1836 is a railway operations and share trading board game in the 18xx series. Set in a 10 x 10 mile area of the West Riding area of England that had a staggering number of very small railway companies called "short lines", each of which competed very aggressively across duplicative routes.
The core features of the game:
- Highly dynamic track – There are a relatively high number of named locations that can be laid / upgraded in a variety of competitive ways to ensure that the map develops differently each game.
- Evolving trains – Each train type evolves as it is bought; e.g. there are 2* 2+1, 2* 2+2 then 1* 2X (think of it as a mini diesel that can count two cities and infinite towns). The 2+1 is rusted by the first type of four (4+2), 2+2 by the second (4+3) and so on.
- Staged Minor Companies – Minors are available throughout the game, 18 are shuffled and 4 are available in each of phases 2, 3 and 4 (all 12 available privates are visible from the start). Minors convey a benefit (control over a hex, cheaper track etc) and about half are railway companies that can be absorbed along with a "free" train that can be run immediately.
- Loans with Variable Interest Rate – When a Minor is absorbed by a Major Company it inherits the Minor's liabilities. Loans suppress stock price making stock jumps easier but the interest rate increases as loans are taken, so a balance must be found.