Britain Under Steam

I’m creating this blog to record my thoughts and ideas for a new game in the 18xx family. My aim is to produce a game in the mould of 1829, 1830 et al that will be popular with euro-gamers, simplifying some of the core systems while keeping the range of strategies and decisions.

For general background on 18xx games, see http://www.diogenes.sacramento.ca.us/18xx_net/

Britain Under Steam will cover most of Britain on a single map and should be playable in 2-3 hours. Why Britain? Just because it’s where I live and the geography I know best. This is not a new setting for 18xx – quite the opposite, as the very first 18xx (1829) was set in the UK. One of my favourite games is 1825, which is sort of an update of 1829, but it only offers the choice of a 3-4 hour game in one part of the UK or longer and larger games covering larger areas.

Britain Under Steam will allow a variety of opening strategies, rather than having companies start in a fixed order. This is unlike 1829 and 1825, but like many other 18xx games that have a wider choice of starting companies. However, I hope to retain the flexibility that encourages players to invest in a range of companies, in contrast to some other 18xx designs.

Most 18xx games take longer than 2-3 hours (except for very experienced and fast players). I have some ideas which I hope will speed up the game system. This blog will examine some of these suggestions.