1830 (board game)
Encyclopedia
1830: The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons is a railroad operations and share
trading board game
first published by Avalon Hill
in 1986
based on an original design by Francis Tresham
. The popularity of this game spawned an industry creating similar 18xx
games.
where the only element of luck involved is in determining the initial play order. The game takes the basic mechanics from Francis Tresham
’s 1829
, with players seeking to make the most money by buying and selling stock
in various rail transport
companies located on a stylised eastern United States
map. Players also operate any companies they are the President (majority shareholder) of in order to generate revenue and affect stock prices.
The game is designed to represent the beginning of railroad operations in the eastern United States
beginning in the year 1830, with stock
companies in the game representing historical railroad companies.
The goal of the game is to maximise personal wealth before the game ends, whether by nurturing a railroad company to increase its stock
value, gutting it and running with the money, successful stock trading
or arranging for another player to go bankrupt
. Buying, trading and speculating on the stock market is often where 1830 is won or lost.
A game is finished when the bank runs out of money, or any player goes bankrupt with the player with the greatest personal wealth winning.
by Simtex
in 1993
. This game has been praised for superior computer AI
and, due to the lack of randomness in 1830 game play, the transparency of game play.
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
trading board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
first published by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
in 1986
1986 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1986. For video and console games, see 1986 in video gaming.-Game awards given in 1986:...
based on an original design by Francis Tresham
Francis Tresham (game designer)
Francis Tresham is an United Kingdom-based board game designer who has been producing board games since the early 1970s. Tresham founded and ran games company Hartland Trefoil , a company well known for its Civilization board game, until its sale to Microprose in 1997...
. The popularity of this game spawned an industry creating similar 18xx
18XX
18XX is the generic term for a series of board games that, with a few exceptions, recreate the building of railroad corporations during the 19th century; individual games within the series use particular years in the 19th century as their title , or "18" plus a two-letter geographical designator...
games.
Game Structure
1830 is a strategy gameStrategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
where the only element of luck involved is in determining the initial play order. The game takes the basic mechanics from Francis Tresham
Francis Tresham (game designer)
Francis Tresham is an United Kingdom-based board game designer who has been producing board games since the early 1970s. Tresham founded and ran games company Hartland Trefoil , a company well known for its Civilization board game, until its sale to Microprose in 1997...
’s 1829
1829 (board game)
1829 is a railroad operations and share-trading board game in the 18xx series, first published by Hartland Trefoil Ltd in 1974 from an original design by Francis Tresham, but is now out of print...
, with players seeking to make the most money by buying and selling stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
in various rail transport
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
companies located on a stylised eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
map. Players also operate any companies they are the President (majority shareholder) of in order to generate revenue and affect stock prices.
The game is designed to represent the beginning of railroad operations in the eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
beginning in the year 1830, with stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
companies in the game representing historical railroad companies.
The goal of the game is to maximise personal wealth before the game ends, whether by nurturing a railroad company to increase its stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
value, gutting it and running with the money, successful stock trading
Stock trader
A stock trader or a stock investor is an individual or firm who buys and sells stocks in the financial markets. Many stock traders will trade bonds as well...
or arranging for another player to go bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. Buying, trading and speculating on the stock market is often where 1830 is won or lost.
A game is finished when the bank runs out of money, or any player goes bankrupt with the player with the greatest personal wealth winning.
Private Companies
- Schuylkill Valley Navigation Co.
- Champlain & St. Lawrence RailroadChamplain and St. Lawrence RailroadThe Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad was a historic railway in Lower Canada, the first Canadian public railway and one of the first railways built in British North America.-Origin:...
- Delaware & Hudson Railroad
- Mohawk & Hudson Railroad
- Camden & Amboy Railroad
- Baltimore & Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
Stock Companies
- Baltimore & Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
- Boston & Maine RailroadBoston and Maine RailroadThe Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
- Canadian Pacific RailroadCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
- Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad
- Erie RailroadErie RailroadThe Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
- New York Central RailroadNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
- New York, New Haven & Hartford RailroadNew York, New Haven and Hartford RailroadThe New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...
- Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
Computer Game
1830 has been translated as a PC game of the same name1830: Railroads & Robber Barons
1830: Railroads & Robber Barons is a computer game developed by SimTex and published by Avalon Hill in 1995 for IBM/DOS.-Plot:1830: Railroads & Robber Barons is a multi-player computer game adaptation of the Avalon Hill board game, 1830. 1830 is an economics game about buying, running, selling, and...
by Simtex
Simtex
Simtex was a video game developer established by Steve Barcia in 1988. It created a number of well-known turn-based strategy games for the PC, most notably the first two Master of Orion games...
in 1993
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
. This game has been praised for superior computer AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and, due to the lack of randomness in 1830 game play, the transparency of game play.