18WE: Western Europe

18WE: Western Europe is an 18xx game based on Mike Hutton’s popular 1862: Railway Mania in the Eastern Counties system, with a larger board, more offboard areas, and a strong operational spin. It features a random setup of twenty one companies that have four different kinds of licenses, and appear in different orders through the game. Additionally, it has both major company and minor company scenarios, as well as differing starting cash values that create major differences in play styles.

Major and minor companies get pooled board actions to determine tile and station placements and upgrades. All track tiles are unlimited. Major companies may place up to twelve stations which can also be acquired from bankrupt companies via auction.

In the historical game, French major companies receive extra track actions, Germanic major companies (based in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium) receive industry markers that increase the value of one Germanic city, and Southeastern major companies (based in Italy, Austria Hungary, and Switzerland) receive extra warranties that allow their trains extra staying power. These simple differences in setup present the players with major strategic decisions in what railroads to found, as well as how their companies will best be developed and operated.

Mergers, refinancing, bankruptcy, chartered and non-chartered corporations all function in exactly the same ways as 18EA/62. Finally, 18WE will support solo play.