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Commentary and processes of J C Lawrence: systems architect, contrarian, theorist, sailor, hacker, virtual world designer, linux-user, aquarist, disquisitor, cat breeder, raconteur, game designer, ludophile, bibliophile, numismatist, speculator and theologiser

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Unholy congress resulting in a union

A working concept for mergers:

When a company connects to another active company’s home station the two companies merge. A merged company may have several home stations. The company that built the track will be acquired and will merge into the other company.

  1. The acquired company pays a Special Dividend (see Dividends)

  2. Each player’s shares in the acquired company are replaced 1:1 with shares from the new parent company. Shares are initially taken from the bank pool of the acquiring company, then shares from the merger supply for that company

  3. The acquired company’s income is added to the acquiring company’s income, and the acquired company’s marker is removed from the income track

  4. Any unbuilt track markers for the acquired company are added to the acquiring company’s supply

After the merger is resolved the active player selects an inactive minor company to start. The new minor company’s home station will either still be unconnected or be connected by track from one or more companies.

Starting a minor company whose home station is unconnected by track:

  • the share of new minor company is auctioned in the normal manner (see Capitalise) with a minimum bid of $5. After the auction play proceeds in the usual manner.

Starting a minor company whose home station is connected by track:

  1. If only one company has built a connection to the home station of the new minor company, then the new minor company is considered to be auto-merged into the connected parent company:

    1. The unbuilt track markers for the selected new minor company are added to the acquiring company’s supply and may be built in future starting from its home station (see Expand)
    2. A share of parent company is auctioned in the normal manner (see Capitalise). The new share is taken from the company’s merger supply if a share is not available from the bank pool
    3. The parent company pays a Special Dividend (see Dividends)
    4. The winner of the newly auctioned share selects the next minor company to start, starting the merger process all over again

  2. More than one company has built a connection to the home station of the new minor company, then connected companies are auto-merged and the new minor company is considered to be auto-merged into that parent company:

    1. The active player selects one of the connected merging companies to be the new parent. Each player’s shares in the acquired company/companies are replaced 1:1 with shares of the new parent company. Shares are initially taken from the bank pool for the acquiring company, then shares from the merger supply for that company
    2. The acquired companies’ income is added to the acquiring company’s income, and the acquired companies’ markers are removed from the income track
    3. The unbuilt track markers for the acquired companies are added to the acquiring company’s supply
    4. The unbuilt track markers for the selected new minor company are added to the acquiring company’s supply and may be built in future starting from its home station (see Expand)
    5. A share of parent company is auctioned in the normal manner (see Capitalise). The new share is taken from the company’s merger supply if a share is not available from the bank pool
    6. The parent company pays a Special Dividend (see Dividends)
    7. The winner of the newly auctioned share selects the next minor company to start, starting the merger process all over again

If no players bid on a merger auction the auctioning player discards the share into the bank pool and receives the current income of the company divided by the current number of issued shares including the just auctioned share in exchange.

While the wording will undoubtedly be tightened, hopefully it at least makes (non)sense. Without adding a host of special rules about building into secondary company’s home stations, which seemed needlessly complex, this was the simplest pattern which combined player-predictability, (relative) simplicity and (reasonable) transparency while also offering potentially interesting game decisions — especially once they start to chain.

Comments   

1 Author:  Iago71 | Date:  16 July 2008 | Time:  06:22

Sorry, I don’t see how the new company can be connected with more than one company. If the connection between companies causes immediate merge the two (or more) hypotetical companies connected with the new one are already connected to each other and so are already merged.

Am I wrong or missing something ?

2 Author:  J C Lawrence | Date:  16 July 2008 | Time:  13:32

Mergers occur when track connects company home stations. Other non-home-station cities may and will be connected by multiple companies.

The five minor companies start at various odd places on the map. Some of those locations are very likely to have multiple companies build track to and through them before the minor company has a chance to start. Sometimes players will intentionally build to a minor’s home station so as to gain the extra dividend payment when the minor does finally start. As the minor company hasn’t started when they build that track, it isn’t (yet) a home station and so no mergers occurr (then). However when the minor company does start it finds that its home station is already connected by track! Ergo, the minor company starts and instantly has one or more other companies merge into it and they all pay a Special Dividend.

3 Author:  Iago71 | Date:  17 July 2008 | Time:  04:58

Perhaps I’m really missing something… If two existing company reach the same town (for example the home of the new company) they ARE connecting each other homes so, as per what you said, they are immediately merged. This will happen always before the birth of the new company so I really don’t see how the new company can have a chance to merge with two different company both connected to the new aompany home and so having a common point in their tracks.

Unless you mean that two companies merge when the tracks of a company reach the home of another company, but your phrases even in your answer to me don’t suggest this.

4 Author:  J C Lawrence | Date:  17 July 2008 | Time:  14:13

Ahh yes, that’s the confusion. Using your example, no, they haven’t connected each other’s homes. As you later suggest, the connection must be monochrome — all one company.

What phrases don’t suggest this pattern to you? (I’ll be reviewing the rules I posted yesterday with this confusion in mind)

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