1829 (board game)

Board game

1829, later called 1829 (South), is a board game published by Hartland Trefoil in 1974 that simulates railroad operations and trading of company shares. The game was the first in what became known as the 18xx series of railway games that has engendered over 250 licensed titles.

1829 is a board game for 3–9 players set in 1829, the start of the railway era in the UK. Each player attempts to buys shares in various railway companies and become a company director who manages operations, in order to make money. The player with the most personal money when the bank goes broke is the winner of the game. Although the game originally had a generic map, Tresham decided the game lacked a touch of reality, and placed it onto a map of southern England. He later decided to change the name from Mainline to 1829 to be more historically accurate. 1829 also inspired Sid Meier to create Railroad Tycoon.

In Issue 39 of the UK magazine Games & Puzzles, British game designer Steve Jackson called the game "remarkable in that it combines both the financial and the operational aspects of the railways in a highly original way." He did warn players "Don't start the game in your tea break. It really is a colossus, a complete game lasting anything over 6 hours." He noted that although complex, the complexity was not because of too many rules, but because "there are simply a large number of play options with rules dictating each." He concluded by giving the test panel's rating of 4 out of 6, but commented that "The overall rating reflects a wide divergence of opinions of the members of the panel." In Issue 2 of Games International, Alan Moon, game designer of Ticket to Ride, wrote that if he had to be a castaway on a desert island with only ten board games to entertain him, "The northern board of 1829 would definitely go. As many times as I've played this, I've never seen the same game twice. Better yet, this is one of those games that thrives on being played by the same group over and over." Jan Feringa, writing for Brutus, thought the game was too expensive, and at 8 or more hours per game, far too long. Despite this, Feringa concluded, "1829 is a beautifully executed game that requires the winner to negotiate well, manage his stock portfolio well, and be adept at laying railroad tracks. I think it is very positive that beginners also have a reasonable chance of winning." In the book Eurogames: The Design, Culture and Play of Modern European Board Games, Stewart Woods described the game as a "watershed in game design".