  1761 is set in England in
the 18th and 19th centuries. Three to six players represent
investors in canal and railway companies, spending their
initial capital to buy wholly owned private companies and
minor companies and later buying shares in (railway) public
companies. The public companies are each controlled by the
largest shareholder (its director). Minor companies and
public companies lay tiles, and public companies run trains
in order to earn money. Public company earnings can be
paid out as dividends to shareholders or retained to fund
further track and rolling stock. A feature of 1761, as with all
the other games in the series, is that the interests of a public
company’s director and the interests of its shareholders are
not identical, so minority shareholders need to be careful in
their investments. 1761 is a medium to long length game.
Experienced, brisk players can expect to take about four to
five hours to complete a game. Novices or more deliberate
players might add a few hours to that time. A short game variant that skips the canal building phases in favor of a faster play time is provided. |
