One of my earliest goals when working on 1867 Big Wyoming was to create an endgame that differed from your standard 18xx “script.” Most 18xx games end with a prolonged and workmanlike series of operating rounds in which meaningful decision points become increasingly rare and the dynamic character of earlier game phases gradually disappears. While this sort of endgame appropriately rewards players for the foundations they’ve laid over the course of the game, I’ve never found them very fun or very engaging. I have yet to meet anyone who claims the end of an 18xx game is their favorite part.

1867 Big Wyoming’s endgame, which is driven by a series of acquisitions by the non-player Union Pacific and Burlington Northern systems, is my favorite part of the game. The seed of this acquisition system can be found in 1860: Railways on the Isle of Wight, designed by Mike Hutton. 1860’s acquisition system, while a breath of fresh air, lacked player agency and often tended only to make the rich richer. 1867 Big Wyoming’s acquisition system is, by contrast, full of meaningful decision points that have a significant impact on the game’s outcome.

Here’s how it works. As soon as the first 6-train is bought, one railroad corporation is acquired at the end of each operating round. Acquisition is offered to corporations in order of stock value. A corporation that declines acquisition moves down one space on the stock market (decreasing its value). A corporation that accepts acquisition pays a “bonus” dividend equal to the value of its last dividend plus $30 for each corporation that refused acquisition before it. Additionally, in future operating rounds, the acquired corporation’s stock value moves right one space on the stock market (increasing its value), guaranteeing consistent stock growth. If the last corporation in stock value order is offered acquisition, it must accept. This process repeats every operating round until all corporations have been acquired, at which point the game immediately ends.

There are many things for players to consider when deciding whether their corporation will accept acquisition on a given operating round. Will my revenue go up in a future round, increasing its bonus dividend? Will my stock value rise at a fast enough rate to offset the penalty for declining acquisition? Do I have a company later in stock value order that is floundering and needs to be bailed out? Does my opponent–and do I want to deny them that opportunity? Do I want to protect a corporation that is facing forced acquisition and hasn’t yet had a chance to run its shiny new diesel train? Are there shares an opponent is hoping to liquidate during the next stock round, and can I stop them from doing so by allowing that corporation to be acquired? What effect will a corporation’s acquisition have on the resource and refinery economy?

These are just some of the things to consider when one of your corporations is offered acquisition. But the wealth of considerations is not the acquisition system’s only virtue. Coupled with the UP and BN’s consistent acquisition of trains, it guarantees a timely end to the game, without prolonged lulls. In fact, it actually accelerates the rate of play toward the end, as one fewer corporation operates every round. It eliminates the need for a bank of a fixed size, which reduces setup time and eliminates the late-game need to eyeball the stacks of cash in the bank, trying to suss out just how many operating rounds are left. It opens up the possibility for last-minute train-buying shenanigans and for the late start of high-value corporations that can manipulate the corporation acquisition process. And, perhaps most importantly, it simulates the historical reality of the UP and BN’s aggressive acquisition of nearly all Wyoming’s railroads and the transition from passenger and resource transport to interstate freight shipping.

The acquisition system is not just a convenient way to wrap up the game–it is a crucial decision point and one that the whole game builds to. Games can be won or lost on timing your acquisitions right and using the tools acquisition provides effectively. As the start of acquisition nears, the excitement grows and players lean in to figure out how the whole thing will play out and how to engineer the proceedings in their favor. It’s an endgame I always look forward to and I hope you will too.

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Previous Articles:

1867 Big Wyoming: Capturing Wyoming Rail History

1867 Big Wyoming: Deposits, Resources, & Refineries