18Mag: Hungarian Railway History

About this board game

18Mag: Hungarian Railway History is an 18xx railway game for 1–6 players, with play time of about 240 minutes. It tells the story of Hungarian railroads and the companies that support them.

Depending on the player count, 13 railway companies are drafted equally among the players. These companies operate in numerical order, building track on the map, erecting stations, running trains, and splitting their earnings evenly: half goes to their owners and half remains in the company treasury.

Seven additional companies provide valuable services to the railways. Their abilities include building an extra tile, allowing trains to run freely through small stations, reducing the cost of bridges and tunnels, and—most importantly—offering new trains. When a railway uses one or more services, it pays the corresponding fees into the service company’s treasury.

• Acquire shares in service companies during stock rounds.
• Distribute service-company earnings among shareholders after operating rounds.
• Place service-company station markers, represented by factories, on city tiles.
• Use factories to deny other companies passage through those cities.

Unlike many 18xx games, every train is available from the beginning. Pricing usually encourages the familiar purchasing order, but it does not guarantee it. Trains never rust or become obsolete, although they may be voluntarily scrapped to make room for larger trains.

Once at least one train of every type has been sold, one final set of operating rounds is played before the game ends. In 18Mag, careful company management, service access, and share ownership all contribute to the pursuit of victory: the wealthiest player wins.