1870: Railroading Across the Trans Mississippi from 1870

About this board game

1870: Railroading Across the Trans Mississippi from 1870 is an 18xx railway investment game for 2–6 players, with games lasting about 360 minutes. Set across a sizable, abstract hexagonal map of the central United States, it challenges players to seek the greatest personal fortune through rail companies and stock manipulation.

Based on the core mechanics of Tresham’s 1829, the game combines railway development with a stock market in which players buy and sell shares in various companies. The majority stockholder controls each company’s actions, making ownership and market decisions central to the experience.

• Stock manipulation: Buy and sell shares while competing for control of railway companies.
• Track construction: Place track tiles across the abstract hexagonal map.
• Private companies: Use special money-making capabilities that add distinctive opportunities.
• Company development: The sizable map encourages most, if not all, share companies to become profitable.

Each 18xx title introduces its own additional elements, and 1870 brings private companies and a broad map to its interpretation of the system. The result is a long-form economic game where personal wealth depends on both share ownership and the performance of the companies under players’ control.

The game ends when the bank runs out of money. At that point, the player with the greatest personal holdings wins. Released in 1992, 1870: Railroading Across the Trans Mississippi from 1870 offers a substantial railway stock experience for groups prepared to spend an extended session building value across the map.