Everytime there’s a new 18xx game to be published I’m so happy. And talking about new I mean completly new – not refreshing some older titles.
1947 is one of them – 18xx set in India, with one of the biggest maps in 18xx game (about 90 cm x 90 cm).
Below you’ll find my conclusions, but I can tell you right now – I’m very excited to get this one in my hands.
“1947 is a really big game in every aspect.
Big map! Big box! Big rulebook (but with many examples)!
There are many ideas which I’m really want to try.”
If you want to support Aleph Game Studio go and back this project:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alephgamestudio/1947-the-decline-of-an-empire-the-birth-of-a-nation
And for all of you who are sceptic because of Aleph Game Studio. I think that lesson was taken, rules looks better even while it’s still draft of them, and they knew what was wrong with 1883.
Game type (stock / engineering): 40% / 60%
Private companies:
- ‘Hammer Price’ – in few words – if you keep private longer in your hands you’ll be able to sell it for more money. Typically, in each of 18xx games it’s better to sell private company as soon as it’s possible, but maybe not in 1947. If you’ll wait until T5 will be available you will get 250% of the ‘Hammer Price’.
- Private company can be removed from the game at the beginning – how many times you were frustrated, that you was pushed to buy last private company because the rest of player passes to receive income from they privates? In 1947 it won’t happen – if players passes 2 times on one private it will be removed from the game. I love that idea – no preassure to buy last private company!
- Interesting private companies – I love the idea of P4 Insider Trading – if you discard this one at the beginning of Stock Round, you will get first player marker. Having this company you can easily be last one after previous stock round (you can react when somebody will be trying to make you president of company). P6 also looks interesting because you will be able to move one of you company’s stations to another city. And with P8 your company will be able to buy train even at the start of it’s operating round – nice possibility to keep price of you company and make income even at it’s first OR.
- Every PC pay out 10 owned by player, 0 when owned by company
Stock Round
- buy/sell or sell/buy (NO sell/buy/sell)
- in each game different shares can be available in bank pool at the beginning (then you need to buy only 50% of shares instead of 60%)
- Turn order is determined by players wealth at the end of SR
Companies
- mix of the companies (10 of them are ‘full-cap’ – floated with 60%, one is ‘incremental-cap’ opens with 30% president’s certificate [which is attached to one of the private Companies]
- Convertible Bonds – can be issued by the president of the company and bought by the all players. Do not count towards certificate limit. Byu/sell with the price equal to half the Company’s Stock Market value. No dividend. Basically they are important for president to buy additional shares using ‘price protection’ and rest of the player could be interesting in them since you can make money by seling it when share prince will rise not sacrificing their certificate limit. If you have money to spend but you are affraid to buy normal shares that might be interesting option for you.
- ‘Price protected’ – using that mechanizm in stock round (while somebody is selling shares in your company and you have Convertible Bonds) you can have more than 60% in your company (unless you sell shares) and in the same time you protect share price for falling on stock market – what a great idea! Now, your opponents will think twice about selling your shares to lower your company price.
- Saving shares – instead of buying “normal” shares you can buy “saving” shares – with shares like that current president couldn’t dump company on you. But something for something – they are paying out only half of dividend. During SR you can change “normal” shares into “saving” shares easily, but to change from “saving” to “normal” you need approval from the president of that company. Each pair of “saving” shares from 1 company counts as only one Certificate towards the Certificate Limit. Also when a company withholds its revenue “saving” shareholders always receive their dividend
- during SR you can have more than 60% (without using ‘price protection’ mechnizm) – it allows you to buy addditional shares and sell it back to open market (to gain cash to company while paying out dividend). It’s really interesting since in eg. 1830 you are uable to do so in just one round – you need few of them to make that move. Exception – not in first SR.
- selling shares by other players from company which was started in the same SR doesn’t affect it’s price – that’s kind of protection from your opponents. It’s nice that starting new company you are sure on which position it will be during operating rounds.
- different spots for PAR price during the game (eg. at start with T2: 66-72-80-90-or 100, with T3: 80, 90, 100 or 110, with T5: 100, 110 or 120, and with T8: 120 or 130
Operation Rounds:
- Seasons – The seasons affect track laying and city revenues (don’t build track in zone while it’s time of it’s season – eg. you earn less while you lay/upgrade in DRY zone during DRY season and lay/upgrade in Monsoon zone during Monsoon season). Each season (Dry, Monsoon, Intermediate, Fertile) influences company revenue. Hey – it’s India – watch out of weather!
- Temples (let’s call it destinations) – Company’s revenue is always reduced by 20% until it reaches associated Temple. Earn money and bonus when company will connect to it’s temple.
- Expatriation sites (something like red off-board areas) – you company will gets one-time bonus if there will be expatriation site on it’s route.
- Trading posts – if you have Private Company 7 you can use Trading posts (which doesn’t count as a stop) to earn additional 10 (or 20 from Trains 4)
- Normal tiles can be upgraded from the very beginning – that’s sounds crazy but why not? Upgrading town/cities is still as normal in 18xx games (time advances in the game, and cities are growing that’s why you can upgrade them). I love that and it’s more realistic in my opinion.
- can build 2 track in OR (or 1 yellow and 1 upgrade) – moreover, using Worker (one of the bonuses) you could build even 4 tracks in one OR! Moreover – since map is divided into 2 zones (monsoon & dry zone) there are specific tiles which are available only for one of that zones. Watch carefully or you will not be able to build tracks in place you want to!
- towns can be destroyed or upgraded to cities – you don’t like dot-towns in 18xx? No problem – once the first T5 train has been sold, a Railway Company can choose whether to put a Town track tile on a town hex or an ordinary non-town tile.
- easy to calculate revenue from 2 trains (starts once the first T8 has been sold) – the total revenue of a railway company is calculated by multiplying the revenue of its highest value train by the percentage on the Train Card according to the 2nd train the Company owns – I like that!
- Dividend and red line on Stock Market – I don’t like games where no matter how big is company income it will advance on stock market while paying out dividednt. So many situations where company with highest stock price is still advancing on market making the worst income from all companies. In this game it’s working only when you company is on left side from red line in the market. If you want to cross that line and then still advancing on stock market your company have to make equal or greater income than it’s actually stock price.
- Once floated, unless it has no legal route, a Railway Company must own a train
End of the game:
- first company reaches highest share value
- bankruptcy
BONUSES for companies:
- after reaching expatriation site
- after placing last station
- after connecting to the temple
- advance company Stock Market value (up one row paying new price to the bank or one space to the right paying new price + 50% to the bank)
- Stock broker – allow you to decrease (-50) costs of advance company Stock Market value
- Worker – can be used to perform one action: (through a city blocked by stations of other companies OR place 2 Stations in the same Operating Round OR lay tiles twice in an Operating Round OR convert Workers into Stock Brokers (3 workers = 1 stockbroker)
