Hi! This is Ambie from Board Game Blitz, and today
I’m gonna show you how to play 1830. The goal of the game is to become the wealthiest
player, totalling both cash and assets. 1830 is played over multiple rounds, each
consisting of a Stock Round followed by 1 or more Operating Rounds. In Stock Rounds, players can buy and sell
shares of corporations. In Operating Rounds, players operate corporations
by laying track, buying trains, and running trains. To start the game there is a special Stock
Round where the bank offers up Private Companies in ascending order, which provide the owner
(player or corporation) with income. Some also have special abilities for the corporations
to use. In turn order, starting with the player with
priority deal and going clockwise, each player is given the option to buy the company currently
offered at face value, bid for another private company, or pass. If you buy the currently offered company,
you pay the amount to the bank and receive the certificate. The player to the left is then offered the
next highest company and can then make the same 3 choices. If you choose to bid on a different company,
you must commit at least $5 more than the previous highest bid or $5 more than the face
value, whichever is higher. When a company that is offered for sale already
has bids on it, if there is only one bid, the bidder receives the private company for
the bid. If there are multiple bids, there is an auction
that starts with the highest current bid with minimum increments of $5. After it is sold, losing bidders can take
back their money and use it in further rounds. Play continues to the left of the person who
won the bid. For example, if Alice and Bob had bid on this
company, and Chris bid on this one, and Dan buys this one for $20, then since this company
only had one person bidding on it, it goes to Chris. Then this company goes into an auction between
Alice and Bob. Alice wins the auction, so Bob gets his money
back. The next company has no bids on it, so play
continues with the player to the left of Alice. After all the private companies are sold,
the player to the left of the last person to purchase a company gets the priority deal
card and begins the official stock round. Each turn in a stock round, you’re allowed
to sell as many shares as you wish and/or buy one share, in any order. You can even sell, then buy, then sell. If you don’t do an action on your turn,
you pass. Passing does not prohibit you from coming
back in. To buy a share, if this is the first share
that a company has sold, you become the president and get the president’s share, worth 20%
of the company. You must decide the par value of the company
by placing its token on the appropriate space (67, 71, 76, 82, 90, or 100) in the stock
market and the par value indicator. This value signifies that all IPO shares - shares
that have never been bought - cost this much per 10%. You then pay 2 times the par value to the
bank because the share is worth 20%. If another company’s share price marker
is already on the stock market, the current one gets placed underneath it. In general, whenever a company’s marker
goes into a space with an existing marker, it goes on the bottom of all the tokens. If you want to buy shares from an already
started company, you can choose to buy from the IPO or the bank pool. IPO shares have never been sold. Bank pool shares were once owned by a player
but sold back to the bank. You pay the par value if you buy from the
IPO and you pay the current stock price if you buy from the bank pool. Either way, you pay the amount to the bank
and get a 10% certificate. If when you buy a share, you surpass the % ownership
of the current president of the company, the current president must give you the president’s
share in exchange for 2 normal shares. You cannot hold more than 60% of a company,
and you cannot buy shares in a company that you sold in the current round. To sell one or more shares, place your shares
into the bank pool and receive the current stock price times the number of shares sold. For each share sold, the stock price will
move down on the stock track. When it’s at the bottom of the market, it
doesn’t move down anymore. For example, if I sell two shares of B&O and
one share of C&O, I’d get $200 for the 2 shares of B&O and $80 for the C&O share. Then B&O would move down to 82, and C&O would
not move down, since it is already at the bottom. The bank pool can never have more than 50%
of the shares of one company in it, and you cannot sell your president’s certificate
to the bank pool. You also cannot sell shares in the first round. The only way you can sell the president’s
share is if someone else controls 20% or greater of the company. By selling your shares, you exchange the president’s
share with the majority holder, or in case of a tie, the closest person to your left. For example, if Alice and Bob both have 2
shares of B&O when I sell down to one share, since Alice is on my left, she will get the
president’s share. If everyone passes consecutively, the stock
round ends. Pass the priority deal card to the player
to the left of the last person who passed. Any companies that are sold out have their
share price increased vertically unless they’re already at the top. If a company has sold 60% or more of the shares,
or 5 certificates, the company is considered floated. Shares sold back to the bank pool are still
considered sold. When a company is floated, the player with
the president’s share receives the charter. The company gets 10 times the par price from
the bank, and the remaining company tokens. Corporation money is kept separate from player
money. For example, if I had bought 6 shares of PRR,
including the President’s certificate, during the stock round and set the par price at $76,
I would receive the charter and it would start with $760 in its treasury. At the beginning of each operating round,
the owner of each private company, either a player or a corporation, gets money from
the bank equal to the private company’s revenue. During the operating round, all the corporations
will activate in order, from highest stock price to lowest stock price. If tied, the corporation furthest right on
the stock market goes first, and if they’re on the same space, the corporation with its
marker on top goes first. Corporations that have not floated will not
operate. On a corporation’s turn, the president of
the corporation will make all the decisions for it: you can construct track, place a station
token, run trains and collect revenue, and purchase trains, in that order. The first time a corporation operates, place
a token on the city with its logo before starting its turn. A lot of things the corporations can do depend
on routes - you have to have a legal route in order to place track, place a token, and
run trains. A route is a continuous length of track that
begins and ends in a city or a red hex. Routes cannot backtrack, use the same track
twice, or use the same city twice. Some tiles, like New York, have two separate
cities, so a route could go through both of them. You cannot run through the red hexagons, and
you can’t begin and end in the same red tile. For example, this is a route, but this would
not be a route because it backtracks across this junction. On a corporation’s turn, you can optionally
lay or upgrade one track tile for the corporation. To lay a track, the corporation needs to be
able to trace a route to the new track from one of its tokens. At the beginning of the game, you can only
place yellow tiles. Later phases in the game will unlock green
and brown tiles, which are upgrades. Yellow can be placed on the beige board, green
can be placed on yellow outlined track or on yellow tiles, and brown is placed on green
tiles. No tiles can be placed on red or gray hexes. You have to choose the same type of tile to
lay on each hex. The hexes with no cities get regular track,
the ones with small cities get dots, two small cities get two dots, large cities get circles,
and two large cities get the two circles. Some hexes have special labels, and you must
lay the corresponding labeled tile on that hex. For example, Boston has a “B” here, so
you must use these tiles when you place track here. When you place a yellow tile, at least one
part of the tile placed must be an extension of an existing route that your corporation
is connected to. When you upgrade to green or brown tiles,
all existing track must be maintained. You can upgrade as long as any part of the
new tile, existing or new track, is on a route that your corporation is connected to. When you upgrade, the old tile goes back to
the supply. Whenever you place a track, the track cannot
run off the grid, or end against a gray, blue, or red hex that doesn’t have track. You can end your track against a yellow, green,
or brown edge. If you place your tile on a hex that has a
terrain cost, the corporation must pay the cost listed before placing the tile. Since yellow tiles cover the cost, upgraded
tiles don’t cost extra. Some hexes have the names of private companies
on them. If the corresponding private company is still
owned by a player, not a corporation, then no track can be laid on them yet. If the corporation has a remaining token on
its charter, it can place one token on its turn. The starting token doesn’t count toward
this limit. The corporation pays the amount shown for
the token, $40 or $100, and then places it on an open city on the board. The corporation must be able to trace a route
to that city from one of its existing tokens, and there can't be two tokens of the same
corporation in the same tile. You also cannot place a token on another corporation’s
base city, the ones with their logos. Tokens allow the city to be used as a base
for the corporation’s train routes. Also, they block other corporations - if a
city is filled with tokens of other corporations, your corporation cannot pass through for purposes
of laying tiles, tokens, or routes. If the corporation has at least one train,
it can run its trains and collect revenue. Trains must be run along routes that include
at least one city with the corporation’s token. Routes cannot run through cities that are
completely blocked off with tokens from other Corporations, but they can start or end there. If you have two or more trains, the routes
must be completely separate, except they can meet or cross at cities. The number on the train card shows how long
of a route it can run. The length of a route is the number of cities
that the route hits. For example, if my corporation has a 5 train,
I could run it through this route with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 cities. The Diesel train can run an infinite length
route. The revenue earned is the sum of the amounts
shown by the cities that were included in the routes run. For the red hexes, the revenue is the left
number in the first part of the game, and the right number after the first 5 train is
bought. For example, this 5 train route would earn
30, plus 10, plus 20, plus 30, plus 50 for a total of $140. You have to run the routes for the highest
revenue that has been pointed out. Once you calculate the revenue, you decide
whether your corporation will pay it as dividends or keep the entire amount in the corporation’s
treasury. When you pay dividends, divide the total revenue
by 10, and each shareholder gets that much money per 10% share they hold. If there are shares in the Bank Pool, the
corporation receives the amount for those shares in its treasury. For example, if this corporation ran for $100
and the shares were distributed like this, I’d get $50, this player would get $20,
the corporation would get $10, and the rest would not get paid. Whenever a corporation pays out dividends,
its stock token moves right on the stock market. If it is at the furthest right of a line,
it moves up instead. If a corporation doesn’t pay out dividends
when it operates, move its token left one space on the stock market. If it’s already on the far left space, move
it down instead. After you run the trains, you can buy trains. If your corporation has a legal route of at
least 2 connected cities and does not own a train, then it must purchase one. You can buy a train from the Bank or from
another Corporation. To buy from another Corporation, you and the
President of that corporation must agree on a price that is at least $1. Your corporation pays the other corporation
for the train. Trains are available from the Bank in order
of increasing size. At the beginning of the game, you can only
buy 2 trains. Once all the 2 trains are sold, you can buy
3 trains, and so on. To buy a train from the bank, your corporation
pays the bank the amount listed here. A corporation may buy as many trains as you
want on its turn, as long as the number of trains it owns doesn’t exceed the train
limit of the current phase. If a corporation ever has more trains than
the train limit, it must discard down to the limit. For example, this corporation could buy another
4 train and a 5 train. When it buys the 5 train, the train limit
decreases to 2, so it discards the 4 train back to the supply. When the first 6 train is sold, the Diesel
trains are also available. These cost either $1100 or $800 if the corporation
trades in a 4, 5, or 6 train. Traded in trains that aren’t rusted go back
to the supply. When all the floated corporations have activated,
the Operating Round ends. Then you move to either the Stock Round or
another Operating Round, depending on what phase you’re in. When the first train of a certain number is
sold, a new phase of the game begins. The phase of the game determines what the
train limit for a corporation is - 4 at the beginning, 3 after the first 4 train, and
2 after the first 5 train - which track can be laid, which number on the red hexes is
counted for revenue - the left value at the beginning of the game and the right value
after a 5 train is bought - and which trains are removed from play. At the beginning of the game, only yellow
tiles are available to use. Green tiles are also available when a 3 train
is bought, and brown are available when a 5 train is bought. Starting with the first 4 train, the new phases
start rusting older trains. When a train rusts, all trains of that number
are immediately removed from the game with no compensation. For example, when this corporation buys the
first 4 train on its turn, all of the 2 trains get discarded right away. 6 trains rust 3 trains and D trains rust 4
trains. Trains numbered 5 and up never rust. The phases also affect how many Operating
Rounds are between the Stock Rounds. At the beginning of the game, there is one
Operating Round between Stock Rounds. After the Stock Round after first 3 train
is bought, there are two Operating Rounds, and three Operating Rounds after the first
5 train is bought. After the first Stock Round, if you own a
Private Company you can sell it to another player for any agreed upon price during your
turn or the player’s turn of a Stock Round. After the first 3 train is bought, you can
sell a Private Company to a Corporation any time during its turn of the Operating Round. The price must be at least half and at most
twice the face value of the Private. Once a Corporation owns a Private, it cannot
be sold again. Also, track can now be laid on the hex with
that Private Company. When the first 5 train is bought, all Private
companies are closed and removed from the game. These are the private companies that are auctioned
at the beginning of the game. The face value is shown here, and the revenue
paid out at the beginning of each Operating Round is shown here. In addition, some of the privates have special
abilities. Schuylkill Valley has no special effect. If a corporation owns Champlain & St. Lawrence,
on its turn, in addition to its normal tile placement, it can lay a tile on the corresponding
hex, B-20. Unlike normal tile lays, it doesn’t need
to be connected to a corporation’s token, or any track at all. If a corporation owns Delaware & Hudson, as
the one tile placement on its turn it can lay a track tile and a station token on the
corresponding hex, F-16. It costs $120 for the mountain, but the token
is free. Also, it doesn’t need to be connected to
an existing token or any existing track. If you don’t put a token on the turn the
tile is laid, then you don’t get the special effect anymore. If you as a player own Mohawk & Hudson, you
can close it and exchange it for a 10% share of NYC as long as there’s one available
and it doesn’t put you over 60% of the NYC shares. This can be done during your turn in the Stock
Round or between turns in the stock or Operating Round. When you buy Camden & Amboy in the initial
auction, you also immediately receive a 10% share of PRR. When you buy Baltimore & Ohio in the initial
auction, you also immediately get the president’s certificate of the B&O railroad and set a
par value. Unlike other private companies, this private
cannot be sold to a corporation. When the B&O corporation buys its first train,
this private company is closed. If your Corporation does not have enough money
when it’s required to purchase a train, then you, the President, have to pay the leftover
money. You buy a train from another Corporation,
or from the Bank. If you buy from the Bank, you must buy the
cheapest train available. If buying from another Corporation, the price
cannot be higher than the face value of the train. When buying the train, use all of the Corporation’s
money first, and then use your own cash. If you still don’t have enough, then you
must sell stock that you own until you can afford the train. Stock sales happen immediately and follow
the usual rules - you get the price of the stock, the marker drops for each share sold,
and there can’t be more than 50% of a corporation in the Bank Pool. Also, you cannot sell stock if you would lose
Presidency of the Corporation that you’re currently buying the train for. You’re allowed to lose Presidency of other
Corporations, and that happens right when you sell the respective stock. You could also try to sell Private Companies
you own, but you don’t have to. Once you can afford the train, pay the entire
money and the Corporation gets the train. If you cannot afford the train after selling
everything you’re allowed to, you become bankrupt and the game ends. The game can end in two ways: if a player
goes bankrupt, the game ends immediately. If the Bank runs out of money, the game continues
until the next Stock Round would start, and then the game ends. At the end of the game, each player counts
up their total value: their cash plus the current value of their stock shares according
to the market, plus the face value of any Private Companies they own. Assets that belong to Corporations do not
count toward player scores. The player with the most value wins the game. The maximum number of certificates a player
can hold, including private companies, depends on the number of players as shown on this
table. If you ever have more than the maximum, then
you must sell shares at the first legal opportunity until you’re at the maximum. If a corporation’s stock marker is ever
in the yellow zone of the stock market, then those shares don’t count towards the certificate
limit for players. Furthermore, if the marker is in the orange
area, then you can have more than 60% of that corporation’s shares. When the marker is in the brown area, you
can also buy as many shares of that corporation as you want on your stock turn. The Erie company base is on this hex and can
be placed on either of the two cities. Once it is placed, you cannot move the token. Before Erie has been floated, other corporations
cannot place tokens on either city on this hex. Erie doesn’t have to lay a tile on its base
when it starts, and if it doesn’t have a legal route, it does not have to buy a train. During the initial stock round with the privates,
if all players decide to pass during a round instead of purchasing Schuylkill or placing
a bid, the price for Schuylkill drops $5. If it does not sell even after becoming free,
the first person who was offered it for $5 must take it for free. If other private companies fail to sell and
everyone passes, all previously bought companies pay income to their owners and the private
is again offered for sale. And that’s how you play 1830. Click the link for setup. Check out our website for more videos, podcasts,
and blogs. Thanks for watching Board Game Blitz!
I started making quick instructional videos a little under a year ago. When I started, I really wanted to do a video for an 18xx game, since 18xx games are pretty difficult to get into, and there aren't many videos out there to teach you how to play. So after months of work, I finally finished my 1830 video! This is my longest video so far, but hopefully it's worth it!
The video (and the setup video) is also up on our website, Board Game Blitz.
Thanks for putting this together Ambie. I taught 1846 to a friend this weekend who came into 18XX completely blind. I tried to find a passable introduction video to show him but there's literally nothing on youtube of any level of quality or verbosity that I would recommend to him. After the game I specifically said how rueful it was that there is no good introductory walk through for new players and you delivered within 48 hours. :D
I haven't even watched it yet but I am sure it will be great and am forwarding to him now. ;)
Thanks for doing this. I'm not planning on playing any time soon, but I did want to get a better understanding of what 18XX means.
Don't you mean 17:xx minutes?
Awsome! I wish this would have been around when I tried to learn it. Please do more of these for heavier games. I know it won't give you as many views as lighter games but there is definitely a niche to fill there. There's so little content for heavier games.
This is awesome, I haven't played an 18XX game yet but this makes them sound much more approachable now. As everybody else has requested it would be awesome to see more of these, I would love to see one for Cuba Libre that I could share with potential players.
That's awesome. Bookmarking for introducing people to 18XX. I'm amazed you compressed it to 17 minutes!
Awesome addition to your video lineup! Well done!
Does this easily transition if I want to learn 1889? I printed out all the stuff for 1889 but I don't know what I'm doing. I read the rules and was still lost. I recently got Chicago Express and it seems like a super simply version if 18xx games.