Shikoku 1889

Nice economy game, would play again. Privates seems to have nice twists. Sometimes this little 18xx suffers its syndrome against reality that you can't build straight route or upgrade something, because the different tiles are really limited. Don't throw tomatoes at me, this was only my second 18xx game I have played!

A more compact - both in terms of the map and the playtime - spin on 1830, that appears to lose little of the depth or teeth of its progenitor.

This combined with the wonderful PnP job from my 2017 Secret Elephant makes it a perfect intro 18xx, not to mention a good go-to title whenever a CCMF opportunity presents itself.

Too bad it's so hard to get to the table. The new version by Grand Trunk is super fancy. Now that I own this I plan to dump my other 18xx games (except for Poseidon).

The best 18xx beginner/learning game IMO. Also has very good 2p rules. However, it's pretty vanilla and plays quick 2-3 hrs.

1830 Lite

As a spreadsheet enthusiast, this really tickles my fancy.

The excellent implementation at www.18xx.games has inspired me to give 18xx another chance, and I am glad I did. With all the fiddliness and downtime taken out, the genre has become more palatable, even enjoyable for me.

Compared to the other beginner recommendation 1846, 1889 feels more more dynamic, with company prices fluctuating as shares are sold left and right. It might be a little meaner, but it does make the decision of which companies to invest in a lot more interesting. Looking forward to try this out some more.