1825 Variant for the Private
Companies by Kevin Lorenz
with contributions by
Lou Jerkich
For many players, the Private
companies in 1825 appear to be
a big waste of time and quickly are sold back to the Bank. My
personal preference is for private
Companies that have special powers. As shown below, this
variant provides special powers for most of the Private Companies in
1825.
Tanfield Wagon Way [Unit 3]
Cost: £60 Revenue: £10 Special ability:
Provides a free additional tile lay or tile promotion at Durham (K-13)
to the designated
public
company. If used for a tile promotion, the Tanfield Wagon Way
immediately is closed. If used for an initial yellow tile
placement, it remains open until the first type 5 train is bought.
Cromford & High Peak Railway
[Unit 1, Unit 2]
Cost: £75 Revenue: £12
Special ability: Provides a half price build in the Mountain at
P-14 for the designated public company. No company may lay track
in this hexag until after the designated public company use this
ability or the C&HP closes when the first 5 train is bought.
Note that using this power does not close the C&HP.
Canterbury
and Whitstable Railway [Unit 1]
Cost: £130 Revenue: £20
Special ability: The designated company is permitted to
lay a free token at Dover (W-25) regardless of whether or not it has a
track
connection to Dover. No other company may lay a token there
unless this Private Company closes without a token having yet been
placed. When this special power is used, the Private Company
closes.
Stockton
and Darlington Railway [Unit 2,
Unit 3]
Cost: £160 Revenue: £25
Special ability: The owner of this Private Company receives
a free share of the
NER. (If playing a combined game that includes Unit 1, no
additional NER shares may be bought by any player until the GWR has
been sold out. Nor may this free share of the NER be sold until
the Director's share of the NER has been bought.) The S&D
Private Company does not close until the first type 5 train is
bought.
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
[Unit 1, Unit 2]
Cost: £210 Revenue: £30
Special ability: The owner of this Private Company also
receives a free share of the LNWR. The L&M Private
Company does not close until the first type 5 train is bought.
Special
Rules
1. Randomly determine the player seating order clockwise around the
table. The starting private railways should be offered for sale
in the order listed above using the buy/bid/pass method common to many
18xx games. Use only those Private Companies
appropriate for the Unit or Units being played. When several
units are combined, only one of the companies that cost £30
should be used. Note that additional shares
of the LNWR are not available until all the Private Companies have been
sold.
2. Starting with the first player, each player either buys the
lowest-priced Private Company still available for purchase, passes, or
bids on another company in the sequence of Private Companies. The
first bid must exceed the initial price of that private company
by at least £5. Subsequent bids must also exceed the
previous high bid by at least £5. The player making a bid
must set aside enough money to cover his bid. This amount cannot
be used for anything else unless his bid is exceeded by another
player. Once having bid on a company, a player does not have to
raise the bid again unless he later participates in an auction and
wishes to outbid his opponents. Play continues around the table
with each player having the opportunity to buy, pass or bid each time
it is his turn and there are Private Companies still for sale.
3. After a Private Company has been purchased, if there is one bid on
the next available company it immediately is sold to that bidder.
If the next company also has only one bid on it, then it also is sold
to that bidder, and so on. If two or more players have already
bid on the next available company, then only those who already have
bids on that Private Company are eligible to participate in an auction
for that company. During the auction, the eligible player seated
to the left of the player with the highest bid may increase the highest
bid by at least £5 or pass. If he passes, he is henceforth
out of that auction. Bidding continues around the table until all
have passed except one remaining high bidder, who then buys the company
for his latest bid price.
4. The purchase of Private Companies having one or more bids occurs
separate from the turn sequence. When such companies have been
purchased and the next available company has no bid upon it, play
resumes with the player to the left of the last person to buy a Private
Company that had no bids upon it. When the last Private Company
has been bought by a player, the person whose turn is next may buy the
Director's share of the first available public company or he can
pass. Play thereafter continues normally per the 1825 rules.
5. For the Tanfield Wagon Way, the Cromford & High Peak, and the
Canterbury & Whitstable Privates, the owner of the Private Company
indicates
which operating public
corporation that he or she directs is to receive the special
ability. The Stockton and Darlington Railway and the Liverpool
& Manchester Railway provide their free shares as soon as the
relevant Private Company card is acquired by the player.
6. All Private Companies
are closed when the first type 5 Train is
bought. The Private Companies
may never be
sold back to the bank.
Return to
Lou's
Game Corner: Rail Game Links. Return to the 1825 game
page.
This page created on July 15, 2008.
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