About the game:
1848: Australia is a semi-historical railroad game for 3 to 6 people. It is based on the game 1829 by Francis Tresham. Historical constraints have, as far as is possible, been taken into account. In other areas, history will be written anew. 1848 features the inclusion of The Bank Of England as a public company that extends loans and administers railroads that are in receivership, dealing with the different track gauges between states, and ‘The Ghan’ special train.
1848 has simple mechanisms at its base. The yellow, green, brown and grey tiles are placed on the map to form a network of routes, connecting stations together. The trains (train cards) make notional journeys from station to station, thereby earning money. The (imaginary) travellers pay for their journeys. The more and the more important the stations a train visits, the more money it earns for the company and its shareholders.
In the game, you and your fellow players will own 6 Private Companies, shares in 8 Public Companies, as well as shares in the Bank of England. The Public Companies belong to their shareholders. The player with the most shares in a company is its Director and decides what the company will do. You will operate your companies, invest in others, buy better trains, and compete for routes. At game-end, players computer the value of their shares and add that value to their operating profits to determine their total wealth. The player with the most wealth wins.