I know there are AHers into Diplomacy, but does anybody here ever play the 18xx series of railroading board games? I discovered them a few years ago, its kind of like Monopoly on steroids, but with RRs instead of real estate, and income from train operations and stock dividends instead of rent. There are no dice involved so its pure strategy and tactics.
You start and operate railroad corporations (all existing major rails in the region and time frame depicted are represented), lay track, upgrade your trains, invest in other players railroads to earn money, etc. The fun comes when you raid the cash from one of your RRs and then dump the stock, which leaves the next major stockholder stuck as the new President of the corporation, saddled with dept and a struggling operation. They have a real robber baron element to them.
Just found a way to play these games over email - its a program called "Cyberboard" and it really seems to speed up PBEM gameplay. Been around forever I guess, but I just learned of it. THe guy who wrote the program started it with wargames in mind but it can be adapted to just about any board game.
I'm a few turns into "1850", and I'm now President of the Union Pacific, with financial interests in the Mesabi iron range in Minnesota.
I'm kindof a railfan and history buff so these games are right down my alley.
