Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
18ZOO is an 18xx game set in a fictional ZOO, designed for 2-4(5) players and playable in about 100 minutes: - it is playable as a welcoming 18xx game, since many convention/rules are already in place, to let enter new players comfortably into the genre (i.e.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Modular Board
Build the play area from interchangeable sections that vary between games.
Network and Route Building
Create connected routes that improve reach, delivery, control, or scoring.
Stock Holding
Acquire shares whose value depends on companies, assets, or player actions.
Hexagon Grid
Use a hexagonal map where each space connects evenly in six directions.
Read the full game description
18ZOO is an 18xx game set in a fictional ZOO, designed for 2-4(5) players and playable in about 100 minutes: - it is playable as a welcoming 18xx game, since many convention/rules are already in place, to let enter new players comfortably into the genre (i.e. they will find villages, dits, cities, shares, tokening, etc...) - it is playable as the quickest knife fight among veterans/pro 18xxers: poisoned trains, few tiles, token battle, lot of incentives in buying train (+rust). It's like 1860 and 1849 had a son which married the daughter of 18DIXIE and 18CZ. "Sweet like mommy and a bad boy like daddy" said the fairy godmother 1846 There are many features that makes it high ly distinguishable: Map is modular- it can be combined and customized All money of the game are multiple of 25$ (called a Bag of 25 Nuts). No need to compute any division or percentage during the game POWERS (privates) bend some rule in a FUN and exciting way - 16 out of 20 appear throughout the game Companies are opened in a sort of ring order - first choice (and second choice) will set the game RUN have a growing threshold in order to increase the stock value - the goal of route building is to be efficient throughout all ORs, instead of trying to achieve a local best run Revenue of a RUN is pre-calculated - best run is an efficient run Villages are called O (water pond), and their revenue is high since they give money into the treasury and to the run Villages and Hills/Moutains (M and MM) are not upgradable (generally) so that route building is different in each game. The goal of the design of 18ZOO is to have a game that last only 90-120 minutes, with the full narrative of a 18xx (both Stock Shenanigans and Operative Shenanigans), approachable by a wider audience (low calculus involved).