Irish Gauge

About this board game

Irish Gauge is a stock-based cube-rail game for 3–5 players that plays in about 60 minutes. Set on a map of Ireland, it challenges players to develop railway companies, acquire shares, and build wealth through carefully timed decisions.

On each turn, a player chooses one of four actions. They may place a share of one of five companies up for auction, build track represented by cubes, upgrade a town to a city, or call for dividends. These options shape both the rail network and the value of its shares.

• Auctions: Place a share of one of five companies up for auction.
• Track building: Add cubes to one of the five companies.
• Town upgrades: Upgrade a town to a city.
• Dividends: Pay shareholders of certain railroads based on their connections and issued shares.

Dividend payouts depend on how many cities and towns a railroad connects, as well as how many shares of that company have been issued. The town upgrade and dividend actions also influence the game’s length and the likelihood that each company will pay dividends again.

The game ends when a specified condition is met at the end of a player’s turn. At that point, victory goes to the player with the highest combined total of money and stock value. This creates a focused contest in which company development, share ownership, and the timing of dividends all contribute to the final result.

Released in 2014 as one of the three titles in the Winsome Games 2014 Essen Set, Irish Gauge is also the first title in Capstone Games’ Iron Rail series. Its compact set of actions offers a concise railway and investment experience built around auctions, cubes, cities, towns, and changing dividend opportunities.