India’s railroad history began in 1837 when The Red Hill Railway used the country’s first steam-powered locomotive to carry stone for road work to Madras, modern day Chennai. In 1845, India’s first railway was incorporated, the Madras Railway. Sixteen years later, on a warm April day in 1853, a 14-carriage train carrying 400 passengers was hauled 21 miles by three steam locomotives – the Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan – and passenger railway service was thus initiated in India. From there, as they say, the rest is history, and India today has the world’s fourth largest railway network.

18 India is an operational railroad game for 2 to 5 people that plays in about 3 hours. The game is inspired by 1829 Mainline by Francis Tresham, and while the venerable Mr. Tresham created some novel mechanics for that game, many of them are not ideal for players that eschew in-game randomness. In 18 India, those random elements are transformed into an amazing level of pre-game variability, which gives each session of the game a different character. Critically, 18 India causes players to think differently about 18XX standards such as train management and investments.

The mechanics in 18 India include: track gauge changes, “Guarantee Companies”, competition for commodity contracts, shares with exclusive rights to purchase, train trade-ins, a unique IPO display, and all track upgrades being available from the beginning of the game. By the way, trains do not rust, but there is certainly still a “train rush”!

18 India offers excellent game play variability. Each session features a different mix of companies that are in play leading to variations in route development, company creation, and investment strategies.