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What do you think of 1862? My group really likes it and overall I really enjoy playing it (having it played once or twice now). My only misgivings about it is that you are allowed to sell down to 0% which for me is a real tension killer and allows people to pretty much to recycle companies too easily. I do really like how the different types of trains interact and overall the game plays well, though. I had a chance to play 1817 last weekend but I barely arrived at the pub when I suddenly had to go off due to an emergency. It would have been a 6P game of it, which would have been interesting to say the least. We are trying to get more longer games going in the weekends now, although people don't seem to want to play 1870, which disappoints me. We actually have one of our group making an order from All Aboard Games. He's getting 18?? as well, which I think is the mod for 1870 made by one of your group? Should be interesting to try it out. Tekopo fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Jan 29, 2014 |
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Jan 29, 2014 12:26
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I have played 1862 about a half a dozen times so far, and I still really like it. I still need to try some things with the early game to figure out what works best. With 4 players, there is a temptation to start two companies that I think is not the right move. With the train rush this game has, you can end up very short shares late in the game if you don't have cash in your companies. I think the proper move may be to start a throw away company run two 2-Ts and then sell it to start a new company in the third Stock Round. With 3 players, each person has enough cash to start two mid weight companies which is probably the right move. As to selling down to 0%, I don't think it is that big of an issue considering all the other mechanics of the game. The merger rules and emergency share splits remove all risk from hiding a weak company. I think my group has not learned to sell off the high stock value company with an almost obsolete train. We have been seeing the final certificate limit dropping in most games because we tend to aggressively push trains. This forces mergers that costs shares in the second to last set of ORs during the train rushes. The thing I do like best about 1862 is how short the endgame is. With no track building the final ORs, they tend to go very fast. In most other games, that is the most tedious and uninteresting part. I like the ideas behind 1817, but there is something off about the execution. The game has a bad problem where the mid game tends to really drag on. Having the option to raise extra capital at a potentially large risk makes for interesting choices, but having as many as 5-6 companies start in consecutive stock rounds slows the game down. Add in the fact that the game has a very sharp learning curve, and it is not newbie friendly. I think each game I have made some major mistakes early that essentially knocked me out of the game. I am willing to give it a few more tries though. 18?? was designed by Allen Sliwinski who usually hosts gaming every weekend here in Chicago. I think it adds a nice twist to 1870 mechanics, and gives the game a little more randomness to the setup. Some of the private companies are better than others, but not enough to ensure that the same privates are chosen every game. It also removes the problem of 1870 that a couple railroads are clearly better to start than others.
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Jan 29, 2014 14:31
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I agree with you in terms of the 1862 4P game: it's so tempting to go for two but it's actually better to just go for one strong company and then sell it down. One thing we noticed after repeat play is that it is almost worth it to sell down your first few companies to 0% and then start a partial-cap company at 200: another weird thing about the game is that the latter steps on the stock market are absolutely huge, with only a few steps making a difference of 200 per share, which is huge. Having a company with multiple trains that hits the top of the charts as quickly as possible is therefore really important. Personally I like having at least one local company, since the mail-run bonus can actually give you quite a lot of money potentially. It depends on what company comes out though, there are a few locations where you can get absolutely monster locals, hitting as many dots as possible to maximise revenue and the mail run as well. I tend to want to create either a local/freight company in the end game or an express/freight company, since freight still makes revenue even if it hits hexes previously used by other trains. Getting a coast to London run on your freight becomes really important, though.
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Jan 29, 2014 15:48
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My group of wargamers is going to try to get our toes into 1830. We gave the basic version a shot a few weeks ago and tonight we're thinking of giving the whole thing a try. We did have a question about routes. Is it safe to say that you can only exit a given hexside once per phase? The rules said track segment, but some of the 1830 hexes aren't very clear as to what makes up a segment or not. When we assumed it was really a hexside rule a lot of the complexity and issues went away.
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Jan 29, 2014 17:01
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In 1862, a good local permit early can make a lot of money, but are no good for the endgame. The off board locations make significantly more money than picking up some small towns can. And the extra money at the end is unlikely to be useful. I think the primary use of a local permit is to make a self-sustaining company that can get some good tokens on the board and then merge with a later express/freight to make good use of that route. Having said that, I need to work on actually trying that. For some reason I tend to gravitate towards the local trains early, but they tend to stagnate in the late game because a 4/5 E local train doesn't do much for stock value in the endgame.
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Jan 29, 2014 17:10
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Oh yeah, locals are good for sustainability at the start, they do need to be folded into another company to perform well in the late game. I don't think freight/express combos work very well because the board is usually so tight on tokens that you can't make two good runs out of them. wins32767 posted:My group of wargamers is going to try to get our toes into 1830. We gave the basic version a shot a few weeks ago and tonight we're thinking of giving the whole thing a try.
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Jan 29, 2014 17:30
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Tekopo posted:If you mean when running trains, a track segment is pretty much equivalent to a hexside. Usually what will happen is that you will see two tracks merging into one close to a hexside: this is still considered to be a single track segment coming off the hex and thus two trains would not be able to run on the track. It's difficult to explain but the way I look at it is that if at any point two trains are running on the exact same piece of track, then that's not allowed. The restriction on using each segment only once is exactly equivalent to a restriction on using each hexside only once in 1830 and 99% of the other 18XX games. I believe there is a game with a Chicago tile that has two segments going off one hexside, but such a case is both extremely rare and very obviously marked.
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Jan 29, 2014 18:27
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Need some help with 1862. In 1830 you could run NY to Boston with one train, NY to Erie with another, and count NY twice for total revenue. You can't do the equivalent in 1862 because you can't count NY twice correct?
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Mar 7, 2014 14:55
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That is correct. 1862 has rules unlike any other game, mostly because of their 'multiple different types of trains' thing. So, for example, express and local trains can run the same route, but you would only count stations once: this actually makes it easier to calculate runs because you only need to count the cities in your network after you create routes. The only exception to the above is freight trains, who get their per-hex income regardless if the city they are running through is being serviced by another train or not.
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Mar 7, 2014 15:03
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The first time my group had played 1962 we realized why that is a rule pretty quick. We forgot about it, and one of the players had a company with an express permit that was running to London 3 times by the third turn. By the time we caught that rule, we were halfway through the game and he had quite the lead. But we chalked it up to learning a new game and restarted because some other people had shown up. In other news, I played 18EU last weekend and came in second by only 40 or so dollars. The winner correctly kept me out of the southwest corner of the map that was only beind developed at the end of the game. I had an extra train on my lead company, but no place to really run it.
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Mar 7, 2014 15:52
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I should try 18EU again but my group thinks its boring after the auction is done, so I haven't been able to try it again. What have you found to be the most profitable trains in 1862? Freight trains are pretty dire at the start but by the end game can give you quite substantial income if you manage to do a port-to-London route. Usually I prefer locals at the start and then either run a local/freight merged company or express/freight merged company, it's usually pointless getting all three permits though.
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Mar 7, 2014 16:13
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1862: selling shares. If I want to sell 5 shares, do I sell them 1x1x1x1x1 or 5x? First the rules discuss blocks of shares, then they discuss share by share. Very confusing.
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Mar 7, 2014 22:32
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So far in 1862, I like local trains early, provided I can get at least two small towns on its first route. The $40 or more into the company on the first couple of ORs can help to avoid an early refinance. I think late game I have been favoring express trains. Unless you are alone in a section of the board, it can be hard to get nice straight runs of track that freight trains need to be optimal. I need to work harder at merging, as freight trains pair well with the other two. I think that is the main reason they are around. And merged companies tend to do much better in the endgame with the large triple and quadruple jumps available.
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Mar 9, 2014 03:44
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Oh my. 18OE came in the mail Wednesday. You know, that 4-12 hour monster 18XX covering pretty much all of Europe. I think I lost it when the rulebook mentioned something like 30 2+2 trains and other train types counting in the dozens. 
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Mar 14, 2014 18:25
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Trynant posted:Oh my. My first impression was "Holy poo poo, this is the deepest box I have ever seen" The thing is almost a cube.
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Mar 14, 2014 18:54
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Seeing that 18oe is out, I am really tempted to try and get a copy. I just don't know if I would ever get an actual play of it.
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Mar 16, 2014 16:04
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If we get our copies through customs in time, I should be able to get to play it in the first week of April. Hopefully we will get it in on time. I really can't wait to get my copy (and sticker it).
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Mar 16, 2014 16:10
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I just decided to order a copy of 18OE. The guy doing all the shipping said he should have it out with the last of the kickstarter copies, so hopefully by next week I can sit down and drool over all the parts and pieces. I really hope the short and medium scenarios are balanced well, as those are likely the only games I get to play. I just hope that at one if the conventions in the area I can maybe get a full game going.
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Mar 18, 2014 18:49
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Apparently my copy of 18OE is in Cincinnati, Ohio. That seems quite a way away to be here by the first weekend of April, especially since customs could block it for an extended period of time.
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Mar 18, 2014 19:06
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I am unfamiliar with the specifics of international shipping, but will it really take more than 2 weeks for shipping? From the sound of the developer's posts on kickstarter and BGG, he is shipping everything individually. I would hope UPS (or whatever service he is using) could move faster than that across the Atlantic.
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Mar 18, 2014 20:27
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They aren't the problem, the problem is British customs and their willingness to hold stuff until they finish assessing its value and/or make you pay VAT.
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Mar 18, 2014 20:29
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Get ready to spend multiple hours of your life applying stickers to tiny wooden pieces! Also, start thinking about a storage solution now, because even the Marianas Trench depth of the box isn't necessarily enough to fit everything in if it's bagged. On the plus side, the components are quite well done, especially the mounted boards and the company charters, both of which are top-notch. I've heard good things about certain short/medium scenarios, but my impression is that the quality varies based on the scenario - the western and southern ones seem to work the best from what I've heard.
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Mar 18, 2014 21:50
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Seeing some of the screenshots of the components has made me really glad I backed this.
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Mar 18, 2014 21:52
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I think the developer plans to release a Cyberboard gamebox for the game, so we could potentially set up a PBEM. Unfortunately I doubt it will ever make it into Rails, since I'm pretty sure the sea routes alone would make programming it extraordinarily difficult.
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Mar 18, 2014 21:55
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I finished putting stickers on the dozens of wooden discs included in 18OE. I've very little idea of how or when I will bring this to a face-to-face game, but drat if it doesn't look pretty. I think that's the biggest joy of 18OE, in that it's an 18XX game with components a tier above the stuff seen in other titles in the genre. I love seeing an 18XX looking pretty. I still have to punch out all the drat tiles...and read the rules 
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Mar 25, 2014 14:06
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I am looking forward to putting the stickers on when I get my copy. I figure it can't be too much worse than 1862 (which had something like 200 tokens to sticker). I just hope the sticker sheets are laid out in a reasonable manner. The main thing I am worried about is dealing with the smaller than normal tiles. That could be interesting. I think some of the most fun I have had with some of my games is opening them up and dealing with all the first time setup of the game.
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Mar 25, 2014 15:36
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My copy is in customs, so I should be able to get it relatively soonish. I really can't wait, the game looks really well-designed. Even after all my reservations about Kickstarter, it might be an effective way to release 18XX games.
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Mar 25, 2014 15:44
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Stickering wasn't bad at all - the one thing to note is that the small tokens used for stations have a slightly larger diameter on one end, so you'll want to pay attention to which side you're putting the sticker on.
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Mar 25, 2014 16:27
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Having skimmed the thread I'm bewildered and enticed and am interested in somehow playing a game with some of you sometime.
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Mar 26, 2014 14:44
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CNN Sports Ticker posted:Having skimmed the thread I'm bewildered and enticed and am interested in somehow playing a game with some of you sometime. Please sign up below:
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Mar 26, 2014 14:46
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Tekopo posted:I think this is the perfect time to actually arrange that dropbox-rails game of 1880 we have been meaning to play for a long time. Hell to the yes. What do I need to do to get set up?
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Mar 26, 2014 14:54
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CNN Sports Ticker posted:Hell to the yes. What do I need to do to get set up? Install Dropbox Download Rails
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Mar 26, 2014 14:56
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Sweet, hopefully they've fixed most of the initial bugs. I'm definitely in. You'll need the rails program located at: rails.sourceforge.net and the 1880 rulebook which can be found at: https://www.ohley.de/1880-China/1880_rules.pdf‎. You'll also need to be slightly crazy, but it seems like you might have that part down already.
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Mar 26, 2014 14:59
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When do you think the 1880 game will start? If it is Sunday late morning or early afternoon (Central US time zone), then put me down. I should be available to start it then. Otherwise I don't know if I will be available for the initial auction. In other news, the tracking website says my copy of 18oe has been delivered. So I have that to dig into tonight.
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Mar 26, 2014 17:27
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It depends on what CNN is up for, I should be available for most of Saturday to do the initial auction, we can PBEM the rest.
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Mar 26, 2014 17:32
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I will be busy most of Saturday, so I don't know if this will work for me, unless you are going to be up way late. I could probably aim to be home around 7pm, but isn't that like 1am for Tekopo?
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Mar 26, 2014 17:34
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Orvin posted:I will be busy most of Saturday, so I don't know if this will work for me, unless you are going to be up way late. I could probably aim to be home around 7pm, but isn't that like 1am for Tekopo? 
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Mar 26, 2014 17:35
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Also I should be free Sunday more or less as well.
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Mar 26, 2014 17:50
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Late Saturday or sometime Sunday (Central time) would work for me
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Mar 26, 2014 18:31
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I could do Saturday night or Sunday night after 8pm (I'm GMT+10) and would be available until late-ish (midnight or so). Could maybe do Saturday or Monday during the day, but Sunday is my board games day
Bullbar fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Mar 26, 2014 |
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Mar 26, 2014 23:21
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