Thanks! I’ve been running out of steam on my 18xx series since I finished all the basic concepts I was gonna talk about and moved to specific games, but let me know if there’s another topic I should make a video about!

I actually haven’t played 18Lilliput yet, although I want to try it at some point! I think it came out after I made this video too.

Often the 18XX game that folks are directed to for 2 players in the 18XX genre is 18CZ by Lonny Ogler. It features a dedicated 2 player mode. It is somewhat available in that you can order copies from him directly while supplies last. Print quality is excellent as it was a Kickstarter.

Thank you, I'll look it up! I hope the rulebook covers the whole rules.

The best 2-player experience I've had with an 18xx game was with 1860 (it's a damn fine 3-player game as well - I'd say one of the best). Unfortunately, the aftermarket prices are a little nuts on that title.

I haven't played a 2 player 18xx game in about 2 years, so I don't actually know which ones are good, but in addition to the ones already mentioned, I've heard 1825 and 18OE have scenarios that are good at 2p (but they're both expensive). I think 1846 has a 2 player variant but I can't comment on how it plays. 1889 is playable 2 players as well, but it's definitely better with more because of the shared ownership.

Ah sorry I just saw this! I actually don't have much experience with p&p. Are you talking about how to print out and assemble the tiles? I've only printed out existing files (haven't made any of my own), but I usually print on cardstock, then laminate it, and then cut it. I think a lot of people use roller cutters for it but I'm actually more comfortable cutting with scissors, so I do that (but it doesn't always end up perfectly straight).

I have not played Poseidon but I've heard from other people that they wouldn't recommend it as an intro. I'm not sure exactly why though. Looks like people say the rules are more complicated/confusing and harder to learn.

ambierona I've not played any more standard 18xx games (but recently acquired 1846 and 18cz) so I can't speak to Poseidon as an introduction to 18xx. But as a stand alone game that plays in a manageable period of time I have really enjoyed Poseidon at 2,3 and 4 players.

I've only played 1846 once and didn't particularly enjoy the experience. It felt boring to me. I'd be willing to try it again, since everyone was relatively new to it. But from what I've heard, I think it doesn't have the things that I really enjoy from 18xx (dumping corps, swings in corp & player value), so it's lower on my list. But other people/groups really enjoy it! I know of someone who's played it over 200 times, so it's definitely a solid game.

@@ambierona Thanks Ambie, I just ordered it before your message. I have watched both it and 1889 played and of the two 1889 was the one I preffered. The stockmarket shenanigans looked like fun. That said I like nice components and have no interest in ordering it from the USA and shipping to here. So swings and roundabouts.

Yeah, 1846 is definitely good for availability! I'm hoping as 18xx games get more popular, more will get widely published and then they'll be easier for you to get!

I haven't played it yet and don't have any examples of other people playing it as their first 18xx game (this is partly because it's new / not out yet), so I wouldn't feel comfortable including it on the list. With the other games, I've either used them as intro games or heard from multiple people that they're good intro games.

Based on Tom's video review of the Pennsylvania/UK expansion, I would not say it's a good intro to 18xx. In TtR Penn the shares mechanism is pretty much just set collection. In 18xx games, shares reward players for having them via dividends paid out in Operating Rounds, and players can sell shares if they think they can get better use out of the money. The TtR Penn shares don't have changing stock prices, presidency, dividends, or shared incentives. When two or more players in TtR Penn have shares of a company, they just want to get more shares than the others to get the most endgame points; when two players in an 18xx both have shares in a company, they either want that company to do well so they get more dividends and endgame points out of it, or they'll want to sell their shares or take other actions to help themselves and hurt other shareholders. It is true that at the end of an 18xx, whoever holds the most shares in a company will get the most points for that company (since your final score in an 18xx is cash + stock portfolio value), but there's just so much more to how the shares work throughout the game in an 18xx. Maybe TtR Penn would be a very small first step from TtR to 18xx, but I think I'd only recommend it to players who just want to try more TtR maps rather than players wanting to get into 18xx.

Not at all, actually. The Pennsylvania map is perhaps my favorite TtR map, but there is no economic engine nor shared incentives. Players still take their own turns rather than operating companies. There is no buying of stock, let alone selling. The "stock" mechanism is really just another layer of set collection with majority scoring.

I haven't played Ticket to Ride Pennsylvania but it sounds like other people answered! It sounds like it's similar to some other train games where you can get shares in companies, but I think one neat thing about 18xx games is that you can also sell shares, so there's a big separation between players and companies.

ambierona thank you for your help.