GMT Games 1846: The Race For The Midwest (2nd Printing)

Manufacturer:

GMT Games

1846 – the Midwest railroad boom has gone bust, leaving in its wake hundreds of failed local railroads. Sensing opportunity in the economic vacuum, five large eastern railroads (the New York Central, Erie, Pennsylvania, Baltimore and Ohio, and Grand Trunk out of Canada) seek dominance west of the Alleghenies. Can you, as a nineteenth century tycoon, knit together these profitable railroads with the Midwestern remnants to form the most profitable rail network stretching all the way to Chicago or St. Louis?

1846 is an “18xx” game. However, 1846 has several unique features, such as its opening draft, variable set-up, and a comparatively shorter game length, that are good for players new to “18xx”.

Players begin by drafting private companies and launching public railroads. Play alternates between buying and selling stocks and running the railroads. Each railroad – with its President, the majority stock holder, making its decision – lays tracks, builds stations, runs routes, and possibly pays dividends to increase its stock price and give its shareholders cash for the next stock round.

A railroad can instead retain its earnings to buy bigger and better trains. New trains – representing technological progress – cause older ones to go obsolete, with each President having to make up the difference if a railroad doesn’t have enough cash to replace its trains. Can you invest wisely, balancing your railroad’s cash needs while building the best stock portfolio?

This version is identical to the first printing, except that all known errata has been corrected, and 2 new Private Companies have been added for greater variety, particularly in 5-player games.

Contents:

Ages: 14+
Players: 3-5
Game Length: 120-240 minutes