Episode 21: Why 18xx Might Be Your Next Obsession, with Ben Mandelker

Ben Mandelker from the Game Brain podcast joins Candice to geek out about the 18xx genre of railroad-themed stock market and tile-laying board games, in addition to sharing their initial impressions of 1880: China (2022 Lookout Games edition). 00:00:00 Introduction00:06:12 Fresh Plays00:06:26 ZhanGuo00:11:15 Imperial Struggle00:27:30 Skymines00:27:59 Gold West00:37:03 Undaunted: Stalingrad 00:44:32 Mind MGMT00:48:55 Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition)01:06:44 Why 18xx Might Be Your Next Obsession 01:07:02 What 18xx games are all about01:19:48 What we love about 18xx games01:25:34 The challenges/barriers of getting into 18xx01:32:55 New ways to think about 18xx to demystify it and embrace it01:39:44 Dipping your toes in 18xx:01:40:07 Dual Gauge01:40:35 18Chesapeake01:41:07 18xx.games01:42:49 City of the Big Shoulders01:43:25 Shikoku 188901:43:30 Diving a little deeper:01:43:37 1846: The Race for the Midwest01:44:17 18 Los Angeles01:44:24 18MEX01:44:37 1882: Assiniboia 01:45:12 1848: Australia 01:45:33 1849: The Game of Sicilian Railways01:46:01 18Ireland01:46:40 181701:47:08 1822: The Railways of Great Britain01:47:21 If trains aren't your thing:01:47:37 City of the Big Shoulders01:47:45 21Moon01:48:14 Rolling Stock Stars01:48:35 Poseidon01:49:20 18Mag: Hungarian Railway History01:51:30 Our initial impressions of 1880: China02:12:17 Sign-offThank you to our sponsor, Bezzerwizzer Studio! We hope you will come join us for fun games with all the fun people at BGG.CON 2026. https://boardgamegeek.com/bggcon or https://tabletop.events/conventions/bgg.con-2026Web: https://boardgamegeek.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@boardgamegeekTwitter: https://twitter.com/BoardGameGeekEmail: [email protected]