18EU is an "18xx" game set in continental Europe, tracing rail development from modest local
lines to a continent-spanning economic colossus. Players start with 15 Minor Companies
that are eventually merged into 8 Corporations.
How to Win
The player with the highest net worth at game end wins. Net worth =
cash on hand + (final share price × shares held). Corporation/Minor cash and trains
do not count.
Lay Map & Stock Market flat. Place the eight "M" markers £120-side up on the eight "M" hexes.
Round marker → "Initial Sale Round". Place one 2 train on each Minor Company charter.
Put the five Pullman ("P") trains in the Pool. Stack remaining trains 3→8 in "Available Trains".
President's Certificate on top of each Corporation's Treasury shares. Agree on optional trains.
Distribute starting cash, randomly determine seating (tokens 1–6), give Priority Deal to first player,
then begin the Minor Company Initial Sale Round.
Starting cash & certificate limits by player count
Players
2
3
4
5
6
Initial cash
£750
£450
£350
£300
£250
Certificate limit
28
20
16
13
11
Etiquette: Play quickly (plan on others' turns). Cash and Corporation
capital must be disclosed on request; all corporate transactions are public. Public verbal agreements are
allowed but unenforceable; secret agreements are prohibited.
Each phase begins with a triggering event (buying the first train of a type) and governs tiles,
trains available, train limits, and Minor Company status. Every Stock Round is followed by
two Operating Rounds.
Phase progression
Phase
Triggering event
New tiles
Train limit Corp / Minor
Trains rusted
2
Game start
Yellow
4 / 2
—
3
First 3 train bought
Green
4 / 2
—
4
First 4 train bought
Green
3 / 1
2 trains rust
5
First 5 train bought
Brown
2 / 1 †
—
6
First 6 train bought
Brown
2 / 1
3 trains rust
8
First 8 train bought
Grey
2 / 1
4 trains rust
† The Minor Company Final Exchange Round is conducted immediately
before the Stock Round following the operating set in which the first 5 train is bought. From then on
Minor Companies no longer exist.
Each stock value is the price of one share (10% of a Corporation). Highlighted spaces are the possible
starting values for new Corporations:
Starting values & full capitalization (10×)
Starting value
£70
£75
£82
£90
£100
Full capitalization
£700
£750
£820
£900
£1000
Ownership limits
President's Certificate = 20%; each other certificate = 10%. Each Minor Company counts as one certificate.
Players are normally limited to 60% of a Corporation (may temporarily exceed via Minor
mergers — correct at next legal sale; never sell stock in a Corporation that has not yet operated).
Pool: max 50% of a Corporation. Treasury: up to 80%.
A President's Certificate never enters the Pool; it transfers only when another player owns ≥2 shares.
Stock price movement
Sell shares — price drops one row per share sold (that turn / that operating round).
No shares in Pool or Treasury at end of Stock Round — price rises one row.
Withhold / zero earnings — one column left.
Dividend ≥ current market value — one column right.
At the end of a row, left/right becomes down/up following the arrow. Stacked tokens: a moving token
goes to the bottom of the destination stack.
In turn order starting from the Priority player, each player may sell then buy, until all
pass in sequence. Priority then passes to whoever began the final round of passes; prices adjust; the first
Operating Round begins.
Selling
Sell any number of shares (respecting the 50% Pool cap). Stock of a Corporation that has not yet
operated may not be sold.
All shares of one Corporation sell at the same current price, as a single transaction.
Once you sell a Corporation's stock, you can't buy it again this Stock Round.
Buying
After selling, buy one certificate from a Treasury or the Pool at market value.
First purchase in a Corporation must be its President's Certificate (declare starting value,
pay 2× to Treasury).
Once you buy, you can't sell more that turn.
Starting a Corporation (before Phase 5): buy the President's Certificate, pay
2× starting value to Treasury, then immediately merge one of your Minor Companies for a share
(its cash + trains go to the Corporation; token replaced). No Minors left before Phase 5 → you cannot start a
Corporation.
Minor Companies are fully owned by one player, not represented by stock. Each starts with a single 2 train
and empty Treasury, and always declares a Half Dividend.
Initial Sale Round (game start)
The Priority player selects a Minor (becomes auctioneer); play continues in Stock Round order until all 15 are sold.
Starting with the auctioneer, a player may open a standard auction with a bid ≥ £100
(multiples of £5). Passing the chance to open is not a pass in the auction. Once you pass the auction you're out.
If no one opens an auction, the Minor is offered at £90, then £80 … down to
£10; if all decline at £10 the auctioneer takes it for free.
Does not affect the Priority Deal. Then the first Operating Round begins (each Minor lays up to two yellow tiles).
Final Exchange Round (once Phase 5 begins)
Conducted before the next Stock Round, in player order beginning with the president of the company that
bought the first 5 train (Priority Deal does not move). On your turn, dispose of one remaining Minor:
Connected to a Corporation with Treasury stock — merge in: player gets a Treasury share;
Corporation gets the Minor's cash + trains and may accept/replace its token.
Connected, no Treasury stock but shares in Pool — player gets a Pool share; cash → Bank, trains → Pool.
Connected, no stock anywhere — player gets nothing; cash + trains → Bank.
Not connected — declare closed: nothing; cash → Bank, trains → Pool.
"Connected" = able to trace a legal route (infinite-length train) to a Corporation token, or share
its hex. After all Minors are gone, Corporations discard trains over the limit (Pullman first), then the Stock Round begins.
Each Corporation has 10 shares: the 20% President's Certificate and eight 10% shares.
A Corporation floats once players hold ≥ 50% of its shares.
Before Phase 5 (via Minor merger)
Declare the Corporation & starting value, buy President's Certificate for 2× to Treasury.
Merge one Minor (cash + trains to charter, token swapped); the Minor is eliminated.
Corporation gains four more station tokens for £100 from Treasury.
Other players may, in lieu of a normal buy, exchange a connected Minor for a share.
After Phase 5 (bank-underwritten)
Place the base token in an open City; declare starting value; buy President's Certificate (2× to Treasury).
Buy shares one by one until 5 are sold; the last 5 shares go to the Pool and the Bank pays the
Corporation the starting value for each — full capitalization (10× starting value). Pay £100 for four tokens.
Change in presidency: the president is whoever owns the most shares (ties →
current holder, else earliest in Stock Round order). If someone overtakes the president, they swap the
President's Certificate for two of the new president's single shares.
Minors operate first in numerical order (#1–#15), then floated Corporations in descending Stock Market
order (right-to-left within a price; top-to-bottom within a stack). Each operates once, strictly in this
sequence:
Lay / upgrade track — Minor: one yellow tile (two in the first OR), never upgrades.
Corporation: one yellow tile or one upgrade. Rough hex = £60;
Mountain yellow = £120 (then flip "M" to £60); yellow→green on "M" = £60, then "M" removed.
Place additional token (Corporations) — free, in any open City you can legally reach.
Run trains & calculate earnings — must calculate the maximum possible earnings (see below).
Pay dividend — Full, Half, or Withhold (Minors always Half).
Adjust share price.
Buy trains (optional, if under the limit).
Buy / sell own Treasury stock (Corporations; not both in one turn; not sell in first OR).
Route & earnings rules
A route is a continuous, unbranched length of track that includes a City with the operator's token and
at least one other revenue location.
Max Cities + Off-Map Locations = the train number; Towns and Ports don't count against it.
A train can't reuse its own track (except four-way junctions on brown plain tiles) or visit the same
location twice (including separate Paris/Berlin/Vienna circles). Trains of the same company can't share track (except junctions).
Off-Map Locations must be route ends (except Hamburg). A Red-to-Red run earns a bonus per token on the route:
Red-to-Red run bonus (per station token on the route)
Phase
1 station
2
3
4
5
Yellow
—
—
—
—
—
Green (£10 ea.)
£10
£20
£30
£40
£50
Brown (£20 ea.)
£20
£40
£60
£80
£100
Grey (£30 ea.)
£30
£60
£90
£120
£150
Dividends
The Bank pays each shareholder dividend × their ownership %. Treasury shares pay the Corporation; Pool shares
pay nothing. Half Dividend: a Corporation pays out half (rounded up to £10) and keeps half
(rounded down to £10) plus its Treasury-share dividends; a Minor pays half to its owner and keeps half.
Withhold: all earnings go to Treasury.
Pullman Cars ("P")
Cost £100, available from Phase 3; bought from the Pool in lieu of the current train (max one such buy per OR).
You must already own another train; never own more than one Pullman; can't be traded between companies.
Doubles the value of any one City or Off-Map Location on one train's run.
Always the first train discarded for train-limit or excess reasons; if left as your only train, it's discarded free to the Pool.
A Corporation that operated must own a non-Pullman train at the end of its turn. If it can't afford a Bank
train but can afford a cheaper Pool train, it must buy the Pool train.
Emergency Money Raising
The president covers the shortfall from personal cash, then by selling stock (Treasury stock may not be sold).
Can't sell stock in any Corporation that hasn't operated, and can't cause a presidency change in the
operating Corporation (may cause it in others).
If still short after all legal sales → bankruptcy: holdings to Pool, player eliminated,
presidencies transfer to the next eligible player.
Minors never need a train; if trainless they may buy one from another company
with Treasury cash only — the owner cannot contribute. A trainless Minor keeps operating but earns nothing.
Yellow only at first. Yellow→green needs the first 3 train; green→brown the first 5 train; brown→grey
the first 8 train. Upgrades are always progressive (no skipping colors). Only Corporations upgrade.
New track must extend a legal route; City upgrades must extend or increase a legal dividend. With no route,
a company's first tile must be a yellow City tile on its home station.
No new track to a prohibited hex (impassable dark-green, ocean, or a blank side of a Port hex).
Rough hex tile = £60; Mountain yellow = £120, yellow→green on Mountain = £60 (upgrade must be affordable).
Hexes beside Minors #2, #3, #7, #10 need that owner's consent to be built by others.
Allowed tiles by mapboard hex type
Hex type
Yellow
Green
Brown
Grey
Town (●)
#3, #4, #58
#141, #142, #143, #144
#145, #146, #147
—
City (○)
#57
#14, #15
#611
#513
City (○) with "Y"
#201, #202
#576, #577, #578, #579
#582
—
Paris
—
#580
#583
—
Berlin & Vienna
—
#581
#584
—
Mountain ("M")
#7, #8, #9 (£120)
#80–#83 (£60)
#544, #545, #546
—
Ports are treated as £10 Towns (never improve; run to but not beyond).
Berlin/Vienna green tiles may be placed in either connection-preserving orientation; their brown upgrade
removes duplicate tokens. The clear hex "M-8" SE of Munich is not a Mountain hex.
Trains come off the top of the stack (game starts with a 3, since the fifteen 2s belong to the
Minors). Buying a new type triggers its phase immediately. The 8 train has no supply limit.
The game ends after the last Operating Round of the turn in which the Bank runs out of money
(whether emptied in a Stock or Operating Round, a full set of ORs is completed). Then each player computes
net worth:
Shares held × final market value, plus
Cash on hand.
Ignore all Corporation-owned assets (cash and trains).
Highest net worth wins. If all players but one go bankrupt, the game ends immediately and the sole solvent
player wins.