1846 for players of 18RoyalGorge
A learning guide: what carries over, what's different, and what will bite you
You already know 18RoyalGorge, so the good news first: you already understand the hardest ideas in 1846. Both games use incremental capitalization (shares sold pay into the company treasury), both let presidents set the starting price, both punish trainless companies through the president's wallet, and both score personal cash + portfolio, never treasuries. What changes is the machinery around those ideas — and 1846 removes RG's gold/steel/debt subsystems entirely while adding a few of its own twists. Section references like §5 link into the full 1846 rules page.
The Big Five Things to Rewire
- No gold. No steel. No debt. RG's three signature subsystems don't exist. In 1846 the entire economy is track → routes → dividends → stock price. Your track lays cost flat cash ($20 + terrain), not steel cubes from a shared market. Nothing like Victor Gold or CF&I pays you passively — Private Companies fill that role instead.
- Track lays are scarce: two per turn, max. Coming from RG's up-to-six-lays-a-turn, this is the biggest tempo change. In 1846 a corporation gets one yellow tile plus either a second yellow or one upgrade per OR (§6.43). Route development is slow and deliberate — this is why the track-laying Private Companies (Michigan Central, Ohio & Indiana, Lake Shore Line) are so valuable: they grant extra, free lays.
- Corporations can issue AND redeem shares. RG companies raise money only when players buy treasury shares. A 1846 corporation, at the start of its turn, may issue treasury shares to the Stock Market for cash (at one price-step below market) or redeem them back (at one step above) — a self-service capital lever the president controls (§6.3). This is the strategic heart of 1846.
- Bankruptcy does NOT end the game. In RG, a bankruptcy ends the game immediately. In 1846 the bankrupt player is simply out; everyone else keeps playing (§7). The game ends when the bank runs out of money — finish the current SR + 2 ORs sequence, then score.
- Trains "phase out" gently instead of rusting instantly. RG trains rust the moment the triggering train appears. 1846's obsolete trains are turned sideways and get one last run — they're removed after their owner's next run-routes step (§6.69, §6.82). Also: half-dividends are legal, so cash-strapped corporations can bank money and still move their stock price.
At a Glance
| Topic | 18RoyalGorge | 1846 |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2–4 | 3–5 |
| Setting | Colorado — Santa Fe vs. Rio Grande war | Midwestern USA, 1846–1935 — race to Chicago/St. Louis |
| Starting cash | $800 / $550 / $400 (by player count) | $400 for everyone, all player counts |
| Bank | Train-deck driven; no fixed bank-break | $6,500 / $7,500 / $9,000 (3/4/5 p) — bank breaking ends the game |
| Certificate limit | 20 / 14 / 12 | Scales with corps in play: 6–14 (see §5.4) |
| Ownership cap | 60% (70% at 2p) | 60% always |
| Corporations | Up to ~7 charters, phased entry | 7 corporations (fewer at 3–4p: randomly remove 1–2) |
| Capitalization | Incremental (shares pay treasury) | Incremental (same!) + issue/redeem lever |
| Privates | 25 thematic assets, auctioned | 10 companies, dealt by a draft — no auction |
| Trains per company | Max 2 | 4 → 3 → 2 (shrinks with phase) |
| ORs per SR | 2 | 2 |
| Special resources | Gold cubes, steel market, debt tokens | None — but Meat Packing / Steamboat / Mail Contract route bonuses |
| Game end | Game-end card, stock cap, or bankruptcy | Bank breaks (or all-but-one bankrupt) |
| Scoring | Cash + shares at final price | Cash + shares at final price (identical) |
Setup & Private Companies
| Topic | 18RoyalGorge | 1846 |
|---|---|---|
| How privates enter play | 5 asset cards auctioned left to right, $5 bid increments, minimum bids printed | A draft: shuffle privates + blank player cards; in reverse player order each player draws (players + 2) cards, keeps one face down, returns the rest to the bottom (§3.2) |
| Opting out | Just don't bid | Keep a blank player card. If the deck comes down to one last private, it's offered around the table at −$10 per refusal until someone takes it |
| Price paid | Whatever you bid | Fixed list price ($40–$80) — except that last-private discount spiral |
| Priority deal | Most cash after auction | Drawn randomly at setup; then passes to the player left of the last buyer/seller each SR |
| Private income | Per-OR income printed on card, phase-gated | Flat income each OR ($10–$20) until the private is removed in Phase III |
| Companies buying privates | Green phase onward; pay ½× to 2× face value | Any time in Phases I–II; pay $1 up to list price — never above (§6.91) |
| Privates closing | Staggered (mostly on first 5 or 5+ train) | All removed at once when Phase III starts — except a corporation-owned Mail Contract |
The 1846 draft rewards knowing the privates before the game starts. There are only ten (abilities here); the two standouts for beginners are the Independent Railroads — Michigan Southern ($60 + $80 debt) and Big 4 ($40 + $60 debt) — mini-companies that lay track and run a 2-train each OR, splitting revenue 50/50 with you. Nothing in RG works like them: they're closest to owning a tiny second company from turn one.
In 1846 a corporation can pay at most list price for a private — the RG trick of selling a private to your company for 2× face value to launder treasury money into your pocket doesn't exist. The mini-version of it (buy for $40, sell to your corp for $40) is still core strategy.
Stock Rounds
Sell-then-buy turn order, all-pass ends the round, 50% bank-pool cap, only presidential sales drop the price, can't rebuy a stock you sold this SR, presidency follows the largest holding with a two-share swap. All of it works the way you're used to.
| Topic | 18RoyalGorge | 1846 |
|---|---|---|
| Buys per turn | One certificate | One certificate (same) |
| Starting a company | President picks price from the phase-legal region; pays 2× | President picks any value $40–$150, pays 2× into treasury; all 8 remaining shares go to the treasury (§5.34) |
| Who can sell early | Normal selling rules | Only the president may sell a corporation's stock before it has operated at least once (§5.23) |
| Non-president sales | No price effect | No price effect (same) |
| President sales | −1 step per share | −1 column total, no matter how many shares sold at once (§5.22) |
| End-of-SR adjustment | Sold-out companies +1 | 100% player-held → +1 column; any shares in the Stock Market → −1 column (§5.52) |
| Stock hits $0 | — | Corporation closes and is removed from the game (§8) |
That end-of-round −1 for shares sitting in the Stock Market matters more in 1846 than RG's pool penalty, because corporations put shares there themselves by issuing. An aggressive issue for cash means your price sags every SR until those shares are bought or redeemed.
One special launch: the Illinois Central receives a bank bonus equal to its starting price when launched (§5.35) — it's the only corporation with a capital kicker, plus free tile lays in its land-grant hexes.
Capitalization: Your RG Instincts Mostly Work
Both games are incrementally capitalized: buying a treasury share pays the company, treasury shares earn their own dividends, and companies grow their war chest through play rather than a big up-front payout. 1846 layers one big tool on top:
Issue / Redeem (step A of every operating turn)
- Issue: move treasury shares to the Stock Market, receiving one price-step below market each. Limit: shares held by players minus shares already in the Market.
- Redeem: buy your own shares back from the Market at one step above market.
- Neither moves the stock price directly — but see the end-of-SR −1 above, which is the deferred cost of issuing.
Think of it as the president choosing the company's cash-vs-price balance every turn. RG has no equivalent; the closest analog is deciding whether to withhold — but issuing raises cash without tanking the price this turn, which changes train-buying math completely.
Operating Round Structure
| Step | 18RoyalGorge | 1846 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-corporate | — | 1. Private income paid. 2. Michigan Southern, then Big 4, operate as mini-companies |
| Turn order | Highest price first; higher stack position breaks ties | Same — except the very first OR of the game runs in reverse price order (§4.2) |
| A | — | Issue or redeem shares |
| B | Lay track (up to 6, steel required) then build station | Lay tiles and/or place one token, any order |
| C | Run trains (+ ship 1 gold) | Run routes |
| D | Pay or withhold | Pay full, pay half, or withhold; adjust price |
| E | Buy trains | Buy trains |
| F | Pay debt (SF/RG); buy privates (green+) | — (private purchases happen any time during the corporation's turn) |
The reverse-order first OR is a real decision point: launching at a high price means operating last in OR1 — in the example game that let the NYC hoover up all the remaining 2-trains after seeing everyone else's builds.
1846 has an unusual table rule: after the president announces routes, any player can point out a higher-revenue routing and the corporation must run it (§6.68). No sandbagging your own revenue to keep the price down.
Track & Tokens
| Topic | 18RoyalGorge | 1846 |
|---|---|---|
| Lays per turn | Up to 6 (steel permitting) | 1 yellow + (2nd yellow or 1 upgrade) |
| Cost per lay | Steel cube at market price ($0–$40+), color-matched | Flat $20, or the hex's printed terrain cost if higher; + bridge/tunnel/pass hexside cost if your track is the second to connect across it (§6.48) |
| Upgrade colors | Yellow → Green → Brown → Silver | Yellow → Green → Brown → Gray, phase-gated the same way |
| Connectivity | New track must be theoretically runnable | New track must trace (no backtracking, no blocked cities) to one of your tokens; city upgrades only need to connect to the city (§6.47) |
| Station/token cost | Printed on charter, left to right | Flat $80, one per OR; reserved spots (B&O, Erie, IC, PA) cost $40 |
| Unconnected stations | Not allowed | B&O (Cincinnati $100) and PA (Ft. Wayne $60) may token without a connection — their special powers |
| Special map cities | Royal Gorge tiles, gold mines, ghost towns | Cleveland/Detroit/Cincinnati use special "Z" tiles; Chicago has its own tiles containing several distinct cities — one token max per corporation, and a route may visit only one Chicago city (§6.55, §6.63) |
Upgrades must preserve existing track, no dead-ending off the map, blocked cities stop paths but routes may start/end there. Same instincts, same rulings.
Terrain in 1846 is hexside-priced for water/tunnel crossings: the second company to connect across a bridge/tunnel symbol pays it (completing the connection). Budget $40–$60 extra when finishing a crossing someone else started — or when your own second tile completes it.
Trains & Routes
| Topic | 18RoyalGorge | 1846 |
|---|---|---|
| Roster | 2, 3, 4, 5, plus-trains, 6×2 — dealt from a 25-card deck | Phase I: 2 ($80) · II: 3/5 $160 or 4 $180 · III: 4/6 $450 or 5 $500 · IV: 7/8 $900 or 6 $800 (§6.82) |
| Dual types | — | Phase II–IV certificates are double-sided; pick a side when buying, locked in forever |
| "Plus"-style trains | N+ trains: N cities + unlimited towns | N/M trains: visit up to M locations, count the best N for revenue (one counted city must have your token). E.g., a 3/5 visits 5, scores its top 3 |
| Train limit | 2 | 4 (Phase I–II) → 3 (III) → 2 (IV); over-limit trains are discarded immediately, your choice, no compensation |
| Obsolescence | Rusts instantly when trigger train appears; salvage paid | Phased out: turned sideways, gets one final run, removed after its owner's next run step. No salvage |
| Cross-company sales | Any price ≥ $1, must be route-connected | Any price ≥ $1, no connection required; phased-out trains can't be sold |
| Route bonuses | Gold shipment +$50; Hanging Bridge etc. | East-West bonus: a route with an E off-board on one end and a W off-board on the other adds both printed bonuses (§6.65). Meat Packing (+$30), Steamboat/Port (+$20/40), Mail Contract (+$10 per location its train visits) |
| Route restrictions | No revenue-center reuse, no track reuse, no sharp turns | Same, plus: never two East off-boards on one route; West-to-West is fine (§6.63) |
| Forced purchase | President tops up; Emergency Fundraising; bankruptcy ends game | Treasury → then forced share issue (price drops one column per share first!) → then president cash → president share sales → bankruptcy (game continues) (§6.86–6.89) |
The train-cliff economics are steeper than RG's: Phase II trains cost $160–$180 but Phase III jumps to $450–$500 and Phase IV to $800–$900. The classic 1846 death spiral is running two cheap corporations that both need permanent trains at once. The rulebook itself warns: launching two early corporations at low prices is the most common road to bankruptcy.
Forced share issues during an emergency train buy are worse than normal issues: the price drops one column per share before you're paid. Issue early and voluntarily, not late and forced.
Dividends & Stock Price Movement
| Payout vs. price | 18RoyalGorge | 1846 |
|---|---|---|
| Withhold / $0 | −1 left | −1 left |
| Paid, but < ½ price | No change | −1 left — paying a trickle still hurts! |
| ≥ ½ but < price | No change | No change |
| ≥ 1× price | +1 right | +1 right |
| ≥ 2× price | +2 right | +2 right |
| ≥ 3× price | +3 right | +3 right only if price ≥ $165; otherwise +2 max |
| Half-pay option | — | Yes! Retain half (rounded down to nearest $10), pay the rest per share (§6.71) |
| Treasury shares | Dividends to treasury | Dividends to treasury (same) |
| Pool/Market shares | Dividends to bank | Dividends to bank (same) — but they still count toward the payout total for price movement |
Two traps for RG reflexes: (1) a payout below half the stock price moves you left, where RG would leave you flat; (2) the price-movement comparison uses total payout (all dividends, including those paid to the treasury and the bank), not just what players receive. Half-pay is the sweet spot — in the example game the NYC half-paid $370 revenue, banked $199, and still double-jumped.
Movement mechanics: 1846 uses columns on a price chart, entering markers stack at the bottom of a column, top-of-stack operates first — same feel as RG's market grid.
Phases
| Topic | 18RoyalGorge | 1846 |
|---|---|---|
| Phase names | Yellow → Green → Brown → Silver | I → II → III → IV (same color unlock order, gray instead of silver) |
| Trigger | Train exports/purchases from the deck | Purchasing the first train of the next phase from the bank (§6.82) — no export mechanism, so players fully control tempo |
| Phase III effects | (Brown) more tiles, last company | Brown tiles; all privates removed (markers stay); 2-trains phase out; off-boards flip to higher values; train limit 3 |
| Phase IV effects | (Silver) endgame | Gray tiles; markers removed; II-trains phase out; reservations expire; train limit 2 |
| Off-board values | — | Every red off-board has two printed values: lower in Phases I–II, higher in III–IV |
Because there's no train export, phases only advance when someone buys. Rushing Phase III to rust an opponent's fleet of 2-trains (like Carlos needed to in the rulebook example) — or stalling it because you're the one holding 2-trains — is a first-class strategy in 1846, much more player-driven than RG's semi-automatic deck clock.
Endgame & Winning
| Topic | 18RoyalGorge | 1846 |
|---|---|---|
| End trigger | Game-end card / stock cap / any bankruptcy | Bank runs out of money → finish the current SR + 2 OR sequence (top up with the set-aside $500s) (§10) |
| Bankruptcy | Ends the game immediately | Player is out; game continues (ends only if all but one player bust) |
| Scoring | Shares × final price + cash | Identical. Treasuries ignored. (If the game somehow ends before Phase III, privates score at list price) |
| Ceiling | Red space caps the market | Prices cap at $550 |
Pocket Cheat Sheet for Your First 1846 Game
Keep doing (RG habits that work)
- Sell before you buy; one certificate per stock turn.
- Treat treasury shares as the company's future paycheck — sold-out companies rise, pooled shares drag.
- Watch the train roster like a hawk and never be the president caught trainless at a phase change.
- Score is your cash + your portfolio. A rich corporation with a poor president loses.
Start doing (new muscles)
- Plan issue/redeem before every operating turn — decide the cash you need, then set share count to match (the rulebook's own tip, §6.33).
- Use half-dividends to fund permanent trains without stalling your price.
- Value privates by their abilities, not income: extra free tile lays beat $15/OR in a game with only two lays a turn.
- Fight for the East-West routes — those paired off-board bonuses are 1846's gold rush.
- Time the Phase III train purchase deliberately: it deletes every private and rusts the 2-train fleets.
Stop doing (RG habits that misfire)
- No steel to buy, no gold to ship, no debt to service — don't look for upkeep steps that aren't there.
- Don't plan six tile lays. Two. Maybe three with a private's help.
- Don't expect salvage money or instant rust — phased-out trains linger for one last run, then vanish for nothing.
- Don't assume a small dividend protects your price — under half the stock price, it still drops.
- Don't count on bankruptcy as an emergency game-ending ripcord. In 1846 you'd just watch everyone else finish.