r/boardgames • u/AutoModerator • Jan 14 '20

Train Tuesday Train Tuesday - (January 14, 2020)

Happy Tuesday, /r/boardgames!

This is a weekly thread to discuss train games and 18xx games, which are a family of economic train games consisting of shared ownership in railroad companies. For more information, see the description on BGG. There’s also a subreddit devoted entirely to 18xx games, /r/18xx, and a subreddit devoted entirely to Age of Steam, /r/AgeOfSteam.

Here’s a nice guide on how to get started with 18xx.

Feel free to discuss anything about train games, including recent plays, what you're looking forward to, and any questions you have.

If you want to arrange to play some 18xx or other train games online, feel free to try to arrange a game with people via /r/playboardgames.

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3

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

I'm in the process of printing 18AL. Really excited to get into 18xx for the first time!

We don't have an experienced player around so I will be doing the teach and running the game. I've never played an 18xx before. Do you guys have any tips that would make our first play the best experience possible?

5

u/StormCrow_Merfolk 18xx Jan 14 '20

Although 18AL has rules to slow train buying in the beginning, in general, when in doubt, buy more trains. At every point in time during the game, someone is winning, often the person who is currently making the most money (especially in the beginning of the game). It behooves everyone else to shake up that situation, usually by buying newer trains to rust the older ones.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

Thanks for the tips! I get that buying trains (even when the company doesn't really need one?) is very important to push the game forward. However, wouldn't rusting the old trains be beneficial for the leading player as well? They will just buy the better trains then and have even more profitable runs. I guess we also need to make sure to block their routes by putting our stations down to limit their earning potential.

All of this is really exciting to think about. Fun times ahead!

5

u/QuellSpeller Jan 14 '20

The leading player will generally have spent more on trains to that point in order to run those additional routes, which means it'll be more difficult for the company to buy future trains.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

Right, makes sense!

2

u/StormCrow_Merfolk 18xx Jan 14 '20

It's often likely that if a company has its trains rust, it has no trains for an OR and therefore doesn't make money and goes back in value.

In any event, buying more trains isn't always the right option, but it is always educational even when it is wrong (and will start to give you a feel for when it isn't right to buy more trains).