1848 Australia: Essentials:
- No. of players: 3-6
- Playing time: 200-240 minutes
- Age: --+
1848 Australia: - Rules of Play says:
1848 Australia, is a semi-historical railroad game from the 18xx set, and to which the designers credit some of this games' systems to the originator of the series - Francis Tresham.
The game consists of two separate series of actions repeated until the game ends, these are stock rounds and operating rounds. During stock rounds, shares in the various railroading companies are bought & sold by players and are tracked on the stock market mat. During operating rounds, the player/directors of those railroading companies are allowed to build track & place station markers on the map, and then may buy trains from which to earn capital from running those trains along routes on the map. The capital earned may be paid out as dividends to shareholders or retained by the company for future expansion.
The game ends at a pre-determined point, whereupon the player with the most worth,(cash on hand & share certificate value) wins.