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37.00€
Irish Gauge
60m - 60m
2 - 5 Players
Ages 12+
Meeple on Board Rating
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Irish Gauge — one of three titles in Winsome Games 2014 Essen Set — is played on a map of Ireland and is similar in style to many of the stock-based, cube-rail games released by Winsome Games since 2007.
On each player’s turn, they can either place a share of one of five companies up for auction, build track (represented by cubes) in one of these five companies, upgrade a town to a city, or call for dividends. The dividends are paid out to shareholders of certain railroads based on how many cities/towns they connect to and how many shares of this company have been issued. The upgrade and dividend actions also affect game length and the likelihood of further dividends for each company. The game ends when a certain condition is met at the end of a player’s turn, and the player with the highest sum of money and stock value at the end of this turn wins.
Irish Gauge is the first title in the Iron Rail series by Capstone Games.
| Ages | 12+ |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 Players, 3 Players, 4 Players, 5 Players |
| Play Time | 60m – 60m |
| Designer | Tom Russell |
| Mechanics | Auction/Bidding, Network and Route Building, Stock Holding |
| Theme | Economic, Trains |
| Publisher | Capstone Games, Winsome Games |
Apple Paul
Reminds me of Chicago Express and Paris Connection, and of the three, I think I like this one the best. If you like 18xx games, this one seems to pack a decent amount of punch in a very short game, Is it perfectly tuned? Does it have lots of replayability? Not sure after one play, but I suspect that the answers to these questions may have to do with just how robust and interesting the "cube placement" action can become in the game. On first play, to my detriment I think, I barely explored that action.
chaoticgood4life
I had high hopes for Irish Gauge and the game did not let me down. Loved it! Here's a phrase you've never read on bgg before: The game just ticks so many boxes for me. Among them: simple rules, auctions, alliances/shared goals get people talking, being invested in other peoples' turns, impactful decisions. I enjoyed my experience so much that I purchased the game right after playing. Fantastic!
Angryrubberduck
Disclaimer: one play. I was very surprised with Irish Guage. I thought it was a fun, brief version of an 18xx game. There is no hidden information and each decision is about maximizing your position. Everyone has the potential to collect money at the same time, so it's a constant push between doing something for your train company and lining everyone's pockets. If you're the one to get the cash flowing. The next person may put that stock you wanted up for auction just to clear you out. Do you let them have it so you can get stock in another company later? Or do you try to drive the price up and bail so they are left in poverty... All in all, I think that if the game sounds interesting to you, you will like it. The game feels like it ends a bit too soon, which makes you want to play again. There are no hidden mechanics, so you get to make very informed decisions. I have only been able to play this once as my family did not enjoy it as much as I did.