Game Jargon Definition: “18xx”

18xx (noun) - eigh · teen · ex · ex /ˌāˈtēn eks eks/

“18xx” is a subgenre of economic-focused board games that, with few exceptions, recreate or simulate building of railroad corporations during the 1800s. 18xx games often have many of the following characteristics as part of gameplay: (a) the goal of the game is for players to increase their own personal wealth in the form of cash, stock, or other types of investments; (b) interaction with other players is more indirect than direct; (c) a common game mechanic is scarcity of resources; (d) hex grids (see "hex grid") are often incorporated into the game board; and (e) game mechanics and theme center heavily around fluctuating stock prices, investments, and the possibility of bankruptcy.

Examples of 18xx games include: 1830: Railways & Robber Barons (1986); 1837: Rail Building in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1994); 1846: The Race for the Midwest (2005); 1812: The Cradle of Steam Railways (2011); and 1862: Railway Mania in the Eastern Counties (2013).