1830: Railways & Robber Barons
1986Bruce Shelley, Francis Tresham
- Videos
- 51
- Creators
- 27
Mostly playthroughs and reviews. 1830: Railways & Robber Barons is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 13 reviews, 9 how-to-play guides, 21 recorded sessions, 3 unboxings, and 5 other videos.
2 - 7 players
180 - 360 min
Very heavy weight: Rules-dense, long sessions
From BoardGameGeek
1830 is one of the most famous 18xx games. One of the things some gamers like about this game is that the game has no 'chance' element. That is to say, if players wished to play two games with the same moves, the outcome would be the same also. This game takes the basic mechanics from Tresham's 1829, and adds several new elements. Players are seeking to make the most money by buying and selling stock in various share companies located on eastern United States map. The stock manipulation aspect of the game is widely-regarded as one of the best. The board itself is actually a fairly abstract hexagonal system, with track tiles placed on top of the hexes. Plus each 18xx title adds new and different elements to the game. This game features private rail companies and an extremely vicious, 'robber baron' oriented stock market. A game is finished when the bank runs out of money or one player is forced to declare bankruptcy, and the player with the greatest personal holdings wins. The 2011 version of 1830 was published by Mayfair Games in partnership with Lookout Games of Germany. This publication was developed under license from Francis Tresham in co-operation with Bruce Shelley (the original 1830 developer). This version contains rules and components for Francis Tresham's original classic design, a faster-playing basic game, and new variants from some of the world's best railroad game developers.
Watch first
Which 1830: Railways & Robber Barons video should I watch?
1830: Railways & Robber Barons has 51 videos from 27 creators: 13 reviews, 9 how-to-play guides, 21 playthroughs, 3 unboxings and 5 other videos. They date from 2010 to January 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Board Games with Scott 046 - 18xx" by Scott Nicholson, which runs 42 min. For a quicker teach, "Board Game Blitz: How to Play 1830" by Board Game Blitz runs 17 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "1830 - review" by calandale. 10 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "1830: Railways & Robber Barons - GameNight! Se7 Ep17" by BoardGameGeek, one of 21 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Patton's Best and B-17: Queen of the Skies, also by Bruce Shelley, or Civilization and Mega Civilization, also by Francis Tresham.
All videos
8 of 27
Creators who cover this
calandale
11 videos of this game
callasmar
6 videos of this game
juegosmontt
5 videos of this game
The Run Bad Companies Club
3 videos of this game
Board Game Blitz
2 videos of this game
BoardGameGeek
2 videos of this game
Iru80
2 videos of this game
alostperson37
1 video of this game
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About 1830: Railways & Robber Barons
From BoardGameGeek:
1830 is one of the most famous 18xx games. One of the things some gamers like about this game is that the game has no 'chance' element. That is to say, if players wished to play two games with the same moves, the outcome would be the same also. This game takes the basic mechanics from Tresham's 1829, and adds several new elements. Players are seeking to make the most money by buying and selling stock in various share companies located on eastern United States map. The stock manipulation aspect of the game is widely-regarded as one of the best. The board itself is actually a fairly abstract hexagonal system, with track tiles placed on top of the hexes. Plus each 18xx title adds new and different elements to the game. This game features private rail companies and an extremely vicious, 'robber baron' oriented stock market. A game is finished when the bank runs out of money or one player is forced to declare bankruptcy, and the player with the greatest personal holdings wins. The 2011 version of 1830 was published by Mayfair Games in partnership with Lookout Games of Germany. This publication was developed under license from Francis Tresham in co-operation with Bruce Shelley (the original 1830 developer). This version contains rules and components for Francis Tresham's original classic design, a faster-playing basic game, and new variants from some of the world's best railroad game developers.
Designers
Bruce Shelley, Francis Tresham
Artists
Mike Atkinson, Jared Blando, Charles Kibler, James Talbot, Mark Zug
Publisher
The Avalon Hill Game Co
Categories
Mechanics