Bousou 1894 is one of the works in the 18xx series, which began with Francis Tresham's 1829 (1974), and depicts the Bousou Peninsula. The history of railways on the Bousou Peninsula (Chiba Prefecture) began in 1894 with the opening of the Ichikawa-Sakura section by the Sobu Railway Co., Ltd. This is a pen-and-paper game in which you manage a railway company while aiming to be a successful investor.

Like most 18xx games, the game is played in alternating stock rounds (SRs) each followed by two operating rounds (ORs). This cycle (SR, OR, OR) is repeated five times, and the player with the most valuable assets in shares and money, wins. During setup, players will pay for the President’s share of their “main company” (they are president of and can run it) from their initial capital. Then, starting from the last player who chose a main company, players draft two “sub-companies” (a company that only lays tracks, free of charge). Company ownership is recorded on a stock market board with player color pieces. All accounting is tracked in personal booklets.

In a complete series of 1 SR and 2 ORs:

You can sell as many shares as you want in an SR turn, and then purchase 0-2 shares of stock per turn. You may act as investor or as your main company when conducting your SR turn, paying from each respective pool of funds.
You can lay 0-3 rail tracks per OR turn for the main company, and only after the sub-companies lay tracks.
You can purchase up to 2 trains per company OR turn.


In ORs, a single d6 roll will determine your selection of tiles or tile upgrades from a chart. Tracks are independently drawn in your personal booklet, and routes are independently run. However, revenue for companies is publicly announced to the entire group, to account for shared payouts through cross-investments.

After the 10th OR, the final score is calculated through each player’s net worth, totaling personal investor capital plus stock values. Company assets do not affect score. The player with the largest net worth wins. Tied player(s) share victory.

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