Experimenting with naming convention in 18xx

I’ve been thinking about this for quite awhile now and have decided to try an experiment with 1889 that might ruffle some feathers. I will be changing the name from “1889: History of Shikoku Railways” to “Shikoku: 1889”.

Here’s why.

Keeping track of numbers is hard: First off, keeping track of a bunch of things by number can actually be pretty difficult. I think there’s a reason we call each other by name and not by number. Numbers are better for organizing a group of things, but not great for knowing “This specific thing is associated with that specific number”. Also, when we read a word, we don’t read it letter by letter, but rather as a block of letters. For example, how esilay can you raed tihs scnetnee? Numbers on the other hand, we have to check it digit-by-digit to verify it’s correct.

And with the plethora of games that are in the 18xx genre, it’s not surprising that new players struggle to keep the numbers straight. I can’t count how many times I’ve had an interaction that goes:

“18xx? I think I tried one of those. 1864 by GMT I believe?”

“Oh, you mean 1846?”

“Yeah, that was it”

I find that once you’ve played a specific game, you have an experience that you can now associate with the number. 1830 is the mean, cutthroat one that came first. 1841 is the one where companies can own companies. 1817 is the one where you can short companies. Those who are already invested in the 18xx genre can talk about those titles because of their experiences. But for those who don’t have such experiences yet, all these game titles are still just numbers. While having a name doesn’t magically provide that experience, it can at least make the game more distinct and hopefully offset some of the mental load of remembering what game is what number.

Prioritizing the game’s identity: Despite 18xx games coming from the same system, many titles are vastly different and provide experiences that are unique from one another. However, it seems to me that the current naming convention of “18(fill in the blank)” prioritizes the game’s identity in the genre over its identity as a compelling game in its own right. I feel that putting a name before the date helps to establish the game’s individual identity first while also saying the game is part of the 18xx genre.

Who knows, perhaps one day having a date may not even be necessary. Worker placement games don’t have a set naming convention. Deck builders don’t have a set naming convention. 18xx is slightly different because it’s not just a genre but a game system, but I think it would be neat if someone looked at a game and thought to themselves “Hey, this game looks fun” without even realizing it was part of the 18xx genre.

We’re running out of numbers anyway: Since there are only 100 years in the 19th century to choose from, there have been many 18xx designs (be they prototypes or published) that shared the same number.

“I love 1862!”

“Which one? Mike Hutton’s 1862?”

“Oh, I was actually talking about Helmut Ohley’s 1862”

Tom Lehmann’s new design (being published by GMT) was called “1834” for years as a prototype. Winsome Games came out with a game titled “1834” which made it a bit awkward to also continue calling Tom’s game “1834”; so its name was then changed to “1833NE”. There are several prototypes using the date “1871”, more than several prototypes using the date “1839”, and many many more pairs of titles that share the same date.

Many games started adopting letters of the regions they are in or are titled “18Name” as a way to deal with this. But if we’re already at the point where we are putting words in the title with “18” in front of it, why not just give the game its own name and say it’s an 18xx game in the subtitle?

For 1889, I think renaming it to just “Shikoku” would have been too big of a departure. The game has been called “1889” for many years and I expect most of you will continue to do so. But reordering the title I think gives the game an identity that new players can more easily recognize while also communicating that the game utilizes the 18xx system. As stated in the beginning, this is an experiment more than anything. I started GTG to find out what the best way to do 18xx is and this is just one more area I’m exploring.

You can look forward to Shikoku: 1889 coming to Kickstarter early next year!

(and for those wondering, this name change will not result in a separate entry on BGG)