18DDR 2025

18DDR is an 18xx games about the reconstruction of the former GDR after 1945. This involved not only rebuilding industry but also repairing the railway network, both of which had suffered severely from the effects of the war. The GDR's economic system was a planned economy, not a market economy. Therefore, reconstruction was based on planned targets that had to be met. 18DDR was developed against this background, although the historical circumstances are not reflected exactly for game mechanics reasons.

In 18DDR, players take on the role of district secretaries. Their task is to fulfill the planned objectives for their district. These objectives consist of a combination of reconstruction performance and transport performance. Reconstruction performance consists of issuing reconstruction orders. The use of the repaired rail network is crucial for transport performance. The more reconstruction orders issued for a district and the better the rail connections to other cities, the easier it is for the district to fulfill its plan.

18DDR is unique 18xx game, as there is no money involved. Instead, the player use action cubes for acquiring reconstruction orders during the planning rounds that replace the stock rounds. During the operating rounds, the players build lay or upgrade track tiles and try to replenish their stock of action cubes for the following planning round. The skilful handling of the action cubes is the key to victory. Once a district secretary has fulfilled the district’s objective, the player receives the award ‘Working Hero’. The game ends immediately when one player has received a number of these awards, depending on the number of players.

—description from the publisher