![\"\"](\"https://18xx-franken.de/media/posts/17/18Hiawatha-first-OR-2.webp\")
\n \n Disclaimer: I am no 18xx expert, by far. I have by now quite a few games under my belt, but most of them spread out across different titles, as I love to explore new things. Still, as there's usually little information on all the different 18xx games, I would like to provide some insight into how the game felt (to me) and what made it special.\n
\n\n\n 18USA has become one of my all-time favourite 18xx games. Playing it for the first time was an eye-opener, and even though sometimes I have a hard time committing myself for a 10hour session when the opportunity comes up (rarely enough), when I actually do it I enjoy every minute of it.
Naturally, I started researching if there are shorter variants for it to get a similar experience in a shorter period. And there are! As also mentioned in my initial 18USA review, besides 18Hiawatha, I know of:\n
\n The first hasn't been published or finished its development, and my first contact with it went very poorly. The second, I have no interest in because of its abstract map. And the third one I had no chance trying out, but is listed as still taking 6+ hours.
Since it was also available on 18xx.games, trying out 18Hiawatha was easy, and a first online live session went well and was super quick. So, after we got our yearly 18USA fix at our last 18XX Franken Convention, our monthly 18XX group was ready to try out 18Hiawatha during our next session. This impression is based on that, and my 2 online playthroughs.\n
\n Generally speaking, we do very similar things than in 1817/18USA. You start companies, evaluate all of them, and try to leverage the money you get by shorting overrated companies by investing it in better companies. The big changes are:\n
\n\n\n Given these changes, did we get what we were looking for?\n
\n\n\n The map shows the region from Milwaukee in the north to Chicago in the south. There are offboard-connections in all corners/sides of the map, while the values change greatly.
\n
\n \n Additional points of interest are the Milwaukee-tile in the North, which is a grey tile that gets a second token spot in green (+60 value) and also is the destination for 2 connection bonuses. One of those can be achieved with a 3-train, the other requires a 4-train.
The two Chicago tiles in the south are special because they start at 40 revenue in yellow, but goes back to 20 in green, to then get to 60 in brown.
The rest of the map doesn't have much features, and also almost no terrain cost. Especially the whole area in the middle north of Chicago has plenty cities, but was very uninteresting/uncontested in our live playthrough.\n
\n 18Hiawatha uses 12 of the Companies of 1817/18USA, and all Companies start as a 5-share with the purchase of the Director Share. The acquisition of one additional token is mandatory.
Because of this, all companies can be shorted (in contrast to the 2-share companies of 1817/USA), and a lot of thinking goes into which companies have the best positions and how you can screw a company you've shorted even further.
In our playthrough, for example, we were able to exclude a company started in the bottom left from getting to Chicago.
The other big factor are the 8 private companies that are auctioned off at the start of the game and have a nice variety of the stuff you're used to from 1817, like non-upgradeable track tiles with bonuses, special tiles, additional trains, additional revenue tokens, and so on. Making the most of those in combination with the starting position is one of the key elements of a good start in 1817, and definitely can be found here as well.\n
\n So clearly, this game should be about values, as you try to parse current with future earnings to determine how you can gain an edge versus your competition. The one rule that really threw me off was the strict sales rule of trains for always face value. I still don't know why it exists, as it makes a lot of strategies existing in the full game irrelevant. There's little value in friendly sales if you can't mess with what you're selling beforehand. If you are shorted, you have fewer options for making those who shorted you pay.
I am sure there's a reasoning for that rule, maybe tied to the shorter playtime and less ORs, but I don't really see the benefit so far. Would be interesting to try without.
On the other hand, this made me realize the benefit of the housekeeping turn that Venezuela introduces, as here, if a new company is opened later at a higher price to pay for the more expensive trains, in a probably worse position because the others are already taken, it becomes a clear short target with little to do, as it surely falls back once and then can only jump forward once max.
After thinking about this now, my preferred solution would probably be the usage of the 18USA up to quadruple jumps, if you stay with the option to short something the minute it opens, as then a lucrative new company that maybe runs the route bonus could do well in its second OR. Still, excluding getting additional trains from other companies seems weird.\n
\n So far, I've only played this at 3 players, which was very fine. I totally see this working out at 4. 5 should work as well, but I am bad at projecting this. Maybe it's even more interesting because the money for 2 companies is tighter.\n
\n\n\n Oh, well. This is a hobby product which cost 30$ at the time (crazy to look at this price after the latest issue clocked in at 90$!) for several games in the magazine. I also think that the magazine is not available at the moment – maybe the digital version still is.\n
\n![](\"https://i.kickstarter.com/assets/034/164/697/4d97853e159ac39a32ab6dec2b877ae3_original.png?fit=scale-down&origin=ugc&q=100&v=1625928801&width=680&sig=%2FiLLDlYGtbwDcGH5ebiUGk0Rgg8eyBM2hAnoXD%2BmRuY%3D\")
\n Nevertheless, out of the 16 components (7 track tiles, 8 privates, 1 game map), 4-11 – depending on how you counting – were faulty. That's...not good. The full list is:\n
\n\n\n Nevertheless, I don't care. The game is perfectly playable. Actually, it was quite revelating to see how little is needed to tune an existing game into something different with just a board and a few paper sheets — given that you need to own a copy for 1817 or 18USA to play this.\n
\n\n\n In the end, I am not sure what to make of it. My initial impressions are good. You're definitely getting some of the 1817 vibes, especially at the start. It does start to feel weird when you realise that the 3s are already permanent, and we wondered where the pressure would come from. However, buying the 3s turned out quite stressful on the loan market, and 35$ per loan made surviving — especially once the 2s died — quite challenging. It might have been different if I had not opened one more company, which also bought a 3 but never ran good and was rightfully shorted, but put even more loans into play.
When looking at the BGG comments about 18Hiawatha, I found this comment about 1817 game length and how you need the later trains to make the main decisions around the 3s more opaque. The more I think about it, the more I tend to agree.
Still, I cannot stop hoping for a great, short 1817 like experience. Is it 18Hiawatha? Not to the full extent, but definitely something to start the journey and form an opinion to better understand what it is that drives the main games' perfection. I am happy to have played it.
If you want to want to start your search for a short 1817 like experience but have no player nearby, go check out https://18xx.games/ and start playing online.
For support of the designer/publisher, please head over to Traxx\n
This first session was not only my first play of 1888-N (and any “Lonny“ 18xx games) but also the first of our local 18xx group. As I kept stumbling into the niche of 18xx, I ended up in a German WhatsApp group and on top of that happened to find a few players in the vicinity of myself. So clearly, we all wanted to play live and after a few weeks of planning, made it finally happen. By the way, the 18xx community is amazing and probably worth a post by itself, but that’s for later.
\n\nDisclaimer: I am no 18xx expert by far. I have maybe 10 games under my belt and most of them spread out across different titles, as I love to explore new things. However, as there’s usually little information on all the different 18xx games, I would like to provide some insight into how the games felt (to me) and what made them special.
Whats the game about
I have not played the OG 1830 so far, but only 1889. This felt similar in a lot of ways. Sure, the map is obviously totally different. I was expecting more focus on Beijing, but there’s also a great area in the south-east and also the south-west was very desirable, especially in our end game. Just the north-west seemed bad.
After a very fast train rush at the start of the game, everything came to a stop at the 4-trains and it took a while for us to get into the permanents. Also, while we generally played very operational focussed, there were some shenanigans to dump one company tried at this point, which unfortunately (at least for the player owning the empty company) failed. 3 of 4 players had to force buy a Diesel in the end, which might have cost the second placed player the lead.
We didn’t play all rounds but went to paper for the last 2 OR.
Overall, I liked the game. It seems to me a nice variation to playing 1889. I guess, 1889 might have a few more levers to pull with the stock market, which allows you to buy more than 60% of one company if the value is in a certain area. But this is just one strategy I saw once and never tried myself. Also, I am not so sure about automatic exports. I guess I will have to play more games with and without it, but if I had to make a call, I feel I prefer games without that mechanic. On the other hand, maybe it’s just something to speed up games and doesn’t really have to be judged.
The tile set didn’t seem very restrictive (like 1882) to me. And the yellow city had all types of bents (looking at you, 18Ches).
Also, the privates seemed fine. Obviously, most of us had no clue how to evaluate and bid on them, but that’s like in any other 18xx with privates. I just had no idea what really to make with the mountain private that’s like a 40Yen dot, but the 40Yen go directly to the company and can’t be paid out.
Components in general were nice. The map is two-sided, one being more beautiful and brown and one being more abstract. We played on the abstract one, but I can see both sides being totally usable. Everything else was well produced, though not quite on the wow level of 1889 for me.
Would I add it to my collection? No, I feel owning 1889, there’s too little differentiation to justify the shelf space, but if I didn’t have that, yeah, I could absolutely see me buying it, especially for a shorter (3-4 hours?) 1830 type game.
If you have no cool new 18xx players in your vicinity, go check out https://18xx.games/ and start playing online. \nFor support of the designer, please head over to https://www.lonnygames.com/
", "author": { "name": "Ruwen" }, "tags": [ "Reviews and first impressions" ], "date_published": "2026-03-21T18:33:38+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-03-21T18:33:38+01:00" }, { "id": "https://18xx-franken.de/first-impression-for-1822pnw.html", "url": "https://18xx-franken.de/first-impression-for-1822pnw.html", "title": "First impression for 1822PNW", "summary": "Ok, now it’s getting serious. PNW is probably - SPOILER - my favorite 18xx as of now and I think I played it the most (which means still a lowly 5 times maybe?). Therefore, this is close to my heart and compared to other titles,…", "content_html": "Ok, now it’s getting serious. PNW is probably - SPOILER - my favorite 18xx as of now and I think I played it the most (which means still a lowly 5 times maybe?). Therefore, this is close to my heart and compared to other titles, I start to formulate strategies in my head and have a more accurate guess on values. But more on values later.
\n\nDisclaimer: I am no 18xx expert by far. I have maybe 20 games under my belt and most of them spread out across different titles, as I love to explore new things. However, as there’s usually little information on all the different 18xx games, I would like to provide some insight into how the games felt (to me) and what made them special.
Whew. That list kept getting longer and longer and doesn’t have all the details. And I have to admit, even in my now 5th play I still was unsure about certain rules (this time how to convert an associated minor into a major after phase 5). Nevertheless, this game feels comboish in an effortless way to me. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
This is one of the games I actually own. I bought it, after my first 18xx depression had ended, and I played like 2 games on 18xx.games. At that time I heard that 1822 might be good for Euro gamers like myself and less mean. Then, I looked at the different 1822 options:
Between the last two, #1822PNW looked pretty and I liked the region, so I bought it. If that sounds like a pretty superficial decision process, yeah, it was. Luckily for me, it turned out absolutely right.
I love the map. As I stated in the disclaimer, part of the fun of 18xx is to always discover new things. That doesn’t necessarily have to be new titles - new strategies or, like in this case, new map layouts, also count.
There are probably many different factors that play into why every game the map looks pretty different. The different timings of when minors are available. The mountain range in the middle and the water in the west and south. The privates, that allow crossing those natural dividers. Even the rules for timber might have a word in it. To me, this feels great and like a clear winner over maps with one big city like London in vanilla 1822. Yes, the area east of the mountain range might be weaker, but I still feel tempted to prove that wrong (and fail every time).
Part of the charm of 1822-games is the puzzle, how you use the different minors and private companies as combos. Again, with the different timing of when minors are bid on, you’re constantly thinking which company you could build where, merge with which other company and so on. Take into consideration, that privates might allow you to declare a non-associated company to be associated with a major, thats not in the game so far or that you suddenly can route over water or impassable mountains, and you realize, how much this can be in flux at all times.
This is nothing special to 1822 and its brethren. Since in every 18xx game, the winner is decided by how much value he/she was able to accrue, this is at the core of everything. But since you’re constantly bidding on 3–5 items per stock round, this is much more enforced and brought to the front than in other titles. And it can be exhausting. Without a few games under your belt, 90-100 Dollar for a permanent or a Pullman might seem a lot. For a 100 you can start a new minor! And then those values change depending on the amount of players and current game state/phase. Yes, that still sometimes makes me feel lost and is probably also the reason why this is no good beginner title, besides the amount of special rules, that’s in here. Also, there’s a slight variation here to the usual rule that any capital should usually be invested (full credit for pointing that out to Tony from Wheel Tapping Podcast ): you have to plan ahead and therefore might want to keep money so you are able to bid in the next SR for certain Privates/Companies that you need.
Also, there was an interesting chat in the all-chat of 18xx.games about whether the lack of concessions to bid on makes the game more or less prone to too little/much policing. I think there’s definitely a point to make that fewer items increase the density of bids on each single item, but I know too little about this game and its competitors to really give my own input.
One of the few games where I can state an opinion on this topic. Having played at 3,4 and 5, I feel 4-5 are great on the standard map. With 3 (only one play!), it feels too open and players have too much cash. There’s a special variant for 2–3 players that only uses the south of the map and leaves the northern companies out of the game, but I couldn’t test it so far, as the implementation was, at the time of me writing this, still in alpha and buggy on 18xx.games. If I had to make a call, I’d prefer 4 players.
Great! I really like the All-Aboard Games titles I have seen so far. Would have been perfect with a tile holder (which you can order separately at All-Aboard, too, but the ones from Cube4Me look like the better set).
Would I add it to my collection? Obviously, I did! So far, this is my 1822 (including the smaller 1822 MRS/NRS) of choice. I haven’t played CA or MX, but CA I will never be able to play live because of playtime. So I will have to try MX soon and then update.
Playing this, I sometimes wonder what if, for example, destinations were also somewhat randomized. Wouldn’t that be even more amazing? Or would it be helplessly imbalanced or hard to set up? I think I need to play 1862 soon to get more input into randomized companies and board setup.
Also, there are some things I am not too keen about. Why is, for example, Minor 6 always in the first bidding box at game start? It’s a private that’s heavily comboing with many good privates like Pullmans, lumber baron etc. and needs to be put in check through bidding. Wouldn’t it have opened the map up even more, if that minor came (randomly) very late into play? Also, I am not so sure about regionals, which are minors that basically do not much except for value extraction from a major and providing a token. That might be not nothing, but a lot of times it’s very unattractive in early-mid game. I really would like to be able to ask these questions to the designer, maybe one day.
If you want to dive into running trains in the Pacific Northwest and have no player nearby, go check out https://18xx.games/ and start playing online.\nFor support of the designer/publisher, please head over to All-Aboard Games
", "author": { "name": "Ruwen" }, "tags": [ "Reviews and first impressions" ], "date_published": "2026-03-21T14:20:38+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-03-21T14:20:38+01:00" }, { "id": "https://18xx-franken.de/first-impression-for-18royalgorge.html", "url": "https://18xx-franken.de/first-impression-for-18royalgorge.html", "title": "First impression for 18RoyalGorge", "summary": "#18RoyalGorge surprised me. I had never heard about it and when I looked at the rulebook, the section “hire gunslingers” made me shrug and envision a wargame/western/18xx crossover, where I roll dice when I attack the trains of my competitors. Disclaimer: I am no 18xx…", "content_html": "#18RoyalGorge surprised me. I had never heard about it and when I looked at the rulebook, the section “hire gunslingers” made me shrug and envision a wargame/western/18xx crossover, where I roll dice when I attack the trains of my competitors.
\n\nDisclaimer: I am no 18xx expert by far. I have maybe 20 games under my belt and most of them spread out across different titles, as I love to explore new things. However, as there’s usually little information on all the different 18xx games, I would like to provide some insight into how the games felt (to me) and what made them special.
How far from the truth! This is a super compact, interesting 18xx title that after 2 (online) live plays left me wanting for more.
Bonus points: When I did my through-hike of the Colorado Trail in 2017 I was actually passing through the very same region this game is set in! Oh, the memories of drinking beer with an oil field worker in Salida, who’s working on a Marxist pamphlet in his trailer with the cayote howling outside in the dark… 🤣
This is not everything but should give you a quick overview. Overall, it feels unique because of how fast it plays, its special mixture of set phases but still it’s quite easy to pick up and get into it.
The map feels pretty good because of a mix of
Combined with the variable setup (only 2 companies of the 5 that are in each game are set in stone) and some of the privates incentivizing certain regions, I can see a lot of differently developing games taking place on this map.
There are two main special features concerning the companies:
At the start, there are only 2 public companies that can be opened. It’s always the Rio Grande (which later gets a track built for it) and one random company. Starting with stock round two, two more public companies can be opened and in brown one final company gets added.
There are two more companies that can be invested in, one company pays out depending on how much and which track was built and one pays out, depending on how much gold got delivered. These two companies feel more lucrative early to mid-game but don’t reach the heights of a 2 train end game “normal” company with payouts of 700-1000+.
There seems to be a nice mix of those. They are always spread out across the phases, with 2 yellow, 2 green and 1 brown private being bid on at the start of the game. They deviate from the usual block one hex, get one share boring stuff and may incentivize certain strategies. You have the private which turns a dot into a town or pays out 50 when the dot is connected? Maybe try to incorporate that dot into your network. Have the private that doesn’t close but always pays out 25? Maybe focus on investing early and then opening high to maximize your portfolio space.
Overall, the privates feel great and creative to me. I only wish they maybe went more in the creative direction for some of them, like the jeweler (get 5 every time a gold is transported offboard).
This game is tight! Partially, we’ve probably been digging our own graves by building too much track, on the other hand you want to make use of that mechanic and get lucrative routes as soon as possible. Because of the short yellow phase (only 2 ORs), the 2 trains seem very dangerous, as if you go for two of them at the start, you probably will struggle to get a 3/4 train and might be without a train when the 4s rust them.
Also, there are always interesting decisions to calculate through (build track through the gold mine for maybe a higher cost, but also short term profit with the gold shipping?) The dynamics of when to open which company, what to do with your investments in the steel and gold companies etc.
According to the box, this plays from 2-4. I only played at 3, but that worked out perfectly. I also see the 2 player game working since there are the steel and gold companies and therefore the 2 players wouldn’t always just be cross investing. 4 is probably also fine and would be interesting to try out.
This is currently being prepared for a kickstarter, supposed to happen later in 2024, so I have no clue what’s the final product is going to look like. The rulebook however seems very nice so far, and I like all the graphics that are depicted in the rulebook for the cards etc. However, I have never heard of the designers before, so I would be cautious, as with all kickstarters of unknown entities.
As I already stated in the intro, this was a nice surprise! I like very much of what I found in this. Mostly stood out the combination of very short play time with a “full” experience of building companies and running big routes in the end, having lots of upgrades on the board and a nice story arc.
Also, the way track is built with the implications on the steel company is just very interesting, as you don’t just build track, but rather take steel from columns that increase in price for every tile built. This is interesting on its own, but even more so when in later rounds several companies take away the available steel from each other, which again might influence your track building decisions etc. Just very clever. The only downside I see when playing on the table is that this could add some fiddlyness to the game.
The one thing I am not so sure about is that the Rio Grande always wins the royal gorge with its special track, which is super lucrative. In both plays it was always the company with high income in the end and the owner was the winning player. He’s also the by far the best player of us, so that’s not my point, but I might dislike the staleness this could bring to the game.
In regard to adding this to my collection: I am definitely considering this now! There’s just nothing like it in my collection, and I gravitate more and more to shorter 18xx, as those have at least a real chance of actually getting played. Often, I feel I get less out of the “big” games compared to the additional time investment I have to make for them.
If you want to get your own impressions of the game before the kickstarter starts, go check out https://18xx.games/ and start playing online.
", "author": { "name": "Ruwen" }, "tags": [ "Reviews and first impressions" ], "date_published": "2026-03-21T14:19:35+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-03-21T14:19:35+01:00" }, { "id": "https://18xx-franken.de/first-impression-for-18usa.html", "url": "https://18xx-franken.de/first-impression-for-18usa.html", "title": "First impression for 18USA", "summary": "It didn’t take long until i heard the first time about #1817 after I had started playing 18xx. It was almost like before I actually experienced 18xx games myself, when 18xx was seen as this niche that no normal person touched because it was so…", "content_html": "It didn’t take long until i heard the first time about #1817 after I had started playing 18xx. It was almost like before I actually experienced 18xx games myself, when 18xx was seen as this niche that no normal person touched because it was so complicated, long and had ugly maps. Basically the same applied to 1817 and its derivatives, just within the 18xx micro-cosmos.
\nDisclaimer: I am no 18xx expert by far. I have maybe 25 live games under my belt and most of them spread out across different titles, as I love to explore new things. However, as there’s usually little information on all the different 18xx games, I would like to provide some insight into how the games felt (to me) and what made them special but read this more like a first impression than a full review.
Later in my first year of 18xx i ended up in one of the many rabbit holes of new and old titles and this one led me to 1817. I still wasn’t convinced, not even really interested. The outlook of playing 8+ hours, being shorted out of the game and even more complexity didn’t really pick my interest. Lately, my preferences saw me seeking for shorter titles. I also had a bit of a disaster with my first play of #18Venezuela (partly because the 1817 system doesn’t make for great 18xx.games asynch titles).
Nevertheless, I knew that i had to try this once. Continuing down this rabbit hole i ended up with #18USA. And oh boy, I was intrigued. Highly variable setup? Up to 4 stock market jumps? And loads of interesting posts on BGG by the designer about the differences between 1817 and 18USA and the game in general? I was sold.
I started looking at second-hand market prices for the game and luckily, someone put up 18USA for half the price you would normally pay. I bought it in a heartbeat. And funnily enough, this all happened shortly before the VPS Con and the game arrived just in time. I didn’t have high hopes for being able to play it, but because all other games i owned were already brought by other people, i packed it in. Then, one thing lead to another and Friday morning sees Matthias Cramer, his partner, another player from our gaming group and me unboxing and punching the still-in-shrink game to get it going asap. Half a year later I was able to play it a second time during our own 18XX Franconia Con two weeks ago and now I feel like i HAVE to write about the game, as it takes up so much property in my brain.
The map’s key strength is the variability in the setup. Every game you have to analyse in the beginning, which opportunities the map offers this time around in which area, even more so depending on the privates that are in play. Yes, there’s New York which is always strong, but so-called metropolis tile cities also have a high revenue and upgrade up to 80$ in grey. Normal tiles on the map can have resource symbols like ore/oil/bridges which - if used with the appropriate private - will then in the future add 10$ or even 20$ to every route run over it. Tokening is important, as in the later rounds having a 5+ train will only benefit you, if you have the route to run it on, which with the plethora of companies being opened (and closed) during the game, might not be so easy (though according to BGG easier than in 1817).
![\"18USA](\"https://cf.geekdo-images.com/fqgGuGlwCm2ml8Xj1Zzj6A__imagepage/img/UYa4i-DdtnDQQgcE25U4PMC7OQw=/fit-in/900x600/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic8788825.jpg\")
From a aesthetical point of view this is no #1822PNW map, but probably still one step above #18MEX. I guess no one cares about this stuff except me :)
As already mentioned, the general structure is that there are 2,5 and 10-share companies. You can upgrade them into the next tier by converting the existing company or merging two separate companies. This is an excellent way of getting rid of the train debt (which doesn’t exist here, but your company might get closed without a train) and injecting new capital. Just be aware of your new share value, which is in the case of merging two two-share companies the sum of both companies! Such a juicy shorting target…
The downside, however, is that you lose percentage of ownership when going from a 2 to a 5 share company (100% to 60%). I have no idea if its a valid strategy with more experienced players, but i somehow managed to keep a 2-share company till the end of one game, having super sweet 100% payouts with maximum share density.
However, if things are not going so swimmingly, a company might end up being liquidated or acquired (or fabricated to do so). In both cases, players bid with their companies for the assets of the company - a great way to get tokens and trains. That said, my brain can’t grasp the possibilities that this opens up. When and how to liquidate/acquire your own company and get the timing right. You could also force other companies to the same fate, but this might be hard to achieve because of the quadruple-jumps (and the market only having 3 acquisition steps).
Ok, so here’s the kicker. Forget everything you learned. Shut out that nagging voice in your head that says you need to quadruple-jump just because you can. This is what I adhered to in my first game, and I paid for it. The great thing about this system is that companies need to be close to what they are actually worth. And it’s interesting how it took decades for 18xx to arrive at this very basic premise.
If your companies are overvalued, others will short them, create new companies with that money, push the trains and watch misery love (your) company.
I think sooner or later, every player of this system will watch with awe how people are starting to short one of your companies, and you look around, trying to do the same. And then the horrible realization sets in that there’s nothing to do, because the only company you would short yourself is…your own.
This was one of the moments when first i was angry at the world and then just couldn’t help but admire the brilliance of this system.
I played this now 2 times at 4 which worked splendid. I would be hesitant about playing with 3, but it might work. 5 is probably a no brainer. 6 I don’t know. There are already so many companies in the game at 4 that if you just spread them out over 6 players, it might not add much to the playing time and it might work.
The production is good, as we’ve come to expect from All-aboard productions. It definitely benefits from some Cube4me trays and boxes for all the companies, but that’s another 50$ on top of an already expensive game. Some of the companies could have been easier distinguishable (like the two brown ones, for example). The box cover is not a favorite of mine. Well, you see, this is all the nit-picking I’ve got for today.
Oh boy, what a game to explore. Its just fantastic, how a genre of games like 18xx can be so diverse. And how fantastic is it, that after trying out 25+ different titles, you still can have that moment when a game completely blows your mind and makes you rethink everything you think you’ve learned?
That is what this game is. And call me ignorant, I somehow have no need to go back and play the original 1817, because this already has so much of what I love:\nInstead of learning patterns through repeated plays, gaining an edge through knowledge, 18USA presents you a jigsaw that you have to solve. Fresh and new, every time.
Do you need this in your collection? Hell, yeah! That is, if you see any chance for a 8-12 hour session of mean competition to ever take place. Which brings me to the one and only complaint I really have: why does this have to be so long? But then last time i played it, I remembered a comment by the designer:
\n\nIn the end, I measure my enjoyment during an 8 hour period by the number of interesting decisions made over that time period. I’d rather play one great game than 3 mediocre ones.
I have nothing to add to that.
Ha, of course you didn’t believe me when I wrote that last sentence, did you? No no, as expected, I went and tried some of the supposedly shorter alternatives that are out there. Here’s my drive-by review of two of them:
#18Hiawatha does 1817 on a tighter map, has only 5 and 10-share companies and ends with the 4 trains. Its super quick, playable in 2-3 hours. The privates i saw were interesting and you definitely get some of the 1817’s feels out of it in a much shorter time. Shorting starts as early as the first SR (which I am not a fan of, because deep down I am a care-bear). If you mess up, you get murdered, but well, that’s what this system does best. Made me realize how much i like the up-to quadruple jumps of 18USA which are absent here. Unfortunately, it’s only been released in the first issue of the Traxx-Magazine and its probably hard to find. It is currently available during the currently just started next issue kickstarter as digital addon.
#1877 Venezuela does what 18Hiawatha does, just even shorter and having a housekeeping round when a new company is created, including buying trains. It claims a 2 hour playtime, and since its without privates and their auction, i am inclined to believe that. But without privates and very little randomization, I am not sure how much this has to offer, if you’ve got down, what and where to start and my one online play of it was horrible and boring. That said, i had not properly played the 1817 system before and this game could actually be ok. Its not on the market at the moment and might never be, as its not even part of the next All-Aboard wave, so release date might be never or 2035.
Then there’s #1817WO and #1817NA. I am not interested in the first one at all, because it plays on a map of the whole world which is way too abstract for me. The second one might be interesting. Again, its a different, smaller map and has a few different privates, claiming to be suitable for 3-players and having a shorter playtime then 1817. I never tried it but would like to.
And, lastly #18DE which is 1817 without shorting. Not sure whats left then, as merging is also done by other games but I would like to try.
If you want to read more about the variants, theres a excellent blog post by the much better than me player Victor. Go check him out!
And there you have it! My superficial review of a game that I’m not sure I’ll ever fully understand, but that I’m smitten by.
If you want to dive into shorting companies and have no player nearby, go check out https://18xx.games/ and start playing online. Which for this title, i cannot recommend doing in an asynch game, but maybe you can play an online, live session (for 8 hours 😆 ).\nFor support of the designer/publisher, please head over to All-Aboard Games.
", "author": { "name": "Ruwen" }, "tags": [ "Reviews and first impressions" ], "date_published": "2026-03-21T14:17:14+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-03-21T14:18:03+01:00" }, { "id": "https://18xx-franken.de/18korea-review.html", "url": "https://18xx-franken.de/18korea-review.html", "title": "18Korea Review", "summary": "Disclaimer: I am no #18xx expert by far. I have by now quite a few games under my belt but most of them spread out across different titles, as I love to explore new things. I am far from a great player. Still, as there’s…", "content_html": "Disclaimer: I am no #18xx expert by far. I have by now quite a few games under my belt but most of them spread out across different titles, as I love to explore new things. I am far from a great player. Still, as there’s usually little information on all the different 18xx games, I would like to provide some insight into how the games felt (to me) and what made them special.
A great title for #18Korea that I think I heard somewhere else before is Unbalanced Privates - the 18xx Game and that hits the nail on its head. There are also other McGuffins, but this is its core identity. \nAt the beginning of the game the players do a snake draft (e.g. 1-2-3-3-2-1-1-2-3 for 3 players) for the private companies which are split across 3 categories. Every player must have 1 of each category in the end.\nThen, you go away and earn ~500 in the first OR set. 🎉
Part 1 of these high earnings are because the privates seem crazy overpowered compared to your standard 1830-type private. You just want to sell your train for the full price whenever you want during your turn? There you go, draft this private. You just want 80 income for your company every turn? Also fine, take that private. Adding a whole new tile with new expensive destinations to the board? Yeah, i thought so, here you go.
![\"Evenly](\"https://cf.geekdo-images.com/hflmb1c_r98YAMzSrwkGiQ__imagepage/img/sNwBzqF1x8BjyuVJQH3GYnNsmBo=/fit-in/900x600/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic9321367.jpg\")
Part 2 is that the game begins with the whole of Korea available to build track on. The north is very profitable (some offboards are 70 in yellow), but after the 3rd 4-train the Korean war happens and all tracks and companies (if they didn’t manage to token in the south) are destroyed and you play the game on half of the map, if even.
Seems crazy? Yeah, crazy fun! Lets dig deeper:
The map or rather its dynamics is one of the USPs of this 18xx. As mentioned above, the map is split into two parts. The second half of the game (after the Korean war) is only played on the lower part, and the north is completely removed from the map.
Moreover, the North also follows the logic that the further North off-boards are, the more lucrative they become. Offboards start from 40 up to 70 in the furthest north-east corner of the map. The reason is, that the more distance between the offboard and the south, the harder it is for a North Korean company to make it to safety, i.e. place a station marker in the south. \nCity tiles are also worth more in the north, ranging from 30 in yellow to 50 in green. The south follows the usual logic of normal cities being worth 20 and 30 in green.
While all of the north can earn massive income during the first few OR sets, be aware that there’s still a huge difference between companies from the middle area of Korea and, for example, the most north-eastern company with basically two routes to the 70 off-board and another off-board in the south of it with 60.
So what do you do, when one of these great north-east companies is in the game? Well, luckily the game also has a bidding mechanic for every company put up for auction during the stock round. This means that you have to make sure that the potentially very profitable company is not bought for cheap. And while you’re at it, you’re probably also advised to cross-invest into this company while they’re cheap. By doing this you make sure you’re earning a piece of the massive cake while at the same time making it harder for the owners late game, as there is no redeeming of sold stock into the company, so once the money’s gone, it’s gone. As an investor, you have to be super careful though to make sure that you sell these stocks in the stock round before the Korean war. Understanding how fast companies can push through the 3s and the first 3 of the 4-trains (remember the export) can be the difference between a good position for the win and a lost game.
However, there’s another caveat: when buying from the stock market, you’re allowed to exceed the 60% max stock limit that you may own of a company. So if you are able to make it to the south with your North Korean company, weather the midgame storm that is the war and the train rush and get your permanent train(s), you might have 80-100% of a very profitable company.
Now that i have talked a lot about the North Korean companies, lets turn our view to the other half of the map, because the South Korean companies are important as well. Since the 2nd half of the game is only played in the South, having tokens in the best locations can be crucial to make the best of your E-Train runs in the late game. You always have to balance earning money early in the north while making sure you get a company in the south in time. Also, you’re only allowed to put your super powerful privates into companies from the north or the 3 pre-war South Korean companies, leading to a competition over the best South Korean companies as well and having the timing right, when to put up one of those while having enough funds to secure them in the bidding round is a necessary skill to play this well.
![\"southern](\"https://cf.geekdo-images.com/SB2y4Fapt-cDVWhWEeRFMw__imagepage/img/n5Hr_KrAwaH4bGHIHrHPBAkL7sM=/fit-in/900x600/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic9321368.jpg\")
Understanding the puzzle of available companies, which player owns which privates and their individual potential is one of the most fun things about this game. Sometimes you follow the rules I lined out above and make sure to have enough shares of the very profitable north-eastern companies, while at other times you see that another player has a private to add a special tile to the map in the south, completely altering your most profitable routes there and therefore also the value of the available companies.
Just be aware that this is not a 18xx title driven by its stock rounds. Yes, you auction the companies, but apart from that there’s not much happening. There’s rarely any dumping (since you can’t move the privates out from a company once you’ve put them in) and because of the stock price not being affected by non-chairman sales, there’s little to do with the stock values.
Having played this at 3 and 4, I am pretty sure that i prefer the 4 player game over 3 player. While totally fine at 3, it shines more at 4 because of the higher competition for token slots in the South, which is one of the key parts of the late game.\nFor the same reasons, it might also work great at 5 but I haven’t tried it.
I was totally unsure what to expect, but the production quality of this is great and on par with for example, All-Aboard Games. Map is nice, tiles are sturdy, fine charters and shares. My only complaint is that several of the companies have similar colours and the company logos are also sometimes hard to distinguish, but this might be a cultural thing of not being used to the letters. Yet, I often struggled looking from afar at the map to immediately be able to tell, which token belonged to which company.
And the big elephant in the room: the production in in korean. This is not a problem for the revenues of the offboards, companies, the market, trains etc. but all the rules are in korean and also all the text of the privates. To me this was not a major problem, as you’ll also receive a translation of the rules and the privates, but it might turn off some people. To me, this was a non-issue in all of my players and my co-players.
Speaking of production, given that this is produced by a Korean guy, getting it might be a bit trickier that your normal webstore order.
As far as I know, right now there’s only one way:
Contact Jack from Artnpiece through BGG (user kyungjung kim ) or mail him. He will ask for pre-payment but so far i heard nothing negative about it not working out. Our copies were brought by himself to Essen for a handover there. Total for main game + expansion was 126$ in 2024.
Clearly, all of this is at your own risk.
Apart from that there’s a constant talk about a Kickstarter happening for the english version of the game, but this did not happen for a few times now already. Latest estimate was again Q1 2026, so keep your eyes open.
When I heard first about #18Korea it sounded like this obscure speciality which is hard to acquire but worth it. Given that i love variability and puzzles, it sounded like a great game for me. After i bought it, the first play was fun but not necessarily the great game i hoped for. After a few more plays, the game has definitely risen in my ratings and i really like it right now and am super happy to have it in my collection.
I think its an absolute novelty compared to what 18xx games usually do and i happily take this over one of the endless 30 clones out there. Also, it plays relatively quick and can be done in 3,5 hours. Full recommendation!
If you want to desperately play this game now, the game is also available on Steam but i never tried it and it has mixed reviews.
", "author": { "name": "Ruwen" }, "tags": [ "Reviews and first impressions" ], "date_published": "2026-03-21T14:06:30+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-03-21T14:16:16+01:00" }, { "id": "https://18xx-franken.de/18xx-franken-convention-2026-edition.html", "url": "https://18xx-franken.de/18xx-franken-convention-2026-edition.html", "title": "18XX Franken Convention - 2026 Edition", "summary": "Herzlich willkommen zur zweiten Ausgabe der 18xx-Convention in der malerischen Region Franken! Nach drei Tagen durchgehendem 18XX-Spielen war auch diese Con vorbei. Wir sagen: Danke, es war schön, und bis nächstes Jahr! Auch wenn es letztes Jahr thematisch sehr passend war - diese Jahr tauschen…", "content_html": "Herzlich willkommen zur zweiten Ausgabe der 18xx-Convention in der malerischen Region Franken!
\nNach drei Tagen durchgehendem 18XX-Spielen war auch diese Con vorbei. Wir sagen: Danke, es war schön, und bis nächstes Jahr!
\n![\"Die](\"https://18xx-franken.de/media/posts/4/gallery/IMG-20260314-WA0022.jpg\")
\n![\"Mehrere](\"https://18xx-franken.de/media/posts/4/gallery/IMG_20260307_132205.webp\")
\n![\"Ein](\"https://18xx-franken.de/media/posts/4/gallery/20260314_133335.webp\")
\n![\"Die](\"https://18xx-franken.de/media/posts/4/gallery/IMG20260313011515.webp\")
\n![\"Die](\"https://18xx-franken.de/media/posts/4/gallery/20260313_140736.webp\")
\n![\"Eine](\"https://18xx-franken.de/media/posts/4/gallery/20260314_230835.webp\")
\n![\"In](\"https://18xx-franken.de/media/posts/4/gallery/IMG_20260314_220210.webp\")
\n![\"Die](\"https://18xx-franken.de/media/posts/4/gallery/IMG_20260313_114448-1.webp\")
\nAuch wenn es letztes Jahr thematisch sehr passend war - diese Jahr tauschen wir die Zugstrecke durchs Wohnzimmer gegen eine neue Location ein: Im wunderschönen Lindenhof im beschaulichen Hemmersheim in Mittelfranken steht uns ein komplettes, denkmalgeschütztes Fachwerkhaus zur Verfügung.
\n![\"Fachwerkhaus](\"https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e0cca002df94a629014b2aa/1623166390431-3K4R0N4XHWDDSHEN6923/processed_20210608_134241.jpg?format=350w\")
Im Obergeschoss wurde 2016 renoviert und eine Ferienwohnung eingerichtet. Warme Holzoberflächen, farbige Wände und Holzmöbel geben den Zimmern eine freundliche und gemütliche Wohnatmosphäre. Der Wintergarten des Aufenthaltsraumes bietet einen schönen Blick auf den Lindenhof und Sonne bis in die Abendstunden. Insgesamt stehen uns bis zu 18 Schlafmöglichkeiten in Einzel- bis Dreibettzimmer zur Verfügung. Weiter Eindrücke zur Unterkunft könnt ihr euch hier bekommen.
\nJeder Gast muss seine eigenen Handtücher und Bettwäsche mitbringen. Für die Betten wird folgendes benötigt:
\nUnserem geliebten Hobby können wir im Aufenthaltsraum der Ferienwohnung mit 2 großen Holztischen sowie einem zusätzlichen, 75qm großen Gruppenraum mit genügend Platz nachgehen.
\nFür die Verpflegung während der Convention setzen wir auf Selbstverpflegung. Wir stellen euch eine voll ausgestattete Gemeinschaftsküche zur Verfügung, die alle notwendigen Geräte und Einrichtungen für eure kulinarischen Bedürfnisse bereithält. Diese ist mit allem notwendigen ausgestattet:
\n\n
Die Anreise kann per PKW über die naheliegende Autobahn A7 erfolgen oder auch mit der Bahn bis zum benachbarten Ort Uffenheim, von dort bieten wir einen Shuttle-Service für die letzten Kilometer nach Hemmersheim an.
\n