18xx rule concordance

Compare the rules of 18xx games, side-by-side.

Based on this excellent document from Keith Thomasson.

These sections from the original rules difference list are not yet included here

  • 1.1 - How much cash do players start with?
  • 2.5 - What are the player certificate limits?
  • 5.3 - Must a tile replacement extend existing track?
  • 6.2 - Can you lay more than one station marker per turn?
  • 7.4 - Can one train run to two stations on the same tile?
  • 7.6 - Rules about villages
  • 7.7 - Must the maximum possible revenue be claimed?
  • 9.7 - Can a company buy more than one train from the bank per OR?
  • Section 12 - Game Phases
  • 15.1 - Total cash in game
  • 15.2 - Trains available
  • 15.3 - Tiles available
  • 15.4 - Other items in limited supply
  • Section 16 - Miscellaneous Points

Great, thanks for finding it.

If it's a problem with the version of the rules onhttp://www.fwtwr.com/18xx/rules_difference_list/single_list.htmthen please contact Keith Thomasson via the link on that page. That data is where the data for this page comes from.

If the data is correct on fwtwr.com then please let me know about the bug. I'm @h on the 18xx Slack, and @h on the HOGGS Slack too.

Excellent news!

The code for this project lives at https://github.com/hcarver/18xx_concordance. Please submit a Pull Request to that repository with your improvement.

What do I do?

Pick a game from the dropdown on the left, and another from the dropdown on the right. Then a table should appear listing the rules differences between the two games.

1.2 - Does the price of a private company drop by 5 for no sale in the first round?Yes, first private only.No.
1.4 - Can you make advance bids?Yes, at 5 or more over face value and over any other bid.No.
2.1 - Is there a specific order to buying and selling on your turn?No ( i.e. sell-buy-sell).Sell then buy.
2.2 - Are you limited to buying one certificate on your turn?Yes, unless in brown zone of market. In the case of shares in the brown zone, multiple shares may be purchased from the bank pool as a single purchase.Yes. Starting a company or putting up a private for auction also count as a 'buy action'.
2.3 - When can you first sell shares in a company?From the second stock round onwards.After it has operated.
2.5 - What are the player certificate limits?
2345678910Comments
282016131111Shares in the yellow and other colored zones do not count towards the limit.
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2.6 - What are the player certificate limits for shares in one company?5 certificates. Shares in the orange and brown zones do not count towards this. Note that if you play the Reading variant you may hold 70% of the Reading.Normally 60%, but can be exceeded in the Final Exchange Round, with no requirement to sell back down.
2.7 - Does the stock price drop when stock is sold?Yes, 1 row per share.Yes, 1 row per block of shares sold, but only if they are sold by the company Director/President.
2.8 - Does the stock price go up at the end of the share dealing round for a fully-held corporation?Yes.No.
2.9 - Can you buy a certificate and immediately sell a certificate in the same company?Yes.No. All selling precedes all buying.
2.10 - Can companies buy shares?Privates, in ORs, once a 3 train has been sold.Their own, as the last action when operating. May also issue shares from their second operating turn on.
3.1 - Do you lay the base station token immediately upon floating?No.Yes.
3.2 - How many shares must be sold for a company to float?60%.40% of a 5-share company, 20% of a 10-share company.
3.3 - Does a company get full capitalisation upon floating?Yes.Only for shares sold.
3.4 - How is a share company's initial (par) price determined?The price is set by the player who purchases the President's certificate, choosing a value selected from a range of predefined prices.Prior to phase 5, by the face value of the private (rounded down); from phase 5 onwards the Director chooses one of a range of values.
4.1 - In what order do companies operate?Current 'dynamic' share price. By 'dynamic', this means that each time a company finishes operating, you look at the current stock price chart to see who is next. The highest value company that has not operated operates next. If two companies occupy the same space, the company with a token on top operates next. If two companies have the same value but are in different spaces, the company with a token furthest to the right operates next.Private companies in numerical order, then public companies in price order.
5.1 - Where can you make an initial tile lay?After being laid, the tile must be reachable from one of the laying company's station markers by an arbitrarily large train. (rule 6.2.1)As for 1830. Private companies have notional tokens on each of their home hexes (rule 9.3).
5.2 - Can you lay two tiles in a turn?Only by using the special property of a private.Yes, for a fee of 20 (only 10 if all new track on one tile is narrow gauge). Both can be upgrades, but they must be in different hexes.
5.4 - Do villages upgrade?No.Single villages upgrade, staying as villages but acquiring more connections. Double villages do not upgrade.
6.1 - Cost of station markers0 for home bases, 40, 100.Free if from a Private company, twice the city value starting in phase 5, otherwise 40 per province (20 in the same province) from the nearest existing station marker
6.4 - When is a company's first station marker laid?When it first operates.
7.3 - Unusual rules about runningM-trains run on narrow and duel gauge only; all others run on broad and dual gauge only. H-trains may run that many hexes (centre to centre); M-trains run that may large cities plus any number of small stations; E-trains must skip small stations; D-trains run as E-trains and double revenue. Ports and France count as large cities, not villages.
8.1 - Does stock move right for payment of dividends?Yes.Only if the dividend paid out equals or exceeds the current share price.
8.2 - What dividend payments go into the company's treasury?Those for shares in the bank pool.Those for shares in the company treasury, plus any remainder from calculations.
8.4 - Can a company make a partial payout?No.It may make a 50% payout. Odd units are rounded in favour of the company.
9.2 - Must a major share company buy a train if it does not have one?If it has a route.No, but the stock price moves to the left if it does not own a train at the end of an operating round.
9.3 - Can trains be sold back to the bank?No.No, but wounded trains may be discarded.
9.4 - When a company is forced to buy a train and cannot buy one with its own means, what train may it then buy?The cheapest train available in the bank, or a train from another company at an agreed price not exceeding its face value.Any train from the bank or bank pool, not necessarily the cheapest. If the company has funds remaining after the purchase it can use these funds to buy any train from any source.
9.6 - Can trains of the final type be purchased as soon as one train of the next-to-last type is purchased?Yes. This is stated in rule 6.6, but has been omitted from the Phase table on page 27, despite attempts to persuade them to include it.5D trains become available once the first 7E/6M train has been bought.
10.1 - Are private companies purchasable between players?Yes, at any agreed price, in the buyer's or seller's turn in a stock round, or during emergency money-raising. (The 1830 computer game does not allow this action, but that appears to be an oversight.)No.
10.2 - Are private companies purchasable by share companies?Once a 3 train has been sold; at from half to twice face value.No.
10.4 - Does using a private company's special property close it?Only the M&H, and the B&O when it buys its first train.Not applicable.
10.5 - When do private companies close?First 5 train.Either after the earnings phase of a share company, or during the final exchange round. In all cases they are exchanged for face value in cash from the bank.
10.6 - Can you buy and sell private companies in other ways?No.You can exchange a private for a share in stock rounds and the final exchange round.
13.1 - Game ends immediately with a bankruptcy?Yes.No. A company does not have to own a train, so a player is never at risk of bankruptcy.
13.2 - What happens if the bank runs out of money during an operating round?Game ends when the current set of operating rounds is completed.Game ends when the current operating round is completed.
13.4 - What happens if the bank runs out of money during a stock round?Complete the next set of operating rounds.Complete one more operating round.
14.1 - Is a player's cash secret, or open for inspection?Open.Secret.
14.3 - Is the cash involved in transactions secret, or must it be made public?Not stated.Public.
14.4 - Is the cash in the bank secret, or must it be made public?Unspecified. Usually assumed to be public.Public.