18XX, I'm Hooked On You....
I have been a huge fan and one of the biggest avocate of the 18XX game series ever since my first introduction into the wonderful world of 18XX (many, many thanks to Shyam (Houston Gamers) & Champion Eternal). Hence, from that day forth, I have been clocking in more than 30 games of 18XX, averaging out to 4-5 games per month.
So, why do I love the 18XX series so much? It is very simple actually. 18XX combines the best mechanics from stock market games (think Indonesia), the tightly oiled train operational mechanics from the very best train games around (e.g. Age of Steam) and coupled with the no luck factor, you will easily see the draw/beauty of the game. 18XX is the soccer of the gaming world. La liga bonita (the beautiful game), some would say.
Everything from its no mess private companies auction to the round by round operations of mega train corporations, it is all faithfully replicated here. If a CEO can syphon money out of his company into his own private account in real life, you can do it here also. Almost everything a railroad company CEO can do in the real world, you can do it here also (abeit in a smaller scale).
Thus, 18XX is like an onion, peeling off a layer will reveal the next layer. And there are many layers waiting to be peeled off, like an onion. So, in short, it is a very deep game with many intricate layers and multiple workable strategies. There is no wrong or right when playing this particular genre. What might work previously, may not work this time. The best 18XX players will tailor their game plan to the current situation in the game and not just stick to one.
But, be forewarned, 18XX is not an easy game to get into. It will probably take at least 2 games for you to learn how to play it. And probably another 4 games for you to learn how to pull off brutal plays in the game. Still, it will take at least another 30+ games before you know how to play fairly well.
Ever since the first 18XX game (1829) was released years ago, there are now numerous kits available for purchase and play in the 18XX series. Basically, 18XX is a generic name for the many kits that derived itself from the original 1830 and 1829 games. Each kit are essentially different with only the core mechanics being the same. The more complicated kits have merger companies, government loans, bank loans, ferry lines, conversion from 5 share to 10 share companies, company destination objectives, 2D share market with yellow, red and black zones, etc.
At this moment, the only 18XX games available for play belongs to Champion Eternal, jack208 and me (all hardcore Boardgamecafe kaki's). For more details, please see the 18XX forum in www.boardgamecafe.net for a complete list of 18XX games that we have. If you are interested in either watching a game or actually learning how to play it, please feel free to contact any one of us and we will gladly organise a learning session just for you! Please give us at least a week's notice in advance as we need to fit it into our gaming schedule. A learning game of 18XX will probably take at least 3-4 hours. Till next time...
Happy 18xx-ing!!