1858 at MidSummerCon and GenCon

[Bob]

Ian,

I will not be able to attend, but one of my players in our group (Mike
Coyne) is willing to take a copy to both Cons. Wanted to make sure
this was alright with you before I told him to go.

Robert Schroeder

[Ian D Wilson]

Hi Bob,   Yes, of course, anyone is welcome to try out the game. Plus any kind of feedback is most helpful.   Ian D --- On Sat, 23/7/11, Bob <Hza...@aol.com> wrote:

[Mark Derrick]

Tell Mike Coyne to bring his copy to Chicago. I will be there and I
would prefer not to have to bring mine.

Mark Derrick

[Bob]

Playtest feedback from the two conventions:

Ian et. al.,

Name recognition was important. This game was considered to be read-
to-go because of it. The one aspect is no one understood why narrow
gauge was included. Suggestion: Bring in a couple of 1M trains
(choice of which when 2 trains are bought). This was done in the
revised 1853 (retuning and Mayfair's version). That will allow narrow
gauge to start the game and might allow more of it. 2nd suggestion:
allow the privates to upgrade narrow gauge only. Again this would
make them a little more attractive.

Robert Schroeder

On Jul 22, 11:58 pm, Bob <Hzar...@aol.com> wrote:

[Ian D Wilson]

--- On Mon, 8/8/11, Bob <Hza...@aol.com> wrote: >Playtest feedback from the two conventions:

Bob, thanks for the feedback, see comments below:

> The one aspect is no one understood why narrow gauge was included.

Most players think this the first time they play, especially if they've never played a game with narrow gauge (1853, 1849). Indeed, the game is perfectly playable without narrow. Earlier versions of the game didn't have it, but adding the option made the game significantly more interesting...

> Suggestion:  Bring in a couple of 1M trains >(choice of which when 2 trains are bought).  This was done in the >revised 1853 (retuning and Mayfair's version).  That will allow narrow >gauge to start the game and might allow more of it.

The prohibition on narrow gauge at the beginning is deliberate (partly historical, partly for game-play reasons). Also, 2M-trains are darn cheap, and you get to the green trains pretty quickly, so there's no real need for 1M's.

>  2nd suggestion: allow the privates to upgrade narrow gauge only.  Again this would >make them a little more attractive.

The whole point is that the early privates are weak - I want to encourage players to turn them into shares ASAP. In addition,  I have enough trouble explaining - to certain players (who shall remain nameless) - that privates cannot upgrade.   Ian D