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Description
Irish Gauge — one of three titles in Winsome Games 2014 Essen Set — is played on a map of Ireland and is similar in style to many of the stock-based, cube-rail games released by Winsome Games since 2007.
On each player's turn, they can either place a share of one of five companies up for auction, build track (represented by cubes) in one of these five companies, upgrade a town to a city, or call for dividends. The dividends are paid out to shareholders of certain railroads based on how many cities/towns they connect to and how many shares of this company have been issued. The upgrade and dividend actions also affect game length and the likelihood of further dividends for each company. The game ends when a certain condition is met at the end of a player's turn, and the player with the highest sum of money and stock value at the end of this turn wins.
Irish Gauge is the first title in the Iron Rail series by Capstone Games.
Year Published
2014
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Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 9
This page: 9
Sentiment:
pos 8 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–9 of 9
Video pVCa90hzjH8
Irish Gauge rules_teach at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 60149 · mention_pk 152599
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Clear, step-by-step explanation of each action on a turn
- Good use of the physical components to illustrate concepts
- Logical turn structure with four distinct options
- Concrete examples that link in-board actions to dividends
- Demystifies auctions, track laying, and dividend mechanics
Cons
- Rule complexity can be intimidating for new players, especially the fractional costs (e.g., one-and-a-half points for difficult hexes)
- No loan mechanic may constrain late-game strategy for some groups
- Dense terminology around cities and special interests could slow beginners
Thematic elements
- Railway investment and dividend-driven economy with market-style bidding
- Ireland, Cork Brandon and South Coast region during a railway-era expansion; map-based track building with towns and cities
- Procedural/educational explanation with concrete in-game examples
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- auction_shares — Players bid to buy shares of five railway companies; face value is the minimum bid and determines cashing out later.
- dividends_draw — When dividends are triggered, three cubes are drawn to determine payout colors; only one payout occurs per dividend draw, and payouts depend on the color cubes in specific cities.
- dividends_payout — Cities bearing drawn colors pay four dollars per cube per share; shares cash out at their face value at game end or when sold.
- end_condition — The game ends when all special interest cubes have been drawn from the pool.
- lay_track — Players spend build points to place track on rural, rough, and city hexes; only shareholders can lay track for their company; costs escalate with terrain and occupancy.
- place_special_interest_cube — Players place one of three colored special interest cubes in towns or cities where their company has presence, enabling dividends later.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the game goes until we run out of special interest cubes
- you always have four options on your turn
- and that, folks, is how you play irish gage
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ENAHmSzpyEQ
Unknown Channel game_review at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 29674 · mention_pk 87146
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fast teachability with rules that fit on a single page
- Humorous, lively interaction and social negotiation
- Accessible entry-point compared to heavier 18XX games
- Tight four-action system keeps decisions focused
Cons
- Auction dynamics can lead to early dominance by wealthier players
- Game can lose momentum for some groups
- First print production quirks (glue stain on the board) noted in older copies
Thematic elements
- Railway stock market speculation, track-building decisions, and dividends
- Map of Ireland during the early railway era, with cities and regions connected by rail networks
- humorous, observational
Comparison games
- 1846
- 1830
- Ticket to Ride
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction / Bidding — Five companies are auctioned; players bid on shares with minimum values, creating early equity and strategic pressure.
- auction bidding — Five companies are auctioned; players bid on shares with minimum values, creating early equity and strategic pressure.
- Dividends and cube draws — Calling dividends draws cubes from a bag to determine which cities pay out money.
- end game bonuses — At game's end, money is tied to the initial share values, shaping risk, timing, and strategy.
- End-game value mechanics — At game's end, money is tied to the initial share values, shaping risk, timing, and strategy.
- Special action cube — A chosen color cube acts as a special action, affecting payouts and strategic options.
- Stock ownership and auctions — Shares represent company influence; ownership shifts through auctions, making control fluid rather than fixed.
- Track laying — One to three trains can be placed on hexes to connect cities as players extend their networks.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Irish gauge more than any other train game that we've played is a freewheeling rollercoaster of laughter emotions and unexpected decisions with only four actions available
- you can teach it to your friends in under five minutes
- money begets power baguettes money so to speak
- the final nail in the coffin of excellence
- Irish Gauge is a playground and sometimes playgrounds go wonky and I'll take this one caboose
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video l19C2U_sq_Q
Jungus Games general_discussion at 13:17 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10589 · mention_pk 31191
Click to watch at 13:17 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Rail transport
- Railway networks in Ireland
- Abstract
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- unknown — Two-page style rules mentioned
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I am really looking for feedback from people because this is something very new
- Cube rails games have kind of grabbed a hold of my brain in a really interesting way
- Trans-Siberian Railroad is a wacky game
- I am in the throes of infatuation with this new genre of gaming
- I would really appreciate you considering that
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video kl0mMHVGl1M
Foster the Mea top_10_list at 7:49 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9536 · mention_pk 28218
Click to watch at 7:49 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Lighter entry to heavy train games
- Good introduction to 18xx style games
- Plays efficiently
Cons
- Jeff hasn't played other games in the Rails series
- Possibly not the best of the series
Thematic elements
none
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Jeff and I rank with our hearts and not with our brains
- our list is if you don't like it Move Along
- we play as many games as we do in a year which is literally hundreds thousand
- our rankings are extremely fluid
- there's so many good freaking games out there
- oron hits The Sweet Spot of combo
- this Oracle Delia Oracle Del like what is this game
- if you love puzzles and sudoku or whatever you're probably gonna love it
- don't poo poo on tapestry it's freaking good
- three ring circus is going to continue to increase for me
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video K5xSPyZUxYU
Three Minute Board Games general_discussion at 12:10 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6062 · mention_pk 18042
Click to watch at 12:10 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Proper train game
- Host doesn't have many train games
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Train game
- Irish railway
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I used to call this a shelf of shame that was a pretty common thing to call it back in the day and I don't never really liked that term because I don't feel shame that I haven't got to these games
- this is mostly work like this is just a backload of things I probably should get to
- people will still be looking for it
- it doesn't matter if the game is like 20 years old people will still be looking for it
- I've painted this one and I spent a lot of time doing it
- there's no point putting them on the channel I think both of them have been out of print for like a decade
- one of the worst kickstarters by one of the worst studios in board gaming history
- Golden Bell Studios did everything wrong you could possibly think of
- purely toxic company run by incredibly terrible people
- it would be kind of a joke that I'd be able to do a three minute video of feudum
- this game has a tutorial video online that's like 40 minutes long
- The Rose explanation video feels like a parody but it's actually how the game is played
- nothing personally to me puts me off playing a game that then sitting down unboxing it and having a craft assignment
- stop making me spend hours assembling your damn games
- this is an uncontrollable mess right now
- I'm a full-time dad and I'm really doing this in the evenings
- I have a finite space and also it just puts pressure and stress on me having a whole bunch of crap there that I know I'm not going to get to
- I'm going to do a big cull
- I will be published by this company but that doesn't mean I'm going to be slavishly devoted to every single game they put out
- I am a sucker for cute animal games like I really am
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ne_4pivs08o
Foster the Meeple general_discussion at 18:30 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4472 · mention_pk 13127
Click to watch at 18:30 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Good gameplay
- Cute trains
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Irish history
- Trains
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- moments during board games that formulate memories that you'll never forget
- there's just something for everyone
- it's all about the people
- the board gaming space has allowed me to just have so many incredible fun moments that i'll never forget
- it chose us via christy
- we're gonna have it at jeff's parents basement everybody's coming
- agricola sucks and everybody else seems to love it
- arnak is severely overrated
- i don't think gloomhaven should be number one on the list anymore
- humans are not good at rating things
- my nine is different than your nine
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video J7cs70HGO2Y
Foster the Meeple top_50_list at 0:00
video_pk 3908 · mention_pk 11419
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's an experience
- it's incredibly mean in Cutthroat
- I would never stop playing it on BGA
- this is the best game one of the best games ever in my opinion
- it's crazy chaos I love this game
- it's not overly light racing game
- I love this game I wish so badly was on BGA
- it's an engine builder
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video oDIArzZcDic
The Brothers Murph general_discussion at 18:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3481 · mention_pk 10321
Click to watch at 18:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- solid Euro-weight; approachable in person vs async play
- beautiful cubey/art style
Cons
- async online can dull the experience; prefer in-person
Thematic elements
- railway empire building
- rail network in Southern Africa region (South Africa map) and Iberian / Iberian Gauge variants
- historical/transportation theme
Comparison games
- Iberian Gauge
- I think of Sagani and Framework
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- rail network construction — lay rails with cubes to connect cities; manage dividends
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Don't tell me theme doesn't matter. Yes, it does.
- This is one of those games where drafting out different teams could be really cool.
- It's a banger.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Kep_C1q8ogM
Rolling Dice and Taking Names general_discussion at 33:51 sentiment: positive
video_pk 358 · mention_pk 1082
Click to watch at 33:51 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- clear economic engine
- straightforward stock/rail integration
Cons
- can be dense for newcomers
Thematic elements
- rail network development with stock market dynamics
- Railway era, economic expansion
- historical/economic simulation
Comparison games
- Iberian Gauge
- Ride the Rails
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- stock market / dividends — Invest in shares and receive dividends from the rail company.
- track construction / leasing — Build/Lease rail rights to extend network and increase income.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I think this may be my favorite of the three iron rail series games that we've played
- Meadow is designed by Clemens Kalicki
- the loop is basically being able to take the same actions again during your turn
- Dimension this game had a lot a lot more attention to it than what i was expecting
- not innovative in the sense of what you're doing of collecting sets and turning them in but i do think adding in the co-op aspect of it
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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Showing 1–9 of 9