1822MX Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components List
1. Overview of the Game
2. Setting Up the Game
- 2.1 Initial Setup
3. Game Phases
- 3.1 Phase Chart
- 3.2 Phase Summary
4. Railroad Companies
5. Stock Rounds
6. Operating Rounds
Credits
Designer Notes
Differences from 1822
Easy to Miss Rules
Company Tables

Components List

The game contains the following components:

This rulebook
1 map board with stock chart
1 bank pool
1 concession bidding box mat
8 major company charters
24 minor company charters
221 tiles
6 cardboard "T" city markers
158 cards
7 concession certificates (with director's certificates on the reverse)
56 major company 10% share certificates
3 NdeM 10% share certificates
24 minor company share certificates
18 private company certificates
5 player order number cards
45 train cards
41 large diameter tokens with labels
71 small diameter tokens with labels
42 bidding tokens: seven sets of six cubes
A bank of $12,000 must be supplied by the players

1. Overview of the Game

1.1 Sequence of Play

1.1.1 The game consists of an alternating series of stock rounds and operating rounds. Initially, there is one operating round after each stock round. Once the first 2-train is bought, there are two operating rounds after each stock round, beginning after the next stock round.

1.1.2 In stock rounds, players act as investors, buying and selling shares in the various companies. The player with the most shares in each company is the company's director.

1.1.3 In operating rounds, players, as company directors, run the various companies that they control, deciding all actions that the companies take. They choose whether and how to build track and place station tokens, which trains to run on which routes, whether to pay or withhold dividends, and whether to invest in more trains.

1.2 The Map

1.2.1 The map shows the entirety of Mexico. A hex grid is superimposed to show where hexagonal track tiles may be laid. Cities are represented by large white circles and towns by small solid black circles. City and town names have no effect on play. Some cities bear a label (T or Y) restricting the set of track tiles which may be played there. Some hexes are colored gray, denoting pre-built track.

1.3 Game End

1.3.1 The game ends as soon as one of the following conditions is met:

Immediately, if the first stock round ends with nothing sold.
At the end of the operating round in which a company's stock market value reaches the game end value of the stock market.
At the end of the first operating round following a stock round in which a major company's stock market value reaches the game end value of the stock market.
At the end of the first operating round following a stock round in which the bank runs out of money. The game still ends at that point, even if the bank later becomes solvent. The bank continues to pay out any demands, even when broken; players should record these, or add money to the bank.
When the bank runs out of money in an operating round, complete the pair of operating rounds and the game ends. The game still ends at that point, even if the bank later becomes solvent. The bank continues to pay out any demands, even when broken; players should record these, or add money to the bank. Complete these operating rounds even if a company's market value subsequently reaches the game end value.

1.3.2 Each player's total wealth is the value of their stock at current prices, plus cash on hand, minus any loans that remain outstanding. Concession certificates, if they are still open and held by players, count for face value. Private company certificates and company assets count for nothing. The richest player wins.

1.4 Etiquette

1.4.1 Players should try to speed play as much as possible. Deciding what share to buy and which track tile(s) to lay should as much as possible be done during other players' turns. Other players should help the banker(s) by claiming payments promptly. All personal and company assets are public knowledge and must be disclosed to any player upon request. Assets should be arranged neatly so that the need for explicit requests is minimized. Players may negotiate with each other and strike deals. Such deals are not binding.

1.5 Rules Structure

Most of the rules for 1822MX are shared with the other "1822" games. Specific rules that are highlighted like this indicate special rules that are specific to 1822MX. Players familiar with other 1822 games should be able to focus on learning these rules to understand the new aspects.

2. Setting Up the Game

2.1 Initial Setup

2.1.1 Lay the map board and the concession mat on the table between the players. Place the major company share certificates nearby.

2.1.2 The bank is $12,000 including players' starting money. The starting money is $1,500 divided equally among the players. Distribute the appropriate number of bidding tokens to each player.

Number of Players	3	4	5
Starting Money Per Player	$500	$375	$300
Bidding Tokens	6	5	4

The extra cubes not assigned as bidding cubes (the total ranges from 22-24 depending on the number of players) are a pool of rail building contractors ("builder cubes"). See section 6.8.14.

2.1.3 Sort the money by denomination and the track tiles by type, and place them by the board. At the start of the game, only the yellow track will be used, but the other tiles should be available for inspection. Place the company charters and station tokens by the board.

2.1.4 Take the set of company concession certificates. Remove the Ferrocarril Mexicano (FCM) concession and shuffle the remaining concession certificates. Place the certificates in a face up pile and splay them so their order is easily visible. The players may examine the order in which the concessions have been ordered, but once shuffled, the order may not be changed.

2.1.5 Take the set of minor company director's certificates. Remove the M18 Ferrocarril Mexicano certificate and shuffle the remaining certificates. Place the certificates in a face up pile and splay them so their order is easily visible. The players may examine the order in which the minor company director's certificates have been ordered, but once shuffled, the order may not be changed.

2.1.6 Take the pair of removed cards (FCM concession and M18) and place them as a pair in the concession Bid Box 1 space on the board.

2.1.7 Search the pile of minor company director's certificates for the topmost certificate of the M14, M15, or M17 minor companies and remove it from the pile while retaining the order of the other cards. Place it in the bank pool with the NdeM certificate side up and its token on the NdeM side on its starting location on the map. It begins the game owned by the NdeM railroad. Place the three additional NdeM shares (those with no minor company on the reverse side) in the bank pool.

2.1.8 Take the set of private company certificates. Remove private company P1, Baldwin Locomotive Works Contract, set it aside, and shuffle the remaining certificates. Place the certificates in a face-up pile with the private company P1 certificate on top and splay them so their order is easily visible. The players may examine the order in which the private companies have been stacked, but once shuffled, the order may not be changed.

2.1.9 Place the round marker on the space marked stock round.

2.1.10 Appoint one or more players to be banker and be responsible for conducting transactions with the bank.

2.1.11 Arrange the trains in ascending order from top to bottom with the double sided L/2-trains on top and the double-sided 7/E-trains on the bottom.

2.1.12 Take the top three private company certificates, the top four minor company director's certificates and the top two company concession certificates; put the certificates for each group in the corresponding bidding boxes in the order in which they were taken from the pile.

2.1.13 Place the NdeM share price marker on the 100 space on the stock market.

2.1.14 Shuffle and deal out the player number cards, one to each player, to randomly determine player order.

2.1.15 Play then begins with a stock round.

3. Game Phases

3.1 Phase Chart

3.1.1 The game starts in Phase 1. As the first of each new type of train is bought or taken by the NdeM, the game phase advances correspondingly. The phase affects the availability of track tiles, the revenue from off-board areas and gray pre-printed cities, and the number of operating rounds after each stock round. The full effects of phase changes are shown in the table below.

Phase	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Triggered By	Game start	Purchase of first 2-train	Purchase of first 3-train	Purchase of first 4-train	Purchase of first 5-train	Purchase of first 6-train	Purchase of first 7/E-train
Rusts	-	-	L	2	-	3	4
Train Limit (Minor)	2	2	2	1	1	1	1
Train Limit (Major)	-	4	4	3	2	2	2
Buying Trains	From bank only	From bank only	From bank or other company	From bank or other company	From bank or other company	From bank or other company	From bank or other company
Operating Rounds Between Stock Rounds	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Tiles Available	Yellow	Yellow	Y + Green	Y + Green	Y + G + Brown	Y + G + Brown	Y+G+B+Gray
Off-Board Area Value	Yellow	Yellow	Green	Green	Brown	Brown	Gray
Tile Lay Per Turn: Minor Company	1 yellow/cube	1 yellow/cube	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade
Tile Lay Per Turn: Major Company	N/A	1 yellow/cube	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade
Tile Lay Per NdeM Shareholder	1 yellow/cube	1 yellow/cube	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade
Minor Company Capitalization	Float at $50 with capital of $100	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of 2x stock value	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid
Acquisition of Minor Companies	Not possible	Can be acquired by major companies	Can be acquired by major companies	Can be acquired by major companies	Can be acquired by major companies or directly from the bid boxes for $200	Can be acquired by major companies or directly from the bid boxes for $200	Can be acquired by major companies or directly from the bid boxes for $200
Concession Certificates	Cannot be converted	Provide a $100 discount against the cost of the director's certificate when converted	Provide a $100 discount against the cost of the director's certificate when converted	Provide a $100 discount against the cost of the director's certificate when converted	Removed from play	Removed from play	Removed from play
Major Company Floatation	Not possible	Floated by conversion of concession certificate	Floated by conversion of concession certificate	Floated by conversion of concession certificate	Floated once 50% sold	Floated once 50% sold	Floated once 50% sold
Capitalization on Floatation	Not applicable	Incremental capitalization	Incremental capitalization	Incremental capitalization	Incremental capitalization	100% capitalization	100% capitalization

Note: A phase starts either when the first train of a type is purchased, or when it is taken by the NdeM.

3.2 Phase Summary

As the game progresses, rule changes come into effect. Unless otherwise stated, once a phase opens a new rule, the rule is in place for the rest of the game.

Phase 1. The game starts in Phase 1.

L-trains and 2-trains are available for purchase until the bank's supply is exhausted.
Trains may only be bought from the bank until Phase 3.
Only yellow tiles are available until Phase 3.
Off-board areas count the first value until Phase 3.
Irrespective of the amounts that were bid for them, minor companies start at stock value $50 (worth $100) with $100 starting treasury, until Phase 2.
Companies (minor companies and each NdeM shareholder) may only lay one yellow tile per turn until Phase 3.
The minor company train limit is 2 until Phase 4.
The major company train limit is 4 until Phase 4.
There is one operating round after each stock round until Phase 2.

Phase 2. Phase 2 starts when the first L-train is converted to a 2-train, or the first 2-train is bought outright.

Minor companies start at a stock value of the winning bid divided by 2 and rounded down to the nearest starting value. The company starts with 2x the stock value given to the starting treasury.
Concessions may be converted to director's certificates during stock rounds. This floats the associated major company.
Major companies may now acquire operational minor companies for the remainder of the game.
There will be two operating rounds after each stock round starting after the next stock round and continuing for the remainder of the game.

Phase 3. Phase 3 starts when the first 3-train is bought.

L-trains rust.
Trains may be bought from the bank/bank pool, or from another company, for the remainder of the game.
Yellow and green tiles are now available. Minor companies may lay one yellow or one green upgrade tile for the remainder of the game. Major companies (and each NdeM shareholder) may lay two yellow or one green upgrade tile until Phase 5.
As in Phase 2, minor companies start at a stock value of (amount bid divided by two and rounded down to the nearest starting value), but now the full amount bid is given to the starting treasury.
Off-board areas count the second value until Phase 5.

Phase 4. Phase 4 starts when the first 4-train is bought.

2-trains rust.
The minor company train limit is 1 for the remainder of the game. The major company train limit is 3 until Phase 5.

Phase 5. Phase 5 starts when the first 5-train is bought.

Unconverted concessions are removed from play.
Yellow, green, and brown tiles are now available. Major companies (and each NdeM shareholder) may lay two yellow or one green or brown upgrade tile until Phase 7. Minor companies may never upgrade track to brown.
Major companies require 50% sold to float (still incremental capitalization).
Major companies may now acquire unfloated minor companies directly from the bidding boxes for the remainder of the game.
The major company train limit is 2 for the remainder of the game.
Off-board areas count the third value until Phase 7.

Phase 6. Phase 6 starts when the first 6-train is bought.

3-trains rust.
Major companies require 50% sold to float, but receive full capitalization (the remaining five shares are placed in the bank pool upon floatation).

Phase 7. Phase 7 starts when the first 7-train or E-train is bought.

4-trains rust.
Yellow, green, brown, and gray tiles are now available. Major companies may now lay two yellow tiles or one green, brown or gray upgrade tile. Minor companies may never upgrade track to brown or gray.
The NdeM is privatized after the operating turn of the first company to buy the first 7/E train. However, if the first 7-train is taken by the NdeM at the end of a stock round, the NdeM privatization occurs immediately (see section 6.22).
Off-board areas count the fourth value.

4. Railroad Companies

4.1 Private Companies

4.1.1 There are 18 private companies in the game (see the Company Tables near the end of these rules). While open, a private company pays its player owner a fixed income (which in some cases is $0) at the start of each operating round. The face value of a private company is $0.

4.1.2 A private company can only be bought by players through the bidding mechanism in a stock round.

4.1.3 Generally, a major or minor company may acquire private companies from consenting players at the start of its turn in an operating round. Players receive no compensation from the acquiring company for this transaction.

4.1.4 Private company certificates are color-coded red or green. Red-colored private companies may only be acquired by major companies. Green-colored private companies may be acquired by either major or minor companies.

4.1.5 A private company certificate shows the first phase in which it may be acquired.

4.1.6 There is no restriction on the number of private companies that may be acquired by a minor or major company on its turn.

4.1.7 Private companies may not be traded between players or sold to the bank. Private companies may not be transferred between companies.

4.1.8 Once acquired by a minor or major company, the private company certificate is flipped over and placed reverse side up on the purchasing company's charter; or is removed from play, giving the acquiring company the associated power, token, or tile. Some of the private companies, once acquired by a major or minor company, cease paying revenue.

4.1.9 Some private companies continue to pay their revenue of $10 per operating round after they have been acquired and flipped, until they are closed by using their powers. This is noted on the reverse of the certificates and their revenue values are colored gold.

4.1.10 The special property of private company P7 is that it pays a revenue into the company treasury (variable based on game phase) once it has been acquired and flipped.

4.1.11 Private company revenue is paid to the owning company treasury during the "pay the private companies" phase of each operating round. Thus, the revenue cannot be received by the owning player pre-acquisition and then again by the acquiring company on the turn in which it is acquired. P14 and P15 (National Mail Service) are exceptions as this operation-based income is paid during the run trains phase if the company has a train to run the mail contract.

4.1.12 The powers of a private company can generally only be exercised by its owning company during the owning company's operating turn. The ability to declare double cash holding at the end of a stock round while owned by a player (private company P7) is the only exception to this.

4.1.13 A private company is never forced to close.

4.1.14 A company can own both mail contracts, but only one mail contract can be used per train. When running an E-train with a mail contract, the mail contract only pays half of the base value of the end cities, not half of the doubled value of the end cities. Similarly, when running a mail contract on a destination run, the mail contract only pays half of the base value of the destination city, not half of the doubled value of the destination city.

4.1.15 The powers of private company P12 or P13 (remove town) and private company P8 (advanced track lay) can be used together as part of the same track tile placement step.

4.1.16 Private companies P12 and P13 can only be used on a single town, not a double town. They can be used as a company's yellow track tile laying action to place a plain track tile on a single town hex or as an upgrade action to lay a plain track upgrade of the next color onto a previously placed town tile. Existing track must be preserved.

4.1.17 The private companies that provide trains or Pullman cars are acquired in accordance with their specific phase and minor/major company ownership restrictions.

P1: 5-train
P2: 2P-train (permanent 2-train)
P3: 3/2-train (permanent 3/2-train)
P4: LP-train (permanent L-train)
P5 and P6: Pullman car

Once acquired, the certificates are flipped over to show the rolling stock that they provide to the company. The 5-train is treated like a normal 5-train and can be purchased by another company. The LP-train, 3/2-train, and 2P-train are described as "special trains", and special rules apply to them. A Pullman car is not a train; it cannot run by itself, but may be attached to another train belonging to the company to give it special abilities. Pullman cars and special trains are restricted in that they cannot be purchased by other companies. Special trains and Pullman cars do not count against the train limit and do not count as trains for the purposes of mandatory train ownership.

4.1.18 P1, the 5-train, can be acquired as a private company once Phase 5 has begun even if the acquiring company is at the train limit. The acquiring company must check the number of trains owned against the current train limit immediately upon acquisition of the private company and discard a train to the bank pool if the train limit has been exceeded.

4.2 Minor Companies

4.2.1 There are 24 minor companies as listed in the Company Tables near the end of these rules.

4.2.2 A minor company only has a 50% director's certificate (one certificate counting as two shares). The other 50% of the company is effectively embedded in the company. There are no other shares in the minor company available to buy.

4.2.3 Minor companies can only be bought by players through the bidding mechanism in a stock round.

4.2.4 The minimum bid for a minor company is $100, which, because the director's certificate represents two shares, would give it an initial share price of $50. The bid track starts at $100, which represents this minimum possible bid.

4.2.5 M18 is purchased along with the FCM concession for a minimum bid of $200. M18 always starts at a share price of $50. When this pair is purchased, the M18 share price token is placed before any other minors that were started in the SR at a $50 share price.

4.2.6 At the end of the stock round, the player with the highest bid on a minor company must buy the 50% director's certificate for the price bid. The starting price for the company and its initial capitalization depend upon the phase of the game in which it was bought:

In Phase 1, irrespective of the price bid, the minor company starts at $50 (the solid red colored space on the stock market) with $100 starting treasury. The certificate represents two shares, so is worth twice the stock market price; i.e. it is worth $100.
In Phase 2, the price bid is divided by two and rounded down to the highest value in the starting value area on the stock market (outlined red, including the solid red colored space). The company receives twice this value as its starting treasury. For example, a bid of $100, $105, $110 or $115 will result in a price of $50, with $100 capital. A bid of $120, $125, $130, or $135 will result in a price of $60, with $120 capital. And so on, with any bid over $200 resulting in a price of $100 with $200 capital.
In Phase 3 and later, the price bid is divided by two and rounded down to the highest value in the starting value area on the stock market (outlined red, including the solid red colored space) as for Phase 2. The company starts with the sum bid as its starting treasury. Thus, for example, a bid of $135 would give a start price of $60 but with $135 capital, and a bid of $350 would give a start price of $100 (and therefore value $200), with $350 starting capital.

The following table shows possible starting prices per phase.

Bid Price	Share Price	Starting Capital (Phase 2 only)	Starting Capital (Phases 3 and up)
$110-$115	$50	$100	Price bid
$120-$135	$60	$120	Price bid
$140-$155	$70	$140	Price bid
$160-$175	$80	$160	Price bid
$180-$195	$90	$180	Price bid
$200 plus	$100	$200	Price bid

4.2.7 Once bought, a minor company may never be sold, though it can be acquired by a major company during its acquisition phase.

4.2.8 A minor company runs in a similar manner to a major company, subject to the following differences and restrictions:

As part of its first turn housekeeping it may purchase an L-train if there are any available from the bank (i.e. it can acquire an L-train at the start of its first operating turn and hence run the train on its first turn).
It only receives one tile lay per turn.
It may only place yellow and green tiles (private company special powers that involve brown and gray track are unavailable to a minor company).
Some private companies may not be acquired by a minor company (see the Company Tables near the end of these rules).
It only ever has one station token.
Its earnings must be split 50/50 between the company treasury and the director.

4.2.9 The director of each company controls its actions.

4.2.10 A minor company is obliged to own a train at the end of its operating turn.

4.3 Major Companies

4.3.1 There are seven major companies included in the game, as listed in the Company Tables near the end of these rules.

4.3.2 There are seven concession certificates in the game, one for each major company.

4.3.3 Until Phase 5, players cannot buy director's certificates directly. Instead, they acquire them by converting the associated concession during their turn of a stock round. Converting a concession enables the owning player to buy the director's certificate, and gives a $100 discount on the price of the director's certificate.

4.3.4 A concession certificate counts towards the owning player's certificate limit.

4.3.5 A concession certificate pays a dividend of $10 per operating round to the owning player.

4.3.6 At the start of Phase 5, any remaining concession certificates are removed from play. For those in player hands, there is no compensation to the owning player. From this point, the director's certificate of a company can be bought directly from the initial offering as a stock round "buy" action.

4.3.7 Concessions are bought through the bidding mechanism. The face value of a concession is $100.

4.3.8 Each company's stock consists of nine share certificates, one of which (the director's certificate) represents 20%, or two shares, of the total shares in the company. All other share certificates represent a single 10% share. No one player may buy more certificates in a company once they hold 60% of that company. This rule also applies to the NdeM. However, a player may acquire up to 100% of a major company's stock through share exchange in the acquisition of minor companies.

4.3.9 The director's certificate is always owned by the majority stockholder in the company. This player is the director of that company. If another player acquires more shares than the director, or the director sells enough shares to bring their holding below that of another player, the director's certificate is swapped for two 10% certificates belonging to that other player and the other player becomes the director.

4.3.10 In the early stages of the game, the director's certificate can be obtained only by converting the associated concession certificate (see section 5.7). Concessions cannot be converted in this way until Phase 2. Once the concession certificate has been converted and the player has taken the director's certificate, the company floats and becomes operational. The company receives twice its starting share price as initial capital. The remaining shares are placed in the company treasury on the company charter. Payments for additional shares bought from the company treasury are made to the company treasury.

4.3.11 At the start of Phase 5, the concession certificates are removed from play and a director's certificate may be bought as a stock round buy action. Flip them to the director's certificate side and place them with the company's other shares.

4.3.12 From Phase 5, a newly floated company does not become operational until 50% of its shares are sold.

4.3.13 For companies that float in Phase 6 or later, once 50% of the shares are sold, the company receives ten times its starting value as treasury and the remaining 50% of shares are placed in the bank pool, without adjusting the share price.

4.3.14 Thus any company that floats before Phase 6 will be funded incrementally as its shares are bought by players, whereas a company that floats in Phase 6 or 7 has full capitalization (with five shares placed in the pool). From Phase 5 a company needs to sell 50% of its shares to float, whereas to float in Phases 2 to 4 it only needs the directors certificate to be converted from the concession. The floatation conditions depend on the phase that is current at the time that the company floats (i.e. converts from its concession) or reaches 50% sold, not when it first operates.

4.3.15 Starting values are shown on the stock market in the red outlined area. Major and minor companies may start at $60, $70, $80, $90 or $100. Only minor companies may start at $50.

4.3.16 The director of each company controls its actions.

4.3.17 Major company earnings may be paid, wholly or partly, as a dividend (paid to players) or retained (kept in the treasury).

4.3.18 A major company is obliged to own a train at the end of its operating turn.

4.4 NdeM National Railroad Company

4.4.1 The NdeM is the national railroad and is not typically operated by a single player like the other companies. It functions autonomously in most cases, but players who own shares may participate in its operation during the operating rounds. The operations are further discussed in section 6.21, NdeM National Railroad Operation.

4.4.2 Four 10% NdeM shares start in the bank pool (one of these is the flipped over minor company from the game setup). All the minor certificates are back printed with 10% NdeM shares and there are three NdeM shares that are blank on the back. Throughout the game, the NdeM may claim stations in minor company home locations and replace the minor company's certificate with an NdeM certificate.

4.4.3 The NdeM has no director. At the beginning of the game, its share price is $100. Shares can be purchased from the bank pool from the beginning of the game.

4.4.4 NdeM shares never count against the certificate limit.

5. Stock Rounds

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 At the start and end of each stock round, if there are any vacancies in the bidding boxes, all the certificates present are shifted to the lowest numbered boxes, and then the concession certificates, minor company director's certificates, and private company certificates on the top of their respective piles are placed in any appropriate empty bidding boxes (filling lowest numbered vacancies first). Thus, in the first stock round, four of the minor company director's certificates, and three each of the major company concession certificates and the private company certificates are moved from their respective stacks to empty bidding boxes.

5.1.2 The stock round starts with the holder of the Player 1 card and proceeds in player number order until all players pass in turn. All share certificate transfers in a stock round are made between a player and either the bank or a company. Players may never buy shares directly from one another.

5.1.3 In a player's stock round turn, they may perform one or more of the following actions, which must be undertaken in the order listed, or they may perform none of these actions, in which case they are considered to have passed:

Sell any certificates subject to the limits set out below
Repay loans
Do one of the following:
- Buy one major company share certificate
- Convert a concession certificate to a director's certificate
- Place or increase up to three bids on the concession certificates, minor company director's certificates, and/or private companies, using the bidding boxes

5.2 Bank Pool

5.2.1 Shares sold to the bank and trains returned to the bank are placed in the bank pool. Items in the bank pool may be bought by players or companies per the rules.

5.3 The Stock Market

5.3.1 The stock market is shown as a linear chart. The value of a company's shares (also known as the share price) is shown by the company's stock market token on this chart. The share price each space represents is marked on the space.

5.3.2 There is one space shaded solid red and five red-outlined areas. These are the initial positions allowed for a company's stock market token. Only minor companies may start in the solid red colored space.

5.3.3 Several spaces on the left side of the stock market are outlined in yellow. Share certificates in a company whose stock market value token is in this area do not count against the certificate limit.

5.4 Player Loans

5.4.1 The director of a company may be forced to take loans to fund train purchases if the company has no train. (see section 6.15, Forced Train Purchase, and 6.16, Emergency Money Raising). A player may not buy any shares, convert a concession, or place a bid whilst they have loans.

5.4.2 A player is not obliged to sell shares to raise money to pay off loans.

5.4.3 If a player still has debt at the end of a stock round, a further 50% interest (rounded up) is charged by the bank. Any debt still held by a player at the end of the game is subtracted from their wealth.

5.4.4 The sum of any loans in play does not affect the bank limit of $12,000 (i.e. treat the loan as coming from a separate source, not the bank).

Example. During Phase 4, a company has $140 cash, but no train. The director has only $20 cash. The director chooses not to buy a train from another company. The company therefore enters the emergency money raising procedure. The director first adds their $20, for a total of $160. Then the director sells one share (all that they can sell), for $80, taking the total sum to $240. However, the next available train is a 4-train, costing $300. The director therefore takes a loan of $60 to make up the shortfall. 50% interest is applied to this, resulting in a total debt of $90. During the remainder of the operating round, the player earns a further $50 and they enter the stock round with a $90 debt. They pay $50 off the loan during their turn (leaving a $40 loan), but since they have nothing that they can sell during the stock round, their debt remains and a 50% interest charge of $20 is added to it. We hope that they earn enough to pay off the outstanding balance of $60 in the next set of operating rounds.

5.5 Selling Shares

5.5.1 In their stock round turn, a player may sell any number of share certificates, transferring them from their holdings into the bank pool subject to the constraints set out below. Only ordinary shares in major companies may be sold to the bank pool. The following rules apply:

Private companies, minor companies, and concessions may not be sold.
Shares cannot be sold in a company that has not completed an operating round, including the NdeM.
A maximum of 50% of a company's stock (excluding NdeM shares) is allowed in the bank pool.
The director's certificate cannot be sold into the bank pool. However, if because of selling shares, the holding of a company director drops below that of another player (who must own at least 20% of the company) that player becomes the new director. If there is more than one eligible player, the new director is the player with the largest holding, or, in the case of a tie, the tying player closest to the outgoing director in next player order from the director. The outgoing director exchanges their director's certificate for two ordinary 10% shares of the affected company belonging to the new director. This exchange occurs before resolving the rest of the sale. This mechanism allows the director of a company to divest themselves of the directorship without the director's certificate entering the bank pool.

5.5.2 The player receives the current share price from the bank for each share sold.

5.5.3 Selling shares causes the company's price to drop after all sales are complete and the seller receives their payment. Move the company's stock market token:

Left one space for each 10% share sold, if sold by the director.
Left one space total (regardless of the number of shares), if sold by any other player.

5.5.4 Selling NdeM shares does not affect the NdeM share price.

5.5.5 If the token is at the leftmost space, then it does not move.

5.5.6 If the token moves to a space on the stock market which is already occupied by other stock market tokens, it is placed at the bottom of the pile; if the token stays on its original space it stays in its relative position in the pile. The player receives the original price for each of the shares sold.

5.5.7 A player who sells shares in more than one company in a single turn decides on the order in which to sell them; this will decide the relative order of companies whose stock market tokens move to the same space.

5.5.8 A player who owns more stock than the certificate limit allows must sell stock, if possible, to bring themselves within the limit at their first opportunity in a stock round. If they can sell some stock but not enough to be within the limit, then they must sell what they can.

5.6 Buying Shares

5.6.1 To buy stock, the active player transfers one certificate from the bank pool or a company treasury into their own holdings, paying the stock market value. If the certificate is from the bank pool, the payment is made to the bank; if the certificate is from the company treasury, the payment is made to the company treasury.

5.6.2 Only shares that have a stock market value can be bought in this way; i.e. the director's certificate of a company cannot be bought by a "buy" action until Phase 5, and ordinary shares of a company cannot be bought until some player holds the director's certificate. From Phase 5, the stock market value is set by the purchasing player when taking the director's certificate.

5.6.3 Buying stock does not cause the current share price to change.

5.6.4 Only one certificate may be bought per stock round turn.

5.6.5 A player cannot buy stock in a company if they sold any of its stock earlier in the same stock round.

5.6.6 Players may not buy additional certificates in a company once they hold 60% of that company, including the NdeM. However, it is possible for a player to acquire up to 100% of a major company's stock through share exchange during the acquisition of minor companies.

5.6.7 A player cannot buy any share certificate that would cause them to exceed the certificate limit, even if the purchase would cause a change of directorship and at once reduce the player's holding back to the limit.

5.6.8 If, because of a share purchase, the player's holding exceeds that of the current director, they become the new director, exchanging the director's certificate for two 10% certificates of their own.

5.7 Converting a Concession to a Director's Certificate (Phases 2-4)

5.7.1 Concessions cannot be converted until Phase 2 and are removed from play without compensation at the start of Phase 5.

5.7.2 The concession holder announces that they are converting the concession. They turn over the concession certificate to the 20% director's certificate side. They determine the initial starting share price (from $60 to $100 in increments of $10).

5.7.3 They take the appropriate company charter and place $100 from the bank in the company treasury on its charter. They pay the balance (of two times the starting price less $100) into the company treasury from hand. The company is now floated and will operate in the next operating round. The remaining certificates are placed in the company treasury and are available for purchase by players.

5.7.4 Note that concessions can only be bought through the bidding mechanism. At the end of a stock round, those items that have bids on them are bought. A player therefore does not gain possession of a concession until the stock round has finished and cannot convert it until the following stock round.

5.7.5 Proceed to 5.9 to complete major company setup.

5.8 Forming a Major Company Directly (Phases 5-7)

5.8.1 At the start of Phase 5, the concession certificates are removed from play and the director's certificates may be bought as a standard buy action. Flip them to the director's certificate side and place them with the company's other shares.

5.8.2 From Phase 5, a newly formed company does not float and become operational until 50% of its shares are sold.

5.8.3 For companies that float in Phase 6 or later, once 50% of the shares are sold, the company receives ten times its starting value as treasury and the remaining 50% of shares are placed in the bank pool.

5.8.4 Thus a company that floats before Phase 6 will be funded through incremental capitalization as players buy its shares, whereas a company that floats in Phase 6 or 7 has full capitalization (with five shares placed in the pool).

5.8.5 From Phase 5, a company needs to sell 50% of its shares to float, whereas to float in Phases 2 to 4, it only needs the director's certificate to be converted from the concession.

5.8.6 The floatation conditions are dependent on the phase that is current at the time that the company floats (i.e. converts from its concession) or reaches 50% sold, not when it first operates. A company floats during a stock round, but phase changes occur at the end of a stock round (possibly) or during an operating round.

5.8.7 Proceed to 5.9 to complete major company setup.

5.9 Completing Major Company Setup

5.9.1 Whether formed by converting a concession or directly, the rest of the setup is the same.

5.9.2 The player takes the company's tokens. They put the share price token in the corresponding red-outlined space (between $60 and $100) on the stock market, underneath any tokens already there. Each major company has a revenue marker to mark earnings per operating round on the revenue track.

5.9.3 The player takes the station tokens and places them on the charter in the spaces that match the type of token. Each company has five regular tokens and one black banner destination token. The spaces that are blank are not filled and may later be used if a company converts one of its "Exchange" tokens to an "Available" token.

5.10 Bidding

5.10.1 There are four bidding boxes for the minor company director's certificates, and three of each for the major company concession certificates and private company certificates.

5.10.2 At the start and end of each stock round, if there are any vacancies in the bidding boxes, the remaining certificates are all shifted to the lowest numbered boxes, and then the top concession certificates, minor company director's certificates, and private company certificates are placed in any corresponding empty bidding boxes (filling lowest numbered vacancies first).

5.10.3 Each player has a limited number of bidding tokens (based on the number of players in the game), which also represents the maximum number of the items available that they may bid on during any stock round.

5.10.4 To place a bid, a player performs one of the following actions:

Place an unallocated bidding token in an empty space on a bidding box.
Move a previously-placed bidding token to a higher-valued empty space on the same item. This is only allowed if another player has placed a higher bid on that item.

5.10.5 Players may place and/or move up to three bids in a stock turn.

5.10.6 The opening bid on any item must be equal to or greater than the face value. All bids must be in whole multiples of $5.

5.10.7 A bid must be higher than any previously placed bids for that item, and the bid must not raise the player's committed resources to more than their available cash in hand. A player's committed resources are the sum of the amounts bid for those items for which they have the highest bid. Note that a player's committed resources may go down if they are outbid by another player on an item for which their bid was previously highest.

5.10.8 A player may not place a bid on an item if they are at the certificate limit. Each item on which a player currently has the highest bid counts as a certificate against the certificate limit.

5.10.9 If a player wishes to bid $100 or more over face value for an item, they may do so. A spare token (i.e. not one of the players' actual bidding tokens), or a $100 chip is placed on the item each time the bidding goes "round the clock."

5.10.10 A player who has bid on an item cannot withdraw that bid by taking the bidding token back into their hand or by moving it to make a bid on another item, even if they are later overbid by another player.

5.11 Certificate Limit

5.11.1 Each certificate a player owns counts against the certificate limit corresponding to the number of players in the game.

Number of Players	3	4	5
Certificate Limit	16*	13*	10*

*NdeM shares never count against the certificate limit.

5.11.2 Each private company, concession, and share certificate that a player owns counts as a certificate toward the certificate limit. However, share certificates for a company whose stock market value token is in the yellow outlined area of the stock market do not count against the certificate limit.

5.11.3 A player cannot buy any share certificate that would cause them to exceed the certificate limit, even if the purchase would cause a change of directorship and at once reduce the player's holding back to the limit.

5.11.4 A player may not place a bid on an item if they are at the certificate limit. Each item on which a player currently has the highest bid counts as a certificate against the certificate limit.

5.11.5 A player who owns more stock than the certificate limit allows must sell stock, if possible, to bring themselves within the limit at their first opportunity in a stock round or during emergency money raising (see section 6.16), whichever occurs first. If they can sell some stock but not enough to be within the limit, then they must sell what they can.

5.12 End of Stock Round

5.12.1 Once all players pass consecutively, the stock round is over.

5.12.2 First, place the share price tokens for the sold minor companies on the stock market. Next, each player pays for and takes the items on which they were the highest bidder, removing their bidding tokens as they do so. Because minor companies run before major companies, it is convenient to place minor company tokens on top of any major company tokens already on the relevant space. If any minor companies already occupy the relevant space, then the new tokens are placed beneath them.

5.12.3 If two or more minor companies float at the same price (in Phase 1, the only allowed price is $50), then they are placed in order of amount bid, with the highest bid being at the top. If they are tied, then they are placed in order of bidding box number, lower number first. On the round that M18 is bought, it is placed on top, superseding any other minor companies that start at $50.

5.12.4 Then, for each minor company with no bid placed upon it at the end of the stock round (including M18 if it did not receive a bid), one L/2-train is removed from the bank and placed on the NdeM charter, discarding the cheapest trains (if necessary) to meet the train limit. In Phase 1, the NdeM takes trains as Ls. In Phase 2, it takes them as 2-trains. Once there are no L/2-trains remaining in the bank, then no action is taken.

5.12.5 Then, if the minor company in Minor Company Bid Box 1 is unsold at the end of the stock round, it is removed from play and the next available new train from the bank (not bank pool) is placed in the NdeM, again discarding cheaper trains if necessary. Thus, a minor unsold in Bid Box 1 could remove two trains from the bank if there is still at least one L/2 train remaining. This train counts as a sale and can cause a phase change. Trains discarded by the NdeM are removed from the game, not placed in the bank pool. There are two double sided trains:

L/2 trains: In Phase 1, the NdeM takes the train as an L-train. In Phase 2, it takes it as a 2-train.
7/E trains: the NdeM takes the train as 7-train.

5.12.6 While the NdeM is open, any minor company that is removed by the game is turned into an NdeM station (flip the token to the NdeM side and place it in the minor's home city). Flip the minor company share over to show the NdeM share and place it in the bank pool. This share is available for purchase in a stock round. The NdeM may have multiple unconnected stations on a hex/tile. If tiles with separate stations merge, remove extra NdeM stations from this tile (always leave one). After the NdeM has closed (this happens during Phase 7), the minor companies are still removed in this way, but instead, the minor company's home station location becomes available for a major company to place a station token there. 7/E trains need no longer be taken for the unsold minor company in Bid Box 1, as they are unlimited.

5.12.7 All other unsold items stay on the bidding boxes. Those in higher numbered boxes are moved to occupy lower numbered bidding boxes. For example, if a minor company in Bid Box 3 was the only item unsold, it would be moved to Bid Box 1 before repopulating the remaining bidding boxes. The bidding boxes are repopulated at the end and again at the beginning of a stock round (this is only relevant after Phase 5, when companies can acquire minor companies directly from the bidding boxes during an operating round).

5.12.8 The Player 1 player order card for the next stock turn is given to the player with the most cash. The Player 2 card is given to the player with the second most cash and so on. If two players have equal cash, their stock turn order stays unchanged from the previous stock round.

5.12.9 50% interest is charged on any outstanding loans.

5.13.1 At the end of the stock round, if 100% of any major company (except the NdeM) is in players' hands, the stock market token for each such company moves one space right on the stock market. The NdeM never increases share price for being "all sold."

5.13.2 All affected stock market tokens move in descending share price order, and from top to bottom when stacked together. If a company's token moves to a space which is already occupied, it goes to the bottom of the stack.

5.13.3 Minor companies are never 100% sold out, as only 50% of their share stock is available for sale.

6. Operating Rounds

6.1 Number of Operating Rounds

6.1.1 Initially there is a single operating round after each stock round. Once the first 2-train has been bought, after the next stock round there will be two operating rounds after each stock round.

6.2 Operating Round Turn Order

6.2.1 During an operating round, companies run in the following order:

Private companies and concessions pay their dividends to their owners (whether players or companies). Note that there are some restrictions on the private companies when owned by major or minor companies.
Minor companies run in descending share price order.
Major companies run in descending share price order.
The NdeM runs last if it is still active.

6.2.2 If the stock values of two or more companies are equal, then the one whose stock market token is on top runs first. The decision about which company is to run next is deferred until the end of the previous company's operations; sales of stock during an operating round (which in practice rarely occurs) may affect this order.

6.3 Operating Round Actions

6.3.1 All decisions made on behalf of a company are made solely by its director. When a company runs, it performs the following activities. Most are optional, but if done, they must occur in this order:

Perform first turn housekeeping (first turn only, compulsory).
Acquire private companies from (consenting) player(s).
Lay/upgrade track.
Check for connection to destination and place destination token if applicable (major companies only).
Place one station token (major companies only).
Run train(s), if any, to establish earnings (compulsory).
Pay, split, or withhold dividends (minor companies must split earnings).
Buy rolling stock (usually optional but sometimes compulsory).
Acquire a minor company from a (willing) player, or from Phase 5 onwards, from a bidding box (major companies only).
Issue or redeem company stock (major companies only).

6.4 Routes

6.4.1 Many company activities revolve around routes. A route of a company is a continuous unbranched length of track, including at least one city or off-board area with a station token on it belonging to the company.

6.4.2 For the purposes of running a train, a route must not reach or pass through any hex with a city or town on it more than once. However, it is permissible for a train to pass through both towns in a double town hex (or separate tracks on a plain track tile), so long as the route uses different track segments each time.

6.4.3 For the purposes of tracing a route to place a token, lay or upgrade a tile, or perform an acquisition, a route is allowed to trace through different city slots on the same hex as long as there are no blocking tokens.

6.4.4 A route is blocked by and cannot pass through any city completely filled with station tokens belonging to other companies, although it may begin and/or end in such a city. A route may not use any segment of track more than once.

6.4.5 Most gray off-board areas are termini. A route can begin and/or end at one of these locations, but cannot pass through it. In all other respects, the pointed pre-printed track functions as normal track linking the station in the off-board hex to the adjoining hex. These off-board locations have multiple routes leading to/from them. Despite this, the locations, if included in routes, must be termini. Tucson is an exception and is treated like a normal city for determining routes.

6.4.6 Gray areas are preprinted with revenue income that varies by phase. The yellow value refers to Phases 1 and 2; the green value to Phases 3 and 4; brown to Phases 5 and 6 and gray to Phase 7.

6.4.7 There are dashed blue lines between the Baja California peninsula and the mainland. These represent ferry connections that are only used for demonstrating route connectivity when acquiring a minor company (not for placing available tokens, laying tiles, or running trains). For this purpose, all of these spikes are considered connected. Port tiles placed on these spikes do not affect the connectivity.

6.5 Rolling Stock

6.5.1 Trains come in several types, labeled L, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and E. There are also a 2P-train, an LP-train, and a 3/2-trains (collectively called "special trains"), Pullman "+" cars, and an additional 5-train available as private companies. The available trains sold by the bank are shown in the Rolling Stock Table.

Train Type	Number Available	Cost	Effect on Game Phase	Rusts	Rusted By
L	22 (L/2 double-sided)	$60	Game starts in Phase 1	-	3
2	22 (L/2 double-sided)	$120	Phase 2 starts with the upgrade of an L to a 2-train or the purchase of the first 2-train	-	4
3	7	$200	Phase 3 starts with the purchase of the first 3	L	6
4	4	$300	Phase 4 starts with the purchase of the first 4	2	7/E
5	2	$500	Phase 5 starts with the purchase of the first 5	-	Permanent
6	3	$600	Phase 6 starts with the purchase of the first 6	3	Permanent
7	Unlimited (7/E double-sided)	$750	Phase 7 starts with the purchase of the first 7/E	4	Permanent
Express (E)	Unlimited (7/E double-sided)	$1,000	Phase 7 starts with the purchase of the first 7/E	-	Permanent

Note: A phase starts either when the first train of a type is purchased, or when it is taken by the NdeM.

6.5.2 Each operating minor or major company is required to own a train at the end of its operating turn.

6.5.3 An L (local) train runs in a city which has a station token of the owning (minor or major) company. It can additionally run to a town, but is not required to do so. It can thus be considered a 1+1 train (if you are familiar with that term from other 18xx games). Both major and minor companies may own L-trains, but only a minor company may buy an L-train as part of its first turn housekeeping. Only one L-train may operate on each station token.

6.5.4 For 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7-trains, the number represents the maximum number of revenue locations the train may reach and earn revenue for. The trains count towns, cities, and off-board locations against this number. Each route that such a train runs must have a station with a token and at least one other location (town, city, off-board location).

6.5.5 The 5-train acquired with private company P1 (Baldwin Locomotive Works Contract), once acquired by the private company acquisition, is treated exactly like a normal 5-train and is not subject to any other restrictions. The acquisition of the private company is treated as a private company acquisition and not a train-buying action and therefore is not subject to the normal restrictions on train-buying actions.

6.5.6 A Pullman car converts a normal N-train into an N+ train. An N+ train may count any number of towns in its run in addition to counting up to N cities and/or off-board locations. It earns the revenue from passing through these towns even though it does not count them toward the limit of N. It can begin and/or end at a town. A Pullman car can be used with a special train. A Pullman car cannot be used with an E-train. Although a Pullman car cannot be sold between companies, it can be attached to a different train owned by the same company each operating round.

6.5.7 A Pullman car is permanent. A company may never own more than one Pullman car, nor may Pullman cars ever be sold between companies. A Pullman car is not a train and does not count for the purpose of mandatory train ownership, i.e. a company with only a Pullman car is still forced to buy a train. A Pullman car does not count against the train limit.

6.5.8 The L and 2-trains are printed double-sided. When buying an L/2-train, the company's director chooses which to buy. When upgrading from an L-train to a 2-train the train card is flipped. Upgrading from an L to a 2-train counts as a train purchase.

6.5.9 Similarly, the 7-train and E-trains are printed double-sided: when buying a 7/E-train the company director chooses which option to buy. Once this decision has been made it cannot be changed. 7-trains cannot be upgraded to E-trains (or E-trains downgraded to 7-trains).

6.5.10 An Express (E) train only stops at cities with station tokens of the owning company. It can pass through other stations on its route, NOT counting their revenue values, as long as an open space exists on that station. It follows that an E-train can only stop at an off-board location (and indeed at any station) if a station token of the owning company has been placed there. The value of each station that the train counts is doubled. There is no limit to the number of stations that an E-train can stop at, other than that imposed by the number of tokens on the map and the route between them.

6.5.11 E-trains double the doubled value of destination cities.

6.5.12 A company may own at most one E-train.

6.5.13 An E-train can run on the same track as other trains.

6.5.14 Minor companies can own E-trains, but because they only have one token, they cannot operate them.

6.5.15 There are three special trains that are bought as private companies (in addition to the private company P1 5-train, which is a normal 5-train). A company may only own one of these special trains at a time. If a company has one of them and acquires another, it must select one to discard from the game. These trains are permanent and not subject to the normal rusting rules. A special train may never be sold and does not count as a train for the purpose of mandatory train ownership, i.e. a company with only a special train is still forced to buy a train. The special trains do not count against the train limit.

The 2P-train operates like a normal 2-train with the listed exceptions.
The LP-train operates like a normal L-train with the listed exceptions.
The 3/2 train runs like a normal 3-train with the listed exceptions, but its earnings are halved after all bonuses/Pullman revenue are included (round up the halved earnings to the nearest multiple of 10).

6.5.16 The purchase of trains advances the game's phase. Each time the first of a new type of train is bought or taken by the NdeM, the phase advances. At the start of certain phases, some trains rust (become obsolete). A rusted train is removed from the game without compensation as soon as the phase change that caused this occurs. Section 3 covers phase changes in detail.

6.6 First Turn Housekeeping

6.6.1 On a major or minor company's first turn of operation, the company director places the company's free home station token on its home city, which is marked on the map.

6.6.2 Place the initial capital in the company treasury.

6.6.3 A minor company (only) may buy an L-train, if any remain available for purchase from the bank or bank pool.

6.6.4 Note that when emergency money raising to buy a train from the bank or bank pool, the cheapest available train must be purchased. Thus, a minor company starting with $100 in its treasury cannot choose to buy a 2-train at the end of its turn using emergency money raising, but must buy an L-train. (The minor company can of course purchase an L-train at the start of its turn during first turn housekeeping). All minor companies starting in Phase 1 will have $100 treasury. Minor companies starting after Phase 1 may have more.

6.7 Acquire Private Companies

6.7.1 A company (major or minor) may acquire private companies from one or more consenting players providing the phase acquisition requirement has been met. It is common for the player offering the private company to be the director of the acquiring company. No compensation is paid by the acquiring company to the player. Once acquired by a company, a private company is flipped over and its special properties can be used by the acquiring company. There are some exceptions to these rules, as noted in the description for each private company.

6.8 Build Actions - Lay Track/Upgrade Track/Place a Builder Cube

6.8.1 In this part of its turn a company may place track tiles on the map and/or place builder cubes.

6.8.2 Most build actions are to place tiles on the board. The placement of yellow tiles is differentiated from upgrading tiles because various companies have different building allowances.

In Phase 1/L and Phase 2:

Each company (minor or major) may take one "yellow tile" build action (major companies may not form until Phase 2).
Each NdeM shareholder may take one "yellow tile" build action.

From Phase 3 on:

A minor company may take one "yellow tile" build action or one tile upgrade (limited to green only).
A major company may take two "yellow tile" build actions or one tile upgrade (to green/brown/gray).
Each NdeM owner may take two "yellow tile" builds or one tile upgrade (to green/brown/gray).

Each "yellow tile" build action may instead be used to place a builder cube.

6.8.3 In cases where a builder cube is placed in lieu of a yellow tile action, only the action is replaced. The cube may be placed on any color hex as long as it is accessible (see section 6.8.15).

6.8.4 Yellow tiles are laid on, and aligned with, the pale green colored hexes on the map. These may be upgraded successively to green, brown, and gray, when those colors become available due to phase changes. Development proceeds in order; intermediate colors must not be skipped. The upgraded tile is returned to the bank and is available for reuse elsewhere.

6.8.5 Towns are represented on the map by small solid black circles and on track tiles by a solid black bar on yellow tiles or a small solid black circle on upgraded tiles. Large open circles represent large cities, and are either unlabeled or labeled (T or Y). Labeled large city tiles may be placed only on correspondingly-labeled large city hexes, and only correspondingly-labeled tiles may be placed on such hexes.

6.8.6 There are no yellow tiles marked "T". Use a plain yellow city tile which can later be upgraded to a green "T" city. Six "T" markers are provided to place on the plain yellow city tile to mark them as a play aid until players become familar with the locations of the "T" cities. There are only five "T" cities so there is one spare marker.

6.8.7 Some hexes start with existing track upon them and an initial revenue value. Other large cities on the base map have no track and a value of $0. Companies are not obliged to lay track.

6.8.8 If there is no track in the hex where a company's station resides, the company may lay any suitable yellow city tile there.

6.8.9 If upgrading plain track, some of the track on the newly placed tile (not necessarily track which is present on the old tile, if any) must form part of a route of the company, and all the track on the old tile (if any) must be present in the same orientations on the new one. Town and large city track tiles may also be placed or upgraded if the operating company can trace a route to a town or city on the hex after the upgrade tile is placed.

6.8.10 Tiles must not be laid so that track runs off the hex grid, into a blank gray hex edge, nor so that track runs to a red-bordered hex edge.

6.8.11 Offshore arrows (adjacent to various coastal towns) allow greater flexibility in track placement and upgrade. The ones that point to water also allow placement of a port tile. More information is provided in the private company descriptions at the end of the rules.

6.8.12 The red line in Guatemala is treated like a hexside on the edge of the board and track may not be built into it.

6.8.13 The map has rivers, rough terrain, and mountain ranges. Placing yellow track tiles in these regions, known as "difficult terrain," costs the laying company the respective fee. The fees are cumulative.

Hexes with river costs are shown with a blue "$20" and add a cost of $20.
Hexes with rough terrain are shown with an outlined dome and add a cost of $40.
Hexes with mountainous terrain are shown with a solid black triangle and add a cost of $80.

6.8.14 The extra cubes set aside as "builder cubes" during setup are the pool of rail building contractors that can be hired instead of a yellow tile build action. Cubes may be placed on any color hex where a difficult terrain cost is marked, but not on the Mexico City hex. Cube color doesn't matter.

6.8.15 When placing a builder cube, the operating company must have a route to an edge of the hex and may lay a cube on the hex instead of a track. One cube pays for a river cost ($20) or hill cost ($40). Two cubes pays for a mountain cost ($80). A single cube on a mountain hex provides no discount toward the mountain cost. Multiple cube discounts may be used when a tile is laid for hexes with multiple terrain costs. When the tile is laid, the cubes go back to the pool. Terrain costs can be paid upon tile placement with already laid cubes or cash from the active company at the director's discretion.

6.8.16 If the supply of cubes runs out, cubes may be taken from those already played on the board.

6.8.17 A major company may use a yellow tile build action (first yellow tile) to lay a cube and then immediately lay a yellow tile (which counts as the second yellow tile) in that hex in Phase 3 or later. It could use the two yellow tile build actions to place two cubes (in the same or different hexes) to save on future building costs. It could also lay a yellow tile and then place a cube in a hex to which the yellow tile just played provides a route.

6.8.18 Except for difficult terrain, track placements and upgrades are free.

6.8.19 A company with insufficient funds cannot lay a track tile in difficult terrain.

6.8.20 A company may choose to play no track at all, or may place less than its full allowance. If two tiles are being played they do not have to connect to each other.

6.8.21 The supplied quantity of plain yellow track (#7, #8, #9) is not intended to limit play. The mix of all other tiles is intended to limit play. If a vital tile is in play, then it must first be upgraded to free it.

6.8.22 In Phase 3, green tiles become available. In Phase 5, brown tiles become available. In Phase 7, gray tiles become available.

6.8.23 It is possible that a company has multiple tokens on the same hex that are not in the same city grouping. This is allowed and when these tokens merge, extra tokens in excess of one on the hex are returned to the "Available" section of the charter for use following the normal rules.

6.8.24 In the brown and gray-colored track tiles, there are tiles for large stations with five track segments and equivalent tiles with six track segments. When playing these tiles, the 6-way track tiles must be used in preference to the 5-way track tiles wherever possible.

6.9 Mexico City

6.9.1 Upgrading Mexico City costs $20 for each upgrade with no option for builder cube discounts. No tile is placed to make the upgrade; however, this counts as a normal track lay of the appropriate color. Instead, the next token in the MC track color upgrade sequence is placed in the center of the MC hex. Prior to upgrading to yellow, the Mexico City stations have a revenue value of $20. Pre-existing track exists from each of the six stations to the adjacent hex. An optional black MC tile is provided to match the height of the surrounding tiles as they are built.

6.9.2 The five unbuilt hexes around Mexico City are reserved for the adjoining companies and cannot have a yellow tile placed on them without the agreement of the director or concession holder of the respective major or minor company. However, any company with a route to the hexside may lay a builder cube in the hex following the normal rules. If the company that controls such a hex has no director or concession holder, then a tile may only be laid if it connects the associated Mexico City station to existing track. There is no restriction on upgrading these tiles once placed.

6.9.3 It is not legal to run a train from one Mexico City station to another Mexico City station and it is not possible to run through Mexico City; it can only be a terminus.

6.10 Check for Connection to Destination

6.10.1 After its tile laying step, if the major company can trace a route from its home station to its destination station then it must place its destination station token in its destination station; this is free of charge.

6.10.2 This must be done as part of the operating company's turn at the first occasion on which the connection to the destination is made. The action cannot be deferred.

6.10.3 When a major company is tracing a route to determine a connection to its destination, it need not have a train that can reach from its home station to its destination station, or indeed any train at all.

6.10.4 When a company runs a train between its home station and its destination station, it doubles the value of its destination station. This only applies to one train per operating turn. If an E-train runs a destination route, then the doubled destination value of the city is doubled by the E-train, i.e. the destination city value is multiplied by 4.

6.10.5 The route need not start or end at the home station or destination station. It may extend beyond either or both of them.

6.10.6 The destination station token has a black banner on it to identify it.

Example. In the figure, both FCM and IRM have reached and placed their destinations in Veracruz. Since M19 is still in the stack of minor companies, this station remains open (the white 19 is illustrated to show that it is M19's home). IRM reached there second, but it counts as connected. No company is allowed to place a station in this space. If a company were to acquire M19 and reject its token (taking it as an "Available" token), the IRM token would immediately fill the newly emptied space.

6.10.7 Destination stations are not reserved and can be tokened by other companies. The destination station location is still available to the owning company. When placing destination tokens, if there is no available token space then the token is simply placed on the destination tile adjacent to the city. Until the tile is upgraded, or if further upgrades do not create additional token spaces, then the destination effectively creates an additional token space in the destination city. If the tile is upgraded to create an extra token space the destination token is at once moved into the space created, irrespective of which company upgraded the tile.

6.11 Station Tokens

6.11.1 Each major company has a total of eight tokens. There are one each to represent its share price and latest earnings and six to represent stations on the map.

6.11.2 When each major company starts, it can utilize three station tokens: a home station token, a destination station token, and an "Available" (normal) station token.

6.11.3 Each minor company has a single home station token.

6.11.4 A major company that acquires a minor company may place an "Exchange" token on the map in place of the acquired minor company home token. If it does not do so, it must move an "Exchange" token to the "Available" token area of its charter if it has an "Exchange" token left (see minor company acquisitions).

6.11.5 Each turn, a company may place a single ("Available"/normal) station token. It may never place more than one of these per turn, except that a home station token placed in first turn housekeeping does not count against this limit. Destination station tokens and "Exchange" tokens do not count against this limit.

6.11.6 A company which has an "available" token may place one on a vacant city or off-board area space which is part of a route of the company. No more than one station token of any company may be placed in any single city/off-board area. One space on each company's home hex is reserved for that company, and other companies must leave a space free if that company has not yet had its first operating turn. (Note that there must really be space there; it is not enough to claim that the track tile might be upgraded to create a space). Exception: Some hexes/tiles, including Mexico City, have ungrouped stations. No more than one token per group is permitted.

6.11.7 In most cases, a company may not have more than one token in a hex. The tiles and off-board areas show the conventional grouping of slots by enclosing them in an oval. However, there are some exceptions in hexes with preprinted track on the board which start with separate unconnected token slots. The upgrade paths for these cities are a single merged city. It is possible, typically via minor company acquisition or via the NdeM privatization token auction, that a company has multiple tokens on the same hex that are not in the same grouping. This is allowed, and when these tokens merge, extra tokens in excess of one are returned to the "Available" section of the charter for use following the normal rules.

6.11.8 "Exchange" tokens can only be used by acquisition of minor companies or for the acquisition of NdeM tokens by auction when the NdeM closes.

6.11.9 Once placed, a station token may not be moved, although a minor company station token can be removed because of acquisition, or if the minor company is removed from the game at the end of a stock round.

6.11.10 Minor companies never receive more station tokens.

6.11.11 Station token placements other than home stations, destination stations, and "Exchange" tokens must be paid for. The cost is $100. If the company has insufficient money in its treasury, it may not place the station token.

6.12 Run Train(s)

6.12.1 If the company has one or more trains, it runs them on its routes (see section 6.4) to establish earnings. For most trains, the route used by each train must include at least two (large/city or small/town) stations but no more stations (large or small, combined) than the number of the train. Intermediate stations cannot be skipped.

6.12.2 If a company owns more than one train, each must be run on a separate route. That is, the routes employed must not have any track segments in common, though they may use one or more common revenue locations, as long as they do so using different track.

6.12.3 The exceptions to the above are:

An L-train (local train) runs in a city which has a station token of the owning company. It can additionally run to a single town, but is not required to do so. It can thus be considered a 1+1 train. Only one L-train can run in a given station token.
A train with a Pullman car attached counts any number of towns in addition to its standard number of cities.
An E-train (express train) only stops at station tokens belonging to the owning company and skips all other stations, subject to the usual rules regarding routes and blocking station tokens. An E-train may run on the same track as other trains. The value of stations is doubled when determining the earnings.

6.12.4 Every route must include at least one of the company's station tokens on it somewhere, and routes cannot pass through stations filled with other companies' station tokens (though they may start and/or end at them).

6.12.5 The value of a route is equal to the sum of the values of the stations it passes through or reaches. The value of a station is the number printed in the small circle or the appropriate value in the colored rectangle, for values dependent on the current phase.

6.12.6 When a company runs a train between its home station token and its destination station token it doubles the value of its destination station. This only applies to one train per operating turn. If an E-train runs a destination route, then the doubled destination value of the city is doubled by the E-train, i.e. the destination city value is multiplied by 4.

6.12.7 The operating company must run its trains for the maximum total revenue achievable.

Exceptions:

When running a train with a mail contract, the run's value may be reduced to increase the mail income to the operating company treasury. In particular, if a company is running a "+" train with a mail contract, the train may stop at a large station to maximize mail income, rather than running beyond the large station to small towns to maximize earnings, if the director so desires.
When running a special train, and paying the revenue differently from the revenue from other trains, the total revenue must be maximized, but the relative value of the split between the special trains and the normal trains need not maximize either of the two separate amounts (see rule 6.16.2).

6.12.8 A company's earnings are the sum of the values of the routes run by its trains. The highest legal earnings announced by any player must be declared, but players are not obliged to announce earnings higher than those declared by the director.

6.12.9 The earnings token should be placed on the revenue track to reflect the total amount earned. This step is optional, but it serves to remind players later what each company's earnings were and hence speed up the game.

6.13 Earnings Distribution

6.13.1 A major company may keep all its earnings in its treasury, pay all its earnings as dividends, or pay half as dividends (rounded up to the next multiple of $10) and keep the rest in its treasury. 10% of the dividend is paid to the holder of each share. Payments for shares in the company treasury (including the half paid as dividends if the company pays half) go to the company, while payments for shares in the bank pool remain in the bank.

6.13.2 For a major company, the revenue from a special train can be added to the revenue of the company's other trains (if it has any), or it may make the decision about whether to pay in full, split, or retain earnings differently for the regular train(s) and for the special train. A minor company always splits the total earnings of all its trains.

6.13.3 If the revenue for a special train is treated in the same way as the revenue from a major company's other trains, then the sum of all of the revenue is added to determine the total revenue before computing the amount paid out in dividends and the amount going into its treasury. If the revenue for a special train is treated differently from that from the company's regular train(s), each calculation is done separately and the resulting dividend and retained amounts are each added.

6.13.4 The revenues actually paid per share to shareholders determine the company's share price movement. After choosing how to pay the earnings for each train (including those from a special train, if any) whether retained, split or paid, the revenue that each shareholder is paid for their shares affects share price movement normally. Any revenue that is retained has no impact on the share price movement.

6.13.5 The stock market is shown as a linear chart. The value of a company's shares (also known as the share price) is shown by the company's stock market token on this chart. The share price each space represents is marked on the space.

6.13.6 If a company withholds its earnings, or if the earnings are zero, its price token is moved one space to the left on the stock market.

6.13.7 For a major company, if 10 times the total dividend per share paid by the company is less than its share price, the price token does not move.

6.13.8 For a major company, if 10 times the total dividend per share paid by the company is equal to or greater than its share price, but less than twice its share price, the token is moved one space to the right.

6.13.9 For a major company, if 10 times the total dividend per share paid by the company is equal to or greater than twice its share price, the price token is moved two spaces to the right.

6.13.10 A minor company must pay 50% to its treasury and 50% to its director. If it pays a dividend of any non-zero amount, its price token is moved one space to the right on the stock market. If it does not pay a dividend, it moves one space to the left.

6.13.11 If the movement of a company's price token would take it off either end of the stock market, it stops at the last space.

6.13.12 In any case, if a share price token moves to a space which is already occupied, the token goes to the bottom of the pile. If it does not move, it retains its position in the stack.

6.14 Purchase Rolling Stock

6.14.1 If the company has fewer trains than the current train limit, then it may buy trains from the bank or, from Phase 3 onwards, from another company.

6.14.2 When buying a train from another company, the selling company must consent to the transaction. The price can be any amount from $1 to the amount in the purchasing company's treasury.

6.14.3 When buying a train from the bank, the train may be any from the bank pool, or the next available new train in the bank. Trains from the bank must be bought in order; no train may be bought until all of the trains from the previous phase have been bought (or taken by the NdeM). The price paid must be the face value. Trains are only placed into the bank pool when major or minor companies discard excess trains when the train limit falls, or when a major company winds up with excess trains after a merger.

6.14.4 During Phases 1 and 2, an L-train can be converted to a 2-train as a train purchasing action.

6.14.5 7 and E-trains become available simultaneously after the last 6-train is bought, or is taken by the NdeM.

6.14.6 A company may buy multiple trains each operating round if it has the room and resources, but it must buy them one after another, and the effects of each train purchase apply at once after each is bought. A company that is below its train limit may buy a train even if this triggers a phase change which causes the company to be over the limit.

6.14.7 A company that is at the train limit cannot buy a train, even if the purchase would trigger a phase change and remove enough rolling stock to make room.

6.14.8 If the purchase of a train lowers the limit on the amount of rolling stock which may be held, companies with more rolling stock than the new limit must discard the excess without compensation. Discarded trains go into the bank pool (double-sided trains with their cheapest side face up), but trains discarded by the NdeM are removed from the game. If more than one company has excess rolling stock, they decide which to discard in descending order of price. Of companies having the same price, those whose tokens are on top discard first.

6.14.9 Whenever the train limit changes in such a way that the NdeM has more trains than the new train limit, it discards the cheapest train it owns from the game in order to reduce the number of its trains to fall within the train limit.

6.15 Forced Train Purchase

6.15.1 During the "Purchase Rolling Stock" step of its operating turn, if a company (major or minor) does not own a train, it must buy one even if it has insufficient money. The three special trains (LP-train, 2P-train, 3/2-train) do not satisfy the requirement to own a train.

6.15.2 If a company that does not own a train has enough money to buy a train from the bank pool or bank, then it must either do so, or buy a train from another company.

6.15.3 If such a company cannot afford to buy a train from the bank pool or bank, it must buy either the cheapest train from the bank (including any trains in the bank pool) with help from the company's director, or if the director wishes and can arrange a purchase, a train from another company. For the double-sided trains (L/2 and 7/E) this means that the cheaper version must always be the version bought if the purchase is made from the bank.

6.15.4 When a company buys a train from another company, its director may not contribute any of their own money. A company that does not own a train is not compelled to buy a train from another company even if its price is lower than one from the bank or bank pool.

6.15.5 When forced to buy a train from the bank or bank pool, the company first uses its own cash; stock in the company treasury is useless. If this is insufficient, then the director must make up the shortfall between the company's treasury and the cost of the train using their own cash (using emergency money raising if the director's cash is insufficient).

6.16 Emergency Money Raising

6.16.1 If the director has insufficient funds, they must sell stock. The normal constraints on stock sales apply; additionally, the director must keep the director's certificate of the active company, and so may not sell shares in such a way that another player has more shares of the active company than the director. The sales may be done in any order, and must stop as soon as the necessary cash is raised. As with sales in a stock round, the director receives the full value of each share sold (i.e. its value at the start of the train-buying action), even if the price drops because of those sales. During this process, if the director is selling multiple shares of a major company, they sell them all at the starting price, but may not sell more shares of that company than are needed in order to raise the needed funds.

6.16.2 If the director is unable to raise the purchase price of the train, they must take a loan from the bank for the shortfall. In addition, the bank charges 50% interest (rounded up) on loans, so the amount of the debt will be 150% of the shortfall between the director's disposable assets (cash and sellable shares) plus the company treasury and the purchase price of the train.

6.17 Acquire a Minor Company - Requirements

A major company may acquire one (and only one) minor company each operating turn. The following restrictions apply:

An acquisition cannot be made in the operating round in which either company runs for the first time.
The major company must be able to trace a route from one of its station tokens to the home station token of the minor company. It is not sufficient to be colocated on a city hex if the station slots are not joined.
The directors of the two companies must agree to the acquisition. It is common for the same player to be the director of both companies.
All assets needed for the acquisition must be in place before the acquisition can be enacted. Cash acquired by the major company as a result of a merger may not be used to help pay for the merger.
If the requirements are met, the major company may acquire a minor company from a player (6.18, Phase 2 to Phase 7 inclusive) or from the bid boxes (6.19, Phase 5 to Phase 7 inclusive).

6.18 Acquire a Minor Company From a Player (Phase 2 to Phase 7)

6.18.1 The major company buys the assets of the director of the minor company (their minor company stock certificate), and in doing so acquires all the assets owned by the minor company in the form of its station token, cash, private companies, and trains.

6.18.2 To effect the acquisition, the major company must buy the minor company from its owner for the value of the minor company (twice its share price). The major company may contribute zero, one or two shares, with the share price of these shares used to calculate the value of that portion of the payment. The balance must be paid in cash to or from the major company treasury and the director of the minor company. If shares are given in payment, and their value is greater than the value of the minor company, then the director of the minor company must pay the difference to the treasury of the major company.

Example. A major company with a current market value of $160 and at least two shares of treasury stock acquires a minor company with a market value of $90. The major company would have the following choices in how to compensate the director of the minor company:

Pay $180 in cash
Pay one share and $20 in cash
Pay two shares and receive $140 in cash

6.18.3 Irrespective of the relative share prices of the two companies, the number of shares transferred from the acquiring major company treasury to the director of the minor company being acquired can be zero, one, or two. If the value of shares transferred is less than the value of the minor company, then the major company must add cash from its own treasury to top up the value. If the value of shares transferred is more than the value of the minor company, then the director must pay the difference to the major company treasury.

6.18.4 Unless the major company is in the yellow zone, a player who is at the certificate limit may exchange the minor company director's certificate for a maximum of one share certificate since exchanging two shares would put the player over the certificate limit.

6.18.5 Transfer the cash holding of the minor company to the major company treasury; transfer any trains held by the minor company to the major company. Trains in excess of the train limit must be discarded; all other trains must be kept. If forced to discard trains, the major company can discard trains that it or the minor company held before the acquisition (or possibly one of each). Transfer any private companies or builder cubes that the minor company owns to the major company. If the major company has any "Exchange" tokens, it either exchanges the minor company token for one of its own "Exchange" tokens or removes the minor company token from the board and transfers one of its "Exchange" tokens to the "Available" station tokens area on its charter for future use. The acquiring company's "Available" tokens may not be used for this purpose.

6.18.6 If a major company has a station token in a city and acquires a minor company with a station token in the same city grouping, move an "Exchange" token, if one is available, to the "Available" tokens section of the charter and do not place it on the map. Some cities with preprinted disconnected track are an exception to this rule. If and when these stations merge, extra tokens in excess of one are returned to the "Available" section of the charter for use following the normal rules.

6.18.7 A major company with no "Exchange" tokens remaining may acquire a minor company, but does not get the minor company's token. It may neither place a token on the board to replace the minor company's token nor add an "Available" token to its charter.

6.18.8 If both the acquiring major company and the minor company to be acquired have special trains (2P-train, LP-train, or 3/2-train), then one of the two trains must be discarded without compensation and is permanently removed from play.

6.18.9 Once a minor company has been acquired, it is removed from play.

6.19 Acquire a Minor Company From the Bid Boxes (Phase 5 to Phase 7)

6.19.1 As an alternative to acquiring a minor company that is already operating, from Phase 5 onwards a company may instead buy one (and only one) minor company from those (if any) remaining on the bidding boxes. The following restrictions apply.

An acquisition cannot be made in the operating round in which the major company runs for the first time.
The major company must be able to trace a route from one of its station tokens to the home station location of the minor company. It is not sufficient to be colocated on a city hex if the station slots are not joined.

6.19.2 As its acquisition step, the major company pays $200 to the bank to acquire the minor company. If the major company has any "Exchange" tokens, the major company then chooses whether to take the token for its station.

If its director chooses to take the station, they place one of its "Exchange" tokens in the home station of the minor company. The acquiring company's "Available" tokens may not be used for this purpose.
If its director chooses to not take the station, the company must transfer one of its "Exchange" tokens to the "Available" station tokens area on its charter if it has one available.

6.19.3 If a major company has a station token in a city and acquires a minor company with a station token in the same city grouping, move an "Exchange" token to the "Available" tokens section of the charter and do not place it on the map. Some cities with preprinted disconnected track are an exception to this rule. When these stations merge, extra tokens in excess of one are returned to the "Available" section of the charter for use following the normal rules.

6.19.4 Once a minor company has been acquired, it is removed from play.

6.20 Issue or Redeem Stock

6.20.1 A major company may either issue or redeem its own stock, but not both in one turn. Issued stock is transferred from the company treasury to the bank pool. Issuing stock causes the company's price to move one step left per 10% share issued. The company receives from the bank the final resting price, after dropping the price for each 10% share sold. Issuing stock must not cause more than 50% of the stock to be in the bank pool. If the token moves to a space on the stock market which is already occupied, it is placed at the bottom of the pile; if the token was already on the left-most space of the stock market, it keeps its relative position in a pile.

Example. A company is valued at $100 and issues three shares; the price drops three spaces to $70 and the company receives $210 (three times $70) into its treasury from the bank.

6.20.2 A company may not issue stock in its first operating turn.

6.20.3 Redeemed stock is transferred from the bank pool to the company. The current price must be paid from the company's treasury to the bank. More than one certificate can be redeemed in a single operating turn. Redeeming stock does not cause the company's price to change.

6.21 NdeM National Railroad Operation

6.21.1 Except possibly in its final operation, the NdeM runs last in each operating round.

6.21.2 The NdeM has no director or treasury.

6.21.3 The NdeM's operation is limited to building tracks/cubes, running trains, and paying a dividend (always pays out in full).

6.21.4 The NdeM's track building step is shared among the players that have at least one NdeM share. In player order from lowest to highest, each player with at least one NdeM share may do one turn of build actions following the rules for a major company. NdeM shareholders may take build actions in Phase 1, before major companies may form, in which case they each get one yellow tile build action. The NdeM has no treasury to pay for terrain costs, but may place builder cubes like major companies. It may never upgrade Mexico City. If no player owns NdeM shares, no NdeM building takes place.

6.21.5 During the NdeM's run trains step, the player with the lowest number in player order with an NdeM share counts NdeM's run (other players may demonstrate a higher revenue if they wish). If no players own an NdeM share, the player with the "Player Order 1" card does this. The NdeM does not have a treasury and does not buy trains in the traditional way. It pays (from the bank) 10% per share, even if there are more or fewer than ten shares in play. The price moves left if the NdeM's revenue is 0. It moves right if 10 times the dividend per share is at least its share price. If the 10 times the dividend per share is double, triple, or a higher multiple of its share price, it jumps the respective number of boxes to the right, i.e. multiple jumps are allowed. It is not limited to double jumps like major companies. For example, the NdeM's share price has fallen three spaces due to not owning a train at the beginning of the game because all the minor companies were bought in the first three stock rounds. Its price is now 70 and it runs for 280 (4x its share price). Its share price marker moves right four spaces to 110.

6.22 NdeM Privatization

6.22.1 After the purchase of the first 7/E-train (or if the NdeM takes it), the game halts.

If a company buys the 7/E, complete the company's turn and then perform the privatization.
If the NdeM takes the 7/E, perform the privatization immediately at the start of the next operating round. Run the full operation of the NdeM one final time and then cash out (from the bank) the NdeM shares at their current value. If the first 7/E-train is taken by the NdeM, this operation occurs at the start of the operating round. After running the NdeM for the final time, its trains are discarded from the game and it no longer takes minor companies from Minor Company Bid Box 1 or new trains from the bank.

6.22.2 Players now take turns bidding for the NdeM station tokens on behalf of their major companies. Starting with Player Order 1, players take turns until all players pass in succession. On their turn, a player may auction an NdeM token on behalf of one of the major companies of which they are director by making a bid on it, or they may pass.

6.22.3 At least one of the companies for which they are director must have the cash for the bid and an "Exchange" (not "Available") token that may be placed in that location. The company does not need a track connection. Companies may not place a second token in a hex.

6.22.4 The minimum bid is the value of the city where the token is located (or $10 if the city has no value) and all bids must be multiples of $10. Players in turn order may bid higher multiples of $10 or pass. Any player that passes is out of the bidding for this item. The auction continues until all but one player has passed. The winning bidder must take an "Exchange" token from one of the companies for which they are director and replace the token that was auctioned, paying the bid from the company to the bank. The result of these auctions may not be used to move a token from "Exchange" to "Available."

6.22.5 Any stations that are not sold (privatized) remain on the board as blocking tokens, but serve no other purpose. Resume the operating round with the next company to operate after the one that bought the first 7/E-train (the one that is first in operating order if the first 7-train was taken by the NdeM).

Credits

Francis Tresham, for starting it all off with 1829.
Simon Cutforth for 1822. Bob Lecuyer for 1822CA. 1822MX is an evolution of these games. Thank you to Simon and Bob for your work on the game system and rules.
Playtesters: Thanks especially to Rob Bradley, Chris Shaffer, as well as many more contributors who helped to refine the rules for this version. Eric Brosius helped immensely with proofreading and catching some corner cases.
Indexing: Jason Begy
We have played many other 18xx titles and no doubt other ideas have been developed subliminally from these other titles, so we also thank those designers not listed above by whom we have been influenced.

Designer Notes

While publishing 1822: The Railways of Great Britain, I got lots of good feedback about the Medium Regional Scenario (MRS). Players liked the relatively short length and speedy train rush compared to the full 1822 game—while retaining the decision making and fun bidding aspects of 1822. I thought it would be a worthwhile effort to extend the tighter feel of that version to a separate standalone game. I also wanted 1822MX to be a game for players that have experience with 1822 and 1822CA, but would like some fresh twists added in.

The number of companies in 1822MX is smaller than that in 1822, but much of the map is competitively playable (at the right bid price!) so it was important to be able to build it out quickly. However, when I was looking at maps of Mexico, I found the terrain to be rugged which might slow things down. I maintained that texture, but gave the companies a new tool for overcoming it—builder cubes. These allow players to choose whether they want to rush building to connect to an important area or take it slow and save some cash. It also makes most of the map viable to play, just possibly at a slower pace.

Another way the game maintains the relatively short playtime is the implementation of the NdeM as a company that all the players can control. This offers a way to build out the map a bit before the train rush catches up. Players that time it right can get in on the NdeM investment train just as it gains speed. NdeM strategies vary and it depends a lot on how the group plays. Some groups might go heavy on NdeM investment which means that other companies may play less of a part in the game. However, if some players go heavy enough on NdeM shares, the others can starve the NdeM for trains by buying up bid box 1 minors.

The companies in the game are somewhat imbalanced and focused in the south, but are historically-based. The FNM and NdeM are the same company, but at different periods of dominance so some liberty is taken with that historical aspect. The first railroads in Mexico connected Mexico City with Veracruz, so FCM and IRM are often the most desirable early major companies.

I'll close these notes with some comments on gameplay strategy carried over from Simon Cutforth's original 1822 rules.

Players new to the game should take a few minutes to become familiar with the map, minor companies, phase changes, and tile upgrades. The game starts to accelerate at Phase 2, and the L-trains (local trains) rust at Phase 3. Some minor companies are very good when started in the first stock round and this could drive an early phase change to Phase 2. However, other minor companies could be very bad, even if they start in the first stock round. Do not underestimate the ability (or lack thereof) of a minor company being able to convert its L-train to a 2-train, as minor companies with only L-trains when Phase 3 starts will be left trainless.

New players often ask how much to bid for the M18/FCM concession pair that is offered in SR1. It is a tough evaluation and depends on what other options are offered. I usually recommend a bid between $225 and $275. If there are other good options, perhaps stick to the lower end of the range and use the upper end of the range when the other options are poor. I find that novice play generally ends up with bidding being low anyway compared to bids by experienced players. There are usually a few other good options and you can't win 'em all!

Differences from 1822

Setup
- The FCM concession and M18 start in concession Bid Box 1 and are sold together as a single item. M18 always starts at share price $50, with $100 capital. Its stock price marker is the first to be placed on the $50 space among the minor companies that start in that space during the stock round.
- Select the topmost of M14/M15/M17, flip it to the NdeM share side and place it in the bank pool. The NdeM starts with a token in the removed minor's home city. Turn the token for that minor over to reveal the NdeM logo. Fill the four other minor company spaces from the stack.
- Three additional NdeM shares start in the bank pool at share price $100.
Every company has a 20% director's certificate and eight 10% shares. No company begins operation from two home stations.
If a director sells shares or the company issues shares, its price moves left one space per 10% share sold; i.e. selling the director's certificate moves the company left two spaces. If another player sells shares, the price moves left only one space irrespective of number of shares sold. The share price moves one space right at the end of a stock round for "all sold."
In lieu of a yellow tile lay, a company can place a builder cube. This cube pays for one marked terrain cost (two cubes are needed to pay for a $80 black triangle). It is allowed for a major company to place a cube (counts as the first yellow tile) and then lay a yellow tile (counts as the second yellow tile) or to lay a yellow tile and then place a cube.
Mexico City upgrades like London; this always costs $20 with no cube discounts.
The dashed blue lines between the Baja California peninsula and the mainland are only used for demonstrating route connectivity for minor acquisition, not for running trains or placing stations. For this purpose all of these spikes are considered connected. Port tiles placed on these spikes do not affect the connectivity.
NdeM National Railroad
- The NdeM is the national railroad and is not operated by a single player.
- NdeM shares never count against the certificate limit.
- Selling NdeM shares does not affect the share price.
- Any minor companies that are removed by the game are turned into NdeM stations (flip the token) and the share is flipped over to show an NdeM share and placed in the bank pool. This share is available for purchase in a stock round.
- The NdeM never increases share price for being "all sold."
- When trains are removed at the end of a stock round, they are placed on the NdeM charter, discarding (and thus removing from the game) the cheapest trains from the game to meet the train limit. In Phase 1, the NdeM takes trains as Ls, in Phase 2, it takes them as 2s.
- Whenever the train limit changes, if necessary, the NdeM discards the cheapest train it owns to fall within the train limit.
- Trains discarded by the NdeM are removed from the game, not placed in the bank pool.
Operation of the NdeM National Railroad
- Except in its final operation (privatization), the NdeM runs last in the OR.
- The NdeM's operation is limited to building track, running trains, and paying a dividend (always full payout).
- Its track building step is shared among the players that have at least one NdeM share. In player order, each player with at least one NdeM share may do one build action following the rules for a major company. The NdeM has no treasury to pay for terrain costs, but may place builder cubes like major companies.
- During the NdeM's run trains step, the player lowest in player order with an NdeM share counts the NdeM's run (other players may demonstrate a higher revenue if they wish). The NdeM does not have a treasury and does not buy trains in the traditional way. It pays (from the bank) 10% per share, even if there are more or less than ten shares in play. The price moves left if the NdeM's revenue is 0. It moves right if it pays at least its share price. If the run is a multiple of its share price, it jumps the respective amount. I.e. multiple jumps are allowed, not limited to 2x jumps like major companies.
NdeM National Railroad Privatization
- After the turn of the company that purchases the first 7/E (or the NdeM takes it, always as a 7-train), the game halts.
- Run the NdeM one final time and then cash out (from the bank) the NdeM shares at their current value.
- Players bid for the NdeM tokens with "Exchange" tokens in player order. A player must be the director of a company with an "Exchange" token and cash to pay the bid. The company does not need a track connection. The minimum bid is the value of the city where the token is located (or $10 if the city has no value) and all bids/raises must be multiples of $10.
- Any stations that are not sold (privatized) remain on the board as blocking tokens, but serve no other purpose.

Easy to Miss Rules

Setup and Map

Although some cities have separate stations, it is not allowed to run a train from one station to another on the same hex.

End of Stock Round

End of stock round player cash from highest to lowest determines player order for the next stock round.
The NdeM takes a L/2-train from play for each unsold minor company.
If the minor company in Bid Box 1 is unsold, remove it and the NdeM takes the next available train in the bank (not pool) from the game (applies throughout the game).
Minor company floatation order is determined by sum bid. Break ties by ascending bid box number.

Concessions

Have a face value $100 and contribute $100 to the conversion to the director's certificate of the associated major company.
Cannot be started until the stock round after it is won at auction and in Phase 2 or later.
Are removed with no compensation at the start of Phase 5.
Pay a $10 dividend.

Private Companies

Red private companies cannot be acquired by minor companies. Green private companies may be acquired by either minor or major companies.
Are acquired by, not sold to, minor/major companies. When acquiring a private company, flip the private company over and it provides its special abilities to that company. Private companies stop paying revenue once owned by a company (exception: if the back of the private company still says "Revenue $10" then it will continue to pay $10 to the company while it remains active).
Private companies in player hands count against a player's certificate limit. The only time a player can assign a private company is during a major/minor company's turn in the operating round (i.e. not during a stock round).

Minor Companies

Must own a train (emergency fundraising if necessary).
Can buy an L-train at the start of their first turn if there are any remaining.
May only lay one yellow or green track per turn (never brown or gray).

Major Companies

May only start via concession conversion until Phase 5. They float immediately upon conversion.
From Phase 5, a director's certificate can be purchased directly from the initial offering. The company floats when 50% of its shares have been sold.
Are incrementally capitalized until Phase 6 and are fully capitalized in Phase 6 or later (place the remaining 50% of shares in the bank pool).
Have a destination token that is placed when they connect to their destination. The destination marker doubles the value of the destination city for one train when running a route including home and destination.
Shares may only be sold after the company has completed one turn of operation.

Changes at the Start of Phase 5

Remove concessions from the game with no compensation. The director's certificates are available for direct purchase in a stock round.
Minor companies may be acquired from the auction row directly for $200 during the acquiring major company's "Acquire a Minor Company" step. The major company must be able to trace a route to the minor company. If the major company has an "Exchange" token, it must either exchange the token or make an "Exchange" token "Available."

Minor Company Acquisition

This is the only way to close a player-owned minor company.
Acquisition happens during the operation of a major company.
Prerequisites
- Both companies must have operated in a previous operating round; i.e. in the second OR of a set of two operating rounds, both companies will have met this condition, while in the first OR of a set, newly formed companies will not have met this condition.
- The minor company must be able to trace a legal route (of arbitrary length) to a token of the major company (station-blocking rules apply).

Compensation to the owner of the minor company

The major company must pay the full value of the minor company (minor stock value x2) to the player.
Zero, one, or two shares of the major company may be exchanged as part of the transaction to offset the cost. Each share counts as its stock market value. Cash is exchanged one way or the other to make the transaction sum to zero.
If either the player or the company does not have the cash to make an equal exchange, no acquisition is possible.
This may not cause a player to exceed the certificate limit. It does allow a player to own more than 60% of a company.

Acquisition of minor company's assets

After the exchange is complete, give all assets (trains, cash, and private companies) of the minor company to the major company.
A major company cannot use the acquired minor company's assets to fund the acquisition.
If the major company has an exchange token, either place it in the minor company's home or move it into its available tokens.
Remove the minor's token, charter, stock token, and share certificate from the game.

Trains

L-trains run only a single large station. In addition, they can include a single town on their route. Only one L-train may run on each token.
E-trains include every token of the owning company on its route, skipping all other stations, but not passing through tokened-out cities. The value of each tokened station is doubled. (destination stations are quadrupled if running from home to the destination). They can run on the same track as other trains.
2P-train, P+, 3/2-train, and LP-train are described as "special trains." These special trains:
- Do not count against a company's train limit.
- Do not contribute to a company's requirement to own a train.
- Cannot be bought by other companies.
- Only one of the three special trains (2P-train, 3/2-train, LP-train) may be owned by any one company.
The decision to pay in full, pay half, or full withhold revenue for a special train (2P-train, 3/2-train, or LP-train) may be made independent of the decision made for a company's combined other trains. If both a special train and the other trains pay half, they are added together before halving. In any case, the dividend declared by a company (for the purposes of payout and stock chart movement) is equal to the sum of the dividends of ALL trains.
Pullman cars, when attached to a normal train, allow it to include revenue from towns but not count them against the train number (i.e. it only counts large stations). They are not trains and do not count against the train limit. They do not relieve the owning company of the requirement to own a train. They cannot be sold.
The 5-train private company (P1) may be acquired by a company even if that company already has two trains. This will cause the company to discard a train.

Emergency Money for Forced Train Purchase

When emergency fundraising for a train, a player must buy the cheapest available train from the bank/bank pool. This means that if paying with director's contributions and there is a 3-train in the bank pool that was previously discarded, the player must buy it. It also means that emergency money raising can never be used to buy an E-train, because 7-trains are cheaper.
The emergency fundraising rules also mean that if a company has $0, it cannot buy a train from another company. Rather it must emergency fundraise the full price of the cheapest available train.
If the player still does not have enough money, they borrow the remaining shortfall from the bank. Interest, at 50%, is applied immediately, so their debt is 150% of the shortfall borrowed.
At the end of each stock round, a further 50% interest is applied to any outstanding loan. A player may not buy or bid on anything whilst they have a loan. Loans still outstanding at the end of the game are subtracted from a player's wealth.

Company Tables

Major Companies

Company	Name	Home	Destination
FCM	Ferrocarril Mexicano	Mexico City (N23)	Veracruz (N27)
MC	Mexican Central Railway	Mexico City (N23)	Piedras Negras (F21)
CHP	Chihuahua-Pacific Railway	Chihuahua (F15)	Los Mochis (H11)
FNM	Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México	Mexico City (N23)	Nuevo Laredo (G22)
MIR	Mexican International Railroad	Piedras Negras (F21)	Durango (J15)
FCP	Ferrocarril del Pacífico	Nogales (D9)	Guadalajara (L17)
IRM	Interoceanic Railway of Mexico	Mexico City (N23)	Veracruz (N27)

Minor Companies

Minor Company	Name	Location	Hex
M1	Ferrocarril Sonora-Baja California	Tijuana	B1
M2	Rio Grande, Sierra Madre & Pacific Railway	Ciudad Juarez	D2
M3	Ferrocarril Nacozari	Hermosillo	E8
M4	Ferrocarril Parral y Durango	Cuauhtemoc	F13
M5	Ferrocarril Coahuila y Zacatecas	Nuevo Laredo	G22
M6	Sinaloa and Durango Railroad	Los Mochis	H11
M7	Monterrey Mineral and Terminal Railway	Monterrey	I22
M8	Ferrocarril Nacional de la Baja California	La Paz	J9
M9	Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico	Mazatlán	J13
M10	Potosi Central Railroad	San Luis Potosi	K20
M11	Guadalajara to Tepic and Mazatlán	Guadalajara	L17
M12	Ferrocarril Guanajuato a San Luis de la Paz y Pozos	Guanajuato	L19
M13	Ferrocarril San Marcos a Huajapan de Leon	León	L19
M14	Ferrocarril Cazadero y Solis	Mexico City	N23
M15	Ferrocarril San Gregorio	Mexico City	N23
M16	Ferrocarril Atlamaxac	Tlaxcala	N25
M17	Compania del ferrocarril de Mexico a Puebla	Puebla	N25
M18	Ferrocarril Mexicano	Tlaxcala	N25
M19	Córdoba and Huatusco Railroad	Veracruz	N27
M20	Ferrocarril Interoceanico de Acapulco	Acapulco	P23
M21	Ferrocarril Oaxaca a Ejutla	Oaxaca	P27
M22	Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatán	Villahermosa	O32
M23	Ferrocarril Merida a Valladolid	Merida	L37
M24	Northern Railroad of Guatemala	Guatemala	Q34

Private Companies

(see section 4.1 of the rules for additional information)

Nr.	Name	Rev.	Acq. By Minor	Acq. From Phase	Special Property / Notes
P1	Baldwin Locomotive Works Contract	$5	N	5	5-Train. Once a company acquires it, this is a normal 5-train that is subject to all of the normal rules. It is not a "special train" and is not subject to the rules that are specific to special trains. A company can acquire this private company at the start of its turn, even if it is already at its train limit, as this counts as an acquisition action, not a train buying action. However, once acquired the acquiring company must check whether it is at the train limit and must discard any trains held in excess of limit.
P2	Mexico City Short Line	$0	N	2	Permanent 2-Train. The 2P-train is a permanent 2-train. It is a "special train." It cannot be sold to another company. It does not count against the train limit. It does not count as a train for the purpose of mandatory train ownership and purchase. A company cannot own more than one special train. Dividends can be separated from other trains and may be split, paid in full, or retained. If a company runs a 2P-train and pays a dividend (split or full), but retains its dividend from other train operations, this still counts as a normal dividend for share price movement purposes. Vice-versa, if a company pays a dividend (split or full) with its other trains, but retains the dividend from the 2P-train, this also still counts as a normal dividend for share price movement purposes. Does not close.
P3	Imported Goods Train	$0	Y	1	Permanent 3/2-Train. It is a "special train." Same as P2 except that it runs like a normal 3-train, but its earnings are halved after all bonuses/Pullman revenue are included (round up to a multiple of $10).
P4	Mexico City Sightseeing Train	$0	Y	1	Permanent L-Train. It is a "special train." Same as P2 except that it runs like a normal L-train.
P5	Pullman Car	$10	Y	3	Pullman. A "Pullman" car that can be attached to another train owned by the company. It is not a train. A train with a Pullman attached to it counts any number of towns in addition to its standard number of large stations. Does not count toward the train limit. Cannot be sold to another company. Does not close. No company may own more than one Pullman.
P6	Pullman Car	$10	Y	3	Pullman. Same as P5.
P7	European Imports	$10	N	3	Declare 2x Cash Holding. If held by a player, the holding player may declare double their actual cash holding at the end of a stock round to determine player turn order in the next stock round. If held by a company it pays revenue of $20 (green)/$40 (brown)/$60 (gray). Does not close.
P8	Central Meseta Builders	$10	Y	1	Advanced Non-City Tile Lay. The owning company may lay one plain or town track upgrade using the next color of track to be available, before it is actually made available by phase progression. The normal rules for progression of track lay must be followed; it is not possible to skip a color using this private. All other normal track laying restrictions apply. This is in place of its normal track lay action. Once acquired, the private company pays its revenue to the owning company until the power is exercised and the company closes. A minor company may not use this power to upgrade beyond green.
P9	Narrow Gauge Branch Line	$10	Y	3	Extra Tile Lay. The owning company may lay an additional yellow tile (or two for major companies beginning in Phase 3), or make one additional tile upgrade in its track laying step. The upgrade can be to a tile laid in its normal tile laying step. All other normal track laying restrictions apply. Once acquired, the private company pays its revenue to the owning company until the power is exercised and the company closes.
P10	Compania Constructora Nacional Mexicana	$10	Y	1	Three Builder Cubes. When acquired by a company, the private company closes and is exchanged for three of the builder cubes from the cube pool. The company may spend one or more of the cubes to place them on the board during their lay track action. These placements are in addition to the tile placement. These cube placements may occur at any time during the action and can be split among turns.
P11	Sierra Madre Builders	$10	Y	1	Three Builder Cubes. Same as P10.
P12	American Investors - ATSF Sponsorship	$10	Y	1	Remove Town. Allows the owning company to place a plain yellow track tile directly on an undeveloped town hex location or upgrade a town tile of one color to a plain track tile of the next color. This closes the company and counts as the company's normal track laying step. All other normal track laying restrictions apply. Cannot be used in hexes with two small towns. Once acquired, the private company pays its revenue to the owning company until the power is exercised and the company is closed.
P13	American Investors - DRG Sponsorship	$10	Y	1	Remove Town. Same as P12.
P14	National Mail Service	$10	N	3	Mail Contract. After running trains, the owning company receives income into its treasury equal to one half of the base value of the start and end stations from one of the trains operated. Modifications to values (for E-trains, a 3/2-train, or destination tokens) do not apply. An L-train may deliver mail within a single city. The company is not required to maximize the dividend from its run if it wishes to maximize its revenue from the mail contract by stopping at a large city and not running beyond it to include towns. A company that owns more than one Mail Contract may not use more than one on any train.
P15	National Mail Service	$10	N	3	Mail Contract. Same as P14.
P16	Vales de Tierra Promissory Notes	$10	N	2	Stock Drop. Pays $10 while owned by a player. A company must pay the bank $10 while owned by a company. A major company may close this company during its operating turn, but that makes its stock drop one space. If the company ever cannot pay the $10, this private company closes and the stock drops immediately.
P17	Upgraded Docks	$10	Y	2	Small Port. Replace a spike going to water with this tile. Lay this tile on a spike that does not already have a port. The spike now counts as a 30 (yellow)/40 (green and later) and is treated like a gray off-board area for counting train runs for all companies. This is in addition to the company's normal tile placement and the company does not need a route to the spike. Once acquired, the private company pays its revenue to the owning company until the power is exercised and the company is closed.
P18	Harbor Improvements	$10	N	3	Large Port. Same as P17 except the revenue is 40 (green)/50 (brown)/60 (gray).

1822MX Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components List
1. Overview of the Game
2. Setting Up the Game
- 2.1 Initial Setup
3. Game Phases
- 3.1 Phase Chart
- 3.2 Phase Summary
4. Railroad Companies
5. Stock Rounds
6. Operating Rounds
Credits
Designer Notes
Differences from 1822
Easy to Miss Rules
Company Tables

Components List

The game contains the following components:

This rulebook
1 map board with stock chart
1 bank pool
1 concession bidding box mat
8 major company charters
24 minor company charters
221 tiles
6 cardboard "T" city markers
158 cards
7 concession certificates (with director's certificates on the reverse)
56 major company 10% share certificates
3 NdeM 10% share certificates
24 minor company share certificates
18 private company certificates
5 player order number cards
45 train cards
41 large diameter tokens with labels
71 small diameter tokens with labels
42 bidding tokens: seven sets of six cubes
A bank of $12,000 must be supplied by the players

1. Overview of the Game

1.1 Sequence of Play

1.1.2 In stock rounds, players act as investors, buying and selling shares in the various companies. The player with the most shares in each company is the company's director.

1.2 The Map

1.3 Game End

1.3.1 The game ends as soon as one of the following conditions is met:

Immediately, if the first stock round ends with nothing sold.
At the end of the operating round in which a company's stock market value reaches the game end value of the stock market.
At the end of the first operating round following a stock round in which a major company's stock market value reaches the game end value of the stock market.
At the end of the first operating round following a stock round in which the bank runs out of money. The game still ends at that point, even if the bank later becomes solvent. The bank continues to pay out any demands, even when broken; players should record these, or add money to the bank.
When the bank runs out of money in an operating round, complete the pair of operating rounds and the game ends. The game still ends at that point, even if the bank later becomes solvent. The bank continues to pay out any demands, even when broken; players should record these, or add money to the bank. Complete these operating rounds even if a company's market value subsequently reaches the game end value.

1.4 Etiquette

1.5 Rules Structure

2. Setting Up the Game

2.1 Initial Setup

2.1.1 Lay the map board and the concession mat on the table between the players. Place the major company share certificates nearby.

2.1.2 The bank is $12,000 including players' starting money. The starting money is $1,500 divided equally among the players. Distribute the appropriate number of bidding tokens to each player.

Number of Players	3	4	5
Starting Money Per Player	$500	$375	$300
Bidding Tokens	6	5	4

The extra cubes not assigned as bidding cubes (the total ranges from 22-24 depending on the number of players) are a pool of rail building contractors ("builder cubes"). See section 6.8.14.

2.1.6 Take the pair of removed cards (FCM concession and M18) and place them as a pair in the concession Bid Box 1 space on the board.

2.1.9 Place the round marker on the space marked stock round.

2.1.10 Appoint one or more players to be banker and be responsible for conducting transactions with the bank.

2.1.11 Arrange the trains in ascending order from top to bottom with the double sided L/2-trains on top and the double-sided 7/E-trains on the bottom.

2.1.13 Place the NdeM share price marker on the 100 space on the stock market.

2.1.14 Shuffle and deal out the player number cards, one to each player, to randomly determine player order.

2.1.15 Play then begins with a stock round.

3. Game Phases

3.1 Phase Chart

Phase	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Triggered By	Game start	Purchase of first 2-train	Purchase of first 3-train	Purchase of first 4-train	Purchase of first 5-train	Purchase of first 6-train	Purchase of first 7/E-train
Rusts	-	-	L	2	-	3	4
Train Limit (Minor)	2	2	2	1	1	1	1
Train Limit (Major)	-	4	4	3	2	2	2
Buying Trains	From bank only	From bank only	From bank or other company	From bank or other company	From bank or other company	From bank or other company	From bank or other company
Operating Rounds Between Stock Rounds	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Tiles Available	Yellow	Yellow	Y + Green	Y + Green	Y + G + Brown	Y + G + Brown	Y+G+B+Gray
Off-Board Area Value	Yellow	Yellow	Green	Green	Brown	Brown	Gray
Tile Lay Per Turn: Minor Company	1 yellow/cube	1 yellow/cube	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade	1 yellow/cube or 1 green upgrade
Tile Lay Per Turn: Major Company	N/A	1 yellow/cube	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade
Tile Lay Per NdeM Shareholder	1 yellow/cube	1 yellow/cube	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade	2 yellow/cube or 1 upgrade
Minor Company Capitalization	Float at $50 with capital of $100	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of 2x stock value	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid	Float at between $50 and $100 with capital of sum bid
Acquisition of Minor Companies	Not possible	Can be acquired by major companies	Can be acquired by major companies	Can be acquired by major companies	Can be acquired by major companies or directly from the bid boxes for $200	Can be acquired by major companies or directly from the bid boxes for $200	Can be acquired by major companies or directly from the bid boxes for $200
Concession Certificates	Cannot be converted	Provide a $100 discount against the cost of the director's certificate when converted	Provide a $100 discount against the cost of the director's certificate when converted	Provide a $100 discount against the cost of the director's certificate when converted	Removed from play	Removed from play	Removed from play
Major Company Floatation	Not possible	Floated by conversion of concession certificate	Floated by conversion of concession certificate	Floated by conversion of concession certificate	Floated once 50% sold	Floated once 50% sold	Floated once 50% sold
Capitalization on Floatation	Not applicable	Incremental capitalization	Incremental capitalization	Incremental capitalization	Incremental capitalization	100% capitalization	100% capitalization

Note: A phase starts either when the first train of a type is purchased, or when it is taken by the NdeM.

3.2 Phase Summary

As the game progresses, rule changes come into effect. Unless otherwise stated, once a phase opens a new rule, the rule is in place for the rest of the game.

Phase 1. The game starts in Phase 1.

L-trains and 2-trains are available for purchase until the bank's supply is exhausted.
Trains may only be bought from the bank until Phase 3.
Only yellow tiles are available until Phase 3.
Off-board areas count the first value until Phase 3.
Irrespective of the amounts that were bid for them, minor companies start at stock value $50 (worth $100) with $100 starting treasury, until Phase 2.
Companies (minor companies and each NdeM shareholder) may only lay one yellow tile per turn until Phase 3.
The minor company train limit is 2 until Phase 4.
The major company train limit is 4 until Phase 4.
There is one operating round after each stock round until Phase 2.

Phase 2. Phase 2 starts when the first L-train is converted to a 2-train, or the first 2-train is bought outright.

Minor companies start at a stock value of the winning bid divided by 2 and rounded down to the nearest starting value. The company starts with 2x the stock value given to the starting treasury.
Concessions may be converted to director's certificates during stock rounds. This floats the associated major company.
Major companies may now acquire operational minor companies for the remainder of the game.
There will be two operating rounds after each stock round starting after the next stock round and continuing for the remainder of the game.

Phase 3. Phase 3 starts when the first 3-train is bought.

L-trains rust.
Trains may be bought from the bank/bank pool, or from another company, for the remainder of the game.
Yellow and green tiles are now available. Minor companies may lay one yellow or one green upgrade tile for the remainder of the game. Major companies (and each NdeM shareholder) may lay two yellow or one green upgrade tile until Phase 5.
As in Phase 2, minor companies start at a stock value of (amount bid divided by two and rounded down to the nearest starting value), but now the full amount bid is given to the starting treasury.
Off-board areas count the second value until Phase 5.

Phase 4. Phase 4 starts when the first 4-train is bought.

2-trains rust.
The minor company train limit is 1 for the remainder of the game. The major company train limit is 3 until Phase 5.

Phase 5. Phase 5 starts when the first 5-train is bought.

Unconverted concessions are removed from play.
Yellow, green, and brown tiles are now available. Major companies (and each NdeM shareholder) may lay two yellow or one green or brown upgrade tile until Phase 7. Minor companies may never upgrade track to brown.
Major companies require 50% sold to float (still incremental capitalization).
Major companies may now acquire unfloated minor companies directly from the bidding boxes for the remainder of the game.
The major company train limit is 2 for the remainder of the game.
Off-board areas count the third value until Phase 7.

Phase 6. Phase 6 starts when the first 6-train is bought.

3-trains rust.
Major companies require 50% sold to float, but receive full capitalization (the remaining five shares are placed in the bank pool upon floatation).

Phase 7. Phase 7 starts when the first 7-train or E-train is bought.

4-trains rust.
Yellow, green, brown, and gray tiles are now available. Major companies may now lay two yellow tiles or one green, brown or gray upgrade tile. Minor companies may never upgrade track to brown or gray.
The NdeM is privatized after the operating turn of the first company to buy the first 7/E train. However, if the first 7-train is taken by the NdeM at the end of a stock round, the NdeM privatization occurs immediately (see section 6.22).
Off-board areas count the fourth value.

4. Railroad Companies

4.1 Private Companies

4.1.2 A private company can only be bought by players through the bidding mechanism in a stock round.

4.1.5 A private company certificate shows the first phase in which it may be acquired.

4.1.6 There is no restriction on the number of private companies that may be acquired by a minor or major company on its turn.

4.1.7 Private companies may not be traded between players or sold to the bank. Private companies may not be transferred between companies.

4.1.10 The special property of private company P7 is that it pays a revenue into the company treasury (variable based on game phase) once it has been acquired and flipped.

4.1.13 A private company is never forced to close.

4.1.15 The powers of private company P12 or P13 (remove town) and private company P8 (advanced track lay) can be used together as part of the same track tile placement step.

4.1.17 The private companies that provide trains or Pullman cars are acquired in accordance with their specific phase and minor/major company ownership restrictions.

P1: 5-train
P2: 2P-train (permanent 2-train)
P3: 3/2-train (permanent 3/2-train)
P4: LP-train (permanent L-train)
P5 and P6: Pullman car

4.2 Minor Companies

4.2.1 There are 24 minor companies as listed in the Company Tables near the end of these rules.

4.2.3 Minor companies can only be bought by players through the bidding mechanism in a stock round.

In Phase 1, irrespective of the price bid, the minor company starts at $50 (the solid red colored space on the stock market) with $100 starting treasury. The certificate represents two shares, so is worth twice the stock market price; i.e. it is worth $100.
In Phase 2, the price bid is divided by two and rounded down to the highest value in the starting value area on the stock market (outlined red, including the solid red colored space). The company receives twice this value as its starting treasury. For example, a bid of $100, $105, $110 or $115 will result in a price of $50, with $100 capital. A bid of $120, $125, $130, or $135 will result in a price of $60, with $120 capital. And so on, with any bid over $200 resulting in a price of $100 with $200 capital.
In Phase 3 and later, the price bid is divided by two and rounded down to the highest value in the starting value area on the stock market (outlined red, including the solid red colored space) as for Phase 2. The company starts with the sum bid as its starting treasury. Thus, for example, a bid of $135 would give a start price of $60 but with $135 capital, and a bid of $350 would give a start price of $100 (and therefore value $200), with $350 starting capital.

The following table shows possible starting prices per phase.

Bid Price	Share Price	Starting Capital (Phase 2 only)	Starting Capital (Phases 3 and up)
$110-$115	$50	$100	Price bid
$120-$135	$60	$120	Price bid
$140-$155	$70	$140	Price bid
$160-$175	$80	$160	Price bid
$180-$195	$90	$180	Price bid
$200 plus	$100	$200	Price bid

4.2.7 Once bought, a minor company may never be sold, though it can be acquired by a major company during its acquisition phase.

4.2.8 A minor company runs in a similar manner to a major company, subject to the following differences and restrictions:

As part of its first turn housekeeping it may purchase an L-train if there are any available from the bank (i.e. it can acquire an L-train at the start of its first operating turn and hence run the train on its first turn).
It only receives one tile lay per turn.
It may only place yellow and green tiles (private company special powers that involve brown and gray track are unavailable to a minor company).
Some private companies may not be acquired by a minor company (see the Company Tables near the end of these rules).
It only ever has one station token.
Its earnings must be split 50/50 between the company treasury and the director.

4.2.9 The director of each company controls its actions.

4.2.10 A minor company is obliged to own a train at the end of its operating turn.

4.3 Major Companies

4.3.1 There are seven major companies included in the game, as listed in the Company Tables near the end of these rules.

4.3.2 There are seven concession certificates in the game, one for each major company.

4.3.4 A concession certificate counts towards the owning player's certificate limit.

4.3.5 A concession certificate pays a dividend of $10 per operating round to the owning player.

4.3.7 Concessions are bought through the bidding mechanism. The face value of a concession is $100.

4.3.12 From Phase 5, a newly floated company does not become operational until 50% of its shares are sold.

4.3.15 Starting values are shown on the stock market in the red outlined area. Major and minor companies may start at $60, $70, $80, $90 or $100. Only minor companies may start at $50.

4.3.16 The director of each company controls its actions.

4.3.17 Major company earnings may be paid, wholly or partly, as a dividend (paid to players) or retained (kept in the treasury).

4.3.18 A major company is obliged to own a train at the end of its operating turn.

4.4 NdeM National Railroad Company

4.4.3 The NdeM has no director. At the beginning of the game, its share price is $100. Shares can be purchased from the bank pool from the beginning of the game.

4.4.4 NdeM shares never count against the certificate limit.

5. Stock Rounds

5.1 Introduction

Sell any certificates subject to the limits set out below
Repay loans
Do one of the following:
- Buy one major company share certificate
- Convert a concession certificate to a director's certificate
- Place or increase up to three bids on the concession certificates, minor company director's certificates, and/or private companies, using the bidding boxes

5.2 Bank Pool

5.2.1 Shares sold to the bank and trains returned to the bank are placed in the bank pool. Items in the bank pool may be bought by players or companies per the rules.

5.3 The Stock Market

5.4 Player Loans

5.4.2 A player is not obliged to sell shares to raise money to pay off loans.

5.4.4 The sum of any loans in play does not affect the bank limit of $12,000 (i.e. treat the loan as coming from a separate source, not the bank).

5.5 Selling Shares

Private companies, minor companies, and concessions may not be sold.
Shares cannot be sold in a company that has not completed an operating round, including the NdeM.
A maximum of 50% of a company's stock (excluding NdeM shares) is allowed in the bank pool.
The director's certificate cannot be sold into the bank pool. However, if because of selling shares, the holding of a company director drops below that of another player (who must own at least 20% of the company) that player becomes the new director. If there is more than one eligible player, the new director is the player with the largest holding, or, in the case of a tie, the tying player closest to the outgoing director in next player order from the director. The outgoing director exchanges their director's certificate for two ordinary 10% shares of the affected company belonging to the new director. This exchange occurs before resolving the rest of the sale. This mechanism allows the director of a company to divest themselves of the directorship without the director's certificate entering the bank pool.

5.5.2 The player receives the current share price from the bank for each share sold.

5.5.3 Selling shares causes the company's price to drop after all sales are complete and the seller receives their payment. Move the company's stock market token:

Left one space for each 10% share sold, if sold by the director.
Left one space total (regardless of the number of shares), if sold by any other player.

5.5.4 Selling NdeM shares does not affect the NdeM share price.

5.5.5 If the token is at the leftmost space, then it does not move.

5.6 Buying Shares

5.6.3 Buying stock does not cause the current share price to change.

5.6.4 Only one certificate may be bought per stock round turn.

5.6.5 A player cannot buy stock in a company if they sold any of its stock earlier in the same stock round.

5.7 Converting a Concession to a Director's Certificate (Phases 2-4)

5.7.1 Concessions cannot be converted until Phase 2 and are removed from play without compensation at the start of Phase 5.

5.7.5 Proceed to 5.9 to complete major company setup.

5.8 Forming a Major Company Directly (Phases 5-7)

5.8.2 From Phase 5, a newly formed company does not float and become operational until 50% of its shares are sold.

5.8.5 From Phase 5, a company needs to sell 50% of its shares to float, whereas to float in Phases 2 to 4, it only needs the director's certificate to be converted from the concession.

5.8.7 Proceed to 5.9 to complete major company setup.

5.9 Completing Major Company Setup

5.9.1 Whether formed by converting a concession or directly, the rest of the setup is the same.

5.10 Bidding

5.10.1 There are four bidding boxes for the minor company director's certificates, and three of each for the major company concession certificates and private company certificates.

5.10.4 To place a bid, a player performs one of the following actions:

Place an unallocated bidding token in an empty space on a bidding box.
Move a previously-placed bidding token to a higher-valued empty space on the same item. This is only allowed if another player has placed a higher bid on that item.

5.10.5 Players may place and/or move up to three bids in a stock turn.

5.10.6 The opening bid on any item must be equal to or greater than the face value. All bids must be in whole multiples of $5.

5.10.8 A player may not place a bid on an item if they are at the certificate limit. Each item on which a player currently has the highest bid counts as a certificate against the certificate limit.

5.11 Certificate Limit

5.11.1 Each certificate a player owns counts against the certificate limit corresponding to the number of players in the game.

Number of Players	3	4	5
Certificate Limit	16*	13*	10*

*NdeM shares never count against the certificate limit.

5.11.4 A player may not place a bid on an item if they are at the certificate limit. Each item on which a player currently has the highest bid counts as a certificate against the certificate limit.

5.12 End of Stock Round

5.12.1 Once all players pass consecutively, the stock round is over.

L/2 trains: In Phase 1, the NdeM takes the train as an L-train. In Phase 2, it takes it as a 2-train.
7/E trains: the NdeM takes the train as 7-train.

5.12.9 50% interest is charged on any outstanding loans.

5.13.3 Minor companies are never 100% sold out, as only 50% of their share stock is available for sale.

6. Operating Rounds

6.1 Number of Operating Rounds

6.1.1 Initially there is a single operating round after each stock round. Once the first 2-train has been bought, after the next stock round there will be two operating rounds after each stock round.

6.2 Operating Round Turn Order

6.2.1 During an operating round, companies run in the following order:

Private companies and concessions pay their dividends to their owners (whether players or companies). Note that there are some restrictions on the private companies when owned by major or minor companies.
Minor companies run in descending share price order.
Major companies run in descending share price order.
The NdeM runs last if it is still active.

6.3 Operating Round Actions

Perform first turn housekeeping (first turn only, compulsory).
Acquire private companies from (consenting) player(s).
Lay/upgrade track.
Check for connection to destination and place destination token if applicable (major companies only).
Place one station token (major companies only).
Run train(s), if any, to establish earnings (compulsory).
Pay, split, or withhold dividends (minor companies must split earnings).
Buy rolling stock (usually optional but sometimes compulsory).
Acquire a minor company from a (willing) player, or from Phase 5 onwards, from a bidding box (major companies only).
Issue or redeem company stock (major companies only).

6.4 Routes

6.4.6 Gray areas are preprinted with revenue income that varies by phase. The yellow value refers to Phases 1 and 2; the green value to Phases 3 and 4; brown to Phases 5 and 6 and gray to Phase 7.

6.5 Rolling Stock

Train Type	Number Available	Cost	Effect on Game Phase	Rusts	Rusted By
L	22 (L/2 double-sided)	$60	Game starts in Phase 1	-	3
2	22 (L/2 double-sided)	$120	Phase 2 starts with the upgrade of an L to a 2-train or the purchase of the first 2-train	-	4
3	7	$200	Phase 3 starts with the purchase of the first 3	L	6
4	4	$300	Phase 4 starts with the purchase of the first 4	2	7/E
5	2	$500	Phase 5 starts with the purchase of the first 5	-	Permanent
6	3	$600	Phase 6 starts with the purchase of the first 6	3	Permanent
7	Unlimited (7/E double-sided)	$750	Phase 7 starts with the purchase of the first 7/E	4	Permanent
Express (E)	Unlimited (7/E double-sided)	$1,000	Phase 7 starts with the purchase of the first 7/E	-	Permanent

Note: A phase starts either when the first train of a type is purchased, or when it is taken by the NdeM.

6.5.2 Each operating minor or major company is required to own a train at the end of its operating turn.

6.5.11 E-trains double the doubled value of destination cities.

6.5.12 A company may own at most one E-train.

6.5.13 An E-train can run on the same track as other trains.

6.5.14 Minor companies can own E-trains, but because they only have one token, they cannot operate them.

The 2P-train operates like a normal 2-train with the listed exceptions.
The LP-train operates like a normal L-train with the listed exceptions.
The 3/2 train runs like a normal 3-train with the listed exceptions, but its earnings are halved after all bonuses/Pullman revenue are included (round up the halved earnings to the nearest multiple of 10).

6.6 First Turn Housekeeping

6.6.1 On a major or minor company's first turn of operation, the company director places the company's free home station token on its home city, which is marked on the map.

6.6.2 Place the initial capital in the company treasury.

6.6.3 A minor company (only) may buy an L-train, if any remain available for purchase from the bank or bank pool.

6.7 Acquire Private Companies

6.8 Build Actions - Lay Track/Upgrade Track/Place a Builder Cube

6.8.1 In this part of its turn a company may place track tiles on the map and/or place builder cubes.

6.8.2 Most build actions are to place tiles on the board. The placement of yellow tiles is differentiated from upgrading tiles because various companies have different building allowances.

In Phase 1/L and Phase 2:

Each company (minor or major) may take one "yellow tile" build action (major companies may not form until Phase 2).
Each NdeM shareholder may take one "yellow tile" build action.

From Phase 3 on:

A minor company may take one "yellow tile" build action or one tile upgrade (limited to green only).
A major company may take two "yellow tile" build actions or one tile upgrade (to green/brown/gray).
Each NdeM owner may take two "yellow tile" builds or one tile upgrade (to green/brown/gray).

Each "yellow tile" build action may instead be used to place a builder cube.

6.8.3 In cases where a builder cube is placed in lieu of a yellow tile action, only the action is replaced. The cube may be placed on any color hex as long as it is accessible (see section 6.8.15).

6.8.7 Some hexes start with existing track upon them and an initial revenue value. Other large cities on the base map have no track and a value of $0. Companies are not obliged to lay track.

6.8.8 If there is no track in the hex where a company's station resides, the company may lay any suitable yellow city tile there.

6.8.10 Tiles must not be laid so that track runs off the hex grid, into a blank gray hex edge, nor so that track runs to a red-bordered hex edge.

6.8.12 The red line in Guatemala is treated like a hexside on the edge of the board and track may not be built into it.

Hexes with river costs are shown with a blue "$20" and add a cost of $20.
Hexes with rough terrain are shown with an outlined dome and add a cost of $40.
Hexes with mountainous terrain are shown with a solid black triangle and add a cost of $80.

6.8.16 If the supply of cubes runs out, cubes may be taken from those already played on the board.

6.8.18 Except for difficult terrain, track placements and upgrades are free.

6.8.19 A company with insufficient funds cannot lay a track tile in difficult terrain.

6.8.20 A company may choose to play no track at all, or may place less than its full allowance. If two tiles are being played they do not have to connect to each other.

6.8.22 In Phase 3, green tiles become available. In Phase 5, brown tiles become available. In Phase 7, gray tiles become available.

6.9 Mexico City

6.9.3 It is not legal to run a train from one Mexico City station to another Mexico City station and it is not possible to run through Mexico City; it can only be a terminus.

6.10 Check for Connection to Destination

6.10.2 This must be done as part of the operating company's turn at the first occasion on which the connection to the destination is made. The action cannot be deferred.

6.10.5 The route need not start or end at the home station or destination station. It may extend beyond either or both of them.

6.10.6 The destination station token has a black banner on it to identify it.

6.11 Station Tokens

6.11.1 Each major company has a total of eight tokens. There are one each to represent its share price and latest earnings and six to represent stations on the map.

6.11.2 When each major company starts, it can utilize three station tokens: a home station token, a destination station token, and an "Available" (normal) station token.

6.11.3 Each minor company has a single home station token.

6.11.8 "Exchange" tokens can only be used by acquisition of minor companies or for the acquisition of NdeM tokens by auction when the NdeM closes.

6.11.10 Minor companies never receive more station tokens.

6.12 Run Train(s)

6.12.3 The exceptions to the above are:

An L-train (local train) runs in a city which has a station token of the owning company. It can additionally run to a single town, but is not required to do so. It can thus be considered a 1+1 train. Only one L-train can run in a given station token.
A train with a Pullman car attached counts any number of towns in addition to its standard number of cities.
An E-train (express train) only stops at station tokens belonging to the owning company and skips all other stations, subject to the usual rules regarding routes and blocking station tokens. An E-train may run on the same track as other trains. The value of stations is doubled when determining the earnings.

6.12.7 The operating company must run its trains for the maximum total revenue achievable.

Exceptions:

When running a train with a mail contract, the run's value may be reduced to increase the mail income to the operating company treasury. In particular, if a company is running a "+" train with a mail contract, the train may stop at a large station to maximize mail income, rather than running beyond the large station to small towns to maximize earnings, if the director so desires.
When running a special train, and paying the revenue differently from the revenue from other trains, the total revenue must be maximized, but the relative value of the split between the special trains and the normal trains need not maximize either of the two separate amounts (see rule 6.16.2).

6.13 Earnings Distribution

6.13.6 If a company withholds its earnings, or if the earnings are zero, its price token is moved one space to the left on the stock market.

6.13.7 For a major company, if 10 times the total dividend per share paid by the company is less than its share price, the price token does not move.

6.13.9 For a major company, if 10 times the total dividend per share paid by the company is equal to or greater than twice its share price, the price token is moved two spaces to the right.

6.13.11 If the movement of a company's price token would take it off either end of the stock market, it stops at the last space.

6.13.12 In any case, if a share price token moves to a space which is already occupied, the token goes to the bottom of the pile. If it does not move, it retains its position in the stack.

6.14 Purchase Rolling Stock

6.14.1 If the company has fewer trains than the current train limit, then it may buy trains from the bank or, from Phase 3 onwards, from another company.

6.14.2 When buying a train from another company, the selling company must consent to the transaction. The price can be any amount from $1 to the amount in the purchasing company's treasury.

6.14.4 During Phases 1 and 2, an L-train can be converted to a 2-train as a train purchasing action.

6.14.5 7 and E-trains become available simultaneously after the last 6-train is bought, or is taken by the NdeM.

6.14.7 A company that is at the train limit cannot buy a train, even if the purchase would trigger a phase change and remove enough rolling stock to make room.

6.15 Forced Train Purchase

6.15.2 If a company that does not own a train has enough money to buy a train from the bank pool or bank, then it must either do so, or buy a train from another company.

6.16 Emergency Money Raising

6.17 Acquire a Minor Company - Requirements

A major company may acquire one (and only one) minor company each operating turn. The following restrictions apply:

An acquisition cannot be made in the operating round in which either company runs for the first time.
The major company must be able to trace a route from one of its station tokens to the home station token of the minor company. It is not sufficient to be colocated on a city hex if the station slots are not joined.
The directors of the two companies must agree to the acquisition. It is common for the same player to be the director of both companies.
All assets needed for the acquisition must be in place before the acquisition can be enacted. Cash acquired by the major company as a result of a merger may not be used to help pay for the merger.
If the requirements are met, the major company may acquire a minor company from a player (6.18, Phase 2 to Phase 7 inclusive) or from the bid boxes (6.19, Phase 5 to Phase 7 inclusive).

6.18 Acquire a Minor Company From a Player (Phase 2 to Phase 7)

Pay $180 in cash
Pay one share and $20 in cash
Pay two shares and receive $140 in cash

6.18.9 Once a minor company has been acquired, it is removed from play.

6.19 Acquire a Minor Company From the Bid Boxes (Phase 5 to Phase 7)

An acquisition cannot be made in the operating round in which the major company runs for the first time.
The major company must be able to trace a route from one of its station tokens to the home station location of the minor company. It is not sufficient to be colocated on a city hex if the station slots are not joined.

If its director chooses to take the station, they place one of its "Exchange" tokens in the home station of the minor company. The acquiring company's "Available" tokens may not be used for this purpose.
If its director chooses to not take the station, the company must transfer one of its "Exchange" tokens to the "Available" station tokens area on its charter if it has one available.

6.19.4 Once a minor company has been acquired, it is removed from play.

6.20 Issue or Redeem Stock

Example. A company is valued at $100 and issues three shares; the price drops three spaces to $70 and the company receives $210 (three times $70) into its treasury from the bank.

6.20.2 A company may not issue stock in its first operating turn.

6.21 NdeM National Railroad Operation

6.21.1 Except possibly in its final operation, the NdeM runs last in each operating round.

6.21.2 The NdeM has no director or treasury.

6.21.3 The NdeM's operation is limited to building tracks/cubes, running trains, and paying a dividend (always pays out in full).

6.22 NdeM Privatization

6.22.1 After the purchase of the first 7/E-train (or if the NdeM takes it), the game halts.

If a company buys the 7/E, complete the company's turn and then perform the privatization.
If the NdeM takes the 7/E, perform the privatization immediately at the start of the next operating round. Run the full operation of the NdeM one final time and then cash out (from the bank) the NdeM shares at their current value. If the first 7/E-train is taken by the NdeM, this operation occurs at the start of the operating round. After running the NdeM for the final time, its trains are discarded from the game and it no longer takes minor companies from Minor Company Bid Box 1 or new trains from the bank.

Credits

Francis Tresham, for starting it all off with 1829.
Simon Cutforth for 1822. Bob Lecuyer for 1822CA. 1822MX is an evolution of these games. Thank you to Simon and Bob for your work on the game system and rules.
Playtesters: Thanks especially to Rob Bradley, Chris Shaffer, as well as many more contributors who helped to refine the rules for this version. Eric Brosius helped immensely with proofreading and catching some corner cases.
Indexing: Jason Begy
We have played many other 18xx titles and no doubt other ideas have been developed subliminally from these other titles, so we also thank those designers not listed above by whom we have been influenced.

Designer Notes

I'll close these notes with some comments on gameplay strategy carried over from Simon Cutforth's original 1822 rules.

Differences from 1822

Setup
- The FCM concession and M18 start in concession Bid Box 1 and are sold together as a single item. M18 always starts at share price $50, with $100 capital. Its stock price marker is the first to be placed on the $50 space among the minor companies that start in that space during the stock round.
- Select the topmost of M14/M15/M17, flip it to the NdeM share side and place it in the bank pool. The NdeM starts with a token in the removed minor's home city. Turn the token for that minor over to reveal the NdeM logo. Fill the four other minor company spaces from the stack.
- Three additional NdeM shares start in the bank pool at share price $100.
Every company has a 20% director's certificate and eight 10% shares. No company begins operation from two home stations.
If a director sells shares or the company issues shares, its price moves left one space per 10% share sold; i.e. selling the director's certificate moves the company left two spaces. If another player sells shares, the price moves left only one space irrespective of number of shares sold. The share price moves one space right at the end of a stock round for "all sold."
In lieu of a yellow tile lay, a company can place a builder cube. This cube pays for one marked terrain cost (two cubes are needed to pay for a $80 black triangle). It is allowed for a major company to place a cube (counts as the first yellow tile) and then lay a yellow tile (counts as the second yellow tile) or to lay a yellow tile and then place a cube.
Mexico City upgrades like London; this always costs $20 with no cube discounts.
The dashed blue lines between the Baja California peninsula and the mainland are only used for demonstrating route connectivity for minor acquisition, not for running trains or placing stations. For this purpose all of these spikes are considered connected. Port tiles placed on these spikes do not affect the connectivity.
NdeM National Railroad
- The NdeM is the national railroad and is not operated by a single player.
- NdeM shares never count against the certificate limit.
- Selling NdeM shares does not affect the share price.
- Any minor companies that are removed by the game are turned into NdeM stations (flip the token) and the share is flipped over to show an NdeM share and placed in the bank pool. This share is available for purchase in a stock round.
- The NdeM never increases share price for being "all sold."
- When trains are removed at the end of a stock round, they are placed on the NdeM charter, discarding (and thus removing from the game) the cheapest trains from the game to meet the train limit. In Phase 1, the NdeM takes trains as Ls, in Phase 2, it takes them as 2s.
- Whenever the train limit changes, if necessary, the NdeM discards the cheapest train it owns to fall within the train limit.
- Trains discarded by the NdeM are removed from the game, not placed in the bank pool.
Operation of the NdeM National Railroad
- Except in its final operation (privatization), the NdeM runs last in the OR.
- The NdeM's operation is limited to building track, running trains, and paying a dividend (always full payout).
- Its track building step is shared among the players that have at least one NdeM share. In player order, each player with at least one NdeM share may do one build action following the rules for a major company. The NdeM has no treasury to pay for terrain costs, but may place builder cubes like major companies.
- During the NdeM's run trains step, the player lowest in player order with an NdeM share counts the NdeM's run (other players may demonstrate a higher revenue if they wish). The NdeM does not have a treasury and does not buy trains in the traditional way. It pays (from the bank) 10% per share, even if there are more or less than ten shares in play. The price moves left if the NdeM's revenue is 0. It moves right if it pays at least its share price. If the run is a multiple of its share price, it jumps the respective amount. I.e. multiple jumps are allowed, not limited to 2x jumps like major companies.
NdeM National Railroad Privatization
- After the turn of the company that purchases the first 7/E (or the NdeM takes it, always as a 7-train), the game halts.
- Run the NdeM one final time and then cash out (from the bank) the NdeM shares at their current value.
- Players bid for the NdeM tokens with "Exchange" tokens in player order. A player must be the director of a company with an "Exchange" token and cash to pay the bid. The company does not need a track connection. The minimum bid is the value of the city where the token is located (or $10 if the city has no value) and all bids/raises must be multiples of $10.
- Any stations that are not sold (privatized) remain on the board as blocking tokens, but serve no other purpose.

Easy to Miss Rules

Setup and Map

Although some cities have separate stations, it is not allowed to run a train from one station to another on the same hex.

End of Stock Round

End of stock round player cash from highest to lowest determines player order for the next stock round.
The NdeM takes a L/2-train from play for each unsold minor company.
If the minor company in Bid Box 1 is unsold, remove it and the NdeM takes the next available train in the bank (not pool) from the game (applies throughout the game).
Minor company floatation order is determined by sum bid. Break ties by ascending bid box number.

Concessions

Have a face value $100 and contribute $100 to the conversion to the director's certificate of the associated major company.
Cannot be started until the stock round after it is won at auction and in Phase 2 or later.
Are removed with no compensation at the start of Phase 5.
Pay a $10 dividend.

Private Companies

Red private companies cannot be acquired by minor companies. Green private companies may be acquired by either minor or major companies.
Are acquired by, not sold to, minor/major companies. When acquiring a private company, flip the private company over and it provides its special abilities to that company. Private companies stop paying revenue once owned by a company (exception: if the back of the private company still says "Revenue $10" then it will continue to pay $10 to the company while it remains active).
Private companies in player hands count against a player's certificate limit. The only time a player can assign a private company is during a major/minor company's turn in the operating round (i.e. not during a stock round).

Minor Companies

Must own a train (emergency fundraising if necessary).
Can buy an L-train at the start of their first turn if there are any remaining.
May only lay one yellow or green track per turn (never brown or gray).

Major Companies

May only start via concession conversion until Phase 5. They float immediately upon conversion.
From Phase 5, a director's certificate can be purchased directly from the initial offering. The company floats when 50% of its shares have been sold.
Are incrementally capitalized until Phase 6 and are fully capitalized in Phase 6 or later (place the remaining 50% of shares in the bank pool).
Have a destination token that is placed when they connect to their destination. The destination marker doubles the value of the destination city for one train when running a route including home and destination.
Shares may only be sold after the company has completed one turn of operation.

Changes at the Start of Phase 5

Remove concessions from the game with no compensation. The director's certificates are available for direct purchase in a stock round.
Minor companies may be acquired from the auction row directly for $200 during the acquiring major company's "Acquire a Minor Company" step. The major company must be able to trace a route to the minor company. If the major company has an "Exchange" token, it must either exchange the token or make an "Exchange" token "Available."

Minor Company Acquisition

This is the only way to close a player-owned minor company.
Acquisition happens during the operation of a major company.
Prerequisites
- Both companies must have operated in a previous operating round; i.e. in the second OR of a set of two operating rounds, both companies will have met this condition, while in the first OR of a set, newly formed companies will not have met this condition.
- The minor company must be able to trace a legal route (of arbitrary length) to a token of the major company (station-blocking rules apply).

Compensation to the owner of the minor company

The major company must pay the full value of the minor company (minor stock value x2) to the player.
Zero, one, or two shares of the major company may be exchanged as part of the transaction to offset the cost. Each share counts as its stock market value. Cash is exchanged one way or the other to make the transaction sum to zero.
If either the player or the company does not have the cash to make an equal exchange, no acquisition is possible.
This may not cause a player to exceed the certificate limit. It does allow a player to own more than 60% of a company.

Acquisition of minor company's assets

After the exchange is complete, give all assets (trains, cash, and private companies) of the minor company to the major company.
A major company cannot use the acquired minor company's assets to fund the acquisition.
If the major company has an exchange token, either place it in the minor company's home or move it into its available tokens.
Remove the minor's token, charter, stock token, and share certificate from the game.

Trains

L-trains run only a single large station. In addition, they can include a single town on their route. Only one L-train may run on each token.
E-trains include every token of the owning company on its route, skipping all other stations, but not passing through tokened-out cities. The value of each tokened station is doubled. (destination stations are quadrupled if running from home to the destination). They can run on the same track as other trains.
2P-train, P+, 3/2-train, and LP-train are described as "special trains." These special trains:
- Do not count against a company's train limit.
- Do not contribute to a company's requirement to own a train.
- Cannot be bought by other companies.
- Only one of the three special trains (2P-train, 3/2-train, LP-train) may be owned by any one company.
The decision to pay in full, pay half, or full withhold revenue for a special train (2P-train, 3/2-train, or LP-train) may be made independent of the decision made for a company's combined other trains. If both a special train and the other trains pay half, they are added together before halving. In any case, the dividend declared by a company (for the purposes of payout and stock chart movement) is equal to the sum of the dividends of ALL trains.
Pullman cars, when attached to a normal train, allow it to include revenue from towns but not count them against the train number (i.e. it only counts large stations). They are not trains and do not count against the train limit. They do not relieve the owning company of the requirement to own a train. They cannot be sold.
The 5-train private company (P1) may be acquired by a company even if that company already has two trains. This will cause the company to discard a train.

Emergency Money for Forced Train Purchase

When emergency fundraising for a train, a player must buy the cheapest available train from the bank/bank pool. This means that if paying with director's contributions and there is a 3-train in the bank pool that was previously discarded, the player must buy it. It also means that emergency money raising can never be used to buy an E-train, because 7-trains are cheaper.
The emergency fundraising rules also mean that if a company has $0, it cannot buy a train from another company. Rather it must emergency fundraise the full price of the cheapest available train.
If the player still does not have enough money, they borrow the remaining shortfall from the bank. Interest, at 50%, is applied immediately, so their debt is 150% of the shortfall borrowed.
At the end of each stock round, a further 50% interest is applied to any outstanding loan. A player may not buy or bid on anything whilst they have a loan. Loans still outstanding at the end of the game are subtracted from a player's wealth.

Company Tables

Major Companies

Company	Name	Home	Destination
FCM	Ferrocarril Mexicano	Mexico City (N23)	Veracruz (N27)
MC	Mexican Central Railway	Mexico City (N23)	Piedras Negras (F21)
CHP	Chihuahua-Pacific Railway	Chihuahua (F15)	Los Mochis (H11)
FNM	Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México	Mexico City (N23)	Nuevo Laredo (G22)
MIR	Mexican International Railroad	Piedras Negras (F21)	Durango (J15)
FCP	Ferrocarril del Pacífico	Nogales (D9)	Guadalajara (L17)
IRM	Interoceanic Railway of Mexico	Mexico City (N23)	Veracruz (N27)

Minor Companies

Minor Company	Name	Location	Hex
M1	Ferrocarril Sonora-Baja California	Tijuana	B1
M2	Rio Grande, Sierra Madre & Pacific Railway	Ciudad Juarez	D2
M3	Ferrocarril Nacozari	Hermosillo	E8
M4	Ferrocarril Parral y Durango	Cuauhtemoc	F13
M5	Ferrocarril Coahuila y Zacatecas	Nuevo Laredo	G22
M6	Sinaloa and Durango Railroad	Los Mochis	H11
M7	Monterrey Mineral and Terminal Railway	Monterrey	I22
M8	Ferrocarril Nacional de la Baja California	La Paz	J9
M9	Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico	Mazatlán	J13
M10	Potosi Central Railroad	San Luis Potosi	K20
M11	Guadalajara to Tepic and Mazatlán	Guadalajara	L17
M12	Ferrocarril Guanajuato a San Luis de la Paz y Pozos	Guanajuato	L19
M13	Ferrocarril San Marcos a Huajapan de Leon	León	L19
M14	Ferrocarril Cazadero y Solis	Mexico City	N23
M15	Ferrocarril San Gregorio	Mexico City	N23
M16	Ferrocarril Atlamaxac	Tlaxcala	N25
M17	Compania del ferrocarril de Mexico a Puebla	Puebla	N25
M18	Ferrocarril Mexicano	Tlaxcala	N25
M19	Córdoba and Huatusco Railroad	Veracruz	N27
M20	Ferrocarril Interoceanico de Acapulco	Acapulco	P23
M21	Ferrocarril Oaxaca a Ejutla	Oaxaca	P27
M22	Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatán	Villahermosa	O32
M23	Ferrocarril Merida a Valladolid	Merida	L37
M24	Northern Railroad of Guatemala	Guatemala	Q34

Private Companies

(see section 4.1 of the rules for additional information)

Nr.	Name	Rev.	Acq. By Minor	Acq. From Phase	Special Property / Notes
P1	Baldwin Locomotive Works Contract	$5	N	5	5-Train. Once a company acquires it, this is a normal 5-train that is subject to all of the normal rules. It is not a "special train" and is not subject to the rules that are specific to special trains. A company can acquire this private company at the start of its turn, even if it is already at its train limit, as this counts as an acquisition action, not a train buying action. However, once acquired the acquiring company must check whether it is at the train limit and must discard any trains held in excess of limit.
P2	Mexico City Short Line	$0	N	2	Permanent 2-Train. The 2P-train is a permanent 2-train. It is a "special train." It cannot be sold to another company. It does not count against the train limit. It does not count as a train for the purpose of mandatory train ownership and purchase. A company cannot own more than one special train. Dividends can be separated from other trains and may be split, paid in full, or retained. If a company runs a 2P-train and pays a dividend (split or full), but retains its dividend from other train operations, this still counts as a normal dividend for share price movement purposes. Vice-versa, if a company pays a dividend (split or full) with its other trains, but retains the dividend from the 2P-train, this also still counts as a normal dividend for share price movement purposes. Does not close.
P3	Imported Goods Train	$0	Y	1	Permanent 3/2-Train. It is a "special train." Same as P2 except that it runs like a normal 3-train, but its earnings are halved after all bonuses/Pullman revenue are included (round up to a multiple of $10).
P4	Mexico City Sightseeing Train	$0	Y	1	Permanent L-Train. It is a "special train." Same as P2 except that it runs like a normal L-train.
P5	Pullman Car	$10	Y	3	Pullman. A "Pullman" car that can be attached to another train owned by the company. It is not a train. A train with a Pullman attached to it counts any number of towns in addition to its standard number of large stations. Does not count toward the train limit. Cannot be sold to another company. Does not close. No company may own more than one Pullman.
P6	Pullman Car	$10	Y	3	Pullman. Same as P5.
P7	European Imports	$10	N	3	Declare 2x Cash Holding. If held by a player, the holding player may declare double their actual cash holding at the end of a stock round to determine player turn order in the next stock round. If held by a company it pays revenue of $20 (green)/$40 (brown)/$60 (gray). Does not close.
P8	Central Meseta Builders	$10	Y	1	Advanced Non-City Tile Lay. The owning company may lay one plain or town track upgrade using the next color of track to be available, before it is actually made available by phase progression. The normal rules for progression of track lay must be followed; it is not possible to skip a color using this private. All other normal track laying restrictions apply. This is in place of its normal track lay action. Once acquired, the private company pays its revenue to the owning company until the power is exercised and the company closes. A minor company may not use this power to upgrade beyond green.
P9	Narrow Gauge Branch Line	$10	Y	3	Extra Tile Lay. The owning company may lay an additional yellow tile (or two for major companies beginning in Phase 3), or make one additional tile upgrade in its track laying step. The upgrade can be to a tile laid in its normal tile laying step. All other normal track laying restrictions apply. Once acquired, the private company pays its revenue to the owning company until the power is exercised and the company closes.
P10	Compania Constructora Nacional Mexicana	$10	Y	1	Three Builder Cubes. When acquired by a company, the private company closes and is exchanged for three of the builder cubes from the cube pool. The company may spend one or more of the cubes to place them on the board during their lay track action. These placements are in addition to the tile placement. These cube placements may occur at any time during the action and can be split among turns.
P11	Sierra Madre Builders	$10	Y	1	Three Builder Cubes. Same as P10.
P12	American Investors - ATSF Sponsorship	$10	Y	1	Remove Town. Allows the owning company to place a plain yellow track tile directly on an undeveloped town hex location or upgrade a town tile of one color to a plain track tile of the next color. This closes the company and counts as the company's normal track laying step. All other normal track laying restrictions apply. Cannot be used in hexes with two small towns. Once acquired, the private company pays its revenue to the owning company until the power is exercised and the company is closed.
P13	American Investors - DRG Sponsorship	$10	Y	1	Remove Town. Same as P12.
P14	National Mail Service	$10	N	3	Mail Contract. After running trains, the owning company receives income into its treasury equal to one half of the base value of the start and end stations from one of the trains operated. Modifications to values (for E-trains, a 3/2-train, or destination tokens) do not apply. An L-train may deliver mail within a single city. The company is not required to maximize the dividend from its run if it wishes to maximize its revenue from the mail contract by stopping at a large city and not running beyond it to include towns. A company that owns more than one Mail Contract may not use more than one on any train.
P15	National Mail Service	$10	N	3	Mail Contract. Same as P14.
P16	Vales de Tierra Promissory Notes	$10	N	2	Stock Drop. Pays $10 while owned by a player. A company must pay the bank $10 while owned by a company. A major company may close this company during its operating turn, but that makes its stock drop one space. If the company ever cannot pay the $10, this private company closes and the stock drops immediately.
P17	Upgraded Docks	$10	Y	2	Small Port. Replace a spike going to water with this tile. Lay this tile on a spike that does not already have a port. The spike now counts as a 30 (yellow)/40 (green and later) and is treated like a gray off-board area for counting train runs for all companies. This is in addition to the company's normal tile placement and the company does not need a route to the spike. Once acquired, the private company pays its revenue to the owning company until the power is exercised and the company is closed.
P18	Harbor Improvements	$10	N	3	Large Port. Same as P17 except the revenue is 40 (green)/50 (brown)/60 (gray).

1822MX

1822MX Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components List

1. Overview of the Game

1.1 Sequence of Play

1.2 The Map

1.3 Game End

1.4 Etiquette

1.5 Rules Structure

2. Setting Up the Game

2.1 Initial Setup

3. Game Phases

3.1 Phase Chart

3.2 Phase Summary

4. Railroad Companies

4.1 Private Companies

4.2 Minor Companies

4.3 Major Companies

4.4 NdeM National Railroad Company

5. Stock Rounds

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Bank Pool

5.3 The Stock Market

5.4 Player Loans

5.5 Selling Shares

5.6 Buying Shares

5.7 Converting a Concession to a Director's Certificate (Phases 2-4)

5.8 Forming a Major Company Directly (Phases 5-7)

5.9 Completing Major Company Setup

5.10 Bidding

5.11 Certificate Limit

5.12 End of Stock Round

5.13 End of Stock Round Share Price Movement

6. Operating Rounds

6.1 Number of Operating Rounds

6.2 Operating Round Turn Order

6.3 Operating Round Actions

6.4 Routes

6.5 Rolling Stock

6.6 First Turn Housekeeping

6.7 Acquire Private Companies

6.8 Build Actions - Lay Track/Upgrade Track/Place a Builder Cube

6.9 Mexico City

6.10 Check for Connection to Destination

6.11 Station Tokens

6.12 Run Train(s)

6.13 Earnings Distribution

6.14 Purchase Rolling Stock

6.15 Forced Train Purchase

6.16 Emergency Money Raising

6.17 Acquire a Minor Company - Requirements

6.18 Acquire a Minor Company From a Player (Phase 2 to Phase 7)

6.19 Acquire a Minor Company From the Bid Boxes (Phase 5 to Phase 7)

6.20 Issue or Redeem Stock

6.21 NdeM National Railroad Operation

6.22 NdeM Privatization

Credits

Designer Notes

Differences from 1822

Easy to Miss Rules

Company Tables

Major Companies

Minor Companies

Private Companies

1822MX

1822MX Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components List

1. Overview of the Game

1.1 Sequence of Play

1.2 The Map

1.3 Game End

1.4 Etiquette

1.5 Rules Structure

2. Setting Up the Game

2.1 Initial Setup

3. Game Phases

3.1 Phase Chart

3.2 Phase Summary