1829 Mainline
Another attempt to turn 1829 into something a bit
more manageable, 1829 Mainline goes in a completely different direction from
1825. Oh, and you'll actually see a bunch of 4+4E's in play!
1829 (South) was the first 18xx game, published
back – it's hard to believe it was so long ago now – in 1974. 1829
is a very fine game, with the caveat that it takes, oh, about 12 hours to play.
Especially problematic in light of the fact that it's only fun for maybe 6. But
you know, there just weren't as many good games back
then.
1825 tackled this problem by
keeping the core game more or less intact, but chopping the huge 1829 up into
much more manageable chunks. Two games (1829 and 1829 North) become 3 base games
plus 3 regional expansions plus an expansion to lengthen the game plus at least
half a dozen more mini-expansions adding various features from the original.
Some additional rules streamlining and game balancing was done, and players were
given significantly more flexibility, but 1829 at its core is clearly
recognizable.
Playing the small 1825
games, though, you miss out on the scope of the bigger 1829, the long runs and
open play. 1829 Mainline is an attempt to do an 18xx game that is both simple
and short(er), and operates on a large geographical playing field, as well as
bring us a game that is different enough from 1825 and 1829 to be
worthwhile.
The first thing I noticed
was the streamlining that eliminates the last few major 18xx features that
non-regular players find troublesome. The main one is the phases of play
(certain trains trigger rusting of other trains, changes in tiles available,
changes in train holding limits, and colors of track available). Now you can
just buy whatever is available, and upgrade track whenever you want. All good.
There are also no longer restrictions on buying and selling stock; you can buy
whatever is available and sell whatever you want. All of which is a
relief.
The operations phase is mainly
familiar to players of 1825 or 1830, with the only major rules change being that
yellow tiles (basic track) can be put down in large batches, jumping ahead to
the next city in one fell swoop as long as no drastic maneuvers are required.
This is simple, but combined with the larger board it opens up a much richer
tactical game than is typical in these games. No longer are entire geographical
regions non-viable because of the plodding pace of tile laying. No longer is
building bypasses necessarily an excruciating process of laying one time at a
time over many turns. You now have a lot more flexibility in developing your
runs, and with lots of cities and lots of companies, there is interesting
competition for the best routes.
The
major changes, though, are in the stock
round.
For those unfamiliar with 18xx,
stocks are bought and sold in rounds, where each round you can buy a single
share. This tends to give everyone a crack at owning desirable companies, and
also allows some to-and-fro as some players may sell to take advantage of an
opportunity or defend their holdings from takeover, and others then scoop things
up, with opportunities opening and closing as the round goes
on.
It also means things can take a
while, and can be uneven when some players are buying and selling heavily while
others are watching (due to cash constraints, lack of interest, or greater or
lesser foresight). 1829 Mainline tries to both simplify and speed this up.
Instead of selling at any time, you can only sell the first time around the
table. Instead of buying one stock at a time, each turn you just buy as many as
you can afford.
Obviously, this
shortcut wouldn't work with the basic 18xx system of having a large pool of
stocks available to everyone at the same time. So instead there is a mixed
system. Each player is dealt a hand of some number of stock cards (around 10) at
the beginning of the game, which you can buy from freely. This is your private
pool. Then there is a draw deck of stock cards; if you want, you can take a
random draw from it and either buy it, or not (ending your turn if you don't,
thus adding an interesting element of risk). And there is the discard pile of
rejected stocks, which you can keep buying off the top of. To keep some motion
going, your turn must end by flipping a card of the draw deck and not buying
it.
I like all this in principle. It
dramatically speeds up the stock rounds. It eliminates a couple fiddly rules
about when you can't buy stocks you've already sold, rules which sometimes seem
artificial and can hammer new players. And it adds a nice element of variance
(because the stocks available for immediate purchase will vary each game),
planning (working with the cards you've been dealt as well as judging when to
keep reserves of cash to take advantage of opportunities since you can't freely
sell) and uncertainty (the draw pile) which 18xx generally lacks. I'd be happy
with it if it were not for two
issues.
The first is how companies
float. Like in 1856, your company can begin running as soon as two shares are
sold. Also like 1856, your company gets money to its treasury only when people
buy stock.
Here is the problem: your
companies need a lot of cash to succeed in the long-term. Therefore, they need
to sell shares. What if those shares aren't available, because they are buried
in the draw/discard pile or because someone is sitting on them in his or her
hand because he or she has other priorities? It's really tough to be sitting
there in the middle game on a company starved for cash, but with 50% of the
stock unavailable to purchase at any price. Also, companies that other players
buy into early will tend to do much better than those with a single sponsor, as
they have so much more money. This problem can crop up a bit in 1856, where good
companies like the CPR, LPS, or Welland will get other players' cash, while
second-tier companies won't, to their own detriment. At least in 1856, though,
you have the ability to take out loans and "flip" your own stock to generate the
cash you need. 1829 has no loans, your ability to flip stock is limited, and
with the random availability of stock, who knows if it's even available to buy?
It's possible to get behind the 8-ball here and not have a lot you can do about
it.
The second problem combined with
the above is simply one of length. We played with 3 very experienced 18xx
players who didn't play slowly, and the game took 4.5 hours. On the scale of
18xx games, and with players new to the specific game, that doesn't sound too
bad. But with the random allocation of shares, and the reduction in flexibility
in the stock round, I think 1829 Mainline really wants to be 2.5 to 3 hours.
Which, interestingly, is what it says on the box – and Mr. Tresham is
usually pretty good about getting these estimates right, even when they are
unpalatable; the numbers for 1829, 1853, 1825, and Revolution have been quite
accurate, even erring in favor of being too generous, for me. But I have a hard
time seeing my way clear to a 2.5 hour playing time on this
one.
Which leads me to my last point.
Somewhat unusual for a Francis Tresham game, the 1829 Mainline rules have a few
problems. As a fan of 1825 I was able to work them through, but the cost to
build on various terrain types (rivers and mountains) are nowhere to be found -
we just used 1825 values. Also, it is possible, if unlikely, for a company to
become completely unowned, and what happens in that case is not covered (as it
is with the receivership rules in 1825). So it's possible that there is a rule
missing here. If, for example, whatever cash is not paid out in dividends were
to go to the company treasury, this might make a significant and possibly
positive difference in the game.
At the
end of the day I'm a bit on the fence about 1829 Mainline. Although I am unsure
if it works quite right, I do like the new stock round rules and will give Mr.
Tresham the benefit of the doubt until I've played some more. I like the
large-scale tactical feel of the game, and I do think it's successful in giving
us the opportunity to do some really interesting, long-distance route
development. But I am concerned by the time it took us to play it. I don't mind
losing a bit of control in the stock round in general, especially if it
compresses the game a bit and because the game has opened up more flexible and
interesting route-building options. But given that the semi-random allocation of
stock does have a driving effect on the game, I worry that it's a bit too easy
to suffer misfortune in the middle game and then have to play a game you are out
of for too long.
Posted: Monday - December 05, 2005 at 05:55 PM