go first; the player with the second smallest amount will go second, and so on. If players are tied, those with more Private Railways go earlier in the order; otherwise they retain their existing relative order.

During the game, Player Order will be determined anew at the end of each Stock Round.

2.3 Effect of Private Railways

Each Private Railway remains owned by the player who first buys it. Until it is closed by one of the events described below the owner receives a fixed income, printed on the certificate, at the start of each Operating Round. When a Private Railway closes, the owner receives an extra payment, equal to the normal income. If it is closed during an Operating Round, the owner receives both the payment at the start of the round and the final payment. It is possible for a Private Railway to remain unclosed until the end of the game, in which case its face value is added to its owner's final score.

The owner of a Private Railway may voluntarily close it at any time after the first Stock Round has completed.

Each Private Railway has a corresponding hex on the map. Unless the Private Railway has been closed, no company may lay a tile in that hex until the Blue Phase. (The owner may close the Private Railway in order to allow a tile to be laid). From the Blue Phase on, any company may build track in the hex regardless, which forces the Private Railway to close involuntarily.

Each Private Railway, except the London & Birmingham (LB), has a special ability that is described on the back of the Private Railway certificate. The hex where this ability applies is marked on the map (e.g., small hexagon outline, bonus text, or a token symbol), and is usually in a different hex from where the Private Railway is located. These abilities are described in more detail in [8].

The owner may use a Private Railway's ability to aid a company they control at any time after the Private Railway closes. (The owner may close the Private Railway in order to allow the ability to be used).

The owner of the London & Birmingham (LB) also has priority for starting the LNWR – see [8] for details.

3 Companies and Shares

Each company has one Director's Certificate, which represents two shares, three Preferred Share Certificates, and five Ordinary Share Certificates. At any time, a player who owns the Director's Certificate is the Director of that company and controls all aspects of its operation. If the Director's Certificate of a company is in the Open Market, no player controls it.

3.1 Five-share and Ten-share Companies

All companies begin the game with five shares, represented by the Director's Certificate and three Preferred Share Certificates. A five-share company starts with capital equal to five times its Share Price. Each share yields 20% of the company's income. As the Director's Certificate represents two shares, it yields 40% of the company's income.

A five-share company that has previously operated may convert to a ten-share company during a Stock Round. When a company converts, its Share Price is reduced, its five Ordinary Share Certificates are placed in the Open Market and become available for purchase, and all of its shares (including the Preferred Shares) yield 10% of the company's income. The Director's Certificate, as two shares, yields 20%. The company receives extra capital and additional Station Markers. Until the first 4X train is bought or removed, ten-share companies may own more trains than five-share companies.

At the start of the Brown Phase, all newly-formed companies start as ten-share companies. They start with ten times their Share Price as capital and all their Station Markers. Each share yields 10% of the company's income.

3.2 The Stock Market

When a player buys a Director's Certificate for a new company, they choose the company's initial Share Price by placing one of its tokens in one of the spaces outlined in red on the Stock Market. During the game, the following events will cause Share Prices to change:

• When a player sells shares in a company, its Share Price may drop a number of spaces, depending on a number of factors [4.2.2].
• When a five-share company converts to a ten-share company, its Share Price will move down two spaces [4.1].
• When a company operates and does not pay a dividend, its Share Price will move down one space.
• When a company operates and pays a dividend, its Share Price will move up a number of spaces, depending on its income – see [5.5.1] for details.

When a company's token is moved into a new space, it is always placed underneath any tokens that are already in that space. If a company's Share Price token is already in the lowest space on the Stock Market when it should move down, it is placed underneath all other tokens in that space. If a token reaches the top of the Stock Market, the game ends at the end of that Operating Round. If a token begins in a different space and is required to move more spaces than remain, it is moved as far as possible.

The lowest four spaces on the Stock Market comprise the orange zone. If the Share Price of a company is in one of the orange spaces, a player can purchase Initial Offering shares in excess of the normal 60% limit – see [3.3].

Purchase or sale of a share is made at the currently prevailing Share Price for the company concerned, regardless of whether it is a five-share or ten-share company. Exception: if a company does not own any trains, sales of shares in that company only return half the current Share Price (rounded down). Purchase of such shares must still be made at full value.

3.3 Limits on Share Ownership

You are restricted in the number of Share Certificates that you may own. This limit applies to each player and depends on the number of players in the game. A Director's Certificate counts as one Certificate towards this limit, even though it represents two shares. Unlike some other 18xx games, Private Railways do not count against this limit.

If you ever hold more Share Certificates than the Certificate Limit at the beginning of your turn in a Stock Round you must sell enough Share Certificates in that turn so that you no longer exceed the limit.

You are usually limited to buying up to 60% of a company from the Initial Offering. Shares bought from the Open Market are not subject to this restriction. Also, this limit does not apply when buying shares in a company whose Share Price is in the orange zone of the Stock Market. You are never forced to sell any shares that you hold above the 60% limit.

There is no limit to how many shares of a company may be in the Open Market as a result of players selling shares. Directors' Certificates may be sold to the Open Market – see [4.2.1].

4 Stock Rounds

In each Stock Round, the players take turns in the order indicated by Player Order cards. Players continue to take turns in order until they all pass consecutively. This means that if you take any action in your turn, you are guaranteed another turn in the current Round.

On your turn, you may either pass or choose one of the following actions:

• Convert a five-share company to a ten-share company (and optionally buy a share in that company).
• Trade stock by selling one or more shares, subject to the constraints set out below, and/or then buying one Share Certificate from the Initial Offering or Open Market.

The first player to pass takes the "1st pass" card. When other players pass, they each take the next pass number card. A player who has passed in one turn of the Stock Round may decide to act in a later turn. In this case, any players with higher pass number cards take the card before theirs and the highest numbered card in play is returned to the stack, thus preserving the relative order between those players who have passed.

All transfers of shares are made between a player and the Initial Offering or Open Market. Players may never buy shares directly from one another. Companies never own shares.

4.1 Converting to a Ten-Share Company

The Director of a five-share company may convert it to a ten-share company. You may convert one company per turn of the Stock Round. You may not convert a company in the same Stock Round that it starts; you must wait until a later Stock Round.

When a company converts, put its five Ordinary Share Certificates into the Open Market, where they are now available for purchase. Any unsold Preferred Shares remain in the Initial Offering. Flip the "Five-Share Company" card over to the "Ten-Share company" side on the company's charter.

The company's remaining Station Markers become available to be placed on the map during future Operating Rounds. Move its Share Price down two spaces. Then increase the company's treasury by five times the new Share Price.

When a company converts, the Director immediately has the option of buying a share in the company at the new Share Price, subject to the usual restrictions on buying shares.

In this example, the LYR starts the turn valued at £130. The conversion drops its share price to £100. The LYR receives £500 (five times its new share price) in its treasury. The LYR marker is placed below the LSWR marker that is already in the £100 space. This will change the order in which the companies operate in the next Operating Round.

At the start of the Brown Phase, all non-started companies become ten-share companies. Add their five Ordinary Share Certificates shares to the stacks of their shares in the Initial Offering.

4.2 Selling Stock

If you do not convert a company, you may sell as many Share Certificates as you wish, from one or more companies. To sell shares, you put the Share Certificates into the Open Market and take an amount from the bank equal to the current Share Price times the number of shares sold. Exception: if the company does not own any trains, you take half this amount (rounding halves down).

For example, if you sell 3 shares priced at £75, you receive £225, unless the company does not own any trains in which case you receive £112.

Once you have sold shares of a particular company in a Stock Round, you may not buy shares in that company for the remainder of the current Stock Round.

4.2.1 Selling the Director's Certificate

You may sell a Director's Certificate, for the value of two shares, if this leaves you with zero shares or one share in that company. If this causes another player to become the new Director of the company, as described in [4.4], the Director's Certificate is immediately swapped for shares owned by the new Director and those shares are placed in the Open Market. Otherwise, the Director's Certificate itself is placed in the Open Market.

If you own only the Director's Certificate, you may sell a single share of the two that it represents instead of both. If this sale causes a change of Director, you keep one of the two Share Certificates exchanged for the Director's Certificate and put the other in the Open Market. If no other player owns two or more shares and there is a share of the company in the Open Market, you take that share in exchange for the Director's Certificate. If neither case applies, the sale is not permitted.

When a Director's Certificate ends the turn in the Open Market, place a "No Director" card on the company's charter to indicate this status.

4.2.2 Share Price Movements

When you sell shares in a company, the company's Share Price may drop. These price changes only happen after all sales are complete.

Until the Grey Phase, the price will drop one space on the Stock Market for each share you sell. The sale of the Director's Certificate will drop the Share Price by two spaces.

After the start of the Grey Phase, the price will only drop when the stock is sold by the Director of the company. Sales by non-Directors will not affect the price of the company.

If you sell shares in more than one company in a single turn, you decide which order to sell them. This will determine the order of companies whose tokens drop to the same space on the Stock Market.

4.3 Buying Stock

If you do not convert a company, then after selling any shares you wish to (and are allowed to), you may buy a Director's Certificate from the Initial Offering, or one Share Certificate of those available in the Initial Offering or Open Market, subject to the following constraints:

• In the first Stock Round, you may only buy certificates from the first tier of the Initial Offering (or from the Open Market).
• The purchase must not cause you to exceed the Certificate Limit.
• If buying a Share Certificate from the Initial Offering, you must not already own 60% or more of that company's shares, unless the company's Share Price is in the orange zone of the Stock Market.
• You cannot buy single Share Certificates in a company until someone has bought the Director's Certificate from the Initial Offering.
• You must not have sold shares in that company in the same Stock Round.
• The owner of the LB Private Railway has priority for starting the LNWR – see [8].

If you buy a Director's Certificate for a new company, you must first set its initial Share Price by placing one of its tokens on any of the spaces outlined in red on the Stock Market. If the selected space is already occupied, the new token goes below other tokens in the space. Then take the Director's Certificate and pay twice the initial Share Price to the bank.

To buy a Share Certificate, take the Certificate and pay the current Share Price of the company to the bank.

4.3.1 Starting a Company

In the Yellow Phase, a company will start when a player buys its Director's Certificate from the Initial Offering. After the Green Phase has begun, a company will start when 60% of its available shares have been bought. So in the Green and Blue Phases, an additional Share Certificate must be bought. The other share does not have to be bought by the same player. In the Brown phase, newly formed companies will have ten shares, so a company will start when the Director's Certificate and four additional Share Certificates have been bought. At this point, put the company's remaining four shares in the Open Market.

At the start of the Grey Phase, any companies that have not been started are removed from the game. If players hold shares in such companies, the bank refunds the value of those shares. One 6X train is removed from the stack of available trains for each company removed.

When a company starts, the Director takes the company charter, its initial treasury and the appropriate number of Station Markers. A five-share company receives an initial treasury of five times its initial Share Price and one or two Station Markers, depending on the company. A ten-share company receives ten times its initial Share Price and all its Station Markers. The Director places one of the company's Station Markers on an empty Station in the company's Home city. This marker is free. If possible, this marker must be placed on a Station that is not connected to any track. Place the company's other Station Markers on its charter. Place a "five-share company" or "ten-share company" card on the charter as appropriate.

4.3.2 Directors' Certificates in the Open Market

Players may not buy a Director's Certificate from the Open Market. Instead, if you are the first player to buy a second share in the company, you take the Director's Certificate in exchange for the two Share Certificates you hold. If there are no single Share Certificates left in the Open Market when you come to buy a share, you may buy a notional second share (unless you are at your Certificate Limit) and then exchange your existing Share Certificate for the Director's Certificate. In either case, you take the company charter and all its assets, and remove the "No Director" card.

4.4 Change of Director

At the end of any turn in a Stock Round, if you own more shares in a company than the current Director, you become the new Director. You may also become the new Director of a company if the current Director sells the Director's Certificate. Ties are resolved in Player Order, starting after the erstwhile Director. You take the Director's Certificate from the previous Director in exchange for two single Share Certificates. You also take the company charter and all assets thereon. You may never buy a share in excess of the Certificate Limit, even if this would make you take the Director's Certificate in exchange for two single Share Certificates.

4.5 Ending the Stock Round

When all players have passed consecutively, set the new Player Order to match the order in which players passed. Then all players return their pass number cards to the stack. Each Stock Round is followed by two Operating Rounds (unless the game finishes after the first Operating Round of a pair).

5 Operating Rounds

Each Operating Round begins with players receiving income from any Private Railways that they own. Then each company that has started operates, in descending order of their position on the Stock Market at the beginning of the round. If several companies have tokens on the same space of the Stock Market, they operate in order from top to bottom.

Company assets are public knowledge and should be kept visible to all players. You may not move assets between different companies you control, except for transactions specifically permitted by the rules.

Each company is operated by its Director, if it has one. If its Director's Certificate is in the Open Market, it performs a prescribed set of actions; the players should jointly ensure that these are followed correctly.

5.1 Order of Actions

Each company performs the following steps. Some steps are optional, but if done they must occur in this order. The company's turn ends when the Director states that the company has finished buying trains.

• Optionally lay or upgrade track, and/or place one Station Marker.
• Run trains to establish income.
• Pay dividends or retain income; adjust Share Price accordingly.
• Buy a train or trains. This is optional unless the company has no trains.

A company that is Insolvent and/or with no Director may only perform the following steps:

• Run trains to establish income. An Insolvent company may lease a train.
• Retain income; adjust Share Price accordingly.
• If the company has no trains, buy a train.

5.2 Routes

Routes are used to determine where a company can lay new track and where it can run its trains. They link stations (large circles in cities), towns (solid black dots) and/or red hexes. A route of a company is a continuous line of track, including somewhere along it at least one station with a Station Marker on it that belongs to the company. In order to score income for a train, the route must contain at least one other station, town or red hex.

A route may not use any segment of track more than once – this implies it may not cross a given hexside more than once. A route may not even use the small section of track at the junctions on some plain track tiles more than once, which implies that it may not back-track over the sharp angle at such a junction. A route may not reach or pass through any station, town or red hex more than once. A route may end at a station that is completely filled with other companies' Station Markers, but may not continue past it. The "GN reserved" and "MC reserved" tokens are not Station Markers; any company may trace a route through a station containing either of these tokens.

Some tiles include two separate stations. A route may include more than one station on such a tile but when calculating income for a train only one will generate income for that train. A Station Marker in one station does not block routes through other stations on that tile.

The green tiles with one station and the green OO stations upgrade to brown tiles with two conjoined stations. On such tiles, a route may not visit the city more than once, and the route is only blocked if both stations are filled with Station Markers belonging to other companies. In games with 5 or 6 players, the corresponding grey city tiles are treated the same way.

5.3 Building Track

Each operating round, a company that has a director and is not Insolvent may optionally perform one or two tile actions, and/or place one Station Marker. Each tile action either places a new tile or upgrades an existing tile in one of the hexes on the map.

If the company performs two actions, at most one of them may be a city tile; one or both must be plain track or a town or estuary. If desired, the two actions may be performed in the same non-city hex (either placing a tile and then upgrading it, or performing two upgrades). For both tile placement and tile upgrade, the new track created must extend a route of any length for the operating company. In other words, you must be able to trace a line of continuous track from one of the company's existing Station Markers to part of the new track on the hex, without passing through any stations that are blocked by other companies' Station Markers.

Tiles may not be placed or upgraded so as to cause any track to run off the hex grid. Tiles may not be laid in red or grey hexes. Track may not run into a red hexside or a blank side of a red or grey hex but it may run into a blank side of a green hex or of a previously-laid tile. Track on a new tile does not have to connect to adjacent track.

Once placed, a tile is considered part of the map and remains there until a company upgrades it to another tile. The supplied quantity of tiles is intended to limit play. If a vital tile is in play, then it must first be upgraded (if possible) in order to free it.

5.3.1 Private Railways and Track Building

Until the Blue Phase, no company may lay track in a Private Railway's hex that has not been closed – see [2.3].

Some Private Railways have a special ability that gives a company an extra tile action in a specified city – see [8.1].

5.3.2 Laying Yellow Tiles

At the beginning of the game, companies may only place yellow tiles. These may be placed in any map hex except for the blue estuary hexes. If a map hex is marked with a town or with one or more stations, then the tile must have the same number of towns or stations. Otherwise, plain track must be used. If a hex is labelled 'OO' or 'XX', the tile must have the same label.

If the hex contains another company's Station Marker, it is placed in a Station which is not connected to any track, if possible.

Several companies have a special ability to lay a green tile instead of a yellow tile in their Home City. This is an exception to the usual rule. Such a tile lay counts as a single tile action, not a lay plus an upgrade. This may even be done in the Yellow Phase.

5.3.3 Upgrading Tiles

Tiles may be upgraded to green, brown and (with five or six players) grey tiles from the start of the respective phases. Tiles from earlier phases may still be played as well. Companies must always upgrade tiles progressively: a yellow tile must be upgraded to green, a green to brown, or a brown to grey. After upgrading a tile, the old tile becomes available for reuse.

Plain track, town, and city tiles must be replaced with corresponding tiles; likewise, "OO" and "XX" labels must be preserved. Note that there are two types of brown tiles that have two conjoined stations. Care should be taken to choose the correct tile, as they yield different income. Tiles for double-station cities are labelled "OO" or "XX".

The track on the new tile must maintain all connections between hexsides, and from hexsides to stations, that were present on the old tile. In addition, some part of the track on the new tile which is not on the old must form part of a route for the company. Unlike most other 18xx games, this additional requirement applies even to city tiles.

In other words, after placing the new tile and replacing any Station Markers that were already in the hex, you must be able to trace a line of continuous track from one of the company's existing Station Markers to part of the new track on the hex, without passing through any stations that are blocked by other companies' Station Markers.

If the company making the upgrade already has a Station Marker in the hex and this is connected to the new track on the new tile, this condition is trivially satisfied. Take care if the new tile includes stations which are completely filled by other companies' markers as these may block the route to the new track.

In this example, the LNWR is not allowed to upgrade the yellow XX tile in its home hex because it cannot trace a route that includes new track on the upgraded tile. The MR can upgrade the tile as shown, because the new track forms part of a route that includes the MR Station Marker.

In this example, the CR Station Marker in Perth is preventing any other company from reaching the new track on the green tile. Therefore, the CR is the only company which can upgrade Perth for the time being. The CR can trivially reach the new track on the tile because it has a Station Marker in the hex. In the Blue Phase, other companies may upgrade the Forth/Tay Estuary hex, allowing them to trace routes to Perth from other directions. Or, if the CR has already upgraded Perth to a green tile, they may upgrade it to brown because the additional station on the brown tile allows them to trace a route through.

If the old tile had one or more Station Markers on it, these are replaced on the new tile in the same stations as they occupied before the upgrade. If a marker was in a station that was not connected to any track, it must be replaced in a station that is connected to the new track on the tile.

5.3.4 Hills and Estuaries

There are two types of difficult terrain on the map. Hills are denoted by thick tan-coloured hexsides, while estuaries are denoted by the two blue hexes marked "FT" and "S".

Whenever a company lays or upgrades a tile such that new track on the tile runs into a hill hexside, the company may pay £50 to the bank for each such hexside. If the company does not have sufficient funds, it may not place the tile. As completing a connection across a hill hexside will require two such tile placements, the total cost will be £100. These two tiles may be placed by different companies during their respective turns.

The only tiles that may be placed in estuary hexes are the blue tiles with the corresponding "FT" or "S" label. These tiles are available from the start of the Blue phase and may not be laid elsewhere. They must be placed so they preserve the track shown on the map. Placing an estuary tile is one of the company's tile actions for the turn and costs the company £50.

5.3.5 Place a Station Marker

A company may place a Station Marker, if it has one available, in any vacant station to which it has a route, if it does not already have a Station Marker on that tile. This costs the company £50. (Exception: the CR may place its first Station Marker without charge). A company may place its Station Marker before, between or after its tile actions.

A company may only place one Station Marker per turn (a newly started company places the Station Marker in its Home city during a Stock Round and so this does not count against the limit of one Station Marker per turn). Once placed, a Station Marker may not be removed, nor may it be moved to a different station.

One station must be left vacant in the Home city of each company until that company is started, so that the company can place its initial Station Marker there. Other stations in the city may be occupied. Similarly, some Private Railways have the special ability to lay a Station Marker in a named city [8.2], and one station in that hex must be left vacant until that ability is exercised. These requirements lapse when the Grey Phase starts.

5.4 Run Trains

A company that owns one or more trains must now run them and declare the total resulting income. Each of a company's trains must run on a separate route. The routes must not share any track segments; however, multiple trains may always run to or through the same stations, red hexes, or towns, provided they do not reuse any track used by other trains of the same company. The routes chosen by a company are not affected or restricted by routes run by other companies. A company may (and often will) run its trains on track that has been used by another company earlier in the same Operating Round.

The income generated by each train is the sum of the values of the stops on its route. The value of a town or station is the number printed on its tile or grey hex. The value of a red hex is the printed number that corresponds to the current phase. For red hexes that list three values, the first number applies in the Yellow and Green phases, the second in the Blue and Brown phases, and the third in the Grey Phase. Multiple trains from the same company can count the income from the same station, town or red hex, if it is included in the route of each train. If a given train runs through two separate stations on the same tile, only the first generates income for that train.

For 2+1, 3+1, 4+2 and 5+2 trains, the large number (before the '+') indicates the maximum number of stations or red hexes (combined) that the train may include on its corresponding route. If the train runs to fewer stations and red hexes than this number, then the route may include towns to make up the difference. The train may also include additional towns up to the number after the '+'. The train may not skip any towns or stations on the route.

A 4X, 5X or 6X train is an express. The number indicates the maximum number of stations or red hexes (combined) that may be included on that train's corresponding route. The train may run through any number of towns but these do not contribute income. It may not skip stations. An express train also adds to its income £10 x the distance in hexes from the start of its route start to its finish. This distance is measured as the crow flies through the shortest number of hexes on the map. The route must start and finish at a station or red hex. The distance includes the finish hex but the start hex is not counted.

For example, if the route of an express train starts in London and finishes in Glasgow, the distance is 11 hexes and £110 is added to the train's income. If an express train starts in Plymouth and finishes in Holyhead, then the shortest distance that can be counted through hexes would be 7 hexes and £70 would be added to the train's income.

The company's income is the sum of the income from all its train routes, plus any bonuses that apply. The highest legal income for the company that is announced by any player must be declared. Players need not announce income higher than that declared by the Director.

5.4.1 Bonuses

If a company can trace a route from a red hex marked E to one marked W, or from a red hex marked S to one marked N, such that every piece of track on that route is included in the route of one or more of the company's trains, then the appropriate E-W or N-S bonus is added to the company's income. Multiple trains may be used to make a connection, provided that the routes of the trains meet or cross at towns or stations and each of the named red hexes is included on one of the routes. A company may claim both bonuses, or the same bonus more than once, if the routes traced to claim the bonuses do not share any track segments. (The routes may run through the same town or station).

Two other bonuses apply if a train uses the dashed track on the map in conjunction with the estuary tiles to connect Bristol (D23) and Cardiff (B21), or Edinburgh (I6) and Dundee (J3) – the amount of each bonus is shown on the tile itself. Also, some Private Railways have the ability to increase the income from a named location.

5.5 Distribution of Income

A company may either pay dividends to its shareholders or withhold its income for itself. (If the company is Insolvent or has no Director, it must withhold its income). When a five-share company pays dividends, one-fifth of its income is paid to the holder of each share, with any remainder being lost. When a ten-share company pays dividends, one-tenth of its income is paid to the holder of each share and the remainder is lost. No payment is made for shares in the Open Market. Shares in the Initial Offering pay dividends to the company. When a company withholds, the income is added to the company's treasury.

5.5.1 Share Price Adjustment

If the company withholds its income, or has no income at all, move its Share Price down one space. If the company declares a dividend, move its Share Price up at least one space. If its income is equal or greater than twice its current Share Price, move its Share Price up two spaces instead. Similarly, if its income is equal to or greater than three or four times its current Share Price, move its Share Price up the corresponding number of spaces. The number of spaces moved is based on the company's income, not the dividend paid per share, so a five-share company and a ten-share company are treated the same in this respect. The Share Price is never increased by more than four spaces.

Example: The LNWR is a five-share company, value £115, with an income of £180 which it pays as dividends. The income received by shareholders is £36/share. The director has three shares, so receives £102. Another player has one share and receives £36. The remaining share is in the Initial Offering, so £36 is paid to the LNWR itself. As the income was more than zero and less than twice the share price, the share price moves up one space.

The Midland is a ten-share company, also value £115, with an income of £300 which it pays as dividends. The income received by shareholders is £30/share. The director has five shares, so receives £150. Three shares are owned by another player, who receives £90. The remaining two shares are in the Open Market and pay no dividends. As the income was more than twice but less than three times the share price, the share price increases by two spaces.

The CR is also value £115 and has an income of £360. It withholds its income, so all £360 is paid to the CR itself. Its share price drops one space.

5.6 Buying Trains

If a company has fewer trains than its current Train Limit, then it may purchase one or more trains, either new or from another company. If a company does not own any trains at this point in its turn and does not buy one from another company, then it must buy a new one if it can afford one, except in the specific case described in [5.6.2].

5.6.1 Buying Trains from Other Companies

To buy a train from another company, the following conditions must be satisfied:

• The Directors of the two Companies agree on a price, which must be between £1 and twice the face value of the train.
• Either the purchasing company does not own a train, or the selling company owns another train besides the one being purchased. In other words, a company may not be left without a train unless the purchasing company owns no other trains.

The purchasing company pays the price to the selling company and takes the train certificate in exchange. This is the only way that assets may be moved between companies.

A company without a train may buy the only train owned by another company, complying with the conditions above, and then buy a new train immediately after.

5.6.2 Buying New Trains

To buy a new train, the company pays the price from its treasury and the train certificate is moved to the company charter. If this is the first new train to be bought in this Operating Round, move the Game Round token to the next "Train Sold?" space on the Game Round record track. If the train is the first of a new type to be purchased or removed, this will trigger additional effects [6].

Until the first 4X train, trains must be bought from the Engineering Works in order, starting with the 2+1 trains, then the 3+1, 4+2 and 5+2 trains, followed by the first 4X train. Each type becomes available after the last train of the previous type is purchased or removed.

After the first 4X train, each type of train becomes available after the first train of the previous type. Thus there may be several types of train available at the same time. From this point, a company without a train is only forced to buy one if it can afford the most expensive train that is currently available (unless it is has no Director [5.6.4]). Although it is forced to buy a train if it can afford the most expensive one, it may buy a cheaper one instead if the Director so wishes.

5.6.3 Emergency Money Raising

If a five-share company does not own a train, does not buy one from another company, and does not have sufficient money to buy the cheapest available new train, its Director may immediately convert it to a ten-share company. This is the only circumstance in which a company may convert in an Operating Round instead of a Stock Round. If this option is taken, follow the usual process described in [4.1], with the one difference that you move the Share Price down three spaces instead of two. This is in addition to the space moved earlier in its turn because the company had no income.

The Director does have the option to buy a share as the last action of the conversion; this is the only circumstance in which a player may buy a share during an operating round.

After the conversion, the company must buy a new train if it can afford one, unless the specific case described in [5.6.2] applies. It may only buy a train from another company in this turn if it first buys a new train.

Conversion is always optional. No other forms of Emergency Money Raising are permitted. Unlike some other 18xx games, Directors may not contribute their own money.

5.6.4 Companies with no Director

A company with no Director may not buy trains from other companies. It will only buy a new train if it does not already own a train, and it is only allowed to buy a single train. If there is more than one type of new train available, it will always buy the most expensive one that it can afford. It must always buy a train if it can afford one, even if a more expensive type of train is also available that it cannot afford. If it is a five-share company and cannot afford the cheapest available train, it will perform emergency money raising and convert to a ten-share company. (As it does not have a Director, the option of buying a share does not apply).

5.7 Insolvency

A company which ends its turn without a train becomes Insolvent. Place an "Insolvent" card on the company's charter to indicate this. If the Director's Certificate of a company is in the Open Market and the company starts its turn without a train, it is declared Insolvent immediately.

When an Insolvent company comes to run trains during its turn, it will lease a notional train of the cheapest type available new. The company does not own the leased train and the train certificate is not placed on the company's charter. Leasing a train of a new type does not trigger a phase change. There is no charge for leasing the train.

Insolvent companies may not lay or upgrade track and may not place Station Markers. An Insolvent company must retain income; it may not pay dividends. An Insolvent company is subject to the normal rules for buying trains. As it does not own a train, it may be forced to buy a new train when it has sufficient funds (unless it can buy a train from another company first). As soon as an Insolvent company buys a train, it stops being Insolvent and the "Insolvent" card is removed from its charter. If it has sufficient funds and the Director so wishes, it may buy further trains in the same turn, following the normal rules.

As an Insolvent company does not own any trains, any sale of its shares will yield half its Share Price per share sold (rounded down).

5.8 Ending the Operating Round

The Operating Round ends when all companies that have been started have taken their turn. If no new trains were bought in this Operating Round (noted by the Game Round token not on the "Train Sold?" space [5.6.2]), remove the cheapest available new train. If this is the first train of a new type to be purchased or removed, this will trigger additional effects [6]. If no more new trains are available at this point, this triggers the end of the game [7].

Unless one of the conditions for ending the game has been met, play continues with either the second Operating Round of the pair or the next Stock Round, as appropriate.

6 Phases

When any company buys the first train of a new type, or the first train of a new type is removed at the end of an Operating Round, this may cause older types of trains to become obsolete [6.2], change the Train Limit, or trigger the start of a new Phase of the game. The leasing of a train by an Insolvent company does not trigger these effects.

6.1 Phase Summary

This table on the back page of this booklet summarises the effects of new types of train. These effects last until they are superseded. In the second column, the first number in each entry shows the Train Limit for five-share companies; the second shows the Train Limit for ten-share companies. Thus the train limit for five-share companies starts at three, remains at three during the Green Phase, and reduces to two in the Blue Phase.

6.2 Train Obsolescence

When certain types of trains enter the game, older types of train become obsolete and are immediately removed from the game without compensation.

At the start of the Grey Phase, one 6X train is removed from the stack of available trains for each non-started company that is removed from the game.

6.3 Train Limit

The Train Limit restricts how many trains may be owned by each company. At the start of the game the Train Limit is three trains for a five-share company or four trains for a ten-share company. The Train Limit is reduced as the game progresses. If the purchase of a train lowers the Train Limit, companies with too many trains must discard the excess. These trains are removed from the game. If more than one company has excess trains, the Directors decide which to discard in operating order.

A company currently below its Train Limit may purchase a train even if this triggers a change in the Limit which causes the company to be over limit.

A company may buy multiple trains each Operating Round if it has the room and resources, but it must buy each train one at a time. If it purchases the first train of a new type, any adjustments pertinent to that new Phase come into effect immediately. Once any such adjustments are complete, the company may buy additional trains, up to its current Train Limit.

7 Ending the Game

The game finishes at the end of any Operating Round when either:

• At least one company's share price is in either of the two highest value spaces on the Stock Market, which are marked "Game End", or
• There are no trains left available for purchase as new trains.

If this happens at the end of the first Operating Round after a Stock Round, the second Operating Round of the notional pair is not played; the game finishes immediately.

7.1 Determining the Winner

Each player totals the value of the shares and the face value of any unclosed Private Railways they own and adds their own money to give their final score. Remember that Directors' Certificates are worth two shares. If a company does not own any trains at the end of the game, its shares are each worth half its Share Price (round fractions down).

Company money and trains do not contribute to players' scores. The player with the highest score is the winner.

8 Private Railways

This section lists the Private Railways provided with the game, their face value, the income they pay to their owning player each Operating Round (and on closure), and their special abilities.

London & Birmingham (LB) Cost: £40 Income: £10/OR

The owner of the London & Birmingham (LB) has priority for starting the LNWR. No other player may buy the Director's Certificate of the LNWR, and the owner of the LB may not buy shares in any other company until they have purchased the LNWR Director's Certificate.

The LB hex is the Home city of the LNWR, so the LNWR cannot lay a tile in its Home city until the LB is closed, although it must still place its initial Station Marker there. Usually the owner of the LB will close the LB to allow the LNWR to lay a tile. (If you also own either the GN or the MC, you may use their abilities to start laying track elsewhere instead).

Arbroath & Forfar (AF) Cost: £30 Income: £10/OR

The AF allows a company to take an extra tile action to lay or upgrade a tile in Perth (I2) [8.1]. The owner of the AF may use this ability once per game, after the AF has closed, for any company which they control. A tile placed in Perth as a normal tile action does not close the AF.

Great Northern (GN) Cost: £70 Income: £25/OR

The GN allows a company to lay a free Station Marker in York (I14) [8.2]. The GN owner may use this ability once per game, after the GN has closed, for any company which they control.

Stockton and Darlington (SD) Cost: £45 Income: £15/OR

The SD gives a bonus income of £10 for Middlesbrough (J13). The owner of the SD may use this bonus for any trains run by Companies that they control, from the time that the SD closes until the end of the game.

Liverpool and Manchester (LM) Cost: £45 Income: £15/OR

The LM gives a bonus income of £20 for Liverpool (E14). The owner of the LM may use this bonus for any trains run by Companies that they control, from the time that the LM closes until the end of the game.

Leicester and Swannington (LS) Cost: £30 Income: £10/OR

The LS allows a company to take an extra tile action to lay or upgrade a tile in Leicester (H21) [8.1]. The owner of the LS may use this ability once per game, after the LS has closed, for any company which they control.

Taff Vale (TV) Cost: £60 Income: £20/OR

The TV allows a company to waive the cost of laying the Severn Tunnel tile – the blue estuary tile marked "S" – in hex C22. This follows the usual rules for upgrades, so the game must be in an appropriate phase, some part of the new track on the new tile must form part of a route for the company, and the company must not be Insolvent. The owner of the TV may use this ability after the TV has closed, for any company which they control. If a company places the Severn Tunnel tile without using the ability of the TV, this does not force the TV to close.

Maryport and Carlisle (MC) Cost: £60 Income: £20/OR

The MC allows a company to lay a Station Marker in Carlisle (H9) [8.2]. The MC owner may use this ability once per game, after the MC has closed, for any company which they control.

Chester & Holyhead (CH) Cost: £30 Income: £10/OR

The CH gives a bonus income of £20 for Holyhead (C14). The owner of the CH may use this bonus for any trains run by Companies that they control, from the time that the CH closes until the end of the game.

8.1 Private Railways and Tile Actions

The AF and LS may give a company an extra tile action, during its Building Track step, to lay or upgrade a tile in Perth (I2) or Leicester (H21), respectively. It follows the usual rules for placing tiles, so the game must be in an appropriate phase, a suitable tile must be available, some part of the new track on the new tile must form part of a route for the company, and the company must not be Insolvent. The use of this ability does not prevent the company from taking one of its normal tile actions in a city as usual.

Note: for the AF, the hex in which the tile action may be taken is not the Private Railway's own hex.

8.2 Private Railways and Station Markers

One station in each of York (I14) and Carlisle (H9) is reserved for the GN and MC, respectively. Place the corresponding token in the station at the start of the game to indicate this. These tokens are not Station Markers and do not block any company's routes. If the MC is not in play, the station in Carlisle is not reserved.

The GN and MC allow a company to place one of its available Station Markers for free in the reserved station, if the station is on an existing route of that company. If the station is not on a route of the company, the company may still place a Station Marker there but must pay £50 to do so. In either case, this Station Marker replaces the "reserved" token. It counts as the one Station Marker that the company may place in that turn, and may be placed before, between or after the company's tile actions. If there is no tile in the hex, the marker may be placed on the empty station (for £50) and may then be used to lay a yellow tile in the hex.

The CR may usually place its first Station Marker without charge. If the GN or MC is used with this marker, it is placed for free if the station is on an existing route of the CR, and costs £50 otherwise, just like any other Station Marker. If the CR is a ten-share company, the director may choose which Station Marker to place; it may keep its free one to use later.

When the Grey Phase starts, these stations are no longer reserved and the tokens should be removed. Any company may place a Station Marker in these cities according to the normal rules. The abilities of the GN and MC may still be used but there is no guarantee that a station will be available. The placement of a Station Marker by another company does not force the GN or MC to close.

9 Companies

Midland (MR) Red Derby (H19)

May lay a green tile in its Home city.

London & North Western (LNWR) Black Birmingham (F21)

Its home city is the LB hex.

Lancashire & Yorkshire (LYR) Purple Leeds (H15)

As a five-share company, has no Station Marker besides its Home city.

North Eastern (NER) Light Green Middlesbrough (J13)

May lay a green tile in its Home city.

North British (NBR) Orange Edinburgh (I6)

When becoming a ten-share company, receives only one new Station Marker.

Caledonian (CR) Blue Glasgow (G4)

Its first Station Marker is free.

Great Western (GWR) Green Bristol (D23)

No special abilities.

London & South Western (LSWR) Yellow Salisbury (D25)

No special abilities.

Great Eastern (GER) Light Blue Ipswich (J25)

May lay green tile in its Home city.

South Wales (SWR) Grey Swansea (A20)

May lay a green tile in its Home city.

Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire (MSLR) Brown Sheffield (H17)

As a five-share company, has no Station Marker besides its Home city.

Glasgow & South Western (GSWR) Pink Ayr (F5)

May lay a green tile in its Home city.

10 Conflicts and Errata

The official rules are this document plus any officially-published errata. In the event of conflict between the official rules and any components, the rules take precedence. Published errata may be retrieved from:

http://www.deepthoughtgames.com/games/18GB

For clarifications or customer support, send email to:

[email protected]

Discussions about 18GB and other 18xx games can be found on the 18xx Yahoo group. Many designers post there regularly and it can be found at:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/18xx

11 Variants

This section lists some optional rules that add some variation to the standard game.

11.1 Distributing Private Railways

There are two alternative methods for distributing the Private Railways: Random and Group Auction.

11.1.1 Random

Randomly deal the Private Railways to the players. Players pay the face value of their Private Railways. The following procedures are recommended to preserve game balance:

• With two or three players, simply deal out all the certificates.
• With four players, first shuffle and deal the GN, TV and two other companies selected at random; then deal the remaining four certificates.
• With five players, first shuffle and deal the GN, TV, MC and two other companies selected at random; then deal the remaining four certificates, skipping the player who was dealt the GN.
• With six players, first shuffle and deal the GN, TV, MC and three other companies selected at random; then deal the remaining three certificates, skipping the players who were dealt the GN, TV or MC.

11.1.2 Group Auction

Randomly deal the Private Railways into a number of groups equal to the number of players, following the rules given above. Players then bid for these groups. For each group, the minimum bid is the total face value of the Private Railways in the group. If you have the existing highest bid on a group, you must pass instead of making an additional bid. Each player will end the auction owning one of the groups.

11.2 Random Setup

As an alternative to the fixed setup, players may wish to experiment by randomly selecting the companies and/or Private Railways to use at the start of the game. The number selected should match those given in the normal setup for that number of players. This is not recommended for two-player games.

If the LB is used in a game without the LNWR, the rule about priority for buying the LNWR does not apply. The LB, if not closed, still blocks tile lays in its hex until the Blue Phase. If the LNWR is used in a game without the LB, any player may buy the LWNR Director's Certificate.

11.3 Shuffle the LNWR

Instead of immediately placing the LNWR Director's certificate on the Initial Offering at the start of the game, include it with all the other companies when randomly selecting the first tier. Select half (rounded UP) of all the companies for the first tier and put the remainder in the second tier.

If the LNWR is in the first tier, play proceeds as normal. If it is in the second tier, the owner of the London & Birmingham (LB) still has priority for starting the LNWR. If the LB is not closed, no other player may buy the Director's Certificate of the LNWR, and the owner of the LB may not buy shares in any other company in the second tier of the Initial Offering. If the owner of the LB wishes to buy shares in another company on that tier, they must close the LB (thus allowing other players to buy shares in the LNWR). Following the usual rules, the LB prevents any company laying a tile in its hex until the Blue Phase or until it is closed.

11.4 No Tiers

Instead of dividing the companies between two tiers in the Initial Offering, all companies are available from the start of the game.

13 Optional Rule: Characters

The optional Character cards add more special abilities to the game, similar in spirit to those of Private Railways. Unlike Private Railways, Characters are not linked to particular hexes on the map and their abilities may be used in any Phase. The abilities are described on the Character cards and in [13.3] below.

13.1 Setup and Selection

When setting up the game, randomly select a number of characters equal to the number of players. After the Private Railways have been distributed and the Player Order has been determined for the first Stock Round, each player may choose one Character. This choice is made in Player Order, so the player with least remaining money will choose first. If a Character has a cost indicated on the card, a player who chooses that Character must pay that cost to the bank.

When all players have had the opportunity to choose a Character, the first Stock Round begins in the same Player Order. If one or more players declined to choose a Character, the leftover Characters are removed from play. The Player Order is not changed after the Characters are selected, even if payment for Characters has changed players' relative wealth. If the Edmund Beckett character is in play, his ability may be used at this point.

Some Characters have abilities that may be used once per Phase (Yellow, Green, Blue, Brown & Grey). If a Phase ends before the player has used the ability, the chance to use it in that Phase is lost. This applies even if the Phase changed before the player had the chance to use the ability at all (e.g. if a Phase changes twice during a pair of Operating Rounds, the owner of the George Glyn Character will miss an opportunity to protect the price of a company during a Stock Round).

13.2 Optional Extra Characters

In games with two or three players, you can deal twice the number of Characters as there are players. After distributing the Private Railways, players take it in turns to select their first choice of Character as usual (or pass), then repeat the process (in the same order) to select their second Character from those that were not selected the first time. Thus each player will have up to two Characters for the game.

13.3 The Characters

George Stephenson - Railway Engineer

At the end of the first Stock Round, any company that you control may buy a 2+1 train for £100.

Robert Stephenson - Railway Engineer — £10

You receive £10 for each non-express train bought from the Engineering Works by any companies that you control.

Herbert Walker - Railway Executive Committee

Once per game, at the beginning of any Operating Round after the first Stock Round in the Grey Phase has happened, you may nominate one company that you control to make a special contribution to supporting the nation in the First World War. This company may take an extra tile action in either Perth or Salisbury, in addition to its usual two actions (one of which may also be in a city hex). The company may then lease a train from the Engineering Works and run this in addition to any trains that it owns. The route of the leased train must include either Inverness or Southampton (or both). Unlike other trains, this extra train may ignore other companies' station markers. Its route must be distinct form other trains run by the same company and must include at least one city containing one of the company's station markers.

If the nominated company is Insolvent, it may use the extra tile action to place or upgrade a tile in Perth or Salisbury, but may not lay any other track or place a marker. The company leases the next train from the Engineering Works twice, to run two routes. One of these routes is run as normal (it may not ignore other companies' stations markers) and the company must withhold the income from that route. The other route is run as described in the previous paragraph and income from that route may be withheld or paid in dividends.

William Yolland - Chief Inspector of Railways — £10

Once per game, at the start of an Operating Round, you may change the order of operation of one company that you control. To do this, state where in the operating order this company will run. The company's share price is not affected.

George Hudson - Financier — £10

Once in each Phase, a company that you control may add up to £50 from its treasury to its income (which must be non-zero), for the purposes of determining the dividends paid and the number of spaces that its price is moved on the Stock Exchange.

Thomas Cook - Travel Agent — £10

Once in each Phase, you may elect to receive a bonus dividend from one company in which you own one or more shares, at the time that the company is paying dividends. You receive 1/10 of the company's income, even if it is a five-share company. This bonus does not affect the income of other shareholders. You may not elect to use this ability with a company that is withholding income.

Joseph Locke - Railway Engineer — £10

Once per game, a company that you control may lay or upgrade an extra tile in its turn. This may be a city tile, even if one of its ordinary tile actions is also to lay or upgrade a city tile.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel - Railway Engineer

Once per phase, one company that you control may lay a Station Marker free of charge. This placement is subject to the usual rules for placing Station Markers in all respects except that the £50 cost is waived. This ability may be used in conjunction with that of the Great Northern or Maryport & Carlisle Private Railways to place a Station Marker in a reserved space for free even if the company placing the marker does not have an existing route to that space.

Edmund Beckett – Banker/Member of Parliament

Twice per game, at the start of a Stock Round, you may take the first position in the Player Order, regardless of your current position. To do this, take the first Player Order card. The erstwhile first player then takes the second Player Order card, and so on until a player take the card that you began with. Play then proceeds normally.

George Glyn – Banker/Member of Parliament

Once per Phase, you may choose to prevent a sale of shares of a company that you control from affecting the share price of the company. The sale may be made by any player and is conducted as normal in all other respects except that the share price is not altered.

William Arrol - Civil Engineer

You receive £50 every time any company lays an estuary tile. You also receive £50 every time any company lays track that completes a connection across a hill hexside, i.e. track which leads into the hexside and connects to track that leads into the hill from the adjacent hex. If a tile lay completes two or more such connections, you receive £50 for each. Exception: if the ability of the Taff Vale Private Railway is used to waive the cost to the laying company of the Severn Tunnel tile, you do not receive any income for that tile.

George Pullman - Industrialist — £10

Each Operating Round, one company that you control may increase the income of an express train by £10 for each station marker on its route.

14 Tile Manifest

Tile	#	Legal Upgrades
G02	3	G04, G05, G08, G09, G10
G03	2	G05, G06, G11
G18	3	G21, G22, G27
G19	4	G21, G24, G25, G26, G28
G39	1	G36, G37, G38
G40	4	G36, G37, G38
G41	3	G36, G37, G38
3	3	87, 88, 204
4	7	87, 88, 204
7	5	18, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29
8	15	16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29
9	12	18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27
58	8	87, 88, 204
G04	1	G13, G15
G05	2	G14
G06	1	G14
G08	1	G13, G14
G09	1	G13, G14
G10	2	G14, G15
G11	1	G14
G21	2	G30
G22	2	G30
G24	1	G30
G25	1	G30
G26	2	G30
G27	1	G30
G28	2	G30
G36	4	G34
G37	4	G34
G38	4	G34
16	1	43
17	1	47
18	1	43
19	2

Red tiles are only used in a 2-player game, and Grey tiles are only used in 5/6-player games.