Shikoku 1889

The surprise of the week was the group suggesting that we play proper train games again after a very long time. Well, “proper” in the compact-18xx sense: from the school of 1846, Assiniboia, and Chesapeake, games that try to squeeze the experience into four hours. Even so, Shikoku 1889 never feels like half a game.

At its core, it runs on a clean 1830 ruleset. The game still offers the full menu: companies, trains, financial pressure, and the very real possibility of bankruptcies. This is not merely a light introduction to train games; it is a more contained version of them, where decisions carry weight and the game remains pleasingly tight.

Interaction comes directly from that pressure and from the many possible ways a game can develop. Despite the comparatively limited running time for the genre, there are plenty of different game arcs available. The one thing that felt odd to me was the seventh private: it is unbelievably strong, even when someone pays dearly for it. I understand why it is there, but I would prefer an option to leave it out, with the other parameters adjusted accordingly.

Aside from that reservation, I found it very honest about what it promises, handsome, and carefully put together. It may be the most enjoyable title I remember playing with such a pure 1830 ruleset: a tight, complete 18xx that does not need to demand an entire day in order to do its job.