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.Not applicable.
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.
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.
2345678910Comments
1186Shares in the yellow and other colored zones do not count towards the limit. 0-1 ten-share companies in play
1297Shares in the yellow and other colored zones do not count towards the limit. 2 ten-share companies in play
13108Shares in the yellow and other colored zones do not count towards the limit. 3 ten-share companies in play
14119Shares in the yellow and other colored zones do not count towards the limit. 4 ten-share companies in play
151210Shares in the yellow and other colored zones do not count towards the limit. 5-6 ten-share companies in play
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.60% when bought from the initial offering. This can rise to 100% for purchases from the bank pool and Minor Company exchanges.
2.7 - Does the stock price drop when stock is sold?Yes, 1 row per share.Yes, 1 row per share sold, but only if they are sold by the company President.
2.8 - Does the stock price go up at the end of the share dealing round for a fully-held corporation?Yes.No. However, if the company has one or more shares in the pool, the price goes down.
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.No.
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%.30%.
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.There are no par prices. The initial price is set by the player who purchases the President's certificate, choosing a value selected from a range of predefined prices. All further share dealing is done at the current market price.
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. (rule 6.3)
5.2 - Can you lay two tiles in a turn?Only by using the special property of a private.Yes, for public companies only. They may lay two yellow tiles or upgrade one tile.
5.4 - Do villages upgrade?No.Yes, they stay as villages but acquire more connections.
6.1 - Cost of station markers0 for home bases, 40, 100.40 for minor companies, 100 for public companies.
6.4 - When is a company's first station marker laid?When it first operates.When it is floated.
7.3 - Unusual rules about running4D trains may reuse track used by a company's other train. If a train run an East-West and/or North-South Trans-Europ Express route, it gains a bonus of 30 for each station token on the route. This is doubled if both East-West and North-South routes are run at the same time.
8.1 - Does stock move right for payment of dividends?Yes.Only if the dividend paid out equals or exceeds the current share price. Minor companies and five-share companies whose dividend equals or exceeds twice the current share price move their tokens up two spaces. For minor companies in the grey zone, any non-zero dividend moves the price up to the 50 space.
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.
9.2 - Must a major share company buy a train if it does not have one?If it has a route.Yes.
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.The next train in the bank. The company may use Emergency Money Raising to buy a more expensive train from the bank even if it can afford a cheaper train that is available from the bank.
9.5 - Must a minor company buy a train if it does not have one?Not applicable.No.
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.No.
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.)Not applicable (no private companies).
10.2 - Are private companies purchasable by share companies?Once a 3 train has been sold; at from half to twice face value.Not applicable.
10.3 - Does a private company prevent builds in its home hex(es) while it is owned by a player?Yes.Not applicable.
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.Not applicable.
11.1 - Can the Director's certificate ever be in the bank pool?No.No, but it can end up there after a bankruptcy.
13.1 - Game ends immediately with a bankruptcy?Yes.Not usually. The bankrupt player's wealth is reduced to zero and they take no further part in the game. If all players but one have gone bankrupt, the game ends with the remaining player as the winner.
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.
15.4 - Other items in limited supply
5 ferry tokens, 5 fort tokens, 4 mine tokens