7 Comments

The whole 18xx genre of games revolves around playing as an investor and opening, closing, exchanging companies when seen fit.

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Thank you for pointing this out! 18xx games are a blind spot for me, because I've never played one! Would love to try one this year.

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You should definitely try one because they are fabulous and really different.

Also one of the most common misconceptions of first time players is associating themselves with their companies, while companies are only tools and can easily change owners.

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That sounds awesome!

I've done some reading but can't seem to get a good answer on where to start. Do you have a recommendation for an experienced board gamer but first time 18xx player? Preferably something that I can get in retail (vs. second hand or KS).

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Very cool! I don't think I've played a game that uses this mechanic but it sounds fascinating.

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One of my favorite games that uses independent factions is Imperial 2030. Instead of playing as a specific country, you instead play as an investor trying to nefariously control countries from the shadows and get the most return on your investment, regardless of the result for any specific country.

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That's a perfect example, and one I should have included! In some ways, that one is even harder to internalize. I found it extremely hard to separate my strategy from "owning" one of the countries after I was heavily invested in it. Definitely a good game!

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