18MT: Big Sky Barons

Table of Contents

General Information
Background
Implementation Notes
Rules Highlights
Gameplay Notes
Random Seeds
Prototype Changelog

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General Information

• Designed by R. Ryan Driskel
• Map
• Tiles
• Market

Background

18MT: Big Sky Barons is intended to take the underlying design ideas from 18CO and incorporate them in a shorter, more streamlined game. The extra restrictive track laying rule has been eliminated in favor of using only plain tiles with no branching track. The par zones have been eliminated in favor of using private company hex restrictions to prevent the larger corporations from starting early, with all corporations floating at 50%. Takeovers will not be able to immediately rerun trains that have already run.

Implementation Notes

The game has gone through several rounds of play-testing. No changes to the general gameplay are expected. The focus now is on reviewing specifics such as the par values, train costs, hex costs, etc. Undiscovered game-breaking strategies may still be possible, particularly utilizing the brown zone of the stock market.

There has been very little play-testing at the 5 player count.

The MWR private ability is currently a 5 way brown upgrade. For a long time, it was a green upgrade. Games are being reviewed to determine if it should be reverted to a green tile, or possibly allowing either tile.

Rules Highlights

Private Auction

• Standard waterfall ( subject to change )

Stock Rounds

• Incremental capitalization, 50% to float
• Sell then buy, always at the current market value
• Selling one share does not impact share price unless the seller is the president
• Shares in the yellow and brown zones of the stock market do not count toward certificate limit
• Multiple market shares in the brown zone may be purchased in the same turn, and can be bought in excess of 60%
• A player cannot sell shares such that a Corporation would become President
• A player cannot sell shares until the company has completed an operating round
• A president may buy corporate shares from their corporations (all players in phase 6 and 7)
• Priority is in pass order

Operating Rounds (Always Two)

• Home token is placed on the corporations first operating round
• If a corporation owns the presidency of a different corporation, a takeover is immediately executed
• In phase 3+, any time during their OR turn, a corporation may buy private companies from players for 50% to 150% of value
• In order, a corporation:
• • may redeem its own shares
• • except during the corporation's first operating turn, may purchase shares of one other corporation from the market or the active corporation's president
• • • Cannot purchase any portion of the President's certificate
• • • Players maintain Presidency in a share tie
• • • In a tie between corporations, the corporation with the highest stock position wins the tie
• • • A corporation owning the Presidency results in a Takeover
• • may lay/upgrade track (2 yellow tiles in phase 2-4, 1 tile phases 5+)
• • • Brown city tiles with fewer exits are reserved for board edge cities. This is enforced by the implementation.
• • may place a token on an open station
• • runs trains
• • • towns are free stops, except towns on route ends are counted against city limit
• • • a route cannot both start and end in an offboard with the same label (E/W)
• • • a route containing both an East (E) and West (W) stop gains an additional $100 in revenue
• • • if a dividend of 2x the current share price is paid, the stock market token is moved up in addition to right
• • may buy a train, or must if it has no train
• • • E trains are "Express," can travel through an unlimited number of revenue locations, and count every stop, including towns
• • • emergency issue before emergency president contribution
• • • if emergency issue and/or contribute, must buy from depot
• • may sell corporate shares to the market, up to a limit of 50%
• • may issue its own shares to the market, up to a limit of 50%, with the stock market token moving down after each share is issued

Takeovers

• Corporate Shares of the child corporation are returned for cash to the market without affecting market value
• The treasury is then paid as a dividend to the shareholders
• All tokens may be replaced, providing the active corporation has tokens available, while remaining tokens are removed from the board
• The child corporation and its shares are removed from the game
• The parent corporation gains +1 to its train limit

End of Game

• Bankruptcy ends the game immediately
• End of OR where a corporation hits the blue zone of the stock market
• End of OR set after bank break

Gameplay Notes

• This game has a lot of ways for the player to hurt themselves, however it is not as chaotic as 18CO due to the rules around new corporations.
• Pay particular attention to track and token placement. Note the lack of branching green plain track. Tragic track is real.
• The blocked corporations are generally intended as vessels for takeovers and are not expected to have the same early track potential as the other corporations. It is still possible to run one of these corporations without a takeover but should not be the general case. They are highly vulnerable to token and track placement.
• It is not unusual for a corporation to not launch by the end of the game.
• Idaho Falls, ID / The UP home station can be run through; it is not an endpoint.
• It takes a minimum of five shares for a takeover to occur. Two in the hands of the player President and three in the corporation. Seven controlled shares guarantees the takeover cannot be blocked by a different corporation.

Random Seeds

• Seed: 1 - White Sulpur Springs & Yellowstone Park comes with a 10% share of MC
• Seed: 2 - White Sulpur Springs & Yellowstone Park comes with a 10% share of MR
• Seed: 6 - White Sulpur Springs & Yellowstone Park comes with a 10% share of BAP
• Seed: 7 - White Sulpur Springs & Yellowstone Park comes with a 10% share of MWS

Prototype Changelog

2021.03.01

• Impl. Fix: Auction priority was pass order, is now left of last to act
• Impl. Fix: A train bought over and then taken over would not run, but should have.
• Impl. Fix: The Yellowstone private was usable during any step after running trains. It is now only usable during train buy.
• Impl. Update: Brown zone clarified

2021.01.29

• Rules note: Single shares sold during one turn still count as one transaction, decreasing share value
• MWR private ability changed to allow 5 way brown upgrade

2021.01.21

• Stock market values recalibrated for lower maximum par value
• Various base map cost changes
• BAP's second token is now free
• MWR private ability changed to allow 6 way green upgrade

2021.01.11

• Initial version