18Ireland Review: How I Learned to Love the Merger

That’s a nice company you got there. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.

I look down and see my newly purchased 6H train. “I’m glad I positioned this company wisely so that no one can steal this expensive train.” Well, that’s what I wish I could have said at least. Alternating between nervous, panicked glances at the track developments, and desperate glances at my own companies I realized I was screwed. Being the capitalist I am, I was so concerned with absorbing my neighbor's company that I didn’t see how weak my position was.

Damn the shareholders. Sure, my company wasn’t valued highly yet, and they knew the merger would put them in a better position. But it was just a newborn, it was Bezos selling books in his garage. Why wouldn’t they listen? At the very least, I can sell my grip of shares, and tank the company a bit. Get some capital for a new venture. Life goes on. The trains will still run.

18Ireland is an economic strategy game for 3-6 players set in, well, you can probably guess. In this game, each player plays investors in the nascent Irish railroad industry in 1834. I know what you’re thinking, “Hot damn, 19th century train investors in Ireland, I’m going to purchase this right now.” I could probably get away with ending the review right here but I’ll continue.  Unlike the meteoric rise of Amazon, companies will rise and fall in 18Ireland. Ephemerally flitting in and out of existence like the ember in the cigar you undoubtedly smoke while playing this game.

Like all 18xx games, 18Ireland is ultimately derivative of Francis Tresham’s 1829. In this section, I’m going to assume some familiarity with the 18xx system and get into what differentiates this game from its kin. We will start with the trains. All are hex trains, except for the diesel. Trains don’t immediately leave the game during phase changes. First they rust, and are flipped to their backside and put in the bank. These can now be purchased back for half price and half of their former utility (e.g. 2H become 1H).

You might say, “That sounds like the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals.” And you might be right. But like cheap beer to a poor college student, you’ll buy it and you’ll like it.  This leads into the last thing you can do with trains, starting in the penultimate phase, you’ll be able to trade in trains to get a discount on the more expensive trains. What a deal! If you haven’t picked up on it, you will likely be poor in this game. Don’t worry, it builds character.

Look at all the places you can't afford to go to. 

It's just like real life.

Speaking of building, let’s dive into the track differences. 18Ireland introduces two types of track, narrow gauge and your standard, everyday broad gauge. While the broad gauge functions like you’d expect, the narrow gauge acts as a way to boost the value of cities that it is connected to. Oh, and the narrow gauge is free from the chains of terrain cost. Who doesn’t like a free placement? It exists to help bolster the value of your low hex runs. I was going to say unlike Amazon, this bonus can go away. This is the last Amazon reference, I’m sorry.

Let's get into company talk that matters. You will find two types of companies in this game. The first being the 5 share, one station companies, the second is your garden variety 10 share company. All of these 5 share companies have a unique starting station, so I hope you don’t like choosing your own token placement. “Oh well, I’ll just choose the one that starts in the spot I that I like.” No you won’t.

At the beginning of the game, all of these company charters are shuffled up, one is removed, and the rest are splayed out much like your brain will feel after playing this game. When starting a new company, your only choice is to bring the company on top of the pile up for auction. Tough times for investors back then. Maybe everything in Ireland was auctioned back then, hell I don’t know.

While you can choose to start a 10 share company in later rounds, you can also pay the iron price for one. Mergers. This mechanic introduces a great deal of tension. Everyone is jockeying to be in a good position, either because they want to lose their company, or because they want to steal yours. Any two or three 5 share companies that are connected by broad gauge track are liable to be brought up to a merger vote by any shareholder. I love this, each shareholder gets one vote per share, designating all votes as yes or no. You also need to be cognizant of the shares in the bank pool, as they will vote according to their self interest.

18Ireland hinges on these mergers, it provides a perfect arc to pivot on towards the finale. I overwhelmingly recommend this game, and not solely for the fact that you can speak in an Irish accent the entire game. However it can be brutal. The rulebook literally states “Bankruptcy stalks you like death.” Just know what you’re in for.

Picture Credit (http://www.all-aboardgames.com/home/ian-scrivins-s-18ireland)