18Ireland
18Ireland Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Contents
- Game Setup
- Game Overview
- Initial Share Round
- Share Round
- Operating Round
- Merger Round
- Game Phases
- End of Game
- Miscellaneous
- Appendix A: Private Companies
- Appendix B: Optional Rules
- Appendix C: Designer's Notes
Contents
- Game board
- Revenue track
- 223 track tiles: yellow, green, russet, grey & red
- 14 company charters for 5-share companies (small)
- 7 company charters for 10-share companies (large)
- 119 share certificates (4 for each 5-share company, 9 for each 10-share company)
- 11 certificates for private companies
- 28 train cards
- 6 player order cards
- 77 station markers (3 for each 5-share company, 5 for each 10-share company)
- 4 private company markers
- 1 round marker
- 1 priority deal card
- 1 Kerry cow priority deal marker to use instead of the card if desired
- These Rules
- Players must provide a bank of game money. Poker chips are recommended. The bank size is £4,000.
Key terms that have special meaning in these rules are bolded upon their first use.
Game Setup
Place the game board and revenue track in the centre of a suitably sized table. Place the track tiles nearby. Only the yellow track tiles are needed at the start of the game; the other colours are added later. Place the train cards in a single stock with the 2H trains at the top followed by the 4H, 6H, 8H, 10H, and D trains in that order. Note that one of the 2H trains is marked Optional and is removed. Rules for its use are in Appendix B.
Set aside the company charter and Director's Certificate of the Dublin & Kingstown Railway. Shuffle the remaining 5-share company charters face down. One charter is randomly chosen and removed from the game. The remaining charters are placed face up in a pile near the game board. Arrange the pile such that players can see the company names from the top to the bottom of the pile.
Place the private company certificates for the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway and the Dublin & Kingstown Railway next to the game board. Shuffle the other private company certificates face down and deal three face up to the table. The remainder are removed from the game. Arrange the five private company certificates in ascending order of cost price. These will be auctioned in the initial share round.
Establish a bank of £4,000. Additional money may be needed for the final rounds once the bank has broken. Appoint one player to be the banker. Place the game money near the board. The banker distributes starting cash from the bank in accordance with the following table:
| players | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| starting capital | £330 | £250 | £200 | £160 |
| certificate limit | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 |
Use the player order cards to determine the seating order around the table. Give the first player the priority deal card.
Game Overview
The game consists of a repeating series of the following rounds:
- Initial share round (at start of game only)
- Share round
- Operating round 1
- Operating round 2
- Merger round (from Phase 4 onwards)
The game then continues with another share round, then a pair of operating rounds etc. until one of the game end conditions is met.
Initial Share Round
The private company auction takes place only at the start of the game. During this round, the private company certificates are auctioned.
Starting with the player with the priority deal card and proceeding clockwise, each player in turn takes one of the following actions:
- Purchase the cheapest private company for the price printed on the certificate
- Place a bid on one of the higher value private companies
- Pass
When placing a bid, the minimum bid is £5 above the cost price of the certificate or £5 above the previous highest bid, whichever is greater. All bids must be a multiple of £5. The bidder sets aside their bid from their starting capital; this money cannot be used to bid on any other item until the ownership of the bid item is resolved.
When a private company is purchased for its face value, the normal action sequence is paused if the next cheapest company (or companies) has bids placed on it. If only one bid has been placed, that player takes the private company, paying their bid to the bank. If two or more bids have been placed, the item is auctioned between those players who have placed bids. Starting with the player holding the lowest bid and proceeding to the next higher bid (and so on), each player must raise the current bid by at least £5, bidding in multiples of £5, or pass. The auction ends when all players except one have passed. The winning bidder pays their bid to the bank and receives the private company. Losing bidders have their bid money returned to them. The private company auction then continues with the player to the left of the player who last purchased an item.
The private company auction ends when either of the following conditions is met:
- All private company certificates have been purchased
- All players have passed in turn
In the event that the private company auction ends with none of the private companies having been purchased, the private company auction is immediately restaged. Any previous bids are cancelled and bid money is returned to the bidder. The Dalkey Atmospheric Railway is reduced in cost by £5. This may be repeated several times, until the start player is obliged to accept the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway at no cost.
Provided at least one private company has been purchased, at the end of the private company auction, any private company certificate that has received no bids is removed from the game. If the Dublin & Kingstown Railway receives no bids, remove its company charter from the game. If any certificates have unresolved bid amounts on them, these are auctioned one at a time, in ascending cost price order, between those players that have placed bids on them, as above.
If the Dublin & Kingstown Railway is sold, follow the setup rules in Appendix A.
Once the private company auction is complete, proceed to the first share round.
Give the priority deal card to the player to the left of the last player to purchase a certificate for face value.
Share Round
During each share round, players buy and sell shares in existing companies and start new companies from scratch.
Stock Market
Every company that is currently operating has its share price recorded by a marker on the stock market. The stock market is two-dimensional. The share price marker moves up and down to reflect market conditions (demand for, versus the supply of a share) and moves left and right to reflect operating conditions (more or less revenue distributed to shareholders).
All shares are worth the current share price, whether they are 20% shares or 10% shares.
Share price markers move in accordance with the following rules:
- If the marker must move up, but the marker is currently on the top row, it does not move.
- If the marker must move down, but the marker is currently in the bottom row (or a "step"), it does not move.
- If the marker must move to the left, but the marker is currently in the leftmost column, it moves down instead. This is indicated by arrows on the stock market. Exception: if the marker is in the lowest value space (£20) and must move left, it moves off the stock market. This results in the closure of the company. See Company Closure.
- If the marker must move to the right, but the marker is currently in the rightmost column (or in front of a "step"), it moves up instead. This is indicated by arrows on the stock market.
- In all cases, if a marker moves to a space occupied by other markers, it goes below the markers already in that space. This also applies when companies form for the first time, either during a share round or by merger.
Actions During a Share Round
Starting with the player with the priority deal card and proceeding clockwise, each player in turn takes one of the following actions, or passes:
- Optionally sell any number of shares, then optionally purchase one share from a company charter or the bank pool (at least one share must change ownership in the course of this action)
- Start a new company from scratch (depending on game phase)
Selling Shares
During their turn in the share round, a player may sell as many of their shares as they desire, subject to the following restrictions:
- Director's certificates cannot be sold unless there is another player that owns at least two shares of the company.
- No more than 50% of a company's shares can be in the bank pool at any time.
The player places the shares being sold into the bank pool and receives their current price from the bank. For each share sold the share price moves down one row on the stock market.
When a player sells shares from more than one company as a single action, they choose the order in which they are sold.
If, at the start of their turn in a share round, a player is above their certificate limit (see Buying a Share) as a result of a company merger or a change of directorship, they must sell sufficient shares to bring their certificate holding below that limit.
Note that no shares may be sold during the first regular share round of the game.
Buying a Share
During their turn in the share round, a player may purchase one share from a company charter or the bank pool subject to the following restrictions:
- A player may not own more than 60% of a 5-share company or 70% of a 10-share company.
- A player may not purchase a share of a company whose shares they sold earlier in the same share round.
- A player may not exceed the following certificate limit. Private company certificates count towards this limit, certificates of companies whose share price marker is currently in the yellow zone of the stock market do not.
| players | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| certificate limit | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 |
The player takes the share certificate they are purchasing and pays the current price of the share to the company treasury (in the case of a previously unsold share) or pays the bank (if the share is purchased from the bank pool).
Transfer of Directorship
If, at any time, a player has more shares in a company than the current director, they immediately become the new company director.
If two or more players have more shares in a company than the current director, the player with the most shares in that company becomes the new director.
In the event that two or more players are tied for the largest shareholding in a company, with each having a shareholding that is greater than that of the current director, the player who is first clockwise from the current director becomes the new company director.
The new director receives the director's share certificate in exchange for two of their ordinary share certificates. They receive the company charter with all company assets and decide on company actions during operating rounds from then on.
Starting a 5-Share Company (Phases 2-6)
As their turn in the share round, a player may start a 5-share company, subject to the following restrictions:
- An unstarted 5-share company must be available.
- The current player must have at least £100 cash available.
The current player takes the top charter from the pile of 5-share company charters created during game setup and begins an auction.
The current player bids first. The minimum bid is £100 and all bids must be a multiple of £5. No player may bid more than the amount of cash they currently have available. Bidding proceeds clockwise. Each player may raise the bid by a minimum of £5 or pass. A player who passes may not re-enter the bidding. Bidding continues until all players bar one have passed.
The winning bidder receives the director's share of the company and places the company charter in front of them with the remaining shares in the appropriate place on the charter. They place their bid in the company treasury and place the share price marker in the highest outlined space (£50, £60, £70, £85, £100) on the stock market that is not more than half their bid (place under other markers, if any). The company's station marker is immediately placed in its home city, even if no track tile is present in that hex. The new company will operate during the next operating round.
Starting a 10-Share Company (Phase 6 onwards)
As their turn in the share round, a player may start a 10-share company, subject to the following restrictions:
- An unstarted 10-share company must be available.
- There must be an unreserved space on a city track tile for the company's first station marker (although unlikely, this could include the city spaces on the pre-printed, yellow Dublin tile, if these spaces are unreserved).
- The current player must have at least £100 cash available.
The current player chooses an available 10-share company charter and places it in front of them with the company's shares on the charter. They choose an initial share price from the outlined spaces on the stock market (£50, £60, £70, £85, £100) and place the share price marker in that space (place under other markers, if any). They pay twice the initial share price into the company treasury and receive the director's share. The company's first station marker is immediately placed in an unreserved free space on any city track tile of the director's choice. The new company will operate during the next operating round.
End of the Share Round
The share round ends when all players have passed in turn. If no one started a 5-share company during the share round, then the top charter from the pile of 5-share company charters is removed from the game.
If all of a company's shares are "sold out" (i.e. all shares are currently in players' holdings, with none on the company charter or in the bank pool), that company's share price rises by one row on the stock market.
Give the priority deal card to the player to the left of the last player to take an action. If no actions have been taken, the priority deal card does not move.
Operating Round
During the operating round, private companies first pay revenue to their owners, then each share company (whether 5-share or 10-share) operates in turn, in descending order of share price. Where two or more companies have the same share price, the company with its share price marker furthest to the right on the stock market operates first. Where two or more companies have share price markers in the same space, the companies operate in turn from the top to the bottom of the stack.
Private Companies
At the start of each operating round, the owner of each private company receives revenue from the bank equal to the value printed on the company certificate. Where private companies have been sold to 5-share or 10-share companies the revenue is paid into the company treasury.
During Phase 4 and Phase 6, 5-share and 10-share companies may purchase private companies from players at any mutually agreed price between half and double the cost printed on the certificate (inclusive). This may be done at any point during the purchasing company's turn in an operating round. The purchasing company then obtains any special ability associated with the private company, which it may exercise at any time during its turn in an operating round, including immediately. Some private companies close once the special ability has been used.
Players cannot sell private companies to each other, nor may a 5-share or 10-share company sell a private company that it has previously purchased.
All remaining private companies close immediately at the start of Phase 8. Their certificates are removed from the game without compensation.
5-Share and 10-Share Companies
During the operating round, the director performs all actions on behalf of a company.
The following actions are performed in order:
- Optionally, sell one share to the bank pool or purchase one share from the bank pool.
- Optionally, lay or upgrade track tile(s).
- Optionally, place one station marker.
- Run trains and calculate earnings.
- Pay or withhold dividends and adjust the share price.
- Optionally, purchase one or more trains. This is compulsory if the company does not have a train.
Sell or Purchase One Share
As its first action in the operating round, a company may sell one of its own shares to the bank pool or purchase one of its own shares from the bank pool (not both). Selling a share is subject to the normal rule that no more than 50% of a company's shares may be in the bank pool at any time.
To sell a share, one share certificate is moved from the company charter to the bank pool and the current price of the share is paid from the bank into the company treasury. The share price moves down one row on the stock market.
To purchase a share, one share certificate is moved from the bank pool to the company charter and the current price of the share is paid from the company treasury to the bank. The share price does not change on a share purchase. The purchased share is treated as a normal unsold share and may be sold in a subsequent operating round.
Definition of a Route
A route is a continuous length of broad gauge track that includes at least two stations. At least one city station along the route must contain one of the company's station markers. A route may start and/or end at either a town station, a city station or the red off-board tile. A route may not reach, or pass through the same station or off-board tile more than once. A route may reach, but not pass through a city station filled by station markers belonging to other companies. No piece of track may be used more than once, but a route may include two stations on the same tile.
It is the director's responsibility to choose routes that will generate the best possible income for the company. Another player may, but is not compelled to, point out a more lucrative route which the company director must adopt.
Lay or Upgrade Track
A company may lay or upgrade one track tile during its turn.
- Lay: place a yellow tile
- Upgrade: replace a tile, or place a tile on a preprinted yellow hex
If it chooses to lay a yellow tile, it may optionally lay a second yellow tile for a payment of £20 from the company treasury. Any terrain costs marked on the board must be paid to lay yellow tiles unless the tile consists entirely of narrow gauge track, which is laid without terrain cost. If it chooses to upgrade a tile, the usual upgrade sequence (yellow – green – russet – grey) must be adhered to and all existing track must be preserved. The colours of tiles available depend on the current game phase. Tile upgrades are free unless the tile being replaced has an upgrade cost marked on it.
If a newly-started 5-share company is operating for the first time and it does not currently have a track tile on its home city hex, it must lay its first track tile there. This counts as a normal tile lay.
Tiles laid must be appropriate to the hex in which they are laid (i.e. town station tiles in hexes marked with towns, double town station tiles in hexes marked with two towns, city station tiles in hexes marked with cities).
A tile upgrade chart is provided at the end of this booklet.
Track is said to be connected if there is a continuous line of track of a single type of any length that does not pass through a city filled by station markers of other companies.
When laying a yellow tile that includes broad gauge track, at least one section of that track must be connected by broad gauge track to one of the company's station markers.
When laying a yellow tile that consists entirely of narrow gauge track, that track must be connected by narrow gauge track to a town or city that is connected by broad gauge track to one of the company's station markers.
When upgrading to a tile that includes additional broad gauge track, at least one new section of broad gauge track, or the city being upgraded, must be connected by broad gauge track to one of the company's station markers.
When upgrading to a tile that consists entirely of narrow gauge track, at least one section of the track on the new tile must be connected by narrow gauge track to a town or city that is connected by broad gauge track to one of the company's station markers.
When upgrading to a tile that consists of a mixture of broad and narrow gauge track, and the additional track is entirely narrow gauge, at least one section of the new track must be connected by narrow gauge track to a town or city that is connected by broad gauge track to one of the company's station markers.
Track tiles may not be placed such that any of the following conditions are true:
- Track runs off the hex grid. Exception: Track may be laid to the red off board tile, but the off-board tile must be placed before track can run to it.
- Track runs into one of the heavy blue impassable hex sides.
- Broad gauge and narrow gauge track meet at a hex side.
Note that some track tiles are reserved for particular hexes on the board:
- Tiles marked BC may only be used in Belfast or Cork.
- Tiles marked DD may only be used in the Dundalk/Drogheda hex.
- Tiles marked DUB may only be used in Dublin.
- Tiles marked EM may only be used in Enniskillen or Maryborough.
No other track tiles may be laid in these hexes. Note that the stations of some of the DD and DUB tiles are on the edge of the tile. These stations are connected to the edge of the tile with broad gauge track.
No track tile may be placed in the Wicklow hex until the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway has been purchased by a 5-share or 10-share company, or has closed.
If Drumglass Colliery Railway was one of the private companies purchased during the private company auction, no track tile may be placed in the D.C.R. hex until Drumglass Colliery Railway has been purchased by a 5-share or 10-share company, or has closed.
Other private companies with special track laying abilities (Donegal Railway, Tralee & Dingle Railway) do not have reserved hexes in which they lay track.
Place One Station Marker
A 10-share company may place one station marker during its turn, on an unoccupied space on a city tile that is connected by broad gauge track to one of its existing station markers. No company may have more than one station marker on the same tile. The company pays £20, for the second token, and £50, for the third token, to the bank.
If the station marker is being placed in a city that is the starting location of an unstarted 5-share company, then space must be left on the tile for the home station marker of the 5-share company. 5-share companies that have closed or been removed from the game do not require home station markers and any free space in their starting cities may be occupied by other companies without restriction.
Note that a 10-share company places its first station marker during the share round or merger round in which it is formed. Consequently, a 10-share company may place an additional station marker during its first operating round.
Run Trains and Calculate Earnings
After any track laying and placing of station markers, a company chooses routes for its trains. Trains in 18Ireland are hex trains. So, for example, a 2H train starts in one hex and travels to two more, counting the value of stations along the way. D trains may run unlimited hexes. Each of a company's trains must operate a route that is entirely separate from every other one of the company's trains, but they may meet or cross at stations or use different tracks on the same tile.
The trains may only travel along broad gauge track (solid black lines), not along narrow gauge track (black/white lines). The effect of narrow gauge track is to add the value of town stations that are exclusively on narrow gauge track to the first broad gauge station they are connected to at the end (or both ends) of the narrow gauge line. Thus, the companies in the game benefit from the construction of narrow gauge track even though they do not operate it directly. It is possible to string together multiple towns on a single narrow gauge line or network.
Examples of Calculating Earnings
The rulebook illustrates the following examples with hex-map diagrams; the diagrams themselves are not reproduced here, but the worked figures are transcribed faithfully below.
Early in the game, track is built between Dromod and Maryborough. The link between the two cities avoids Athlone to save on terrain costs. Dromod is worth £20 for trains that reach that station, Maryborough is worth £10, so a 2H train operating between the two would earn £30 (£20 + £10).
During the next operating round, narrow gauge track is placed in the Athlone hex. This is free of terrain cost. Because Athlone is exclusively on narrow gauge track, its value adds to the first broad gauge station it connects to, so Maryborough is now worth £20 (£10 + £10) and a 2H train operating between Dromod and Maryborough would earn £40.
Later in the game, the yellow tiles are upgraded to green. Athlone is connected to both Dromod and Maryborough, so its value now adds to both the broad gauge stations it is connected to. Dromod is now worth £40 and Maryborough £30.
Here's a slightly wider example from late in the game. Note that Athlone is no longer exclusively on narrow gauge track. Because of this it no longer adds value to Dromod or Maryborough, so Dromod is worth £40 and Maryborough is worth just £20. Athlone is worth £30 to trains that operate to or through its hex, as it adds Athenry (to the west) to its own value. Note that Athenry does not add value to Dromod or Maryborough as it only adds value to the first broad gauge station to which it is connected.
In this example, both Sligo and Galway are worth an additional £40 due to the connected narrow gauge track network. In this case, a 6H train could run from Sligo to Galway for £160 (£70+£10+£10+£70).
Pay or Withhold Dividends and Adjust the Share Price
The director must decide whether to retain the company's earnings in the company treasury or pay out the earnings in the form of a dividend to shareholders.
The company must either pay dividends or retain earnings. If it pays dividends, the money earned is divided by five or ten (for 5-share and 10-share companies respectively) and this sum is paid from the bank to the holder of each share. Unsold shares on the company charter pay dividends to the company treasury. Shares in the bank pool receive no dividend. If it retains earnings, all money earned goes into the company treasury.
- If a dividend is paid and the company's earnings amount to at least its current share price, the price is moved right by one space. Additionally, for 5-share companies only, if the dividend is paid and earnings amount to at least twice the current share price, the price is moved right an extra space.
- If a dividend is paid and the company's earnings are less than its current share price, the share price does not change.
- If earnings are withheld or earnings are zero, the share price is moved left by one space.
Purchase Train(s)
A company may purchase one or more trains, subject to the current train limit listed in Section Game Phases. A company must purchase a train if it has none.
Trains may be purchased from the top of the stock of unsold trains or from the bank pool at face value, or from another company with the agreement of its director for any agreed price of at least £1. There are no game phase restrictions on buying a train from another company.
During Phases 10 and D, a company may trade in one of its existing trains to make the purchase of a more powerful train easier. The director places the existing train in the bank pool and takes one new train from the top of the new train stock, paying the difference in price to the bank. A company may perform only one trade in during each operating round. Only one train may be traded in for each new train purchased.
The train limit for the current phase of the game applies at all times. A company may not purchase additional trains if it currently is at the train limit, even if the purchase would cause some of its trains to become obsolete and thus place the company below the train limit. If at any time, a company should find itself with more trains than the current train limit, the excess trains are immediately placed in the bank pool without compensation. The director chooses which trains to discard if the company has trains of different types. A trade in of a train does not constitute purchasing an additional train and so is allowed, even for a company currently at its train limit.
If a company has no train and insufficient money in its company treasury to be able to afford one from the bank or bank pool, the director must make up the purchase price from their own cash holdings via emergency fund raising.
In all cases where a company has no train, the director may, but is never compelled to, accept the offer of a train from another player.
Emergency Fund Raising
If a company ends its turn lacking both a train and the funds to buy an available train from the bank or bank pool, the director must contribute to fund the purchase of a train from the bank or bank pool.
If the company enters emergency fund raising, the director may choose whether to buy a train from the bank pool or from the bank, even if the new train from the bank is more expensive. However, they may not declare bankruptcy if they can only afford a train from the bank pool, but would prefer to buy a new train.
To fund the train, the director must contribute cash to raise the amount needed. If the director lacks enough cash to buy the selected train, they may sell their own shares to the bank pool. The sale of shares is subject to the normal rule that no more than 50% of a company's shares may be in the bank pool at any time. Furthermore, they may not sell shares in the currently operating company such that a transfer of directorship would result.
The player sells their shares one by one until they have sufficient cash to allow their company to meet its liability. The player may choose which shares to sell, but must sell all the shares they wish from one company before proceeding to sell shares from another. Once the sale is complete, the prices of shares sold adjust downwards as usual (and may cause changes in the running order of companies that have yet to operate this round). The share sale is considered a single transaction for price adjustment purposes.
The amount given to the company may only be enough to purchase one train available from the bank or bank pool (i.e. there must be no money in the company treasury after the purchase).
If a director is unable to raise enough money to allow their company to meet its liabilities, they sell all they can and pay all their money into the company treasury. They are then bankrupt.
Bankruptcy
A player who is bankrupt retires from the game. The companies of which they are director close. Any remaining unsaleable assets (private companies, shares in companies that could not be sold on account of the 50% limit on shares in the bank pool) are removed from the game. The player's final score is the value of these assets.
Company Closure
A company closes when one of the following conditions is met:
- Its share price is at the lowest value on the stock market (£20) and no dividend is paid.
- Its director becomes bankrupt.
Closed companies return their company treasuries to the bank. Share certificates, station markers and any trains or private companies owned are removed from the game. Minority shareholders receive the final value of their shares from the bank (note that in the case of a company whose share price marker has moved into the 'Closed' box, the final value of its shares is 0).
Merger Round
Starting from Phase 4 of the game, a merger round takes place at the end of each pair of operating rounds provided the end of game condition has not been reached. During the merger round, players may propose mergers of 5-share companies.
Procedure
Starting with the player with the priority deal card and proceeding clockwise, each player in turn takes one of the following actions:
- Proposes the merger of two or three operating 5-share companies into a 10-share company.
- Pass.
The proposal may be accepted or rejected. If accepted, the proposed merger takes place immediately. If rejected, no action is taken and play passes to the left. If a proposed merger is rejected, an identical proposal may not be made again by any player during that merger round. As in a share round, passing does not prevent a player from proposing a merger on a subsequent turn of the same merger round.
Proposal of Merger
A merger may only be proposed between two or three operating 5-share companies to create a new 10-share company. The player making the proposal must be the owner of at least one share of at least one of the companies involved. Shareholders in the merging companies then proceed to a vote.
For the proposal to be legal, the following conditions must be met:
- There must be an unstarted 10-share company.
- The station marker of each of the merging companies must be connected by broad gauge track to the station marker of each of the other companies in the proposed merger. Intermediate stations blocked by other companies' station markers are ignored for the purposes of this rule.
- The final disposition of the station markers must be legal. i.e. each company must have its station marker on a different tile, as the merged company may not have two station markers on the same tile.
- It must be possible to replace issued shares with shares in the new company. i.e. a total of no more than ten shares of the merging companies may be in players' holdings or the bank pool. This makes it difficult, but not impossible, to merge more than two companies in a single merger.
- The final disposition of the shares must be legal. i.e. no player will have more than 70% of the merged company and no more than 50% of the merged company's shares will be in the bank pool.
Example
During their turn in the merger round, a player proposes: "I propose the merger of the Grand Junction Railway and the Ulster Railway. Shareholders will now vote."
Voting
Starting with the proposer of the merger and proceeding clockwise, each player with one or more shares in the merging companies casts their vote(s) in favour of or against the proposed merger. A tally of the votes may be made by the banker.
Each shareholder has one vote for each share they own in the merging companies. They must cast their votes as a block, i.e. if they have three shares, they cast three votes either for or against the proposed merger. Shareholders may not divide their votes or abstain.
Once all players have voted, votes are recorded on behalf of any shares in the merging companies that are currently in the bank pool. Shares in the bank pool will vote in favour of merger if, in the event of the merger taking place, they will be exchanged for shares in the merged company whose value will be higher. They will vote against merger if they will be exchanged for shares of lower value and will abstain if shares in the merged company will have the same value.
Unissued shares on company charters do not vote.
The proposed merger is accepted if there are more votes in favour than against, ignoring abstentions. If there are fewer votes in favour than against or the vote is tied, the proposal is rejected.
Effect of Merger
If the proposed merger is accepted, a new 10-share company is formed. The proposer takes the company charter from the bank (it doesn't matter which one, but it may be thematic to choose one appropriate to the geographic location) and places it in front of them. All private companies, cash and trains belonging to the merging companies are placed on the charter. The charters of the merging companies are removed from the game.
The shareholders of the merging companies each receive one 10% share in the merged company in exchange for each 20% share in the merging companies that they hold. Any shares of the merging companies in the bank pool are similarly replaced by shares in the merged company. Any remaining unissued shares of the merged company are placed on the new company charter. The director of the merged company becomes the player with the most shares in the merged company, or if two or more players are tied, the directorship is given to the tied player who proposed the merger (if they did so) or the tied player who is first clockwise from the proposer. The new director receives the director's certificate in place of two ordinary share certificates.
The initial share price of the merged company is now set. The value is the intersection on the stock market of the leftmost company's column and the topmost company's row of the merging companies. A company marker is placed at this price on the stock market (below any markers already in that space). The share price markers of the merging companies are removed from the game.
Merger Example 1: Company A and Company B are merging. Company A has a share price of £65 and Company B has a share price of £84. Company A has its token in the leftmost column of the two companies, Company B has its token in the higher row of the two companies. The initial share price of the merged company is £76, this being the intersection of that row and column.
Merger Example 2: Three companies are merging. Their share prices are: £85, £100, and £102. The £85 token is in the leftmost column of the three and the £100 token in the highest row of the three. The initial share price of the merged company is £92, this being the intersection of that row and column.
Station markers of the merging companies are now replaced by those of the merged company. All station markers must be replaced. The conversion of station markers is free. Place any remaining station marker on the highest cost space (£50) on the company charter. It may be placed during a future operating round at the normal cost.
In the event that the merged company has more trains than the current limit for a 10-share company, the director must immediately discard sufficient trains to come within that limit. These are placed in the bank pool without compensation.
End of the Merger Round
The merger round ends when all players have passed in turn. Proceed to the next share round. The priority deal card does not move during a merger round.
Game Phases
As trains are purchased, the game proceeds through a series of phases, named after the train whose purchase triggers that phase. When the first train of a new type is purchased, a phase change occurs immediately. The track tiles available, train limits and some other rules vary with the game phase.
Phase 2
- The game starts in Phase 2.
- Yellow track tiles may be used.
- 5-share companies may start.
- 5-share companies are limited to 2 trains each.
Phase 4
- Triggered by the purchase of the first 4H train.
- Yellow and green track tiles may be used.
- The green value is used for the off-board hex.
- 5-share companies may start or merge to form 10-share companies.
- 5-share companies are limited to 2 trains each.
- 10-share companies are limited to 4 trains each.
- 5-share and 10-share companies may buy private companies.
Phase 6
- Triggered by the purchase of the first 6H train.
- The 2H trains are turned to their rusted side (1H) and placed in the bank pool.
- Yellow and green track tiles may be used.
- The green value is used for the off-board hex.
- 5-share companies may start or merge to form 10-share companies.
- 5-share companies are limited to 2 trains each.
- 10-share companies may start.
- 10-share companies are limited to 3 trains each.
- 5-share and 10-share companies may buy private companies.
Phase 8
- Triggered by the purchase of the first 8H train.
- The 4H trains are turned to their rusted side (2H) and placed in the bank pool. The rusted 1H trains are removed from the game.
- Yellow, green and russet track tiles may be used.
- The russet value is used for the off-board hex.
- Any remaining unstarted 5-share companies are removed from the game.
- 5-share companies may merge to form 10-share companies.
- 5-share companies are limited to 1 train each.
- 10-share companies may start.
- 10-share companies are limited to 2 trains each.
- Private companies close.
Phase 10
- Triggered by the purchase of the first 10H train.
- The 6H trains are turned to their rusted side (3H) and placed in the bank pool. The rusted 2H trains are removed from the game.
- Companies may trade in existing trains for new ones.
- Yellow, green and russet track tiles may be used.
- The russet value is used for the off-board hex.
- 5-share companies may merge to form 10-share companies.
- 5-share companies are limited to 1 train each.
- 10-share companies may start.
- 10-share companies are limited to 2 trains each.
Phase D
- Triggered by the purchase of the first D train.
- The rusted 3H trains are removed from the game.
- Companies may trade in existing trains for new ones.
- Yellow, green, russet and grey track tiles may be used.
- The grey value is used for the off-board hex.
- 5-share companies may merge to form 10-share companies.
- 5-share companies are limited to 1 train each.
- 10-share companies may start.
- 10-share companies are limited to 2 trains each.
End of Game
The game ends when one of the following conditions is met:
- Immediately, once all players bar one have become bankrupt.
- At the end of the operating round in which the share value of one or more companies reach the highest value on the stock market (£260).
- At the end of the pair of operating rounds after the bank first runs out of money.
When the game ends the players total their cash, the face value of any unclosed private companies that they still own, and the value of their shares at current price. Any assets held by companies do not count. Bankrupt players score the value of any assets they were not able to sell. The player with the highest total is the winner.
Miscellaneous
Etiquette
18Ireland is not a short game. It is incumbent upon the players to speed play as much as is reasonably possible. Each player should decide on their actions while waiting for their turn. Company and player holdings are public knowledge and must be revealed upon request.
Negotiations
Negotiations between players are allowed provided they do not slow up the game unduly. Negotiation must take place openly, players may not leave the table to negotiate in secret. Promises of actions that will take place before the end of the current round (whether share round, operating round or merger round) are binding and must be adhered to. Promises of actions that will take place after the end of the current round are not.
Appendix A: Private Companies
Some private companies have special abilities. These special abilities may only be exercised by the 5-share or 10-share company that purchases the private company during an operating round. These abilities are detailed below.
P1 Dalkey Atmospheric Railway. No company can build in the Wicklow hex until this company is either bought by any company or closed.
P2 Donegal Railway. This company has the ability to place two narrow gauge track tiles in Donegal and one adjacent hex in addition to the normal track-laying ability of the owning company. Only yellow narrow gauge tiles may be used (i.e. tiles IR5, 77, 78 or 79) and they can only be placed in empty hexes. Both tiles must be laid. The tiles must be laid such that the track on the two tiles is connected, but there is no requirement to connect the track to a broad gauge line. The normal rules of track tile placement apply and both hexes must be unbuilt to use this power.
Performing this action closes the private company.
P3 Board of Works. The owning company may place a yellow track tile normally during an operating round, but without payment of terrain costs. The normal rules of track tile placement otherwise apply and this counts as the company's tile placement. The owning company still has to pay the £20 cost of laying a second track tile during an operating round, should it choose to do so.
The owning company chooses when to exercise the special ability. The owning company may exercise the special ability twice during the same operating round, or during different operating rounds. Board of Works closes immediately once the special ability has been used in the laying of two track tiles. Turn the certificate 90 degrees when the first is used and remove it when the second is used.
P4 City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. The +£10 marker may be placed in one of: Belfast, Londonderry, or Rosslare. Performing this action closes the private company. Once placed, it may not subsequently be moved. There is no requirement for the chosen location to have a track tile. The £10 bonus applies to all of the owning company's trains that call at the marked station. The marker remains on the board even after the private company has closed, and the bonus is inherited by any company into which it merges. An extra marker is provided to identify the company that has this power after the company is closed. The power remains for the rest of the game.
P5 Tralee & Dingle Railway. Same as P2 except in the Tralee and Dingle hexes.
P6 Drumglass Colliery Railway. If Drumglass Colliery Railway was purchased by one of the players during the private company auction, no company may lay a track tile in the DCR hex until Drumglass Colliery Railway has been purchased by a company, or has closed. The purchasing company may lay a yellow tile in the DCR hex without using a tile action (and so may lay or upgrade track tile(s), subject to normal track laying rules, during the same operating round) and without payment of terrain cost.
If Drumglass Colliery Railway was not one of the private companies offered for auction during the private company auction, or was not purchased, there is no restriction on track laying in the DCR hex.
P7 Trans-Atlantic Steam Packet Station. The +£20 marker may only be placed in Galway, but there is no requirement for Galway to have a track tile. The +£20 bonus applies to all of the owning company's trains that call at Galway. The marker remains on the board even after the private company has closed, and the bonus is inherited by any company into which it merges. An extra marker is provided to identify the company that has this power after the company is closed.
P8 River Shannon Shipping Co. The owning company controls an invisible link between the track tiles in the Dromod and Limerick hexes. The owning company adds the value of the station (including any narrow gauge boosts) at one end of the link to the station at the other, in the same way that narrow gauge stations boost the broad gauge stations to which they connect.
Example: Dromod station has a value of £20, Limerick has a value of £30. One train of the owning company may count Limerick as having value £50 (£20+£30).
The bonus only applies to Dromod or Limerick, not both (it is the owner's choice which, but the choice may change from one operating round to the next). The bonus only applies to one train and only applies until the private company closes.
P9 William Dargan Esq. If the owning company has upgraded a track tile during its turn in an operating round, it may optionally upgrade a second tile for a payment of £30 from the company treasury. The normal rules of tile upgrades otherwise apply. This ability is only available until the private company closes.
P10 The Irish Mail. The owning company may place the red "off board" tile in the sea adjacent to the Londonderry, Kingstown or Waterford hexes. The tile must be placed such that the black track "arrow" touches one of the adjacent land hexes, but need not specifically connect to the allowed hexes. Once placed the tile may not be moved. The tile must be placed before track can be laid to it. Any company may run a train to the "off board" tile.
P11 Dublin & Kingstown Railway. The Dublin & Kingstown Railway is a 5-share company that starts the game with pre-built track and a train, allowing it to earn money during the first operating round.
The owner of the D&KR private company immediately receives the director's certificate at no cost and the company charter. The player then performs the following actions:
- Place the share price marker in the highest outlined space (£60, £70, £85, £100) on the stock market that is not more than half the winning bid.
- Place the company's station marker in the marked station in south Dublin.
- Take a 2H train from the stock and place it on the charter.
- Place the winning bid in the company treasury, paying the cost of the train (£80) to the bank.
The D&KR private company closes immediately; it may not be purchased by a 5-share or 10-share company. The certificate is removed from the game.
Appendix B: Optional Rules
If any of these rules are to be used in the game, this must be agreed to by the players before the start of the game.
Optional 2H Train
Bankruptcy stalks you like Death in 18Ireland. It's theoretically possible to go bankrupt as early as the first operating round if you are (a) careless and (b) the 2H trains are sold out by the time your company first operates. Some groups may feel it is a breach of social contract to eliminate a player almost immediately, so to make this eventuality less likely (notice I don't say impossible—that would require several optional trains), an additional 2H train is made available.
Keep the optional 2H train separate from the normal stock of trains. A player may buy the optional train during the first operating round if the normal 2H trains have all been sold and they cannot afford to buy a 4H train, even after emergency fundraising. No player is obliged to buy the optional train. It is removed from play if unsold after the first operating round.
Optional Larger Bank Size
18Ireland has a smaller bank size than most 18xx games, reflecting the smaller dividends available in the game. Most groups will take 4-5 hours of playing time to break the bank.
Some groups, especially those with higher player counts, will heavily deplete the bank during Phase 6, before the buying of permanent trains turns in a lot of cash. At this point in the game it may be possible for a player to break the bank during a share round by selling a large number of shares for their cash equivalent. To make this less likely, start the game with a bank of £5000 rather than £4000.
Note that this may substantially extend the game, so is not recommended for groups whose playing time regularly exceeds 5 hours.
Appendix C: Designer's Notes
Historical Notes
The early railway pioneers in Ireland faced difficulties that were truly formidable when compared to mainland Britain. Then, as now, Ireland had a mostly agrarian economy with almost no workable mineral deposits and very little industry. In spite of that, the Irish union with Britain was just twenty-five years old when the first modern railways were put forward by promoters determined to show that Ireland was no primitive backwater. The first line to be built was between Dublin and Kingstown. It opened in 1834, just four years after the Liverpool and Manchester Railway had opened in Lancashire.
After that, construction was steady and the bulk of it was built to the Irish 5' 3" broad gauge. By the 1880s, all of Ireland's major cities were linked, but enthusiasm for railways extended well beyond lines that were financially viable. In the most economically marginal regions, narrow gauge railways were built with subsidies provided by local ratepayers. At its peak in the 1920s there were almost 3,500 route miles in Ireland, about one sixth of which was narrow gauge.
After Partition, railways in the Irish Free State were nationalised and many peripheral lines were gradually closed down. This fate was matched in the north after World War II with nationalisation being followed by an extensive closure programme. The last railways to be brought under state control were those that straddled the border, the prestigious Great Northern Railway of Ireland was jointly nationalised in 1953.
In truth, many Irish railways were built more in hope than expectation and never (or only very marginally) became financially viable. This is impossible to entirely simulate in a game that centres around making money. Players should expect to be much more successful than their real life counterparts. In spite of that, I hope I've managed to capture the essence of Ireland's railways: the struggle to raise capital, modest returns on investment, a propensity for tragic track building, the extraordinary longevity of equipment, and the inevitability of creeping amalgamation. I hope you enjoy the game.
The 19th and early 20th centuries were a time of social and political upheaval in Ireland and there is much that cannot be represented in the game (or only very minimally so). The Potato Famine and subsequent emigration, Home Rule, The First World War, The Irish War of Independence, Partition, and The Irish Civil War had massive consequences for Ireland and were hugely disruptive of the railways, but cannot be part of this game.
A great many railway companies were formed in Ireland and only a handful can be represented in the game. All the companies in the game are real, although the Central Ireland Railway and Grand Junction Railway were short-lived schemes that were quickly superseded. Not all the larger ones were formed by merger, two of the largest: GS&WR and MGWR were started from scratch in the 1840s. Nor were the smaller companies always absorbed by their larger rivals. The Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway was the last privately owned railway to operate in Ireland, closing only in 1957.
Design Notes
For the convenience of players who have no familiarity with Ireland, I've used English rather than Irish names throughout and stuck to those names that were in use during the 19th century. So, I've used Kingstown rather than Dunleary or Dún Laoghaire and Maryborough rather than Port Laoise. The name of Ulster's second city is always contentious. I've used Londonderry as any railways built there invariably used that name, but I realise that many in Ireland refer to the city simply as Derry.
Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom for the majority of the period represented by the game. The currency used in the game is the Pound Sterling (£). After Partition, the Irish Free State used the Irish Pound or Punt, but this distinction is not represented.
Acknowledgements
Proof-reading and play testing: Too many people to mention them all individually, but I am especially grateful to Eric Brosius, Andrew Browne, Godfrey Colhoun, and Tyler McLaughlin for helping to get the rules nailed down and showing what worked and what needed improvement.
Artwork: I'm indebted to Scott Petersen for his excellent artwork and for tirelessly manufacturing the games, initially by hand.
Each 18xx game inevitably draws from those that have gone before. I hope I have included enough original elements to make this game worthwhile.
All 18xx games ultimately derive from 1829 by Francis Tresham.