18OE — Player Guide

Quick reference for experienced 18xx players new to 18OE. Assumes familiarity with 18xx mechanics. Rules references: 18OE_Rulebook_v_1.0.txt.

What Makes 18OE Different

• Four company types — Minors and regionals run in parallel; regionals convert to majors; minors merge into majors; nationals form by presidential choice or are forced (never automatic)
• Track rights zones — regionals and minors can only token inside their home zone; majors can token anywhere but pay the token cost from treasury
• Incremental capitalisation — companies receive only the cash from shares sold so far
• 7-row waterfall auction — privates + minor auction cards sold before a single OR runs
• Orient Express — special multi-bonus run linking Constantinople to a western terminus
• Cross-water routing — ferry and sea crossings with distance costs (§8d)
• Nationals — formed by presidential choice at Phase 4/6/8 trigger, or forced; unique flat-rate revenue; no tokens

Setup

2-player uses a without-concessions variant (starting cash already reflects this).

Company Types

Minors and regionals run in parallel during the Regional/Minor Phase — they are not a progression. A regional converts to a major in a SR (president pays 2× par). A minor merges into an existing major (absorbed, not converted). Both relationships are independent.

A major becomes a national when its president chooses to convert (at Phase 4/6/8 trigger) — or is forced to (bankruptcy, consolidation). Conversion is never automatic.

Incremental capitalisation — treasury receives only the proceeds of shares actually sold. Unsold shares in treasury pay no revenue to the bank; they dilute the dividend per share.

Game Flow

Auction Phase
  └── Regional/Minor Phase  (SRs + ORs, 2 ORs per set)
  │     Minors and regionals float and run in parallel
  │     Regionals may convert to majors during any SR (president pays 2× par)
  │     Minors may merge into majors during any SR
  │     Phase ends: 18 regionals floated AND all 12 minors floated
  └── Major Phase  (SRs + ORs, 2 ORs per set)
        Remaining minors/regionals still in play
        First Level 5 purchase → Consolidation Round (once)
        Continue until bank break OR Level 8 purchase
          Bank break → finish current OR set
          Level 8 → one more full OR set (+ £100,000 remainder cash injected)

Train phases 1–8 triggered by highest level train purchased. Phase determines tile colours, train limits, and which events fire.

Auction Phase §4

Items sold in a 7-row waterfall. Rows open sequentially; each row is cleared before the next opens. Within a row items sell left-to-right. Players buy one item per turn or pass; unpurchased items drop £5 per full pass cycle.

Minor auction card — buying one immediately floats that minor at £120 par. The player places its home token during the Regional/Minor Phase (before its first OR).

All-pass price reduction (§4.3, not yet implemented in digital) — if all players consecutively pass on the opening row, items pay their printed dividend then all drop £5. Repeats until a purchase is made; items at £0 must be taken.

Privates §10

Privates pay printed revenue at the start of every OR. Held by players; cannot be sold. Relevant to train purchase: owning a private does not count toward the cert limit.

Minor Abilities §9

Each minor has a unique permanent ability. All transfer to the absorbing major on merger (§10.4 — beta scope in digital).

Stock Round §6

• Order: sell then buy (standard 18xx sell-buy)
• One buy per turn — one share or par action only; unlimited sells before the buy
• Minors and regionals — exempt from share price movement (price fixed until conversion)
• Holding limit — buying a share from the bank pool that would push your holding above 60% of that company costs 2× share price (§10.2); you may still buy it, just at double cost
• Multiple sells — you may sell shares of different companies in one turn (MUST_SELL_IN_BLOCKS = false); no need to sell all shares of one company at once
• Reserved secondary shares — in the Initial SR only, one 25% share per regional may be reserved by a player; no one else may buy it until the second SR (§6.3) (not yet implemented)

Par values:

• Regional: £60 / £65 / £70 / £75 / £80 / £90 (blue band)
• Major: £75 / £80 / £90 / £100 / £110 / £120 (red band — only when converting from regional)

Incremental float — a regional floats when cash paid in by shareholders ≥ 2× par. Cash in treasury = total shares sold × par.

Share Price Movement §6b

• £550 — maximum price; no movement possible
• Minors and regionals — no share price movement until converted to major
• Nationals — move normally

Regional → Major Conversion §8.5

Conversion is triggered during a SR by any player holding ≥50% of the regional (the president, or a player holding both 25% certs). It is its own action — you cannot convert and buy/sell in the same turn.

What happens:

1. Existing shares resize: 50% president cert → 20%; each 25% cert → 10%
2. Share price moves right×2, up×1 from original regional par (sets the major par)
3. 6 new 10% IPO shares issued — forming the full 9-cert major structure (1×20% + 8×10%)
4. New major tokens added to charter (₤40, ₤60, ₤60, ₤80, ₤80, ₤80)
5. Post-conversion sell window: all players may sell, then buy shares of the new major
6. The player who triggered conversion must hold the 20% president cert at window close

Major par values (by original regional par):

Track rights zone for the major = zone of the original regional. The converted major operates in the Major Phase from its next OR.

Minor SR Merger §10.4 (beta scope — not fully implemented)

During the SR, a major may absorb a compatible minor:

• Minor must be reachable by an unlimited-city train from the major's network
• Minor's trains, track rights chit, and tokens transfer to the major
• Player receives negotiated cash or shares from the major's president
• Minors with ability A pay the bank (not the minor owner) at current share price