Intro
As an Age of Steamfan (it is my #1 game), I was intrigued though not hypnotically drawn to Steam. I purchased a copy of Steam to ensure that was able able to get a copy with the extra wood bits (after all, I play red and I've played enough Age of Steam that the colors and goods don't confuse me). I was able to finally play Steam (the basic version) and found the new rules interesting, but the game felt like "Age of Steam Lite" - and that's ok, because it meant that when we didn't want the full brain burn or length of Age of Steam, we could still "scratch that itch". So I kept my copy rather than trade or sell it.
Recently at my FLGS I noticed Steam Barons and also noticed that it was an expansion to Steam. A quick glance showed me that the box had some trains, a double sided board and mentioned stock certificates. but it $50 for what appeared to be a glorified expansion, so I passed. Later I checked here at the BGG to find out a little more. You see, I've really come to enjoy some of the current train/stock games, especially Chicago Express. I've also played <PERSON> Steel Driverand enjoyed that (though not as much as Chicago Express). My first impression was that this looked to be akin to Steel Driver except that it was using Steam track building and goods movement to earn company value. This sounded good enough that I decided to go ahead and get it (plus, it comes with 144 wooden trains, which it ends up is the same as the train set upgrade that Mayfair is selling). This review is of the stock variant, not of the maps in Steam proper.
Components
The game comes with 144 trains in 6 colors - matching the Steam base colors (brown, natural, orange, white, black, and green). If you were considering buying just the $25 train set from Mayfair, you should skip it and get this instead. In addition to the trains, you also get a double sided map that can be used for either Steam Barons (the stock game) or Steam. You also get additional double sided track tiles, 16 black goods, a "stock board" and 6 stock markers. It is all the same quality of the original Steam. My only complaint about the components? The map (and box) are the WRONG size. Yep. The original Steam map will not fit in the expansion box nor will the expansion parts fit in the steam box. 304
One is too wide, the other too long. I realize that the boxes were "stock" sized boxes, but this was pretty poor planning and a little annoying.
The Game
Reading the rules after I got the game, it seemed to be pretty straight forward. It also seemed to be sufficiently different from both Steel Driver and Chicago Express. After playing this, our group felt like this was closer to an 18XX game than anything else. I have not played any 18XX games for a couple of reasons - length being the main detractor. Stories of needing to run a spreadsheet to speed up play, being out of the game 2 hours into a 6 hour game were other factors. I have wanted to play an 18XX game as the general concepts appeal to me. Having played Steam Barons, my desire to play 18XX has gone down - not because I found that I dislike the genre, but because this game perfectly scratched the itch. Now, I'll likely try an 18XX game at some point, but this game is really easy to pick up and start playing if you have already played Age of Steam or Steam. The expansion will play between 2 and 6 players. If you are planning to use the maps for Steam, they are designed for a higher number of players (as opposed to say 3).
The game starts by seeding the board with goods. The game will the last five rounds, each with a set of phases. The original goods are the only goods for the game - there is no production or urbanization to bring more into the game. The companies are randomly ordered for play.
The first phase is an auction for a share in each of 6 companies (none have a set starting point on the maps). The first turn has only one share available. Future rounds may have more available, depending on what each company does on its turn. Money for the shares go to the bank (not the company). Each company is auctioned in turn order
After all the companies have been through the auction phase, the person with the control of the company (majority share holder - CEO) then builds track ala Steam - except that the maximum number of tracks that can be built is equal to the current round plus one (so 2 the first round, 3 the second and so forth) - assuming the company can afford the costs. The costs are generally the same as Steam, but the money to build the tracks comes from the company coffers (not player money). 629