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Grand Trunk Games
I’m Josh Starr. I run Grand Trunk Games. I’m making 18xx available, affordable, and approachable.
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Getting familiar with four 18xx principles
I see quite a bit of strategy content/discussion online for 18xx and I personally feel that a good chunk of it misses the forest from the…
Joshua Starr
May 4, 2023
Messing around with graphic design Pt. 5 Layout
Messing around with graphic design Pt. 5 Layout
During the Shikoku 1889 Kickstarter, a handful of backers observed that the placement of the stock market was on the bottom of the board…
Joshua Starr
Dec 24, 2021
Why Shikoku 1889 — quick to learn, a lifetime to master
Why Shikoku 1889 — quick to learn, a lifetime to master
As I continue playing and learning about 18xx games, how I value certain things in a game and my opinions about the overall decision space…
Joshua Starr
Dec 10, 2021
Graphic design and production decisions for Shikoku 1889
Graphic design and production decisions for Shikoku 1889
So I won’t be dissecting components like I have done in the past for my “Messing around with graphic design” series. My plan is to just…
Joshua Starr
Dec 8, 2021
Coming up with an aesthetic direction for Shikoku 1889 and its box cover
Coming up with an aesthetic direction for Shikoku 1889 and its box cover
With all the waiting everyone has been doing for Shikoku 1889 to hit Kickstarter, I wanted to share a bit about the production process and…
Joshua Starr
Dec 4, 2021
Where is Josh/GTG and what is happening with Shikoku 1889?
Where is Josh/GTG and what is happening with Shikoku 1889?
While I’ve been giving ad hoc updates to people as they’ve been asking, when I see a Facebook post one week and a Reddit post the next…
Joshua Starr
Aug 8, 2021
Grand Trunk Games is officially partnering with 18xx Maker
Grand Trunk Games is officially partnering with 18xx Maker
About a year and a half ago, I wrote a blog titled “The case to make a game open for print-and-play”. Today, I am announcing that GTG is…
Joshua Starr
Apr 2, 2021
Reflections from a first time creator
Reflections from a first time creator
With 1861/1867 finally getting delivered to backers, I’ve been reflecting quite a bit on this project. I know this will sound a bit…
Joshua Starr
Feb 15, 2021
Experimenting with naming convention in 18xx
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…
Joshua Starr
Oct 29, 2020
MAWGD4: 18xx tiles and 18xx maps
MAWGD4: 18xx tiles and 18xx maps
(It’s a long one. Lots of pictures though, so don’t let the tiny scroll bar scare you.)
Joshua Starr
Jul 23, 2020
How 1861/1867 was priced
How 1861/1867 was priced
While I certainly won’t be the first to talk about this, today I thought it’d be fun to write a bit about how board games are priced (or…
Joshua Starr
Jan 17, 2020
Grand Trunk Games’ next title will be 1889: History of Shikoku Railways!
Grand Trunk Games’ next title will be 1889: History of Shikoku Railways!
Back when I was starting Grand Trunk Games, I thought to myself it would be incredibly cool to print a game like 1889. While the game has…
Joshua Starr
Nov 25, 2019
Making the 1861/1867 Covers w/ Erik Frobom and Karim Chakroun
Making the 1861/1867 Covers w/ Erik Frobom and Karim Chakroun
I spent something like 40 hours digging through DeviantArt, ArtStation, Instagram, and all other kinds of websites where people upload…
Joshua Starr
Oct 14, 2019
Addressing 18xx’s barriers to entry
Addressing 18xx’s barriers to entry
With the announcement of the 1861/1867 Kickstarter, today I wanted to share a bit about the process of starting Grand Trunk Games and what…
Joshua Starr
Oct 13, 2019
Messing around with graphic design Pt. 3 Trains
Messing around with graphic design Pt. 3 Trains
Continuing with this graphic design series, I’d like to take some time today to talk about trains.
Joshua Starr
Sep 27, 2019
Messing around with graphic design Pt. 2
Messing around with graphic design Pt. 2
Preamble/Status Update for Kickstarter
Joshua Starr
Sep 17, 2019
The case to make a game open for Print-and-Play
The case to make a game open for Print-and-Play
Thus far, most designers I’ve spoken with did not design their games for money. (Mild shock!) They care about the games they design and…
Joshua Starr
Aug 6, 2019
Status Update: July 26, 2019
Status Update: July 26, 2019
So it’s been awhile since I’ve given a general update about what’s going on at Grand Trunk Games. I can tell it’s probably been too long…
Joshua Starr
Jul 26, 2019
Messing around with graphic design
Messing around with graphic design
One of the things I’ve been trying to do with Grand Trunk Games is not to just make 18xx more available, affordable, and approachable, but…
Joshua Starr
Jun 25, 2019
Why you don’t want the B&O private in 1830 and my “trick” to avoid getting it
Why you don’t want the B&O private in 1830 and my “trick” to avoid getting it
TL;DR: The B&O sucks. To not buy it, add up all dividends from non B&O privates and divide that by the number of players.
Joshua Starr
Feb 20, 2019
How many certs do you lose to the game?
How many certs do you lose to the game?
(originally posted on 2/6/2019)
Joshua Starr
Feb 19, 2019
What is the purpose of a certificate limt?
What is the purpose of a certificate limt?
(originally posted 1/29/2019)
Joshua Starr
Feb 19, 2019
A game that you play versus a game that plays you
A game that you play versus a game that plays you
I play board games because I enjoy making crunchy decisions to outmaneuver my opponents.
Joshua Starr
Aug 9, 2018
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