18EUS or Eastern United States. In September 2021 the author, Greg Holton, announced on Groups.io the intention to release the first 20 copies of the game prototype. The interest exceeded the author’s expectations, as over 50 people contacted him in a short time!
I got one of the first copies a few days ago and I have to admit that the game looks amazing. It is a prototype that is in no way inferior to games released in large amounts! I will say more, it looks better than most of the released titles! The game has as many components as the recently funded Shikoku 1889!
In the game we have:
- professionally wrapped box;
- linen finish cards and charters;
- trays with stickers for all elements;
- professionally issued map;
- wooden tokens with stickers;
Some ideas are unique. For example, company certificates are in a size that fits into the compartments of our trays. This way, all certificates, and tokens fit in a dedicated tray.
I’m just starting to read the rulebook, so it’s hard for me to say anything about the game mechanics. There are for sure a lot of exceptions to the other 18xx games. We will play it soon and then I will describe my impressions.
If you are interested in this title, please visit: https://groups.io/g/18xx
The author has now closed the list, I don’t know what his plans are after he sends the last copy ordered.
For my part, I would like to thank the author for making the game available for review.
