INTRODUCTION 1851: The Railroads Come to Tennessee is a member of the "18xx" series of games. The series is based on 1829, by Francis Tresham. 1851 is set in Tennessee and Kentucky. Three, four, or five players represent investors in railroad corporations, spending their initial capital to buy wholly-owned Private Companies and shares in Public Corporations. The Public Corporations, each controlled by the largest shareholder (its President), build track and run trains in order to earn revenues. These can be paid out as dividends to shareholders or retained to fund further track and rolling stock. A key feature of 1851, as with all the other games in the series, is that the interests of the President and the interests of its shareholders are not identical, so minority shareholders need to be careful in their investments. Being a President is not without its difficulties, either; bailing out an insolvent Corporation is the sole responsibility of its President. 1851, while short by the standards of other members of the series, is a fairly long game. Experienced, brisk players can expect to take up to three hours to complete a game. Novices or more deliberate players might add an hour or three to that time. THE MAP The map shows most of the US states of Tennessee and Kentucky, with portions of bordering states. Superimposed on the map is a hex grid on which hexagonal track tiles may be laid. Coordinates are printed on the edges for reference purposes and postal play. The top edge doubles as an area to keep track of Corporate earnings. Cities are represented by large circles or, in two cases, solid black dots. Destinations beyond the edge of the map are represented by red hexes, called red off-board hexes in the rest of this document. The map contains a number of rivers and mountain ranges. Rivers are shown in blue and mountains are denoted by a small black triangle in the middle of a hex. Building track in these regions costs the first corporation building there an additional fee of $40 or $60. The fee is marked on the board. In addition some rivers are so wide that they are impossible to bridge. These are marked by thick black borders on the relevant hexes. Track may not be built crossing these borders. To one side of the map are spaces for the Initial Offering of Corporation Share Certificates and Trains. THE STOCK MARKET The stock market is shown as a row of columns of varying depth. The price of a corporation's shares (also known as the share price) is indicated by the company's Stock Market Token on this chart. Each space shows the share value it represents. There are 5 yellow areas which are the initial positions allowed for a company's Stock Market Token. A company's Stock Market Token may typically move up, down, left, or right. A summary of the circumstances when each of these happens is detailed under the stock market chart. At the bottom right of the stock market is the bank pool. Shares sold to the bank are placed in the pool, and may then be bought by players or corporations. A small chart to keep track of stock rounds and operating rounds (explained later) is found above the bank pool. PRIVATE COMPANIES The game includes three, four, or five Private Companies, equal to the number of players. The Lexington & Ohio (L&O), Memphis & Charleston (M&C), and East Tennessee & Western North Carolina (ET&WNC) Railroads are always used. The Oneida & Western (O&W) Railroad is used if there are four or five players. The Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific (CNO&TP) Railroad is used if there are five players. These companies are each represented by a single certificate and, while "open", or in the game, are always 100% owned by a single player. The certificates count towards the number of certificates owned by their owners. The companies simply pay a fixed income, printed on the certificate, to their owners each at the start of each Operating Round. They "close", and are removed from the game without compensation, at the start of Phase 5 (see section ??, Phases). This is the only way to dispose of a Private Company. PUBLIC CORPORATIONS There are six public corporations included in the game. Players may invest in these corporations by buying share certificates in each corporation. Each corporation's stock comprises 9 share certificates, one of which represents 20% of the total share in the company. This certificate is held by the majority stock holder in the corporation (the President), and is called the President's Certificate. All other share certificates represent 10%. The President of each corporation controls its actions. Each corporation may build track on the map, build stations on cities, buy trains, and run them. The profits may be paid, wholly or partly, as a dividend (paid to players) or retained (kept in the treasury). These actions are common to most games in the 18xx series. In addition, a corporation receives half its own stock to hold when it floats. This stock may then be bought by players, and the corporation may also buy its own stock from the bank pool. The actions of the corporation may cause its share price to rise or fall on the stock market. At the start of the game between two and four shares (depending on the number of players) of one corporation (the Louisville & Nashville) will be held by players. Players may invest in both this and the other corporations as long as funds and the rules permit. SETTING UP THE GAME Lay the map board and Stock Market open on the table between the players. Place the share certificates and trains on the indicated board spaces. Each pile of share certificates should be arranged with the President's Certificate on top and the white flotation reminder card four certificates from the top and five from the bottom. Place the money, sorted by denomination, and the track tiles, sorted into type, by the board. At the start of the game only the yellow track tiles will be used but the other tiles should be available for inspection. Place the Station Markers and the share price and earnings tokens for each Corporation by the board, near the share certificates. Place the public company charters nearby. Place the Round Marker on the operating round space marked Stock Round. Place the Certificate Limit Marker appropriate to the number of players in a corner of the Bank Pool. Each player should have enough room for two or three company charters and a dozen or so certificates, and a pile of money. Most players will find writing materials and a calculator useful. Appoint one or two players Banker; they will bear responsibility for conducting transactions with the Bank. The number of Private Companies in the game is equal to the number of players. If there are only three players use the L&O, M&C, and ET&WNC. If there is a fourth player, add the O&W. If there is a fifth player, add the CNO&TP. Set aside any unused Private Companies. Distribute the starting capital to each player ($500 for 3 players, $430 for 4 players, or $400 for 5 players). Determine seating order at random (the player number cards can be used for this purpose) or by mutual agreement. Shuffle together the Private Company certificates face down and deal one to each player. The recipients must each pay the Bank for their Private Company. The holders of the O&W and the CNO&TP, if present, receive one 10% share of the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) Railroad at no cost. The holder of the L&O receives the President's Certificate of the L&N at no cost. That player sets the initial Stock Market price of the L&N by placing the L&N Stock Market Token on any one of the yellow squares on the Stock Market. Give the Priority Deal card to the player to the left of the L&N President. The game starts with the first Stock Round. OVERVIEW The game proceeds in a series of alternating Stock Rounds and sets of Operating Rounds. During Stock Rounds, players buy and sell shares in the six Public Corporations. During Operating Rounds, Private Companies earn revenues, and the Public Corporations lay track, place Station Markers, operate Trains to earn revenues, and purchase more Trains. The number of Operating Rounds between Stock Rounds depends on the current Phase of the game; one in Phase 2, two in Phases 3 and 4, and three thereafter. (The game starts in Phase 2, reflecting the fact that the first train is a Type 2.) The change in the number of Operating Rounds per Stock Rounds only occurs after the next Stock Round, despite phase changes occurring during Operating Rounds. See sections ??, Purchasing Trains, and ??, Phases, for details. STOCK ROUNDS A Stock Round consists of a series of turns, starting with the holder of the Priority Deal card and proceeding clockwise. On each turn, the player may sell any number of certificates, subject to the constraints set out below, and then may buy one certificate. A player doing neither is deemed to pass. The Stock Round ends only when all players pass consecutively. Thus, a player buying or selling stock is guaranteed another turn in the current Round. At the end of a Stock Round the player to the left of the last player to buy or sell stock in the Round takes the Priority Deal card; if there were no transactions in the Round the Priority Deal card does not move. All stock transfers in a Stock Round are done between a player and either the Bank or a Corporation. Players may never buy stock directly from one another. SELLING STOCK To sell shares, the player transfers any number of share certificates from his holdings into the Bank Pool, subject to the following constraints: * Private Companies may never be sold * Shares in a Corporation which has not yet completed its turn in an Operating Round may not be sold * There may never be more than 50% of the shares of any Corporation in the Bank Pool * President's Certificates may never end up the Bank Pool The player receives from the Bank the current share price for each share sold. If as a result of selling shares the holding of a Corporation President drops below that of another player (who must own at least 20% of the Corporation) that other player becomes the new President. If there is more than one eligible player, the new President is the player with the largest holding, or, in the case of a tie, the tying player closest to the outgoing President's left. The outgoing President exchanges his President's Certificate for two ordinary 10% shares of the affected Corporation belonging to the new President. This exchange is effected before resolving the rest of the sale. This is the only way a player can dispose of a President's Certificate once it has been purchased; it must always remain in the hands of one of the players. Selling shares normally causes the Corporation's price to drop. This is done by moving the Corporation's Stock Market Token vertically down by a number of squares equal to the number of 10% shares sold, or to the bottom of the chart if there is insufficient room for the full drop. If the token is already at the bottom of the chart ("on the ledge") it does not move. If the token moves to a square on the Stock Market which is already occupied by other Stock Market Tokens, it is placed at the bottom of the pile; if the token remains on its original square it retains its relative position in a pile. The player receives the original price for each of the shares sold. If the player sells shares in more than one Corporation in a single turn, he decides on which order to sell them; this will decide the order of Corporations whose Stock Market tokens drop to the same square. A player who owns stock in excess of the certificate limit (which can only happen legally if another player buys stock to cause a Presidency transfer) must sell stock, if possible, to bring himself within the limit at his first opportunity in a Stock Round. If he can sell some stock but not enough to bring himself within the limit then he must sell what he can. BUYING STOCK To buy stock, the player whose turn it is transfers one certificate (which may be a President's Certificate) from the Initial Offering, the Bank Pool, or the Corporation Treasury, into his own holdings. Only one certificate may be bought per Stock turn. If the certificate comes from the Initial Offering it must be from the top of a pile. If the certificate comes from the Initial Offering or the Bank Pool then its price is paid to the Bank. If the certificate comes from the Corporation Treasury then its price is paid to the Corporation. The President of the Corporation concerned may not block the sale. In all cases the price for the certificate is the current share price, or twice that for a President's Certificate. Buying stock does not cause the current share price to change. If the certificate being purchased is a President's Certificate (necessarily from the Initial Offering) the player must first set its initial price by placing the Stock Market Token on any one of the yellow squares on the Stock Market before paying twice that amount to the Bank. If the selected square is already occupied, the new token goes at the bottom of the pile. If the player buys the fourth certificate from the Initial Offering (making 50% sold altogether) the Corporation is floated, and the following actions are performed: * The President receives the Corporation Charter and Station Markers * The Corporation Treasury receives five times the stock value, less $100, and the remaining five 10% stock certificates * One Station Marker is placed on the Corporation's Home Station (see map) * The Stock Market Token moves one square upwards. If the new square is already occupied, the token goes at the bottom of the pile * The Earnings Marker is placed on the zero space on the earnings track (A reminder card exists for each Corporation noting this information.) If, as a result of a share purchase, the player's holding exceeds that of the current President, he becomes the new President, exchanging the President's Certificate for two 10% shares of his own. A player may not buy stock in any Corporation of which he has sold stock earlier in the same Stock Round. A players may never own more than 60% of any Corporation. A player may not purchase any certificate if his holdings already equal or exceed the current limit, even if the purchase would cause a change of Presidency and immediately reduce the player's holding back to the limit. ENDING THE STOCK ROUND The Stock Round ends when all players pass consecutively. At the end of the Stock Round, if 100% of any Corporation is in players' hands (i.e. there is no stock in the Bank Pool, Initial Offering, or Corporation Treasury) the Stock Market Token for each such Corporation rises one space vertically on the Stock Market, if possible. If the price is already on the top row, it does not move. All affected Stock Market Tokens move simultaneously, and do not change relative order. If a Corporation's token moves to a square which is already occupied, it goes at the bottom of the pile. The Round Marker is moved to the appropriate Operating Round space - the yellow space in Phase 2, the green one in Phases 3 and 4, and the brown one in Phases 5-8. OPERATING ROUNDS In each Operating Round, every Private Company and floated Corporation operates once. The Private Companies operate first, by paying their incomes to the their owners. The Corporation whose stock value is highest operates next, then the next-highest unoperated Corporation, and so on. If the stock values of two or more Corporations are equal, then the one whose Stock Market Token is furthest to the right operates first. If two or more Stock Market Tokens are on the same square on the Stock Market, the one on top operates first. The decision about which Corporation is to run next is deferred until the end of the previous Corporation's operations; sales of stock during an Operating Round may affect this order. When a Corporation operates, it performs the following activities. Most are optional, but if done they must occur in this order: * Optionally lay or upgrade track * Optionally place one Station Marker * Run Train(s), if any, to establish earnings * Optionally pay dividends * Buy Train(s), usually optionally but sometimes compulsorily * Optionally issue or redeem Corporate stock These activities are described in the next paragraphs. All decisions made on behalf of the Corporation are made solely by its President. At the end of each Operating Round the Round Marker is moved, following the arrows, to the next space. ROUTES Many of the activities of Corporations revolve around routes, an important concept which deserves its own section. A route of a Corporation is a continuous length of track, including on it at least one city with a Station Marker on it belonging to the Corporation. It may not reach or pass through any city, or reach any red off-board hex, more than once. (Note that the two cities in the printed Louisville hex are separate, and a route may pass from one to or through the other.) It may not pass through any city completely filled with Station Markers belonging to other Corporations, although it may terminate in such a city. It may not use any segment of track more than once, not even the small section of track at the junctions on some non-city tiles; this implies that it may not back-track over the sharp angle at such a junction. If a route visits a red off-board hex, it must terminate there. LAY OR UPGRADE TRACK In Phase 2 the active Corporation may lay one yellow tile per Operating turn. In subsequent phases it may lay one or two yellow tiles or upgrade one yellow, green, or brown tile to green, brown, or grey respectively when available. Green tiles are available from Phase 3, brown from Phase 5, and grey from Phase 8. When laying a yellow tile, it must be placed on and aligned with one of the pale green hexes on the map. While there is no track in the Corporation's home hex, the Corporation may lay any suitable city tile there, and may not lay a tile anywhere else. Otherwise, the track on the tile must extend a route of the Corporation. Note that Louisville has track on it at the start of the game. Track may not run off the hex grid, into the side of a hex marked with a heavy black line, or into the blank side of a red or grey hex. If the hex is labelled with a sum of money, representing difficult terrain, the Corporation must immediately pay that sum to the Bank. If the map hex is marked with a large open circle, representing a city, then so must the tile; if the map hex is also marked with a Y then so must the tile, and Y tiles may not be laid in ordinary cities. If the map hex does not contain an open circle, then plain track (i.e. track without an open circle) must be used. If two yellow tiles are being laid, the route extended by the second may include track on the first, but need not. When upgrading track, the old tile is removed (and is available for reuse) and the new substituted. Plain track, normal city, and Y city tiles must be replaced with corresponding tiles. Track segments on the old tile must be represented, in the same orientations, on the new. For plain track upgrades, some part of the track on the new tile which is not on the old must constitute an extension of a route of the Corporation. For city upgrades, at least some part of the track (not necessarily a new part) on the new tile must be part of a route of the Corporation. If the tile has one or more Station Markers on it, those are replaced on the new tile. There is no charge for upgrading track in difficult terrain. Louisville and Birmingham are treated specially. Louisville acts as if it already had a yellow Y city tile, and its first change must be to have a green Y city tile placed upon it; one of the track segments on the new tile must exit from the south-west edge and some part of the track on the new tile must be part of a route of the Corporation. This counts as an upgrade. Louisville then upgrades normally to brown and grey. Track may be placed so as to run into Birmingham at any time, provided that such track forms part of a route of the laying Corporation, but the track in the Birmingham hex itself may not be used as part of a route before Phase 4. The supplied quantity of plain yellow track is intended to be sufficient for most games; if it runs out more should be constructed. The tile mix of all other track is intended to limit play. If a vital tile is in play, then it must first be upgraded in order to free it. PLACE STATION MARKER A Corporation may place one of its Station Markers per Operating Round on a vacant city space which is on a route of the Corporation. One space on each Corporation's home hex is reserved to that Corporation and any other Corporation must leave a space free if that Corporation has not yet been floated. No more than one Station Marker of any Corporation may be placed in any hex. The placement is done without charge to the company. Once placed, Station Markers may never be moved. Each Corporation has four Station Markers, one of which is placed on its home hex. No Station Markers may be placed on Birmingham or Johnson City. RUN TRAIN(S) If the Corporation has one or more Trains, it runs them to establish earnings. Each Train runs on a separate route; these routes may not share any track segments, but they may meet or cross at cities or red off-board hexes. The route may include no more cities and red off-board hexes than the number of the Train, but must include at least two. It follows that a 2-Train must visit exactly two. Intermediate cities may not be skipped. The value of a route is normally equal to the sum of the values of the cities or red off-board hexes it passes through or reaches. The value of a city is the number printed in the small circle, and ranges from $20 to $60. The value of a red off-board hex is one of the numbers printed in the rectangle; the lowest value in Phases 2 and 3, the middle value in Phases 4 and 5, and the highest value in Phases 6 to 8 (see section ??, Phases). However, if the route includes two (necessarily different) red off-board hexes, its value is increased by $10 for each city or red off-board hex on it. A Corporation's earnings are the sum of the values of the routes run by its trains. The highest legal earnings announced by any player must be declared, but players are not obliged to announce earnings higher than those declared by the President. The Earnings Marker should be placed on the dividends track to reflect the amount earned. This step can be omitted, but it serves to remind players later what each Corporation's earnings were and hence speed up the game. PAY DIVIDENDS The Corporation may keep all of its earnings, pay its earnings as dividends, or pay half (rounded up to the next multiple of $10) and keep the rest. 10% of the dividend is paid to the holder of each share. Payments for shares in the Corporation treasury go to the Corporation, while payments for shares in the Bank Pool are lost. If the Corporation keeps all of its earnings, or if the earnings are zero, its price marker is moved one square to the left on the Stock Market, or one square down if the current square is marked with a downwards-pointing arrow. Note that a Corporation's price must fall in this manner during its first turn of operation, since it necessarily has no train. If the price marker is already at the bottom left, it does not move. If ten times the dividend per share equals or exceeds the current share price, the price marker is moved one square to the right, or up if the current square is marked with an upwards-pointing arrow. If the price marker is already at the top right, it does not move. In any case, if the price marker moves to a square which is already occupied, the marker goes to the bottom of the pile, and retains its position if it does not move. PURCHASE TRAINS If the Corporation has fewer Trains than the current limit, then it may purchase a Train. The Train may be from another Corporation with the same President as the active Corporation; the price is any amount, at least $1 and not exceeding the active Corporation's treasury. The Train may be any from another Corporation with a different President with that President's consent, any from the Bank Pool, or the cheapest new Train in the Bank; the price paid must be the face value. (Trains only get into the Bank Pool through Corporations discarding excess Trains when the Train limit falls, and because this does not happen often in practice, there are usually no Trains there.) The Corporation may buy multiple Trains each Operating Round if it has the room and resources, but the effects of each Train purchase apply immediately after each is bought. A Corporation currently below its Train limit may purchase a Train even if this triggers a phase change which causes the Corporation to be over limit. If the Corporation has a route on which it could legally run a Train, but it has no Train, it must buy one even if it has insufficient resources. If it does have the resources, it may arrange to buy a Train from another Corporation, or it may buy any Train from the Bank Pool or the cheapest new Train from the Bank. Otherwise, it must buy the cheapest Train from the Bank or Bank Pool and the President must make up the shortfall. A Corporation is not compelled to buy a Train from another Corporation even if its price is lower than one from the Bank or Bank Pool. The Corporation first uses its own money; stock in the Corporation Treasury is useless at this time. Then the President uses his own cash. If this is insufficient, he must sell stock. These stock sales are done immediately. The normal constraints on stock sales apply; additionally, the President must retain the President's Certificate of the active Corporation. The sales may be done in any order, and must stop as soon as the necessary cash is raised. As with sales in a Stock Round, the President receives the full value of each share sold (i.e. its value at the start of the Train-buying action), even if the price drops as a result of those sales. If the President is unable to raise the purchase price of the Train, he is bankrupt and the game is over. If the purchase of a Train lowers the Train limit, Corporations with too many Trains discard the excess into the Bank Pool without Compensation. If more than one Corporation has excess Trains, they decide which to discard in descending order of price. Of Corporations having the same price, those whose price is furthest right on the Stock Market discard first. Of Corporations with prices on the same square on the Stock Market, those whose tokens are on top discard first. A Corporation currently at the limit of Trains may not buy one, even if the purchase would trigger a phase change and eliminate enough Trains to make room. PHASES The game starts in Phase 2. During Phase 2: * Yellow track is available * Corporations may lay one yellow track tile each round * Red off-board hexes and Johnson City count the lowest value * Track in the Birmingham hex is unavailable * Corporations may own no more than four Trains * There is one Operating Round between Stock Rounds Phase 3 starts on the purchase of the first 3-Train. Following the next and subsequent Stock Rounds after the start of Phase 3 there will be two Operating Rounds. During Phase 3 * Yellow and green track is available * Corporations may lay one or two yellow track tiles, or upgrade one tile, per round * Red off-board hexes and Johnson City count the lowest value * Track in the Birmingham hex is unavailable * Corporations may own no more than four Trains Phase 4 starts on the purchase of the first 4-Train. At the start of Phase 4, 2-Trains become obsolete and are eliminated without compensation. During Phase 4 * Yellow and green track is available * Corporations may lay one or two yellow track tiles, or upgrade one tile, per round * Red off-board hexes, Birmingham, and Johnson City count the middle value * Track in the Birmingham hex is available * Corporations may own no more than three Trains Phase 5 starts on the purchase of the first 5-Train. At the start of Phase 5, all Private Companies close, and are eliminated without compensation. Following the next and subsequent Stock Rounds after the start of Phase 5 there will be three Operating Rounds. During Phase 5 * Yellow, green, and brown track is available * Corporations may lay one or two yellow track tiles, or upgrade one tile, per round * Red off board hexes, Birmingham, and Johnson City count the middle value * Track in the Birmingham hex is available * Corporations may own no more than two Trains Phase 6 starts on the purchase of the first 6-Train. At the start of Phase 6, 3-Trains become obsolete and are eliminated without compensation. During Phase 6: * Yellow, green, and brown track is available * Corporations may lay one or two yellow track tiles, or upgrade one tile, per round * Red off-board hexes, Birmingham, and Johnson City count the highest value * Track in the Birmingham hex is available * Corporations may own no more than two Trains Phase 8 starts on the purchase of the first 8-Train. At the start of Phase 8, 4-Trains become obsolete and are eliminated without compensation. During Phase 8: * Yellow, green, brown, and grey track is available * Corporations may lay one or two yellow track tiles, or upgrade one tile, per round * Red off-board hexes, Birmingham, and Johnson City count the highest value * Track in the Birmingham hex is available * Corporations may own no more than two Trains ISSUE OR REDEEM STOCK The Corporation may either issue or redeem its own stock, but not both in one turn. Issued stock is transferred from the Corporation treasury to the Bank Pool, and the Corporation receives from the Bank the current price for each 10% sold. Issuing stock may not cause more than 50% of the stock to be in the Bank Pool, and may not be done during a Corporation's first Operating Turn. As for sales, issuing stock normally causes the Corporation's price to drop. This is done by moving the Corporation's Stock Market token vertically down by a number of squares equal to the number of 10% shares issued, or to the bottom of the chart if there is insufficient room for the full drop. If the token is already on the ledge it does not move. If the token moves to a square on the Stock Market which is already occupied, it is placed at the bottom of the pile; if the token remains on its original square it retains its relative position in a pile. Redeemed stock is transferred from the Bank Pool to the Corporation; the current price must be paid from the Corporation treasury to the Bank. More than one certificate can be redeemed in a single Operating turn, but no more than 50% of the stock may be in the Corporation treasury as a result of redemptions. Redeeming stock does not cause the Corporation's price to change. ENDING THE GAME The game ends immediately if any player goes bankrupt. Otherwise, the game ends at the next end of an Operating Round after the Bank is unable to pay any demand due of it. The game still ends at that point even if the Bank subsequently becomes solvent. The Bank continues to pay demands due of it even when broken; players should record these (on paper or some more modern equivalent), or each lend the Bank some money. Each player's total wealth is the value of his stock, at current prices, plus his cash on hand. Private Companies, if they are still open, count face value. Corporation assets, including treasury and Trains, count for nothing. The richest player wins. It is possible, though unlikely, for a player to go bankrupt and still win. ETIQUETTE Players should attempt to speed play as much as possible. Determining what share to buy, and which tile(s) to lay should preferably be done in other players' turns. The Banker(s) especially should remain awake at all times. All personal and corporate assets are public knowledge, and must be disclosed to any player on request. Assets should be kept neatly so that the need for explicit requests is minimised. Players may negotiate with other and strike deals. Such deals are not binding. DESIGN NOTES 1851 is based on 18TN, by Mark Derrick. During development, however, most of 18TN was discarded, leaving only the major corporations and some of the minor companies. Most of the development was aimed at simplifying the game, to produce an 18xx game which was as short as possible yet providing interesting choices at all points. CREDITS 1851 was developed by Chris Lawson from an idea by Mark Derrick. Steve Thomas wrote these rules. Playtesters include Colin Harden, Geoff Hardingham, Chris Lawson, Dane Maslen, Steve Thomas, and Ian D Wilson.