Shikoku 1889
Shikoku 1889 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Overview
- 1. Components
- 2. Setup
- 3. The Stock Market
- 4. The Map
- THE GAME BEGINS
- 5. Private Company Auction
- 6. Sequence of Play
- 7. Stock Round
- 8. Operating Round
- 9. Game Phases
- 10. Game End
- 11. Misc Rules
- 12. Credits
- 13. Tips for New Players
- 14. Appendix
- 15. Private Companies
- 16. Tile Manifest
- 17. Glossary
Game Overview
Getting started
If this is your first time reading an 18xx rulebook, we recommend you begin with this Game Overview section to first familiarize yourself with various 18xx concepts.
What is 18xx?
18xx is a system inspired by Francis Tresham's 1829 – a game originally published in 1974 about investing in and operating railroad companies. The system offers interactive gameplay with minimal random elements, leading to a fulfilling competitive experience. The 18xx system has been used in hundreds of games that alter both rules and geographical setting to create vastly different play experiences.
A trip to Shikoku, Japan in 1889
This particular 18xx title is based in Shikoku, Japan. It is widely regarded as the best introductory 18xx title while also offering deep gameplay that keeps 18xx veterans coming back for more. While easy to learn, it will take a long time and many plays to master.
Goal of the Game
The players are a group of investors who each have the same amount of starting money and are all aiming to be the wealthiest player at the end of the game. During the game, players will start, operate, and invest in railroad Corporations to improve their net worth.
Learning the Components
Map — The map visually represents the geography of Shikoku, Japan and the development of its railroad network.
Track Tiles — Track tiles will be placed on the map to create routes that trains will be able to run on. Corporations will be able to place and upgrade track tiles as the game progresses, creating more connections and improving the values of cities.
Station Tokens — Station tokens represent where a Corporation operates on the map. Corporations will place station tokens on the map to establish and maintain their presence.
Corporation Charters — A charter represents a Corporation. Any assets (e.g. money, trains) that belong to a Corporation are placed on top of its charter and are owned by the Corporation — not the player!
Stock Certificates — Stock Certificates represent ownership in Corporations. Corporations are divided into 10 shares; the player who owns the largest portion of a Corporation is its President and will hold the President's Certificate, which is worth 2 shares.
Above is a closer look at the map and its features. You can see some track tiles and station tokens have already been placed. When Corporations run trains to connect towns, cities, and off-board locations, they will earn revenue. Some hexes have terrain which adds a cost to building track.
Stock Market — The Stock Market is where the values of Corporations are tracked during the game. When a Corporation does something that increases or decreases its stock price, a stock token that represents it on the Stock Market will move.
Trains — Trains will be purchased by Corporations and used to generate revenue by running routes on track that connect the various towns, cities, and off-board locations on the map.
Private Companies — A Private Company pays a fixed revenue to its owner and often has a special ability that can provide a tactical advantage. These companies will be sold during an auction at the start of the game.
Sequence of the Game
The game will start with a Private Company auction and will then cycle through Stock Rounds (SR) and Operating Rounds (OR). The number of ORs conducted before the next SR is determined by the game phase at the end of the SR.
Stock Rounds — Players will use their money to start or invest in Corporations.
Operating Rounds — Players will operate Corporations on the map to earn revenue. Corporations will lay and upgrade track, place station tokens, purchase trains, and then use those trains to run routes for revenue which can be distributed to shareholders or reinvested into the Corporation.
Trains & Game Phases
A train's name is the large letter or number in its upper-left corner. Trains are grouped by name to form a rank. When purchasing trains, only the lowest rank is available. Thus, in order to purchase a 3-train, all 2-trains must first be purchased.
The game is broken up into phases which simulate the historical progression of train technology in Shikoku, Japan. Phases are triggered when the first train of a new rank is purchased. The game phase will affect rules such as what tiles are available, the values of off-board locations, and when trains will "rust."
Train Rusting
As train technology moves forward, older models become obsolete. A train rank will "rust" when certain game phases are triggered (e.g. the purchase of the first 4-train rusts the 2-trains). When a train rank rusts, all of the trains of that rank are immediately removed from play. Train ranks 5 and higher do not rust and are considered to be "Permanent."
Running Trains
Corporations will use trains to run routes to generate revenue. The train rank number or letter indicates how many revenue centers (cities, towns, or off-board locations) it can count on its route. The revenue generated is the sum of the values of each revenue center a train can run to without reusing track.
In the above example, Iyo Railroad (orange) has two 2-trains and a 3-train, and Imabari's current value is ¥30. It runs a 2-train connecting Matsuyama-Imabari for ¥60, a 2-train connecting Matsuyama-Ôzu for ¥60, and a 3-train connecting Matsuyama-Saijou-Imabari for ¥80. Iyo Railroad runs for a total of ¥200.
Distributing Earnings
The revenue generated by running trains can either be paid as dividends to shareholders or withheld into the corporate treasury. When a Corporation pays dividends, that Corporation becomes more desirable and its stock price will increase. When a Corporation does not pay dividends, that Corporation becomes less desirable and its stock price will decrease.
Money players receive from dividends can be reinvested in the Stock Round, helping them to build a stock portfolio and grow their net worth.
1. Components
A. 1 Game Board
B. 26 Train Cards
C. 63 Stock Certificates
D. 7 Charters
E. 15 Station Tokens (12mm disc)
F. 7 Initial Offering Tokens (15mm disc)
G. 7 Revenue Tokens (15mm disc)
H. 7 Stock Tokens (15mm cylinder)
I. 1 Round Marker (12mm cylinder)
J. 7 Private Company Certificates
K. 276 Sheets of Paper Money
L. 71 Track Tiles
M. 1 Priority Deal Marker
N. 6 Player Order Markers
O. 30 wooden cubes (5 cubes in 6 colors)
P. 1 Revenue Tracker
2. Setup
A. Board: Place the board face up in the center of the play area.
B. Revenue Tracker & Tokens: Place the Revenue Tracker near the board with all revenue tokens near it.
C. Round Marker: Place the Round Marker on the "SR" spot of the Round Tracker.
D. Tiles: Separate the track tiles by type into the tile trays and place them near the board.
E. Stock Certificates: Stack the shares from each of the 7 Corporations onto their corresponding spaces of the Initial Offering section with the President's Certificate on top.
F. Charters & Station Tokens: Place the charters near the board with all station tokens nearby sorted by Corporation.
G. Stock and Initial Offering tokens: Place all stock tokens near the Stock Market and all initial offering tokens near the Par Values chart.
H. Trains: Group the train cards by the large number or letter in the upper-left corner. Then splay each group into its corresponding space of the Train Yard and place the D-trains in a single stack.
I. Private Companies: The Private Companies used in each game are based on the number of players.
- 2 players: Private Companies A - E
- 3 players: Private Companies A - F
- 4+ players: Private Companies A - G
Organize the relevant Private Companies alphabetically by letter into a column near the board with "A", Takamatsu Electric Track, at the top.
J. Bank: Prepare the Bank of ¥7,000. (All ¥1, ¥5, ¥20, and ¥100 notes sum up to ¥7,000, so simply remove all ¥500 notes — these will often be used during scoring.)
K. Starting Capital: Taken from the ¥7,000 Bank, distribute capital to each player based on the player count.
| Players | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | ¥420 | ¥420 | ¥420 | ¥390 | ¥390 |
L. Priority Deal & Seating: Randomly deal out player order markers equal to the number of players. Give the player holding the lowest-valued player order marker the Priority Deal marker. Other players then reseat in ascending value order clockwise from the player holding the Priority Deal marker.
M. Private Auction cubes: Starting with the player holding the Priority Deal marker and proceeding clockwise, players pick colored cubes used to mark bids in the Private Auction.
3. The Stock Market
The Stock Market visually represents the share values of Corporations during the game. A Corporation's stock token will be placed on the Stock Market when it is started and that stock token will move as the Corporation's share value changes.
3.1. Stock Market Zones
Pink Zone: Stock tokens from a newly started Corporation are placed in this area of the Stock Market.
Yellow Zone: Shares of Corporations whose stock tokens are in this area of the Stock Market do not count toward the Certificate Limit. (7.6) This effect stops when the stock token exits this area.
Orange Zone: Shares of Corporations whose stock tokens are in this area of the Stock Market are not subject to the 60% holding limit (7.2.4) and do not count toward the Certificate Limit. (7.6) This effect stops when the stock token exits this area.
3.2. Stock Price Order
When Corporations act, they will do so in order of their stock prices as indicated by the tokens on the Stock Market starting with the highest priced Corporation, followed by the others in descending stock price order.
If multiple Corporations share the same stock price but their tokens are in different spaces, start with the Corporations whose tokens are farthest right.
If multiple Corporations share the same stock price and their tokens are in the same space, start with the Corporation whose token is on top and proceed downwards through all tokens in the stack on that space.
3.3. Stock Price Token Movement
Up: When a Corporation is Sold Out (i.e. all shares are held by players) its stock token moves one space up at the end of a Stock Round. If the stock token is already in the topmost space of its column, it does not move.
Down: When any number of shares of a Corporation are sold, move its stock token one space down for each share sold. A stock token in the bottommost space of a column does not move.
Right: When a Corporation pays dividends, move its stock token one space right. If the stock token is already in the rightmost space of its row, it moves one space up instead. If the stock token is at value 350, it does not move.
Left: When a Corporation pays no dividends or withholds, move its stock token one space left. If the stock token is already in the leftmost space of its row, it moves one space down instead. If the stock token is at value 10, it does not move.
3.4. Moving onto an Occupied Space
When placing or moving tokens on the Stock Market, a stock token entering a given space is stacked beneath any stock tokens already present.
4. The Map
The map visually represents the geography of Shikoku, Japan and the development of its railroad network.
4.1. Map Features
Revenue centers are cities, towns, or off-board locations that can be serviced by trains. Revenue centers are connected by track (represented by thick, black lines).
Corporations will place station tokens to gain access to new routes for their trains, preserve their connectivity to sections of the map, or to block routes of other Corporation's trains. Some hexes have terrain which adds a cost to building track.
4.2. Connectivity
A Corporation has connectivity to a point on the map if it can trace an unblocked path of any length from one of its tokens to its destination without reusing track or visiting the same city or town more than once.
Reversing direction at a junction, where 2 track segments overlap at a hex edge (e.g. tiles #23, #24, #25), is considered to be reusing track and is thus prohibited.
A path is blocked if it encounters a city whose spots are completely occupied by tokens belonging to other Corporations.
In the above example, you can see the connectivity of Awa Railway (black) extending from its station token. Note that it does not reuse track, may not reverse direction at a junction, and includes (but does not extend beyond) a blocked city.
THE GAME BEGINS
5. Private Company Auction
At the beginning of the game, a one-time Private Company auction is held. Once all Private Companies have been sold, the game will proceed with a Stock Round and then follow the Sequence of Play.
5.1. The Private Companies
The Private Companies are small railways or transport operations that were active at the dawn of railroading in Japan. A Private Company is represented by a single certificate and pays a fixed revenue to its owner at the start of each Operating Round.
Often, Private Companies offer a special ability that can be used by the owning player or owning Corporation. Detailed descriptions of the Private Companies can be found in Section 15.
5.2. Conducting the Reserve-Bid Auction
Private Companies for this game's player count should have been organized alphabetically (i.e. ascending face value order) into a column during setup. The player with the Priority Deal marker is the first active player.
The Private Companies will be sold in top-down order. Only the topmost Private Company in the column is available for purchase. Other Private Companies are not yet available for purchase but can be bid on. A player's bid is marked by their colored cube and reserves their right to buy that Private Company when it becomes available for purchase.
Starting with the active player and proceeding clockwise, players must take one of the following actions:
- Purchase: Buy the topmost Private Company in the column for its face value.
- Reserve Bid: Place or increase a reservation bid on any Private Company that is not the topmost in the column.
- Pass (players who pass may still act later in the auction)
All reservation bids that are placed or increased must be a multiple of ¥5 and at least ¥5 more than the Private Company's face value or the current highest bid. When purchasing the topmost Private Company that has no reservation bids on it, the buyer will pay its face value to the Bank. When placing a reservation bid, the bidder places the bid next to the Private Company with one of their auction cubes marking it. Players may not spend or bid more than their available capital.
When the topmost Private Company is sold, either by purchase or by auction, the Private Company that was directly below it in the column becomes the new topmost Private Company and is available for purchase.
If the new topmost Private Company does not have any reservation bids on it, play proceeds clockwise as normal. If that Private Company has one or more reservation bids on it, it will be sold before proceeding to the next player's turn.
- If it has one reservation bid, the player with the reservation bid purchases the Private Company and pays their reservation bid to the Bank.
- If it has multiple reservation bids on it, a closed auction is held and only players with a reservation bid may participate. The participating player to the left of the current highest bidder will act first. Proceeding clockwise, players must raise the current bid by at least ¥5 or pass. A player who passes receives their bid back and may not rejoin the auction for that Private Company. The last player in the bidding wins the Private Company and pays the winning bid to the Bank.
After a Private Company is sold in this way, check the new topmost Private Company for reservation bids, following the above instructions to either proceed with the next player action or sell another Private Company. It is possible for multiple Private Companies to be sold in succession before proceeding to the next player's turn.
The Private Company auction continues until all Private Companies have been sold. The Priority Deal marker passes to the player who would have taken the next purchase/bid/pass action (the player who would have acted after the last Private Company was purchased at face value). Play then proceeds with the first Stock Round and all auction cubes are returned to the box.
Note: If all players pass consecutively and no player owns a Private Company yet, the purchase price for Takamatsu Electric Track is reduced by ¥5 and is offered to the player who had the first opportunity to purchase it. If this continues and Takamatsu Electric Track's purchase price reaches ¥0, the player who had the first opportunity to purchase it receives Takamatsu Electric Track at no cost. This counts as a purchase action and the action sequence continues with the next player clockwise.
Note: If all players pass consecutively and any player owns a Private Company, all Private Companies pay revenue to their owners. The action sequence continues with the player who initiated the round of passes.
Example: Blue, Yellow, and Red are bidding for Private Companies A-F and Blue has Priority Deal.
- Blue bids ¥35 on B
- Yellow bids ¥45 on C
- Red purchases A for its face value of ¥20
Since the topmost Private Company was sold when Red purchased A, the Private Company below it, B, is checked for reservation bids. Blue has the only reservation bid and purchases B for ¥35. Since B was sold, C is checked for reservation bids. Yellow has the only reservation bid and purchases C for ¥45. Since C was sold, D is checked for reservation bids.
D has no reservation bids. Since Red acted last, Blue now must take an action.
- Blue bids ¥85 on F
- Yellow bids ¥65 on E
- Red bids ¥90 on F
- Blue bids ¥70 on E
- Yellow purchases D for its face value of ¥50
E has reservation bids from Yellow and Blue so it enters a closed auction starting with Yellow.
- Yellow bids ¥75
- Blue passes
Yellow wins the auction, purchasing E for ¥75. F has reservation bids from Blue and Red so it enters a closed auction starting with Blue.
- Blue passes
- Red wins the auction, purchasing F for ¥90
All Private Companies have now been sold. Since Yellow acted last in the action sequence, Red takes the Priority Deal marker.
6. Sequence of Play
The game cycles through different rounds where players will first get to act for themselves as investors and then act for Private Companies and Corporations they control. The rounds repeat in this way until a game end trigger is met.
Stock Round (SR) — Players take actions to buy shares, sell shares, or start Corporations until all players consecutively pass.
Operating Round (OR) — Private Companies will pay revenue to their owners and players will operate Corporations they control in descending stock price order.
Depending on the game phase the Stock Round was conducted in, one, two, or three Operating Rounds will be conducted before returning to the next Stock Round.
- If the Stock Round ended while in Phase 2 (yellow), 1 Operating Round will be conducted.
- If the Stock Round ended while in Phases 3 or 4 (green), 2 Operating Rounds will be conducted.
- If the Stock Round ended while in Phases 5, 6, or D (brown), 3 Operating Rounds will be conducted.
7. Stock Round
Players act as investors by using personal capital to start new Corporations or to invest into existing Corporations. The Stock Round continues until all players consecutively pass.
7.1. Stock Actions
Starting with the player who holds the Priority Deal marker and proceeding clockwise, each player may take a stock action.
During a stock action, a player may:
- Sell one or more Corporation shares
- Purchase one stock certificate
A player may do both of these actions in either order, but may not sell, buy, and sell again.
A player who chooses not to sell or buy on their turn takes no action and passes instead. A player who has passed may act again in the Stock Round if it does not end before their next turn.
7.2. Purchasing Shares
A player may purchase one stock certificate (subject to restrictions in 7.2.4). The certificate purchased can be:
- An available President's Certificate (which will start that Corporation)
- A share from a Corporation's Initial Offering
- A share from the Open Market
7.2.1. Purchasing a President's Certificate
A player may start a Corporation by purchasing an available President's Certificate.
When purchasing the President's Certificate, the player must:
- Place an Initial Offering token on a space of the Par Values chart, setting the Corporation's par price (¥65 - ¥100)
- Place a stock token on the space of Stock Market's pink area that matches the value selected on the Par Values chart
- Place a revenue token on the Revenue per Share chart
- Pay twice the par value to the Bank
7.2.2. Purchasing from the Initial Offering
A player may purchase a share from a Corporation's Initial Offering, paying its par value to the Bank. Once only 50% of the Corporation's shares remain in the Initial Offering, it floats.
7.2.3. Purchasing from the Open Market
A player may purchase a share from the Open Market, paying its current stock price to the Bank.
7.2.4. Restrictions to purchasing shares
A player may not purchase a share if they already own 60% or more of the Corporation, unless its stock token is in the Orange Zone of the Stock Market. (3.1)
A player may not purchase a share if they are already at the Certificate Limit (7.6), even if doing so would cause an exchange of a President's Certificate that would bring them back into compliance.
A player may not purchase a share of a Corporation they have previously sold in the current Stock Round.
7.3. Selling Shares
A player may sell any number of shares on their turn, given none of those sales violate the restrictions in 7.3.1. A player must sell shares at the start of their turn if they are above the Certificate Limit or the 60% holding limit for Corporations that are not in the Orange Zone of the Stock Market, until they reach the limit. If a Corporation's stock token moves into the Yellow or Orange Zone of the Stock Market as the result of a sale, the player reevaluates if they are in compliance with the Certificate Limit and the 60% holding limit.
The player receives cash equal to the stock price for each share sold and places the shares in the Open Market. After any number of shares of a Corporation are sold, move its stock token one space down for each share sold. A stock token in the bottommost space of a column does not move.
7.3.1. Restrictions on selling shares
- A player may not sell a share if it would result in more than 50% of a Corporation's shares being in the Open Market.
- A player may not sell the shares of the President's Certificate unless they are able to exchange it with another player for two 10% shares. (7.5)
- Private Companies may not be sold as part of the owner's stock action.
- No shares may be sold in the first Stock Round.
7.4. Floating a Corporation
A Corporation that has started is not immediately operational. Once at least 5 shares (50%) of a Corporation's Initial Offering have been purchased, that Corporation will be able to act in the next Operating Round (following steps listed in 8.2). The President's Certificate that was purchased to start the Corporation is worth 2 shares.
When only 5 shares remain in the Initial Offering, the Corporation floats. The president places the charter in front of them, then places capital equal to 10 times the Corporation's par value and its station tokens in the designated spots on the charter. The Corporation's "Free" station token is placed on its reserved city spot at the start of the next Operating Round.
Note: If a Corporation has been started but not floated, its turn will be skipped during the operating round. Therefore it will not move left for not paying dividends (8.6.2).
7.5. Presidency Change
A Corporation's President may never sell the President's Certificate. However, it is possible to transfer the President's Certificate the moment another player holds more shares than the current president either as the result of a share purchase or a sale. The new president takes the President's Certificate and the Corporation's charter (with all assets) in exchange for two 10% shares.
For the current president to transfer the President's Certificate as the result of a sale, another player must hold at least two 10% shares and also hold the second largest number of shares (with ties broken in clockwise order from the current president). The President's Certificate must be exchanged for two 10% shares during the sale which then may be sold. This transaction may only be effected if the new president now holds the most shares of that Corporation following the sale. Ties do not result in a presidency change.
Example: The president of Uwajima Railroad holds 6 shares, the player to their left holds 2 shares, there are 2 shares in the Initial Offering, and there are no shares in the Open Market. The president would like to sell 5 shares to the Open Market. To do so, the president exchanges the President's Certificate for two 10% shares from the player to their left, and sells the 5 shares to the Open Market, ending with a single 10% share. This was possible because at the end of the sale the current president held fewer shares than another player.
7.6. Certificate Limit
There is a limit to how many certificates a player may hold depending on how many players are in the game as listed in the chart below:
| Players | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate Limit | 25 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 11 |
A certificate is any component that signifies ownership in a Private Company or Corporation. Each Private Company, 10% share, and President's Certificate count as one certificate (even though a President's Certificate is worth 2 shares.)
The Certificate Limit is only checked during the Stock Round. A player who holds more certificates than the limit must sell shares until they are within the limit at the beginning of their next turn in a Stock Round.
7.7. End of the Stock Round
Once all players consecutively pass, the Stock Round is over.
7.7.1. Reassigning Priority Deal
Give the Priority Deal marker to the player who would have acted next after the last player passed to end the Stock Round. This player will act first in the next Stock Round.
Note: The Priority Deal marker does not move if no actions were taken during the Stock Round.
7.7.2. Adjust for Sold Out
In descending stock price order, move each Corporation's stock token one space up if it is sold out (i.e. 100% held by players). A stock token in the topmost space of a column does not move.
7.7.3. Advance the game
Move the Round Marker to the Operating Round spot that matches the current phase color.
- If the game is in Phase 2, move the Round Marker to the spot on the yellow ring.
- If the game is in Phases 3 or 4, move the Round Marker to the first spot on the green ring.
- If the game is in Phases 5, 6, or D, move the Round Marker to the first spot on the brown ring.
8. Operating Round
Presidents of Corporations make all decisions on behalf of each Corporation they control by performing each operating step in order.
8.1. Operating Order
First, all Private Companies simultaneously pay revenue to their owners (players or Corporations). Then, each Corporation operates by following the below steps in descending stock price order.
8.2. Operating Steps for Corporations
A. Lay/Upgrade Track
B. Place a Station Token
C. Run Trains
D. Distribute Earnings and Adjust Stock Price
E. Purchase Trains
F. Purchase Private Companies
Note: Steps A-E must be done in order. Step F may be done at any point during a Corporation's operating turn once Phase 3 has started.
8.3. (A) Lay/Upgrade Track
Track is used to create and improve routes for trains by laying new tiles or upgrading existing tiles.
Track Actions: On its turn, a Corporation may use one track action to lay or upgrade track.
Lay track: Track is laid when a yellow tile is placed on the map in a hex that does not already contain track.
Upgrade track: Track (including track pre-printed on the map) is upgraded when it is replaced with a tile of a higher rank.
The tile being replaced is returned to the supply and is available to be used again (pre-printed tiles are not returned to the supply).
Tiles are ranked by color in this order: yellow, green, and brown. An upgrade may only improve a tile by one rank. Yellow upgrades to green, and green to brown. Gray tiles that are pre-printed onto the map may never be upgraded.
Tile ranks are only available once the game phase allows it. (see "Game Phases", Section 9)
Preservation: The tile being placed must preserve features present on the hex before its placement. This includes track, cities, towns, station tokens, and hex letters, but not printed costs and values.
❖ Tip for first play: Eligible tile lays and upgrades are indicated in the tile manifest in Section 16.
Connectivity Requirements: A track lay or upgrade must:
- be placed in a Corporation's home hex,
- add new track that has connectivity to one of the Corporation's station tokens, or
- increase the revenue value of a city that has connectivity to one of the Corporation's station tokens.
8.3.1. Track Restrictions
Tile Limits: All tiles are piece-limited. It is possible for a Corporation to have no legal track lays or upgrades on its turn.
Restricted hexes: Hexes marked with a Private Company icon may not be upgraded until the corresponding Private Company is owned by a Corporation or is closed.
Track may not connect to: the map's edge or a gray hex without connecting track. Track may however connect to other hexes where no track connection is made - even if it is not possible for a track connection to made later in the game (as shown on the following page where a track connection will not be possible between the two brown tiles).
8.3.2. Track Cost
Laying or upgrading track normally has no cost. However, if there is a terrain icon shown on the hex that is being placed on, or there is a terrain icon shown on the tile that is being upgraded, that cost must be paid to place a new tile in that hex. The three terrain types are mountain, river, and dense urban area.
8.4. (B) Place a Station Token
Station tokens represent where a Corporation operates on the map. Corporations place station tokens on the map to gain access to new routes for their trains, preserve their connectivity to sections of the map, or to block routes of other Corporations' trains.
Once per Operating Round, a Corporation may place a station token on an open, unreserved city spot that it has connectivity to for ¥40. The station token placed at the beginning of a Corporation's first Operating Round does not count as placing a station token. (7.4)
Reserved locations: Some city spots are reserved as starting locations for Corporations. A station token may not be placed in a city if it would prevent the reserved token from being placed.
Token limitations: No Corporation may have more than 1 station token on a single tile or hex.
8.5. (C) Run Trains
If a Corporation owns any trains, it operates them for revenue.
How trains make money: Each train will run a route which connects different revenue centers like towns, cities, and off-board locations together. The values of the revenue centers on the route are then added up to determine the train's total earnings.
8.5.1. Route Definition
A train may run a route which is a continuous, unblocked length of track that meets the following conditions:
- Includes station token: One of the counted revenue centers must have a station token owned by the operating Corporation. This need not be at the beginning or end of the route.
- No reusing track: No track or hex border crossing may be reused by any train during a Corporation's operating turn.
- Revenue center limit: A route must contain at least 2 revenue centers, but may not count more revenue centers than the number printed on the train card used for the route (i.e. a 4-train may count at most 4 revenue centers on its route).
- May not skip revenue centers: A revenue center visited on the route must be counted toward the train's revenue center limit.
- Re-using revenue centers: A revenue center may only be visited once on a train's route. However, a revenue center may be counted by multiple trains during the same operating turn provided no track is re-used.
- Blocked cities: A city is blocked when all of its spots are completely occupied by station tokens that do not belong to the operating Corporation. A route may not pass through blocked cities, but may include them at a route's beginning or end.
8.5.2. Calculating Earnings
A train's revenue is the sum of all revenue center values that were counted on its route. A Corporation's earnings is the sum of its train revenue(s).
Example: Above, Iyo Railroad (orange) has two 2-trains and a 3-train and Imabari's value is 30. It runs a 2-train connecting Matsuyama-Imabari for 60, a 2-train connecting Matsuyama-Ôzu for 60, and a 3-train connecting Matsuyama-Saijou-Imabari for 80. Iyo Railroad runs for a total of ¥200.
8.5.3. Diesel Trains
A Diesel is a special train that has no limit to the number of revenue centers it may count on its route; though other restrictions still apply. Diesels are the only trains that count the gray values of off-board locations.
Once in Phase 6 (that is, after the first 6-train has been purchased), Diesel trains are available for purchase. Additionally, a 4, 5, or 6-train may be exchanged for a Diesel for ¥800. The exchanged train is placed into the Open Market. This exchange can cause a phase change.
Note: If a 4-train was exchanged for a Diesel, it will immediately rust (8.7.3) instead of being placed in the Open Market.
8.6. (D) Distribute Earnings and Adjust Stock Price
The Corporation's President must now decide what to do with its earnings.
8.6.1. Distribute Earnings
Earnings can be distributed in two ways:
- Pay Dividends: Divide the Corporation's earnings by 10 and pay that amount to each shareholder per share held. Shares in the Initial Offering pay no dividends and shares in the Open Market pay dividends to the Corporation's treasury.
Note: Only earnings made by running trains this Operating Round may be paid as dividends.
- Withhold: Place all of the Corporation's earnings into its treasury.
Example: Iyo Railroad runs for ¥200. It can either Pay Dividends of ¥20 per share or Withhold ¥200 into the Corporation's treasury. The table below shows how the revenue would be distributed in either scenario. Note that shares in the Open Market pay to Iyo Railroad's treasury.
| Shareholder | # held | Pay Dividends | Withhold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | 5 | ¥100 | ¥0 |
| Player 2 | 1 | ¥20 | ¥0 |
| Player 3 | 1 | ¥20 | ¥0 |
| Initial Offering | 1 | ¥0 | ¥0 |
| Open Market | 2 | ¥0 | ¥0 |
| Corporation's Treasury | 0 | ¥40 | ¥200 |
8.6.2. Adjust Stock Price
Right: Shift the stock token one space right if it paid dividends. If the stock token is already in the rightmost space of its row, it moves one space up instead (following the arrow). If the stock token is at value 350, it does not move.
Left: Shift the stock token one space left if it did not pay dividends or withheld. If the stock token is already in the leftmost space of its row, it moves one space down instead (following the arrow). If the stock token is at value 10, it does not move.
Once the stock token has been adjusted, flip it over to show that the Corporation has operated this round.
Note: The first time a Corporation operates, it will not yet own a train and its stock token will therefore always move left on this step since it is unable to Pay Dividends.
8.7. (E) Purchase Trains
Corporations now may purchase trains that they will be able to run in future Operating Rounds.
A Corporation may purchase one or more trains from the Train Yard or the Open Market at their list price, or from other Corporations at any agreed upon price that is at least ¥1 and does not exceed the funds in the Corporation's treasury.
Trains are purchased one at a time and all effects of each purchase are resolved before the next purchase.
8.7.1. Train Yard Availability
A train's name is the large number or letter in its upper-left corner. Trains are grouped by name to form a rank, and ranks are organized in ascending value order (with "D" being the highest rank) in the Train Yard. With the exception of D trains (see below), when purchasing a train from the Train Yard, only the lowest rank is available. So in order to purchase a 3-train, all 2-trains must first be purchased.
8.7.2. Phase Changes
The game phase advances after the first train of the next available rank is purchased. For example, when the first 4-train is purchased, the game immediately enters Phase 4. When this happens, all phase change effects happen immediately.
This may reduce the train limit, rust trains, change the number of Operating Rounds between Stock Rounds, change what tile colors are available for upgrades, or affect rules about Private Companies. See Section 9 for more details.
After resolving all phase change effects, the Corporation that triggered the phase change resumes its operating turn.
8.7.3. Train Rusting
When a train rank rusts, all of the trains of that rank are immediately removed from play without compensation. Rusting events are triggered at the start of Phases 4, 6, and D. (Section 9)
8.7.4. Train Limit
The train limit is determined by the game phase. A Corporation may not own more trains than the current train limit. A Corporation at the train limit may not make any train purchases (even if such a purchase would cause its own trains to rust, bringing it back into compliance with the train limit), but may exchange a train for a Diesel.
If any Corporations own more trains than the limit as the result of a phase change, starting with the Corporation that initiated the phase change then in descending stock price order, their presidents must immediately discard excess trains to the Open Market, without compensation, until they are in compliance with the new train limit.
Note: Trains may never be discarded voluntarily.
8.7.5. Requirement to Own a Train
If the acting Corporation has a station token in a city that has connectivity to another revenue center, the Corporation must own a train by the end of its train purchasing step. If it does not already own a train, it is forced to purchase one.
8.7.6. Conducting a Forced Train Purchase
Buy from another Corporation: If a Corporation is forced to purchase a train, it may purchase one from another Corporation for any mutually agreed upon price that is at least ¥1 and does not exceed the funds in the Corporation treasury. However, the Corporation is not forced to purchase a train from another Corporation, even if an offer is made.
Buy from Train Yard or Open Market: If the Corporation does not purchase a train from another Corporation, it must purchase an available train from either the Train Yard or the Open Market. If it has enough funds in its treasury to purchase an available train, it does so.
If it does not have enough funds to purchase an available train, the president must contribute funds to make up the difference. (This is the only time a player's money may be used to purchase a train for a Corporation.)
President's Cash Holding: The president may not contribute more money than is needed to purchase the cheapest available train from the Train Yard or Open Market. If the president does not have enough cash to make up the difference, they must sell shares (regardless of Stock Round restrictions) to raise the necessary funds.
Failure to raise funds: If, after selling as many shares as legally able, the president is still unable to raise enough funds for an available train, that player goes bankrupt and the game ends immediately. All of the bankrupt player's remaining cash is transferred to the Corporation treasury.
Example: Sanuki Railway has a station token with connectivity to another revenue center, but does not own a train and the only available train is a Diesel in the Train Yard that costs ¥1100. Sanuki Railway has ¥300, so its president must contribute ¥800. The president has ¥200 in cash holding and must sell shares to raise the additional ¥600. After selling as many shares as legally able, the president only raises an additional ¥500. Sanuki Railway fails to purchase a train, the president goes bankrupt, their remaining cash is transferred to the Corporation, and the game ends immediately.
8.8. (F) Purchase Private Companies
During Phases 3 to 4, at any point during a Corporation's operating turn, the Corporation may purchase any number of Private Companies from owning players for mutually agreed upon prices from half to double their face value (inclusive).
Private Companies that are owned by a Corporation may not be purchased.
If the Uno-Takamatsu Ferry (G) is owned by a player at the start of Phase 5, it does not close but may no longer be purchased by a Corporation.
Example: Ehime Railway's face value is ¥40, which means Uwajima Railroad can purchase it for any price between ¥20 and ¥80 (inclusive). Uwajima Railroad offers the maximum of ¥80 and receives the Private Company on its charter. Because of Ehime Railway's special ability, the selling player may immediately upgrade Ôzu.
President Share Sales: The president may decide which shares to sell and in what order, but may not violate any restrictions in 7.3.1 or sell more shares than are required to afford the cheapest available train from the Train Yard or Open Market. However, if the president owns more than 60% of any Corporation whose stock token is no longer in the Orange Zone of the Stock Market, they must sell sufficient shares to comply with the 60% limit, even if this would raise more funds than required to purchase the cheapest train. No President's Certificate may be transferred as a result of these sales.
8.9. End of the Operating Round
Once all Corporations have operated, advance the Round Marker following the current path to either the next Operating Round or the Stock Round. Flip all stock tokens over (preserving their order if multiple are in one space).
Note: The Round Tracker should not have switched to the green or brown ring when the game entered Phases 3 or 5 (respectively).
9. Game Phases
Game Phases are defined by train numbers — the game begins in Phase 2. Phase change effects happen immediately after the purchase of the first train of a new rank. Therefore, Phase 3 is triggered by the purchase of the first 3-train, Phase 4 the first purchase of the 4-train, etc.
| Phase | Available Tiles | Train Limit | Trains Rusted | Off-board Value | Operating Rounds | Other Phase Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | yellow | 4 | - | low | 1 | Corporations may not purchase Private Companies |
| 3 | yellow, green | 4 | - | low | 2 | Corporations may purchase Private Companies |
| 4 | yellow, green | 3 | 2 | low | 2 | Corporations may purchase Private Companies |
| 5 | yellow, green, brown | 2 | - | high | 3 | Private Companies Close (except the Uno-Takamatsu Ferry if owned by a player) |
| 6 | yellow, green, brown | 2 | 3 | high | 3 | Diesel trains are available for purchase or upgrade |
| D | yellow, green, brown | 2 | 4 | high, diesel-only | 3 | Diesel trains count gray values for off-board locations |
Train supply: 6 of the 2-trains, 5 of the 3-trains, 4 of the 4-trains, 3 of the 5-trains, 2 of the 6-trains, and an unlimited supply of D-trains.
10. Game End
The game ends when a player goes bankrupt or when the Bank "breaks" (runs out of money).
10.1. Bankruptcy
If a player goes bankrupt when a Corporation they control is unable to purchase a train, the game ends immediately.
10.2. Breaking the Bank
If the Bank runs out of money (the total money held in player hands and in the Corporations' treasuries meets or exceeds ¥7,000) the end of the game is triggered.
The Bank immediately becomes unlimited. Players should add sufficient funds to continue playing, or use pencil and paper.
If this happens during a Stock Round, complete the Stock Round and one more set of Operating Rounds and then the game ends.
If this happens during an Operating Round, complete the current set of Operating Rounds and then the game ends.
10.3. Determining a Winner
The winner is the player with the highest net worth. Net worth is the combined value of cash, share value, and Private Company face values. It is possible for the player who went bankrupt to have the highest net worth.
Example: Player 1 holds 6 shares of Iyo Railway worth ¥110 each, 3 shares of Uwajima Railroad worth ¥90 each, has ¥840 in cash, and owns Uno-Takamatsu Ferry worth ¥150.
Player 1's net worth is: (6 x 110) + (3 x 90) + 840 + 150 = ¥1920
11. Misc Rules
- All player cash holdings, all player share holdings, and corporate treasury holdings is public information.
- When a Corporation announces dividends, players who own shares of that Corporation are responsible for collecting their dividends from the Bank, not the president.
12. Credits
Design: Yasutaka Ikeda
Development: Hiroshi Ayukawa
Graphic Design: Karim Chakroun
Illustration: Erik Frobom
Playtesting: Yasuhiro Adachi, Akiyoshi Nomura
Rules Editing: Frank Teplin, Chris Shaffer
Inspiration: Francis Tresham's 1829 and 1830, Federico Vellani and Manlio Manzini's 1841
Production: Joshua Starr
Copyright Grand Trunk Games LLC 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Direct questions about this production to: www.grandtrunkgames.com
Shikoku 1889 is free to play online at https://18xx.games
13. Tips for New Players
- Group your certificates from each Corporation in separate splayed stacks near you so it is easy for you and other players to count how many shares of each Corporation you own. As you receive payouts during an Operating Round from each Corporation, place earnings on their respective shares to indicate you have already collected payment.
- If there will be no significant changes to the board or to Corporation payouts during the final Operating Rounds, rather than play them out, you can save a lot of time by calculating these values by hand or using a spreadsheet (moving stock tokens accordingly).
- It is common to end a game early if players agree a clear winner has been established, though this may not be easy for you to determine in your first few games.
- Use poker chips. While paper money is provided, poker chips were designed to make handling large sums of money easy and, as they speed up almost any transaction, will also make the game play time shorter.
- Use the time when other players are taking actions to plan your next turns.
14. Appendix
14.1. Beginner Game
Rather than conduct the Private Company auction at the start of the game, randomly distribute the Private Companies listed below, giving one to each player. Players pay the face value of the Private Company they received to the Bank. Priority Deal is assigned randomly. Play then begins in the first Stock Round with the player holding the Priority Deal marker. The beginner game also includes extra tiles.
| # of Players | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Capital | ¥420 | ¥420 | ¥420 | ¥390 | ¥390 |
| Certificate Limit | 25 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 11 |
| Private Companies | E,F | C,E,F | C,D,E,F | B,C,D,E,F | A,B,C,D,E,F |
The beginner tiles are marked with a star and are also added to the available tiles: 2x #6, 1x #7, 1x #8, 1x #9, 1x #23, 1x #24, and 1x #57.
14.2. Quick Start for experienced players
Stock Round:
- 50% to float, 10x par price capitalization
- Sell/Buy or Buy/Sell, not Sell/Buy/Sell
Operating Round:
- Home station token of a Corporation is placed at beginning of the first Operating Round after it has floated
- 1 tile lay or upgrade per Corporation per OR
- Upgrades must improve city values or add new track that the acting Corporation has connectivity to
- Only Diesels running to off-board locations may use gray revenue values
- May not conduct forced train purchase between Corporations
- May not sell President's Certificate during a forced train purchase
15. Private Companies
A — Takamatsu Electric Track | Face Value: ¥20 | Revenue: ¥5
Takamatsu may only be upgraded if this Private Company is owned by a Corporation or is closed.
B — Mitsubishi Ferry | Face Value: ¥30 | Revenue: ¥5
If owned by a player, that player may place the port tile on one of the following coastal towns: Nakamura, Nankoku, Mugi, Komatsujima. This placement may occur at any time outside of the operation of a Corporation controlled by another player. The player need not control a Corporation and the port tile need not have connectivity to other hexes.
C — Ehime Railroad | Face Value: ¥40 | Revenue: ¥10
Ôzu may only be upgraded if this Private Company is owned by a Corporation or is closed. When this Private Company is sold to a Corporation, the selling player may immediately upgrade Ôzu. This upgrade is in addition to any tile action the buying Corporation takes on the same operating turn.
D — Sumitomo Besshi Mine Railroad | Face Value: ¥50 | Revenue: ¥15
If owned by a Corporation, that Corporation may ignore mountain terrain costs.
E — Dôgo Railway | Face Value: ¥60 | Revenue: ¥15
If owned by a player, that player may close this Private Company in exchange for a 10% share of Iyo Railway from the Initial Offering.
F — Pilgrimage Railway | Face Value: ¥80 | Revenue: ¥20
No abilities.
G — Uno-Takamatsu Ferry | Face Value: ¥150 | Revenue: ¥30/¥50
If owned by a player when the first 5-train is purchased, instead of closing, this Private Company may no longer be sold to a Corporation and its revenue is increased to ¥50. It will contribute ¥150 to the owning player's net worth at the end of the game.
16. Tile Manifest
The tile manifest shows how many of each tile are in the supply and which tiles it may legally be upgraded into. A hexagon marker (✵) denotes a hex pre-printed on the map rather than a tile from the supply; an X means the tile has no further legal upgrade.
| Map hex / Tile | # | Legal Upgrades |
|---|---|---|
| City hex (station spot) | ✵ | 438 |
| Plain track hex | ✵ | 7, 8, 9 |
| City hex (single circle) | ✵ | 5, 6, 57 |
| Town hex (single dot) | ✵ | 3, 58 |
| Port hex (anchor icon) | ✵ | 437 |
| 3 | 2 | X |
| 5 | 2 | 12, 14, 15, 205, 206 |
| 6 | 2 | 12, 13, 14, 15, 205, 206 |
| 7 | 2 | 26, 27, 28, 29 |
| 8 | 5 | 16, 19, 23, 24, 28, 29 |
| 9 | 5 | 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27 |
| 57 | 2 | 14, 15 |
| 58 | 3 | X |
| 437 | 1 | X |
| 438 | 1 | 439 |
| Special red-icon hex | ✵ | 440 |
| 12 | 1 | 448, 611 |
| 13 | 1 | 611 |
| 14 | 1 | 611 |
| 15 | 3 | 448, 611 |
| 16 | 1 | X |
| 19 | 1 | 45, 46 |
| 20 | 1 | 47 |
| 23 | 2 | 41, 45, 47 |
| 23 | 2 | 42, 46, 47 |
| 25 | 1 | 40, 45, 46 |
| 26 | 1 | 42, 45 |
| 27 | 1 | 41, 46 |
| 28 | 1 | 46 |
| 29 | 1 | 45 |
| 205 | 1 | 448, 611 |
| 206 | 1 | 448, 611 |
| 439 | 1 | 492 |
| 440 | 1 | 466 |
| Special green hex | ✵ | 465 |
| 39 | 1 | X |
| 40 | 1 | X |
| 41 | 1 | X |
| 42 | 1 | X |
| 45 | 1 | X |
| 46 | 1 | X |
| 47 | 1 | X |
| 448 | 4 | X |
| 465 | 1 | X |
| 466 | 1 | X |
| 492 | 1 | X |
| 611 | 2 | X |
Additional tiles provided (2 of #6, 1 each of #7, #8, #9, #23, #24, #57) are intended for use only in the beginner game.
17. Glossary
Blocked: A city whose token spots are completely occupied by station tokens that do not belong to the operating Corporation.
Breaking the Bank: Game end trigger when all money from the ¥7,000 Bank is held by Corporations or players.
Certificate: A piece of paper signifying ownership in a Private Company or Corporation.
Certificate Limit: How many certificates (President's Certificate, Private Company, 10% share) a player may own at the end of their Stock Round turn.
Connectivity: Being able to trace a path of any length from a Corporation's token to its destination without reusing track, reversing direction at a junction, or being blocked at a city.
Float: When 5 shares of a Corporation are purchased from its Initial Offering, it receives 10 times its par value into its treasury and can act in the next Operating Round.
Junction: Where two track segments on a tile overlap at a hex edge.
Lay Track: Placing a yellow tile on a hex that did not previously have any track.
Off-board location: A red-colored revenue center that may only be counted at the beginning or end of a route.
Operating Round: Round where Corporations act in sequence to expand on the map and generate earnings.
Pay Dividends: When a Corporation distributes all earnings to its shareholders.
Phase: Stage in the game based on the highest-ranked train purchased from the Train Yard.
Preservation: Tile lays or upgrades must maintain all features (e.g. track, cities, towns, station tokens, hex letters) present on the tile before placing.
President's Certificate: A 20% share of a Corporation. The holder of this certificate makes all decisions on behalf of the Corporation.
Priority Deal: The player who holds this marker will act first in the next Stock Round.
Private Company: A single certificate company that pays a fixed revenue to its owner.
Revenue Center: City, town, or off-board location.
Route: The path a train travels along track, connecting different towns, cities, and off-board locations together to generate revenue.
Rust: Remove obsolete trains from play.
Sold Out: When all shares of a Corporation are held by players.
Stock Price Order: Corporations act in order of highest stock price to lowest.
Stock Market: A 2-dimensional grid where the value of Corporations are tracked.
Stock Round: Round where players act to buy shares, sell shares, and start Corporations.
Train limit: The maximum number of trains a Corporation may hold.
Treasury: Where a Corporation's assets like money, trains, or Private Companies are kept.
Upgrade track: Replacing a tile with a tile of one color rank higher, returning the old tile to the supply if possible.
Withhold: When a Corporation places all of its earnings into its treasury.