18GL Variants
Compiled from
various sources by Lou
Jerkich
A. 18GL Retuned
This set of Variant Rules for 18GL was introduced to me by Paul Zieske
who credits discussions with his gaming group in Chicago as the
background to these ideas.
1.
(Exception to rule 4.2.) The order of the first
two Private
Companies is switched. Thus the EJ&E becomes the first
Private Company offered for purchase and the C&E becomes the second
company in the list. Their original face values (EJ&E
$40, C&E $20) remain the same.
Rationale: This
rule change gives players an opportunity
to bid on the C&E which some players believe is rather under-valued
for a company with so much control over Cleveland and the
Ashtabula/Erie hex. These two locations most definitely control
the running of the NKP and the NYC. The control of the C&E
also has the potential to impact the strategies pursued by the PRR,
B&O and DTI. Placing the C&E second doesn't necessarily
give all players a chance to bid on it, but it makes it more likely
that some bidding will occur, thus making control of the C&E
somewhat more commensurate to its relative strategic value in the
game. Moreover, the player who controls the C&E will be known
before the purchase of the other Private Companies, so players can plan
accordingly.
2.
(Exception to rule 2.) The order of
availability of the 10H
and the E-trains is reversed. The E-trains now cost $600 and
become available after the last 6H train is
purchased. The purchase of the first E-train rusts the 4H
trains. The E-trains are followed by the 10H trains at a price of
$800. The 10H trains now rust the 6H
trains. In addition, the number of 10H trains available is still
dependent on the number of corporations in play per the last paragraph
of rule 4.5.1.2. All the phase changes normally triggered by the
purchase of the first 10H train are now triggered by the purchase of
the first E-train, and vice versa.
Rationale:
The 10H
trains often can run for better revenue than the E-trains once the
Diesels come out. Moreover, in many games the E-trains never get
to run for doubled revenue due to the rapid appearance of the first
Diesel, which thus converts the E-trains to running to five un-doubled
cities. This variant gives the E-trains a better opportunity to
run at least once for doubled revenue.
B. 18GL Houston Variant
I first learned of this variant through an 18xx Yahoo Groups email
posted on January 27, 2008 by Chris Kolenda. The "bare bones"
version of these variants as given in that email have here been
expanded to be more complete and cover some of the logical
ramifications.
1.
(Exception to rule 4.2.) The C&E Private
Company
controlling Cleveland is placed at the end of bid order. The $20
face value remains the same. The EJ&E becomes the first
private company open for purchase, and continues to cost $40.
Rationale:
This rule
change
gives players an opportunity to bid on the C&E which some players
believe is too powerful for its price due to its control over Cleveland
and the Ashtabula/Erie hex. These two locations most
definitely control the running of the NKP and the NYC. The
control of
the C&E also has the potential to impact the strategies pursued by
the PRR, B&O and DTI. The placement at the end of the list of
private companies means that all players should have an opportunity to
bid on the C&E. Players favoring this variant hope that the
final bid on the C&E will be much closer to its actual strategic
value in the game.
2.
(Exception to rule 4.3.) A company "place
holder"
is put in
the bid order instead of the randomly determined Private Company (the
Bridge, the Tunnel, and the Lake Terminal Railroad). The player
who wins the "place holder" gets to deliberately choose which of the
three "random" companies he wants. After the first "random"
company is purchased, the other two are placed in the Open
Market. They become available for purchase at their list price
once the the last Private Company (the Camden & Amboy) has been
purchased. Only one of these two "random" Private Companies in
the Open Market may be purchased during a player's turn of a stock
round, including the initial one, and the purchase is in place of
purchasing a share in a regular corporation. If not purchased
from the Open Market before the Private Companies are closed, they too
are closed and removed.
Rationale:
This rule
permits all the Private Companies to come into play. Players can
choose the one "random" Private of the three that suits their current
game strategy, yet the other two also remain available for purchase if
desired by a player.
3.
(Exception to rule 4.2.) If all players pass
during the
Private Company bidding/purchase round, the currently available private
company is sent to the Open Market. It becomes available for
purchase at its list price once the the last
Private Company (the Camden & Amboy) has been purchased. The
purchase is in place of purchasing a share in a
regular corporation. If not purchased from the Open Market before
the
Private Companies are closed, this private Company is also closed and
removed.
Rationale:
This rule expands the second variant rule in this set
to include Private Companies passed on by all. It could
conceivably cause players to change their buying habits in the Initial
Stock Round and beyond.
C. 18GL Ravenna Variant
This variant combines rules #1 and #3 of the 18GL Retuned Variant with
rule #2 of the 18GL
Houston Variant. --Lou Jerkich
1.
(Exception to rule 4.2.) The order of the first
two Private
Companies is switched. Thus the EJ&E becomes the first
Private
Company offered for purchase and the C&E becomes the second company
in the list. Their original face values (EJ&E $40,
C&E $20)
remain the same.
Rationale: This
rule change gives players an opportunity
to bid
on the C&E which some players believe is rather under-valued for a
company with so much control over Cleveland and the Ashtabula/Erie
hex. These two locations most definitely control the running of
the
NKP and the NYC. The control of the C&E also has the
potential to
impact the strategies pursued by the PRR, B&O and DTI.
Placing the
C&E second doesn't necessarily give all players a chance to bid on
it, but it makes it more likely that some bidding will occur, thus
making control of the C&E somewhat more commensurate to its
relative
strategic value in the game. Moreover, the player who controls
the
C&E will be known before the purchase of the other Private
Companies, so players can plan accordingly.
2.
(Exception to rule 2.) The order of
availability of the 10H
and the E-trains is reversed. The E-trains, still at their $800
price tag, now become available after the last 6H train is
purchased. The purchase of the first E-train rusts the 4H
trains. The E-trains are followed by the 10H trains at their
normal price of $600. The 10H trains now rust the 6H
trains. In addition, the number of 10H trains available is still
dependent on the number of corporations in play per the last paragraph
of rule 4.5.1.2. All the phase changes normally triggered by the
purchase of the first 10H train are now triggered by the purchase of
the first E-train, and vice versa.
Rationale:
The 10H
trains
often can run for better revenue than the E-trains once the Diesels
come out. Moreover, in many games the E-trains never get to run
for
doubled revenue due to the rapid appearance of the first Diesel, which
thus converts the E-trains to running to five un-doubled cities.
This
variant gives the E-trains a better opportunity to run at least once
for doubled revenue.
3.
(Exception to rule 4.3.) A company place holder
is put in
the bid order instead of the randomly determined Private Company (the
Bridge, the Tunnel, and the Lake Terminal Railroad). The player
who wins the place holder gets to deliberately choose which of the
three "random" companies he wants. After the first "random"
company is purchased, the other two are placed in the Open
Market. They become available for purchase at their list price
once the the last Private Company (the Camden & Amboy) has been
purchased. Only one of these two "random" Private Companies in
the Open Market may be purchased during a player's turn of a stock
round, including the initial one, and the purchase is in place of
purchasing a share in a regular corporation. If not purchased
from the Open Market before the Private Companies are closed, they too
are closed and removed.
Rationale:
This rule
permits all the Private Companies to come into play. Players can
choose the one "random" Private of the three that suits their current
game strategy, yet the other two also remain available for purchase if
desired by a player.
Comments on the 18GL Ravenna
Variant:
Variant Rules 1 and 2 come from the 18GL Retuned Variant. Variant
Rule 3 derives from the 18GL Houston Variant. In playtesting we
found these rules to work very well together.
In regard to our Variant Rule #1, the reason for preferring the C&E
to be the second Private Company rather than the last one (as in the
Houston Variant) is that knowing who controls the C&E inevitably
influences players in deciding whether or not to start a company in the
southeast portion of the board. If one controls the C&E
one may want some other Private Company to complement it. If one
has failed to get control of the C&E, it may induce one to follow
an entirely different buying strategy. When the C&E becomes
the last Private Company whose fate is determined, players choose their
other Private Companies with an important question unanswered, leading,
in my opinion, to a more haphazard selection of the other Private
Companies. Were the C&E last in the list and every player had
bid on it, a
player choosing the Mine is halfway to giving up on his bid on the
C&E. Likewise with the Ferry. But when the C&E is
second, potentially everyone can bid on it and thus have a chance to
acquire it. Moreover, once it is known who will control it, a
player can with more confidence decide whether or not to focus on the
Mine, the Ferry, or some other mix of Private Companies. For
example, someone may believe that the Ferry works well with a company
in Cleveland, but won't buy the Ferry unless he knows he also has the
C&E in hand. If your group has someone who never bids and
always buys what is next available, then it might be preferable to move
the C&E to the third or fourth slot in the list of Private
Companies, but I wouldn't push it later than that or else players will
have to choose to take the Mine or the Ferry before seeing whether or
not they might have achieved control of the C&E.
Our Variant Rule #2 makes more sense than the standard rules due to the
speed with which
Diesels usually enter play. We were finding that the E-trains
often
lost their most important advantage entirely, or perhaps only one or
two players had a chance to get the doubled runs, and that only
once.
Although it is still possible for the E-trains to have a very limited
life as providers of doubled revenues, they nevertheless have a greater
chance of being able to use this advantage one or more times.
The third Variant Rule derives from the Houston Variant rule 2.
We like
the idea of including all
three of these Private Companies in the game. In our opinion,
including them does not have an adverse effect on the formation
of
initial public corporations. The two Private Companies that land
in
the Open Market are usually bought with the left-over cash (or
anticipated left-over cash) that players will expect to have after they
have floated a corporation. The ability to select a particular
one of
the three "random" Private Companies means that players could pursue a
more deliberate strategy for the game, such as determining to buy the
Tunnel so as to float the B&O. (I feel that the Tunnel is
most
needed by the B&O player, but if it is available on average in only
one in three games, the B&O will be more often than not a less
desirable company.)
The third Houston Variant Rule (which makes it possible for any Private
Company to end up in the Open Market if all players pass) could be an
Optional Variant Rule. We included it in a game once but all the
private Companies were bought out in the Initial Stock Round so the
rule had no effect. I don't feel that this variant is
necessary. It is possible that using it could lead to some games
in which certain Private Companies never entered play and more
Corporations started with higher market values. I'm not sure that
I like that approach to the game, but tastes differ.
In regard to the 18GL Chicago Variant described below, I do not believe
that
there is a need to eliminate the $50 charge for upgrading the Chicago
hexes to brown or grey as in the 18GL Retuned Rules. I personally
believe it would unbalance the game in favor of the Chicago area
companies to eliminate the costs. My experience suggests that the costs
are there for legitimate play balance reasons. Moreover, Chicago is
such a good area that no incentive is needed to build in the
west. Upgrading Chicago has always seemed to me to be well worth
the cost. In my experience, I find
that players do eventually find upgrading Chicago to be well worth the
effort, especially if it means that the company being run can place a
token there too. While the costs for upgrades at Chicago may slow
the early development of the city, that
is also more in keeping with the historic situation. So we have
chosen not to implement that variant in our group.
The Columbus Variant that follows could be useful among players who
feel that the B&O needs a bit more incentive to be a viable
starting company (or even a viable late game company). The Ferry
Extension Variant should not adversely affect play balance, and the
Pere Marquette Variant may appeal to those who find lower Michigan all
too often underdeveloped. The latter may also make ferries across
Lake Michigan as useful and lucrative as that across Lake Erie.
D. 18GL Columbus Variant
Created by Lou Jerkich,
April 2008.
(Map board Change.) The off-map space (J20)
immediately south of Columbus becomes a playable hex with a $40 Hill
terrain symbol. Columbus (hex J18) can now be promoted to a brown
#63 tile, and Dayton (I19) can have a green #14 tile.
Rationale:
Even though it will be rare for a corporation to build track in this
new playable hex, it does permit the Columbus hex to be promoted to a
brown tile rather than having it be limited to a green city tile at
best. This ability to have Columbus upgraded to brown may give
players a little more incentive to start the B&O. It also
gives the B&O a way around Columbus if blocked there since it can
build into J20 and reach Dayton, which now may have a green tile #14
instead of being limited to green tile #15. This variant can be
used by players who find that the B&O is infrequently started in
their games.
E. 18GL Chicago Variant
Paul Zieske and his Chicago
group of players have considered this as a possible variant, but not a
compelling one.
(Exception to last paragraph of rule 4.6.1.1.) Only the
Chicago green tiles cost $50 to lay. There is no cost for the
Chicago upgrades from green to brown or brown to grey.
Rationale:
When
every upgrade of a Chicago hex will not have a $50 cost, Chicago may
develop a bit faster. This change is designed to give a little
more incentive
to players to start railroads in the West.
F. 18GL Ferry Extension Variant
This Variant was proposed by Paul Zieske on 22 April 2008.
(Exception to last paragraph of rule 4.3) The Ferry remains throughout the game in the hands of the
player who purchased it, even if it was not activated before the other
Private Companies close at the beginning of Phase 10H. However,
it ceases to pay revenue to its owner after Phase 10H
begins. Nevertheless, the Ferry owner can still activate the
Ferry per the normal activation rule [4.3 (11)] except that after
Phase 10H the Corporation which has activated the Ferry must pay the
same $50 fee to use the Ferry "track" that all other Corporations must
pay. All the fees to use the Ferry are paid to the bank.
Rationale:
For those who believe that the designer intended the Ferry with its
various routes and tiles to be a key feature of the game, this rule
extends the time in which the Ferry may be activated to the final
phases of the game. Those who find that the Ferry is too
infrequently built may find that it gets more use with this rule.
G. 18GL Pere Marquette Variant
This variant rule was created by Lou Jerkich on 22 April 2008.
1. (Exception
to rule 4.5) The
DTI charter, tokens and shares are now considered to represent the Pere
Marquette Railway. Instead of the DTI home base in Detroit,
there is a new Pere Marquette home base in Lansing (hex H10).
Detroit is
treated as having no home base.
Rationale:
In my experience, the lower peninsula of Michigan is one of the most
unused portions of the map aside from Detroit and Ann Arbor with their
connections to Toledo. This rule substitutes the Pere Marquette
Railway for the Detroit, Toledo, and Ironton Railroad. The Pere
Marquette Railway was formed on January 1, 1900, by the merger of the
Chicago & West Michigan Railway, the Detroit, Grand Rapids &
Western Railway, and the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad.
Historically, these railroads had served Michigan's lumber industry but
the removal of the forests brought about a decline which it was hoped
that the consolidation would reverse. The merger resulted in a
system with tracks running up the east coast of Lake Michigan from
Chicago to Traverse City, another route from Detroit westward to Grand
Rapids and Muskegon, and a third major line from Monroe, just north of
Toledo, to Flint and Saginaw and then across Michigan to Ludington,
which was formerly called Pere Marquette. On the game map, the
location of Ludington would be in the coastal hex between Muskegon and
Traverse City. From Ludington the Flint & Pere Marquette
Railroad had operated ferries westward across Lake Michigan to
Milwaukee, Manitowac, and Kewaunee.
The lack of a major railroad operating in lower Michigan tends to leave
a large portion of the map with little track. This variant should
change that since by having the Pere Marquette's home base in Lansing,
the Pere Marquette will have incentive to go both east to Detroit
(perhaps by way of Flint) and west to Grand Rapids, from which another
track tile in Muskegon could lead to a Ferry line across to
Milwaukee. Or, a connection from Grand Rapids south and then west
to Chicago may seem desirable. In any event, the Lansing starting
location should lead to more track in lower Michigan, even though
Detroit will almost certainly be a destination sought by the Pere
Marquette. This variant may even spur the construction of one of
the two ferries across lake Michigan since there is likely to be a
network of track in lower Michigan that will make use of it. The
Bridge will also be a very desirable private Company for the player
controlling the Pere Marquette.
2. For those
who
have Carl Burger's 1831 game, the Pere Marquette components from that
game could be used for the Pere Marquette Railway of this variant,
perhaps even keeping the DT&I in play. Note that the impact
of the addition
of an extra railroad while keeping the DT&I in play has not been
tested in an actual game.
-----
Comments and further Variant suggestions are welcome.
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