18xx game reports from Bergen

1832: Gult kaos.

2010-01-19T20:59:00.013+01:00

1832 17.1.2010 på Café Chaos.

For mer om 1832, se rapporten fra spillet dagen før.

(1) Jannicke
(2) Are-Harald (meg)
(3) Tor
(4) Jonar

Private:
20 til Jannicke, tidlig
Cotton til meg for 40
Havna til Tor for 90
London til Jannicke for 75
Gruva til Jonar for 85
200 (den med 20% i CoG) til Jonar for 200.

Privatene gikk billig fordi Jannicke kjøpte ut den til 20 i sin andre tur. Ho gjorde dette for å få London-privaten billig. Dette var planen hennes, å få den for å kunne starte til høy kurs. Jeg og Tor bydde opp havna.

A1: Tor starter GMO i 72. CoG settes til 100. GMO selges ut(jeg kjøper 40%), 1x CoG igjen.

O1: 2x2-tog til begge. GMO går mot Atlanta.

Fra 1832 17.1.2010

A2: Jeg dumper 4xGMO, starter Atlantic til 68. Kunne hatt råd til høyere kurs, men ville ha høyest mulig P/E tidlig i spillet.

O2:

Fra 1832 17.1.2010

A3: Jannicke selger og starter FEC til 90. Tor redeemer med GMO.

Fra 1832 17.1.2010

O3: FEC sørger for å kjøpe treere. Forøvrig veldig bra skinnelegging av Tor her, han får GMO til Atlanta, gode tokens og sikrer bra rutenett gjennom hele spillet.

A4: 2x3-tog i bordet. Nå skjer det noe interessant: Jeg dumper 40% av Atlantic til bank pool, og starter West Point til 68. Igjen, lav kurs for å få god P/E. Planen er å gule Atlantic. Men Tor kjøper seg opp til 50-60% og tar over. Altså ga jeg Tor et gult selskap i fanget, et med ferdig rutenett og med billige aksjer. En ting er jo at han skulle nøyd seg med å kjøpe 30%. Jeg tror denne type dump er neppe lurt i de fleste tilfeller, men denne gangen fungerte det - for meg. På dette tidspunktet kontrollerte Tor 90% av GMO, 60% på hånd og 30% i selskapet.

O4: Folk (dvs Jannicke og Jonar) er gnitne og vil ikke kjøpe treere. Jeg gir gass med West Point og kjøper to treere og en firer. De får kjapt ruter, men dessverre mangla det 20 penger på å legge en viktig token. Hadde jeg starta i litt høyere kurs ville de tjent mye mer første gang de kjørte.
Jonar sitter med kun tre toere i CoG og mister kurs og innkjøring på at jeg blåste toerne. Jeg mener det er selvsagt at han skulle kjøpt en treer mens han hadde sjansen.

Fra 1832 17.1.2010

A4: Siden toerne blei blåst tidlig har ingen penger til å starte. Tor får kontroll over 100% av sitt selskap, 60% på hånd og 40% i selskapet. Han redeema altså en aksje hver eneste aksjerunde.
Tor og Jannicke sitter med rundt 300 penger hver det ikke finnes aksjer å kjøpe med. Tor foreslår at Jannicke skal hjelpe han i gang. Dette dusteforslaget er Jannicke rutinert nok til å blåse vekk :-P Tor sier seinere at han hadde nok penger til å starte til lavere kurs enn 100, men valgte å la være for å preservere togene til GMO, som tjente bra med penger i denne fasen.
Her var det Tor egentlig hadde tenkt å kjøpe de 30%, tror jeg det var, av West Point-aksjer som låg i initial offering. Men så blei han avleda av forhandlingene med Jannicke, og passa. Når han oppdaga tabben ville ikke bordet la han gjøre det om igjen.

O5: Femmer ligger i bordet når vi starter, og blir liggende. Dette er gullrunden min. West Point sine tog trykker penger. CoG sitter med kun en firer disse to rundene. Jonar får kæsja ut gruva.

A6: Alle vasser i penger. Jonar har pri, jeg er sist. De andre starter etter tur. Jeg passer til alle har starta det de vil. Så kjøper jeg meg opp til 40% i selskap etter selskap og gruser aksjekursene. De andre hjalp villig til, ved å foreslå at vi bare kunne ta å flytte aksjene rett til bank pool og droppe kursen uten at jeg skulle betale og slikt, for å spare tid. Så starter jeg LN. Etter at aksjerunden er ferdig skjønner de at dette skulle de aldri ha tillatt. De skulle solgt seg ned til 50% for å tvinge meg til å ta tap på dumpinga. Mens jeg er veldig fornøyd med dette trekket. Her ga jeg alle andre vesentlig lavere sluttaksjeverdi. Delvis oppveid av at aksjene blei billigere å kjøpe i påfølgende aksjerunde, men likevel, viktig.

O6: Litt mangelfulle notater her. Tor får seg to seksere. Alle merger, utenom meg. Tor lar bestå og merger Atlantic, det gule, med sitt nystarta selskap. Gult system!
Dumpinga mi gjør også at West Point får kjørt en runde til mens treerne ennå er i spill.
Jeg skulle la LN kjøpe opp West Point, men gjorde det meste galt på forhånd. Ikke var pengene på rett sted, og ikke hadde selskapene kontakt. Toghandlinga gjorde jeg også feil. Jeg mister totalt motet av at jeg ikke klarte å tenke klart nok til å få gjordt det jeg ville. Jeg får lyst til å gå hjem, men spiller pliktmessig videre uten å engasjere meg særlig hardt.
Tror jeg valgte å gule West Point her. De hadde lav kurs, hadde tatt inn for å få kursen ned slik at de skulle bli billige å kjøpe opp. Og jeg måtte uansett kjøpe et tog til når femmeren min rauk.

A7: Jeg kjøper presidenten til Georgia til 68, for å gjøre det litt vanskeligere å pushe mot 12-er. Tor legger ut tre GMO-aksjer til emisjon, jeg og Jannicke kjøper hver sin. Tor angrer voldsomt på dette nå spillet er ferdig.

O8: Ingen notater.

A8: Alle aksjer selges ut. Jannicke lar være å kjøpe seg til limit, fordi ho sparer penger til 12-er. Det ho burde gjordt er å uansett kjøpe seg opp, og så dumpa i aksjerunden. Da kunne ha hindra oss fra å få sitte på så mange aksjer og fått kursene litt ned. Eller bare latt være å kjøpe tolver, eventuelt.
Tor starter Georgia. Et selskap som kommer inn med 680 i kapital og som trenger et tog som koster 1100. Jeg mener han ikke skulle gjordt dette. Jannicke og Jonar var begge bestemte på at tolver skal det bli. I denne aksjerunden får jeg kjøpt meg opp til langt over limit, siden jeg har mange gule aksjer - mitt eget West Point, og litt i Tors gule system.

O8: Jannicke kjøper 12-er. Tor å selge en aksje for å få råd til 12-er til Georgia. Jonar legger ut nesten alt en tolver koster fra hånd. Han får 6-8-12-tog i systemet sitt, historiens sykeste togpark. Tor kjøper litt seinere en tolver til til det gule systemet sitt, som har mye penger.

Og det er alt jeg har notert! Fra jeg (trodde jeg) dreit meg ut i O6 var jeg delvis ute av spillet, mentalt.

Inntjening og aksjekurs siste runde:
GMO kurs 400, 500 inn.
Jonarsystem kurs 275, 840 inn.
Jannickesystem kurs 250, 630 inn.
LN kurs 180, 330 inn.
Georgia kurs 110, 380 inn.
Tors gule system kurs 72, 630 inn.

Plassering - aksjer - kæsj - sum
1. Are-Harald: 4243 + 4520 = 8763
2. Jonar: 4996 + 3736 = 8732
3. Tor: 4375 + 4014 = 8389
4. Jannicke: 3855 + 2321 = 6176

Jeg vant med 31 penger framfor Jonar!!

Etterord:
1832 er vesentlig mer komplisert enn de fleste andre variantene, både på grunn av merginga men også på grunn av kartet. Rutene og skinnelegginga mot slutten er helt vill. Jeg har store problemer med å se muligheter og planlegge mot gode ruter. De andre ser ut til å fikse dette bra.

Skikkelig teit at jeg fikk en total moralkollaps på midten, og spilte halvvengasjert resten av spillet - for så å vinne. Aldri gi opp! Dette tyder på at jeg/vi ikke alltid er istand til å forutsi særlig bra hvem som leder og kommer til å vinne. Altså er det man må gjøre å hele tida spille for seier, selv om man synes det ser mørkt ut.

Jeg skjønner ikke hvorfor jeg vant, og jeg skjønner ikke hvorfor Jonar nesten vant. Jeg syntes hele tida Tor låg suverent best an. Jeg vant selv om jeg hadde få aksjer med toppverdi, og selv om jeg gjorde mange vesentlige tabber underveis. Det er interessant at det å ha mange gule aksjer kan gi seier. Forholdene må da ligge til rette slik at man får kjøpt seg opp. Her gjorde de det, men jeg tror omstendighetene var særdeles heldige akkurat denne gangen. Tor hadde også flere gule aksjer enn meg.

Tor gjorde tabber i dette spillet, vesentlige tabber, det pleier han ikke gjøre.

1832: Aldri hjelp Tor til å starte.

2010-01-18T21:48:00.014+01:00

1832 16. januar 2010 i HH gate 14.

1832 er ned mot Florida. Selskaper kan slåes sammen, enten til systemer med 5% aksjebrev, eller ved at et selskap kjøper opp alle aksjene i et
annet.

Selskaper:
FEC - Florida East Coast Railway
N&W - Norfolk and Western Railway
CoG - Central of Georgia Railway
L&N - Louisville & Nashville Railroad
GM&O - Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad
SAL - Seaboard Air Line Railway
ACL - Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
WestPoint - Atlanta & West Point Railroad
SR - Southern Railroad
Georgia - Georgia Railroad

I tillegg har Tor laget aksjebrev og selskapsbrett for
Seaboard System
Chessie System
Norfolk Southern
Disse er basert på virkelige selskaper, men noe løsrevet fra tid og rom. Tor har lovet å lage tokens til dem også, for å gjøre det å finne ruter
enklere.

(1) Jannicke
(2) Jonar
(3) Tor
(4) Tina
(5) Are-Harald (meg)

Private:
Stagecoach 20 til Jonar for 20
Cotton 50 til Jannicke for 60
Havna 50 til Tina for 90
London 70 til Jonar for 105
Gruva 90 til Jonar for 105
200 (den med 20% i CoG) til Tor for 205

Privatene blei bydd opp i skyene. Tina ga 90 for havna, og Jonar gav rekordmye for sine.

A1: Tor får pri og forsøker forgjeves å overtale noen til å hjelpe han igang med CoG. Han passer, Tina passer. Jeg, som sitter uten privates,
starter FEC (den ned mot Florida) Jannicke får med seg noen til å starte Atlantic Coast Line.

O1:

Fra 1832 I

A2: ACL selges ut, men ikke FEC. Jeg er en dumper og folk vegrer seg for å eie 20% i mine selskap.

O2: Fem toere ute.

Fra 1832 I

A3: FEC utsolgt.

O3: 8 per aksje i begge selskap. Folk med privates, som Jonar og Tor, har gode tider med større P/E enn folk med mye penger i aksjer.

Fra 1832 I

A4: Tor har pri. Han klager på lite samarbeidsvilje rundt bordet (dvs folk hjelper han ikke å starte). I et desperat trekk selger han løse
aksjer og starter presidenten i Seaboard. Seaboard kommer til dekka bord, rutemessig (bilde) Han kjøper seg opp til 50%. Tina kan starte
Georgia hvis ho selger alt, men vil ikke det fordi ho vil ha høyere kurs enn 72. Istedet hjelper ho Tor igang med Seaboard og kjøper to aksjer der.

Fra 1832 I

Tina kunne ha gjort Tor FUBAR, og sannsynligvis gitt seg selv en bedre posisjon, ved å starte Georgia, som i sin andre OR hadde fått token nede hos FEC og hatt gode ruter.

Fra 1832 I

Dette er et bra eksempel på at vi trenger mer brutalitet, og at budet mitt om at det aldri lønner seg å hjelpe noen å starte som regel gjelder.

O4: FEC tjener 100, ACL 80. Tror første treer blei solgt her.

Fra 1832 I

A5: Alle aksjer selges ut. Pri til meg.

O5: FEC tjener mest, Atlantic minst.

Fra 1832 I

A6: Jonar starter GMO til 100. Tina starter West Point til 82. Jeg kjøper og dumper ned de som starter for å få kjørt de tre toerne i FEC en ekstra gang.

O6: FEC holder igjen 300. Trenger penger til tog! Toerne ryker.

A7: Jeg starter kjøper presidente i Georgia til 68, Jannicke starter Norfolk & Western til 68. Tror det er her Tor flyter CoG også. Altså tre startups. Jeg tenker meg om og ser at slik landet ligger blir det garantert 6-er hvis jeg starter, og veldig lite sannsynlig 6-er hvis jeg ikke starter. Starter jeg vil alle selskap utenom Jonar (GMO) og Tor (CoG) kjøre med 1 tog. Det blir fryktelig magert. Jeg velger å la være å starte Georgia og bare sitte på presidenten. I etterkant tror jeg dette er noe av det lureste jeg gjorde.

O7: Takka være at jeg dumpa ned CoG et par hakk kommer GMO ut først, og Jonar rekker å kæsje ut privatene sine. Her kunne jeg ha FUBARa han hvis jeg hadde tenkt meg nøyere om. Jonar lever tidvis farlig. CoG kjører for 300 første kjøring. FEC kjører best til sammen i begge rundene.

Fra 1832 I

A8: Jeg selger meg ned for å få plass til å starte Georgia. Folk støttekjøper. På dette stadiet eier de fleste 80-90 prosent i selskapet sitt. Mye støttekjøping denne runden.

Jeg angrer på at jeg starter Georgia for seint, tenker jeg ikke rekker å gule de ut før det bare er skroteaksjer igjen å kjøpe. Men i etterkant tror jeg det var lurt å vente (se over).

Etterpå tenker jeg at det å få et gult selskap kanskje er noe man bør gjøre de gangene det er opportunt, framfor å på forhånd bestemme seg for å gjøre det. Blir selskapet gult for seint, kan det være lite interessante aksjer igjen å kjøpe. Og er det flere gule selskap synker gevinsten. Vet ikke om det stemmer helt. 1832 er også spesielt på dette punktet, siden de fleste aksjer blir ok siden skrotet gjerne fusjoneres til å bli bra.

I mergefasen etter aksjerunden danner Tor Seaboard System av Seaboard Air Line og Central of Georgia til en kurs på 140.

O8: En femmer i bordet. Torsystemet tar inn 490 på 3-4-5-tog. Georgia kjøper 6-er og utløser siste mergefase. Jonar (GM&O og L&N blir Chessie System) og Tina (WestPoint og Southern Railroad blir Norfolk Southern) lager system.

Fra 1832 I

System A er Tor sitt, system B er Jonar sitt og system C styres av Tina.
Jannicke merger ikke. Ho ville tapt massivt med kurs. Jannicke sitt Atlantic mister sine to treere, og ho legger ut for nytt tog uten å måtte selge aksjer.

I runde to kjøper Jonar to åttere til systemet sitt!! Og det var planlagt. Bra jobba!

Jeg selger to aksjer for å få råd til en tier til Georgia.

A9: Jeg får kjøpt meg opp til 11 aksjer før det er tomt for penger, har jeg skrevet. Stemmer det fikk jeg lite utav å kjøre Georgia gult. Tor får 30% i mitt gule selskap. Alt selges ut. Folk prater om 12-er. Tina, Jannicke og Tor har en femmer hver.

O9: Tokenisering, muring, bygging rundt. Tor kjøper tier i runde to. Tina kjøper første tolver til systemet sitt. Tror alle ender opp med å kjøpe en tolver utenom meg. Jeg er sliten og trøtt og glømmer å regne med pengene jeg har liggende i Georgia. Jeg tenker jeg klarer ikke å kjøre inn 1100. Dette var min store tabbe. Jeg ville bare behøvd å kjøre inn kansje 700, og FEC hadde etterhvert veldig gode ruter til to tog.

Jeg prøver å lage festning ned mot Florida. Bruker flere skinnelegg på det, men selv om jeg har to selskaper klarer jeg ikke planlegge det godt nok, og det blir lagt åpning.

Fra 1832 I

A10: Pass rundt.

O10: Jeg innser 12-er tabben.Skinnelegginga på slutten av 1832 er helt vill, kartet åpner opp og mye blir mulig. Jeg ser jeg er for dårlig til å se mulighetene som ligger i sluttspillet til inntjening på forhånd. Faktisk var det ekstraruta nedover Florida som jeg prøvde å mure vekk som ga FEC potensiale til å kunne kjøre kongelig med to tog. I denne fasen synes jeg Tina og Jonar brillierte med å finne gode ruter til selskapa sine. Vel egentlig fiksa alle andre enn meg akkurat den fasen bra.

Kartet mot slutten:

Fra 1832 I

Inntjening og aksjekurs siste runde:
Seaboard System (Tor) kurs 400, 650 inn
FEC (mitt) kurs 400, 250 inn
Atlantic Coast Line (Jannicke) kurs 375, 330 inn
Chessie System (Jonar) kurs 275, 590 inn
Norfolk Southern (Tina) kurs 250, 720 inn
Georgia (mitt gule) kurs 76, 380 inn
Northfolk & Western (Jannicke sitt gule) kurs 72, 250 inn.

Resultatliste:

Plass - navn - aksjer - kæsj - totalt
1. Tor: 5750 + 2620 = 8370
2. Are-Harald: 5274 + 2689 = 7963
3. Jonar: 4848 + 3025 = 7873
4. Tina: 4420 + 3231 = 7651
5. Jannicke: 4585 + 1911 = 6496

Tor vant med god margin! Veldig jamnt på midten.

Etterord: Resultatlista fulgte stort sett aksjeverdirankingen. De med flest høyverdi-aksjer kom best ut. Jannicke er et unntak - ho er god til å drive selskap men ikke så god til å tjene penger for seg selv.

Tor gjorde få eller ingen tabber og vant helt fortjent denne gangen - takka være starthjelp fra Tina :-P Tor er generelt sett flink til å få med seg folk på ting som gavner han selv veldig mye, spiller generelt bra og gjør lite feil. Derfor vinner han ofte. Hva kan vi andre gjøre med det?
1. Aldri hjelp Tor. I alle fall ikke til å starte selskap.
2. Spill bedre og gjør færre tabber.
3. Hvis det er mulig å ødelegge for Tor, eller andre, og det koster lite - gjør det!

1850: Tors tre treere.

2010-01-03T20:18:00.011+01:00

Fra 1832 I

A2: ACL selges ut, men ikke FEC. Jeg er en dumper og folk vegrer seg for å eie 20% i mine selskap.

O2: Fem toere ute.

Fra 1832 I

A3: FEC utsolgt.

O3: 8 per aksje i begge selskap. Folk med privates, som Jonar og Tor, har gode tider med større P/E enn folk med mye penger i aksjer.

Fra 1832 I

Tina kunne ha gjort Tor FUBAR, og sannsynligvis gitt seg selv en bedre posisjon, ved å starte Georgia, som i sin andre OR hadde fått token nede hos FEC og hatt gode ruter.

Fra 1832 I

A5: Alle aksjer selges ut. Pri til meg.

O5: FEC tjener mest, Atlantic minst.

Fra 1832 I

1870@Café Chaos, Bergen, 21.02.2009

2009-02-23T21:53:00.013+01:00

It's been a long time now since we got together for some traingaming, but this saturday we got four people together at our regular gaming spot, Café Chaos. The planned fifth member could not make it due to an emergency in his apartment involving water and roofing. I told Tor, the organiser, to get 6 people the next time in order to have headroom for contingencies. Well, not that it is too important, 1870 makes a mighty fine four-player game, as we experienced this day.

The players, in priority order:
(1) Tor. Owns all the games and organise. Has a tendency of pulling the 1-chit.
(2) Are-Harald. Yours Truly.
(3) Tor Ivar The Faceless as can (not) be seen on the pictures that will eventually come online.
(4) Jonar. Rookie with only 4 18xx-games on his track prior to this one.

Pictures: Slideshow gallery or just start here and then browse forward.

Privates:
All bids +5/minimum.
Tor(1) Frisco
Me(2) bridge
Tor-Ivar(3) Frisco
Jonar(4) gulf
Tor(1) cattle
Me(2) - My evil plan from the start was to get the bridge and sit on it, wreaking the mississippi-dependant companies. I could now get the bridge for 45 if I bought the 20 private. Staring myself blind and being low on rutine I do just that.
bridge sells to ME!!
cattle sells to Tor(1)
gulf sells to Jonar(4
Frisco bidding war - Tor-Ivar(3) gets it for 200, then proceeds to buy the Katy private for 160. Oh noes! My fault, I didn't take responsibility, I should have foreseen this and bid on the Katy private. Katy private for 160 should not be allowed to happen in a 4-player game, and definetly not to a player in control of Frisco.

Stock Round 1:
Jonar(4) has PD and starts GMO @ 72.
Tor(1) starts Katy @ 90. Starting Katy gives Tor-Ivar(3) with the Frisco and Katy private even more value. Wise, Tor?
Me(2) - I realise I can outbuy Frisco from Tor-Ivar(3), correcting some of my bad play in the private company round, and start doing so.
Tor-Ivar(3) - goes to 30% in Frisco

Operating Round 1
With control of Frisco, and sitting on Tor-Ivar's(3) right hand, I decide to sabotage the company and dump it back on him. I build crappy tiles and buy 4x2-trains.
Katy gets 1x2-train.
GMO gets 2x2-trains, 1x3-train and cash out the gulf private.

Stock Round 2:
I dump the messed-up Frisco on Tor-Ivar(3)! More than mildly annoyed, he sell himself down to 20%. Jonar(4), full with cash from selling the gulf private to GMO, then buys himself up to get control of Frisco! Everyone is baffled, this was a lot of action within a short time frame. Should I have managed Frisco properly instead of sabotaging it and dumping it? Should Tor-Ivar(3) have given up control? Should Jonar(4) have bought it up? Frisco is abit messed up but he got a company with >$500 for less than $200.
Tor-Ivar(3) gets 4xKaty stocks.
I start Santa Fe @ 72.

Operating Round 2:
Standard early-game builds and purchases. Santa Fe gets 2x3-trains. Katy runs with 1x2 and 1x3-trains. Frisco remains messed up, I guess for myself that Jonar(4) does not have the outine to get synergies from two companies but do not give advice since he seems to be incredibly well-off :-P Jonar(4) controls 7 trains - 4x2 in messed-up Frisco and 2x2 and 1x3 in GMO.

In a four-player game, the gulf private is very strong, since you can get it and still start GMO alone. With the port GMO can make a strong cash machine early in the game - as we saw here.

Stock Round 3:
Tor-Ivar(3) dumps 4xKaty @ 110 and gets Illinois Central @ 82. Illinois starts close to the GMO hub. An unusual early startup in our games.
Tor(1) lets Katy redeem one stock and goes to 60% for himself. I have one Katy stock and the last one is in the open market.

Operating Round 3:
Illinois cash out the Katy private, gets 1x3-train which leaves 1x3-train on the table. No more train purchases. Mississippi is blocked and I do the evil chuckle hugging the bridge private, while my Santa Fe and Tor's(1) Katy rush for our deep south destination.

Stock Round 4:
Jonar(4) starts Burlington @ 72 for the money he got from the GMO cash machine.
Tor(1) redeems the Katy stock in the open market, and now controls 90% of Katy.
All stocks except three Frisco and two Burlington stocks in the initial offering are soaked up.

Operating Round 4:
1x4-train on the table at the end of the first operating round. Mississippi stays closed, GMO and Illinois heads north along its east bank. Katy and Santa Fe get connection runs. Katy earns more with its 1x3 and 1x4-trains than Santa Fe with its 2x3-trains. And cattle, Katy has cattle.

Stock Round 5:
Tor(1) starts Mopac @ 82.
Next is me. I can choose between Cotton, Texas and Southern. Cotton can be blocked with destructive play from Tor-Ivar(3) and Jonar(4), and fearing their vengeance I pick Southern and start it @ 82, planning to yellow it.
Tor-Ivar(3) starts Cotton @ 100.

Operating Round 5
Santa Fe, moving second to only Katy, buys the bridge private, cross mississippi and tokenise the Illinois starting city, blocking GMO up to its corner. I feel evil and am happy with myself. Tor-Ivar(3) could have avoided this with more routine - but thinking he is ahead of me, I take advantage.

I feel like Tor's(1) evil henchman, and I see I lag behind him. Our companies are colocated and cooperate, but he earns more, has more stocks, and better trains. I do all the mischief like sabotaging Frisco, blocking the mississippi and placing a destructive (for the two other players) token.

4-trains are sold out, Santa Fe and Illinois (IIRC) get 5-trains.

Stock Round 6:
Tor-Ivar(3) has PD and does not start!
Jonar(4) starts! Jonar(4) now has 4 companies - GMO, Burlington, a yellow Frisco and now also Texas. Jonar(4) have 2x3-trains and 2x4-trains between his three old companies.
All companies are now started, and the other players have two each:
Tor(1) with Katy and Mopac
Me with Santa Fe and Southern
Tor-Ivar(3) with Illinois and Cotton
Burlington is dumped down to 64 and is headed for yellowness. Jonar(4) ends up only owning 20% of it but noone dares buy it up since it has crap trains.

If I had started Southern @ 76 instead of 82 it would have been yellow by now, and I could have bought more stocks, but I'm so low on cash in wouldn't have mattered much. Tor(1) let Mopac, started at the same time as Southern, pay dividends. I feel very certain I will lose to him, and probably to the others too.

Operating Round 6:
2x5 on the table.
Jonar(4) let Texas buy 2x5-trains! This was probably not a good idea - 5-trains doesn't last forever ...
Mopac half-dividends and gets the first 6-train.
Southern lost its single 3-train and buys the second 6-train.
I am just a little short on cash and sit.
Illinois gets connection run.
At the start of the second round, Katy 0-dividends and gets the last 6-train. Tor(1) thus gets 2x6-trains. A dream come through?
Tor-Ivar(3) empties Cotton for trains and let it buy the first 8-train.
Jonar(4) is starting to feel the pressure of advancement in train technology. (I *think* he got one 8-train.)
Round 3 sees Tor(1) get a 10-train. 2x6(in Katy) and 1x10(in Mopac in such short time? Well done, Tor!
Tor-Ivar(3) gets the last 10-train.
I stay put with my 6 and 5 trains and realise I probably have waited too long.

Stock Round 7:
12-trains on the table. Train park is now:
Tor(1) has 2x6 and 1x10 for Katy and Mopac.
I have 1x5 and 1x6 for Santa Fe and Southern. I waited too long slash didn't make enough money at a crucial game stage.
Tor-Ivar(3) have 1x5, 1x8 and 1x10-train according to my notes.
Jonar(4) with his four companies have two permanent trains (8-trains), and will need to buy 2x12-trains if someone bursts the 5-train bubble.

I feel I am lagging behind and decide to play high-risk. I increase my ownership in GMO from 20 to 30 percent. GMO only holds 1x5-train, and a pile of cash which amount is unknown to me. GMO has a pretty high stock value, and my gamble is that Jonar(4) either will not dump it on me, or that he will not push for diesel if he does. Both conditions fail :-P

Jonar(4) dumps GMO on me, I buy all the GMO stock I can afford and feel convinced I will lose.

Operating Round 8:
With Southern having piled up some cash becoming yellow, I end up having to sell only 1 stock in GMO to finance both 12-trains.
Jonar(4) buys his 12 train with company money only.

Stock Round 8:
With three yellow companies, all remaining stocks (4xgmo and one Southern) are sold.

Operating Round 8:
The tile network being very mature and we being short of time, we stop laying tracks and count earnings one time and multiply them by 3.

End game count:
WINNER: Tor: Cash: 5671 Stock: 5896 Total: 11567
Tor-Ivar: Cash: 4668 Stock: 5588 Total: 10256
Me: Cash: 3998 Stock: 5675 Total: 9673
Jonar: Cash: 5130 Stock: 2896 Total: 8026

In retrospect:
Jonar seemed to be doing very well for a long time. He had the GMO money machine, and controlled four companies. I believe his major mistake was buying two 5-trains. If he had waited and got a 6 instead, he could most likely have gotten the last permanent train without having to sell or dump stock. By dumping GMO, a high-value company on me, he lost vital stock value which sent him to the bottom of the end result rank.
Tor played very standard and conservatively. He did no mistakes and the margins went his way. He had common interests with me, and I played destructively messing up the others.
I would probably have done better if I had stuck to Frisco and run it properly. I had my eye on a different plan. Being non-adaptive doesn't work that well in 1870. BUT - sabotaging Frisco and dumping it, as well as hugging the bridge, and the destructive token lay - it was so much fun! Definetly worth trying, even if it didn't win the game - this time.

At the pub over the beer and whiskey much later in the evening I was the big hero having brought almost unprecedentet action into the game by doing my wild moves :-D Tor talked compassionately about his beautiful Katy company - he said it was so good it was worth jerking off to - controlling 90%, 2x6-trains, top earner, $400 value at endgame.

It was a very enjoyable and exciting game for everyone and we all agreed we need to play again pretty soon!

1870 in Bergen 12.1.8

2008-01-17T21:07:00.001+01:00

Part 1:

Part 2:

1832 - first try

2007-08-12T18:41:00.001+02:00

Players in priority order:

(1) Tor. He owns the games and do the organization. He tend to be at the spearhead of the train development, owning several companies.

(2) Jannicke. She usually plays conservatively, starting one company early, sticking to it and otherwise hoard stocks.

(3) Tor Ivar. In my eyes he is very strong strategically, and weaker tactically cost-benefit-wise. He is the player in the group that most easily plays destructively.

(4) Are-Harald (me). Very strong on making plans ex ante (that usually don't work :-P), and analyzing what went wrong ex post. Very weak, have I recently realized, on making wise strategic assessments and being adaptive at the table.

1832 takes place in the south eastern corner of USA. Rules are similar to 1870 except: There are no destinations.

New for us with 1832: Companies may merge, from after the first four train is sold to just after the first six train is sold.

There are two types of mergers: Creating system companies and takeovers. Presidents need to agree to merge. All assets of the merging companies are kept, and the merged company can access both merging companies' tokens and tracks. The standard certificates in system companies give 5% ownership. System companies have 2x the normal train limit. The stock vaue of a system company is the average of the stock value of the merging companies.

A takeover works different: The overtaking company (with contribution from its president if necessary) buys all stocks of the company being overtaken, which is effectively closed down (its certificates are removed from the game), but its on-map tokens remain and are usable by the merged company. Minority shareholders cannot block a takeover, if the president agrees, the takeover is carried through.

The privates in 1832 are: (Value - benefit):
20 - nothing particular.
40 - cottonfield marker with +10 revenue.
50 - port marker with +20/+10 revenue.
70 - can be traded for 10% in any company.
80 - West Virginia Coalfield. As in 1850/1856.
200 - You get the president in CG. (Similar to B&O in 1830).

Privates were auctioned and bought as follows:
(1) bids 75 for London private.
(2) bids 45 for the cotton private.
(3) bids 205 for the CG private.
(4) bids 85 for the coalfield private.
(1) bids 55 for the port private.
(2) bids 60 for the port private
(3) buys the $20 private.

(1) gets the port private for 65.

Which gives (4), me, the first opportunity to buy company shares. I was under the illusion that the coalfield station was worth $80 (its $40, iirc), and start SR@68. I was planning to earn 200 on two 2-trains. Instead I ended up with the lowest earning company in the first few ORs. Bleh!

(3), Tor Ivar, misunderstood how the $200 private work. He didn't realise it closed down early. Thus he regretted bidding for it.

SR 1: (4) starts SR@68. (3) starts CG@72. (1) starts Atlantic@76. (2) starts Seaboard@76. (3) ends up with PD.

The startups are clustered on the mid-eastern coast. If I hadn't misundestood the value of the coalfield, Florida would probably have been started instead of SR.

OR 1: Atlantic, Seaboard and CG buys 2 two-trains each. My company is last @68. I buy 1 two-train, 1 three-train and cash out the coal private for $160.

SR 2: No startups. I get to buy stocks for the money I got from selling the coal private, and feel good :-)

OR 2.1: Atlantic, Seaboard and CG buys 1 three-train each. They all have 2xtwo-train, and 1xthree-train now.

OR 2.2: SR buys a 2nd three-train.

SR 3: No startups. All stocks are sold out, except SR. which is the low-earner. People have excess cash. At this time I could have started a new company @90, and blown away the two-trains before any of the others could have run. Major, major mistake. Now people et to run their two-trains for two more ORs - all the time, I'm the low-earner.

OR 3.1: Atlantic 27, Seaboard 22, CG 24. SR: Lowest.

OR 3.2: Atlantic 27, seaboard 22, CG 25. Two-trains ftw. I cry because I didn't do a startup and obsoleted them.

SR 4: People are made of cash. Startups: (4) starts LN@90 (me, holding PD). Tracks are ready for LN, but long-term strategically perhaps another company would have been better, for example GR or Westpoint. LN would have been a good startup last SR, it's routes are better suited for two low trains. (1) starts GR@100, (3) starts Westpoint@100.

OR 4.1: There's one three-train on the table. GR(1) buys it, and a four-train. Westpoint(3) buys 2 four-trains. SR(4) buys a five-train.

OR 4.2: Seaboard(2) buys a five-train, GR(1) buys the last five-train, and Westpoint(3) buys the first 6-train.

Woha, this was fast! Two ORs ago people had two-trains, and now asix-train has made three-trains obsolete. I'm guessing that two-trains being alive for 5 ORs explains this leap in the train development.

Anyway: We enter the merge phase. Two system companies are created: (1) merges the newly started GR with his old Atlantic company. (3) merges the newly started Westpoint with his old CG. (2) only has one company, Seaboard. I, (4), hold LN and SG, but keep them separate. Their routes overlap and I guess I can earn more money running the routes two times in two distinct companies, than I can with one company. If I had started a different company, the conclusion might have been different.

(1) and (3) have both good routes in their startup companies on the east coast. Through the merging and creation of the system companies, they get fresh capital and extend their network towards the midmap cities.

SR 5: I have a feeling I need to do something and start Florida@100.

About the stockprices: The two system companies are both at 120. Seaboard has been dumped to the floor and sit around 100. SR is heading for yellow. Being the only one with a yellow company keeps my spirit up :-)

OR 5.1: CG&Westpoint 55 on 2 four-trains and 1 six-train, Atlantic&GC 34 with 1 four-train and 1 five-train. Not exactly mind-boggingly high earning per train, which makes me think the main benefit of creating a system company is to get one more share under the certificate limit, and get one less company you need to supply with a train later on. I control SR, LN and Florida and buy the remaining 2 six-trains.

OR 5.2: CG&Westpoint 55, Atlantic&GC 34. Seaboard 22, LN 21, Florida 16, SR 42. SR has two trains, withholds to get to yellow and has enough cash to buy a 8-train.

At this stage I considered emptying SR to get an eight-train, in order to obsolete the four trains. (3) had two four trains in CG&Westpoint and earned alot of money. But I estimated I would have made me enter the stock round with so little cash it would not have been worthwile.

SR 6: (2) has PD, but doesn't start. (3) starts GMO@100. The only company left to start now is Nordfolk, whose routes are bound to be utterly crap since the cities in north east are heavily tokenized. (1) buys 40% in GMO, which makes (3) dump it on him and start Nordfolk.
Everyone had one five-train, except (3), which gave him incentive to hunt for 12-trains. Though I believe giving (1) GMO and getting Nordfolk instead was a mistake - the fresh money helped (1), and GMO could get decent routes whereas Nordfolk couldn't.

After the sixth stock round, the stock prices are now: Both system companies, CG&Westpoint and Atlantic&GC, are at 225. Seaboard, LN and Florida are at 110, Nordfolk at 100, GMO at 68 and SR at 64.

OR 6.1: Nordfolk, GMO and SR buys the eight-trains.

At this time, we realize that we have to finish the game after this set of operation rounds, in order to have time to wrap things up in time for when the cafè we play at closes.
The ten-trains are sold. If we had had time to finish, (3) would have pushed through for a 12-train.

When we had to stop, after OR 6.3:
(1): Stocks 5064, cash 1328, total 6392.
(3): Stocks 4320, cash 1814, total 6134.
(4): Stocks 3272, cash 1770, total 5042.
(2): Stocks 2520, cash 2239, total 4759.

(1) controlled Atlantic&GC and GMO. He owned 30% of (formerly yellow) SR, and quite abit of CG&Westpoint. He felt he would have been strengthened further if we had played the game to the end.

(3) controlled CG&Westpoint and Nordfolk, and didn't own much besides that. Nordfolk was teh sux. I believe he made a mistake (one of very few) when he dumped GMO on (1) in SR 6. In my opinion, this type of mistake is typical Tor-Ivar, he fails to assess the cost-benefit picture correctly.

(4) (this is me) controlled SR, LN and Florida. I was set trainwise with 2 six-trains and 1 eight-train, as well as 1 five-train which would have obsoleted if we had finished. I had 40% of Seaboard which only had 1 five-train - that could have been dangerous towards the end, but only if (2) had been an aggressive player, which she is not. My big mistakes: 1. The coalfield is *not* worth 80, that's the price you pay to access it :-P 2. When I had 1 two-train, all the others had two, and I was the only one with capital to do a startup and provoke 4-trains - obviously I should have done it!

(2) controlled Seaboard, and had stocks in the high-value system companies as well as some in LN. Seaboard didn't get a very high stock value, partly because it got dumped on several occations, and partly because she chose to withhold earnings several times through the game, to finance new trains. I strongly believe the increased stock value you get from paying dividends is so critical to endgame value, that withholding to finance trains is only rarely worth it.

On merging companies: As far as I see this have limited usefulness. Takeovers are only feasible to do with a low-value company, but I believe having a yellow company in many or most cases will be preferrable. With system companies you get one more share inside your certificate limit and one less company you need to buy a train to later on - but earningwise I believe having two separate companies often will be best. By merging, each share pays only 5% of the earnings compared to 10% normally, and the good routes can be run twice if you keep the companies separate. The two system companies in this game got around 350 with one four-train and one five-train, and around 570 with two four-trains and a six train. I believe the total earning would have been atleast that high with separate companies, probably higher.

A system company president certificate equals four shares. My guess is that usually only companies controlled by the same player will be merged.

Next time I'll bring my digital camera :-P