This document is divided into five parts. The first group of clarifications are points that can be deduced by sufficiently assiduous study of the rule book. In some cases the information is clearly presented in the obvious part of the rule book, while in others it is well buried; in all cases they are rules we or others have got wrong or been confused by at some time. The second group consists of rulings in cases not covered by Federico's rules. The third section is devoted to conscious changes of the rules, while the fourth is devoted to variant rules which experimenters might like to try but which are not (yet) considered official. The last is a section covering frequently-made errors. In each section, numbers in braces {like this} are section numbers from the rule book. Text in brackets [like this] is rationale and comment.

Thanks to Richard Clyne, John David Galt, Chris Lawson, Tom Lehmann, Dane Maslen, David Reed, Alex Rhomberg, Federico Vellani, and Nick Wedd for their comments. Please address any comments to me, Steve Thomas. 

• {2.4} If two or more players have the joint highest bid for a particular Concession in a Concessions Round, the tying player furthest from the priority deal card holder will win (and must pay for) the Concession unless a higher-ranked player intervenes. The minimum raise is L5.
• {3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.7.3} The price of a 20% certificate of a Minor Corporation is the price on the share chart, and not twice that. See the Glossary.
• {3.1, 4.7.1, 4.7.4, 4.7.5} A Corporation has no history when it is formed, by a straightforward launch or otherwise. It is not deemed to have operated (for the purposes of owners being allowed to sell stock or the Corporation being allowed to merge, etc.) just because a precursor did so.
• {3.3.4} The SFTN and the SSFL start their first OR with only one token on the map, in the pre-printed location.
• {3.3.4, 4.7.3} Corporations may not start in pass hexes. Passes are not cities.
• {3.5.1} If a stock price cannot move to the right because no 8-Train has been bought, the price will move up instead, if it can.
• {3.5.2} If a player controls, directly or indirectly, more than 60% of stock in a Corporation, the situation must be rectified, if possible, either in his next Stock Turn or in the Operating Turn of one of his companies, whichever happens first. [But see below for some odd-ball cases.]
• {4.1.1, 4.1.2} Some of the new track in a newly-laid tile must be reachable from a city containing the Corporation's token. It is irrelevant if the new track is reachable from a token in a Pass hex. [See also Section 3, below.]
• {4.1.1, 4.1.2} The connection between the new tile and the base station cannot pass through a city or pass completely filled with tokens belonging to other Corporations. It may pass through cities or passes filled with tokens from the same Corporation.
• {4.1.1, 4.1.2} Track may run off the hex grid into either a port or an off-board hex with a black triangle pointing towards the new track.
• {4.3.1} A legal route for a train must include a city with a Corporation token in it and at least one other (small or large) city. In particular, a route from Genova's port, to Genova, and then to the pass to the north, is not a legal train route.
• {4.3.1} Small cities and ports do not count towards the length of a train. Large cities and off-board areas do count towards the length of a train. Passes count towards the length of all but 8-Trains.
• {4.4} "Token Acquisition" is something of a misnomer. The acquiring Corporation is only acquiring the rights in a particular city or pass. The acquiring Corporation must have a spare token in its Token Pool. This goes on to the map in the selected location, and the token it substitutes for is placed in the Token Pool of the Corporation to which it belongs.
• {4.5.1} During the Emergency Money-Raising Step, Corporations and players may (or possibly must) ignore the usual restrictions on selling stock. They may sell stock in Corporations which haven't operated yet, and they can cause the Bank Pool to own more than 50% of a Corporation, or even its Presidency. They may choose to sell stock which they wouldn't normally be able to sell in preference to stock which could be sold normally.
• {4.5.1} In an Emergency Money-Raising Step, stock certificates of the currently operating Corporation are treated in exactly the same way as any other certificates; the exception suggested by the rule is a hang-over from a previous version.
• {4.6.2} Presidencies may change immediately the Concessions disappear with the purchase of the first 4-Train.
• {4.6.8} When the Ferdinandea Secession occurs, the share price tokens for the SFV and SFL will be placed at the point in the pile of tokens at which the IRSFF token was located, even if that is not at the bottom of the pile. [This is the only occasion when a token can be moved into a square on the stock market other than at the bottom of the pile.]
• {4.6.8, 4.7.4, 4.7.5, 4.7.6} The turn order for any decisions following mergers, transformations, and the Ferdinandea Secession is each player, starting with the active President and going round to the left. Each player performs the activity for his personal holdings and then for his Corporations, most expensive first. Finally, do the Bank Pool. In the case of the Ferdinandea Secession, this is done twice, for pairs of IRSFF shares and then for odd ones. See the Glossary. [And Section 3, below.]
• {4.6.9} If the SSFL and at least one of the SFLP and SFMA exist when the first 4-Train is purchased, the ensuing merge between major corporations is a standard one in all respects except that resulting corporation is the SFLi and its token replacement is special.
• {4.6.9} The SFLi will not run in the round in which it is formed, even if its components have not. This is a side-effect of the standard merge rules. [See Section 4, below.]
• {4.7.2} A Corporation may buy certificates only from the Initial Offering or the Bank Pool. It may not buy them from another player or Corporation, and it may not acquire Concessions.
• {4.7.4, 4.7.5} A newly-merged Corporation will receive one token for each token owned by its precursors, except that it will lose one for each case where two tokens in the same city or pass belonging to the precursors are replaced by a single token, and it will never have fewer than two or more than five. The Tuscanian merge is special.

• {3.1, 4.5.1, 4.7.1, 4.7.4, 4.7.5} A frozen ("freezed") Corporation is deemed to have "performed an Operating Round" when its share price is moved backwards in an Operating Round. Other Corporations have "performed an Operating Round" at the conclusion of their turn in an Operating Round. This means that a Corporation may not voluntarily sell its Initial Offering stock or instigate a merger until its second Operating Round, although it may be the target of a merger by a Corporation running later in its first Round.
• {3.1, 4.7.1} Stock prices are adjusted downwards after a sale in reverse running order, i.e. in increasing order of price, with the tokens on top of a pile moving last. Note that this means that if tokens end up in a pile after a group of sales, their relative running order will be reversed.
• {3.2} A player may buy a single share (10% of a Major or 20% of a Minor) from another player even if that other player has only the President's share, provided that some player or Corporation has enough stock after the transfer to be able to take the Presidency.
• {3.2} If a player buys stock directly from another player, that other player is not deemed to have sold the stock. This means that the transaction is permitted even if the Corporation has not operated, and the selling player may buy stock in that Corporation later that Stock Round.
• {3.3, 4.7.3, 4.7.6} If a Corporation being launched, or formed as the result of a transformation, hasn't got enough money in its Treasury to fund the minimum number of tokens, it must raise the money by selling its Treasury or Initial Offering certificates at half price, as in an Emergency Money-Raising Step. If this doesn't raise enough, the President must assist from his own resources. A Corporation may not acquire more than the minimum number of tokens if this would require stock to be sold or Presidential assistance.
• {3.4} When prices change at the end of a Stock Round, tokens starting in a pile and moving in the same direction will have their relative order unchanged.
• {3.4} The actions at the end of a Stock Round must be performed in the order given. This means that Corporations with shares in the Bank Pool have their prices lowered before Corporations fully sold have their prices raised.
• {3.5.2} Concessions do not count towards share limit.
• {3.5.2} Shares owned by Corporations do not count towards the overall share limit of the Corporation's President.
• {3.5.2} A player holding more than the allowed number of stock certificates is relieved of his obligation to sell stock to rectify the situation if none of his certificates can legally be sold. If he can sell some certificates, but not enough to bring him within share limit, he must sell those he can.
• {3.5.2} If a player decides to drop out after going bankrupt, the share limits for the other players do not rise.
• {3.5.2, 4.7.1} If a player controls, directly or indirectly, more than 60% of stock in a Corporation (call it A) and is operating a Corporation (call it B) which directly owns stock in A, B must sell A shares to reduce his holding if he can (i.e. unless A has not operated), even if the sale leaves him still over limit. If B controls A shares indirectly (i.e. B controls Corporation C, which owns stock in A) B is not required to divest itself of C in order to reduce the player's holding in A.
• {3.5.3, 4.6.8, 4.7.4, 4.7.5, 4.7.6} If Corporations must act "most expensive first", they act in the order in which they would run in an Operating Round. "Least expensive first" is the reverse order.
• {4} The order in which Corporations operate may change during the course of an Operating Round as shares are sold.
• {4.1.1, 4.1.2} In Phase Two, the route from a Corporation token to the new tile may not cross an active border, not even twice.
• {4.1.1, 4.1.2} The yellow Venice tile may be laid only in orientation S, with Venice itself next to the port and the other piece of track pointing towards Padova. The green and brown Venice tiles will then fit only in one orientation.
• {4.1.1, 4.1.2} The green Genova tile may be laid in either of the two obvious orientations; there is no need to connect to the port.
• {4.1.1, 4.1.2} The hex-side immediately north of Pisa is impassable; the map fragment on page 11 of the original rules (i.e. Federico's version) is inaccurate. Chris Lawson's version of the rules and all copies of the map itself are correct.
• {4.4} Corporations may not, through token acquisition, obtain more than one token in any one hex.
• {4.4, 4.7.4} It is illegal to reduce a Corporation to having tokens only in pass hexes.
• {4.5} There are seven 8-Trains available for purchase. This is a fixed limit; if all are sold, Corporations are relieved of their normal obligation to own a train.
• {4.5.1} When selling shares at half price, the total amount raised, if not integral, is rounded down; the rounding is not performed on each certificate sold.
• {4.5.1} If, after an Emergency Money-Raising Step, the Corporation still has funds, it may buy further Trains (usually from other Corporations, but conceivably from the Bank or Bank Pool) as its President wishes.
• {4.5.1, 4.6.8, 4.6.9} If circular chain of control arises, the affected Corporations are considered frozen, except that they must, in their Financial steps, sell off all shares they own in their controller(s). These sales follow the rules for the Emergency Money-Raising Step {4.5.1}, except that the Corporation receives full value for the shares sold.
• {4.6.2} The actions occurring when the first 4-Train is sold must be carried out in the order given. This means that the elimination of the concessions, the Ferdinandea Secession, and the Tuscanian Merge occur in that order.
• {4.6.8} When the Ferdinandea Secession occurs, the fragments (SFV and SFL) will run unless the IRSFF ran earlier that round. If the IRSFF buys the first 4-Train, the fragments will not run that OR and the Corporation will lose the remainder of its train-buying step and its financial step.
• {4.6.8, 4.7.4, 4.7.6} A frozen Corporation will discard odd shares in the components of a merger between Major Corporations, receiving the usual compensation. If it has a pair of IRSFF shares, it will act as the Bank Pool does (i.e. exchange them for one SFV and one SFL share unless one of the Presidencies is still available). If it has a single IRSFF share, it will exchange it for an SFV share, if available. These exchanges will occur after the Bank Pool's exchanges, in operating order if there is more than one frozen Corporation.
• {4.6.9} If Firenze and/or Pisa are not occupied by tokens of the Corporations merging in the Tuscanian merge, the SFLi will not have a token in the relevant city. If the SFLi is not able to maintain a token in at least one of Firenze or Pisa it must keep a token in some other city occupied by a precursor Corporation.
• {4.7.4, 4.7.5} A "hypothetical train" may run between two tokens in the same city. This means that two Corporations whose only connected tokens are in the same city may merge, provided they meet the other requirements.
• {5} If the bank runs out of money, the game will still end immediately if a share price reaches L.516 or all external boxes are connected. [But see the variants section below.]

• {3.1, 3.2, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.7.4, 4.7.5} Players and Corporations may not voluntarily buy or sell stock or cause a merger if this would lead to a circular chain of ownership. They may buy the first 4-Train even if this would lead to such a chain.
• {4.1.1, 4.1.2} It is legal to upgrade a reachable city (provided that any new track doesn't run off the map or into a barrier), even if there is no new track or if the new track isn't reachable.
• {4.6.8} When swapping pairs of IRSFF shares, the first pair must be swapped for the President's share of either the SFV or the SFL, and the second pair must be swapped for the other. If there is no second pair, the unclaimed President's certificate will go to the Bank Pool. In this case some players or Corporations may not be able to exchange their IRSFF certificates for those of the fragments; such share- owners will be paid the current market value of the share from the bank without affecting the share price of either fragment. The unclaimed Corporation will be frozen.
• {4.6.9} If no player or Corporation has as much as 20% of the SFLi when it forms (because they all had 30% or less of its precursors and chose not to acquire the Presidency) its President's certificate will go to the Bank Pool, and the Corporation will be frozen. In this case the Corporation will place tokens only on Pisa and Firenze.
• {4.7.2} A Corporation may not buy shares in a Corporation whose shares it sold at any time during the current Operating Round. This includes shares sold in an earlier Emergency Money-Raising Step.
• {4.7.4} When swapping shares after a merger between Major Corporations, shareholders with pairs of shares act before players with odd ones, as in the Ferdinandea Secession. If the President's share of the new Corporation hasn't yet been taken, a shareholder in turn with less than 40% of the old Corporations may exchange his entire holding for the President's share, paying the difference, rounded down, while a shareholder with 20% or 30% must take an ordinary share if he rejects the presidency. (A shareholder with 40% or more must take the presidency, of course.) If shares in the new Corporation run out, a player with a pair of shares receives full value from the bank. If the merger is voluntary (i.e. it is not the Tuscanian merge) it may not take place unless some shareholder takes the Presidency.
• {4.7.4, 4.7.5} A merger is forbidden if all routes from a railhead of the active Corporation to a token of the other cross an active border. This means that if the two Corporations are in different countries, they may not merge, and two Corporations in the same country may not merge if all routes between them cross into another country.

• {2} The Concessions Round is replaced by an open auction mechanism. Assign the seating order randomly. The first player makes a bid of at least L.20 on any of the eight Concessions. Players, in order, raise the bid by at least L.5 (or L.1, if the players agree beforehand), or pass, and the Concession is assigned to the last bidder after everyone passes. The next Concession is auctioned by the player in second position, and so on. A player in turn may decline to auction a Concession; if all players do so successively, the Concessions Round is over. Once the auction is over, the players reseat themselves in decreasing order of money spent; in the case of a tie the priority goes to the player owning the lowest-numbered concession, and if more than one player owns no concessions their relative order is determined randomly. [This mechanism avoids the problem that inexperienced or careless players may overbid on most or all of the Concessions, leading to an unbalanced game.]
• {4.5.1, 4.7.1} In order to lower the price of another Corporations's stock, Corporations must sell at least two shares if the stock sold is priced in columns L to P on the stock chart, or three shares if the price is in columns Q to S. Sales by players or sales of a Corporation's own stock depress prices normally. [This change can speed up the game quite a bit in its later stages since it is much harder to prevent stock prices reaching the top of the chart, so much so that players need not waste time trying.]
• {4.6.9} The SFLi will run in the round in which it is formed, provided that none of its components have done so. [This sometimes makes the SFLi a better corporation to own and makes the exact timing of the purchase of the first 4-Train have less impact on the health of the SFLi.]
• {4.7.2} A Corporation may not buy shares of Corporations which have tokens on the other side of an active border. This means, for example, that the IRSFF may never buy shares in other Corporations, and other Corporations may never buy IRSFF shares. [This rule eliminates some problems with circular chains of ownership forced with the Ferdinandea Secession and the Tuscanian Merge and has some historical basis. However, it largely eliminates share ownership by Corporations until the Concessions disappear, and it is this which makes 1841 about the best 18xx game there is, in my opinion. Your mileage may vary.]
• {5} If the game ends because a stock price reaches L.516 or because all the red off-board hexes have track connected to them, the current Operating Round is completed. [Without the first part of this change the last few Operating Rounds tend to become an exercise in ensuring that stock prices don't climb past ledges on the stock chart to avoid giving stock-holders in one Corporation a huge advantage. The second part just makes all ways of ending the game take effect at the end of an Operating Round.]

1. Minor Corporation certificates cost the normal printed stock price (with the President's certificate costing double, as usual) but the dividend on an ordinary certificate is 20% of the Corporation's earnings.
2. A route must include at least two cities; passes and ports don't count as cities for this purpose, but red off-board areas do. Small cities and ports are "free" to all Trains, in that a Train may visit and count as many of them as it can reach, while passes are "free" to 8-Trains only.
3. Stock in a Corporation may not be sold, except on an emergency basis, and a Corporation may not merge, until the Corporation has operated at least once. This applies to Corporations newly formed from mergers (including the Tuscanian Merge) and the Ferdinandea Secession, as well as to Corporations launched in the normal way. While it is often tempting to think of a Corporation's turn being over once it has finished either running or buying its trains, a Corporation hasn't operated until it has finished its first turn.
4. Tokens may not be laid across active borders, even if the destination country is the same as the one from which a path is being traced. Thus, no Turin Corporations' tokens may be placed near or in Milan until Phase 4, no Corporations may trace paths through the reduced Austria in Phase 5 to place tokens, and no tokens may ever get laid in Switzerland (Lugano).
5. The Token Acquisition Step {4.4} is often completely overlooked, especially as a mechanism for shuffling money between Corporations.
6. Selling stock on an emergency basis only produces 1/2 value but may result in the Bank Pool getting more than 50% of a single Corporation, and even President's certificates can get there. Selling stock either normally or on an emergency basis may include selling shares in the Corporation being run, although normal sales of a Corporation's stock can't be done on its first turn (because it hasn't completed an Operating turn yet).
7. The requirement that a Corporation's earnings exceed its stock price in order for its price to rise is often overlooked.
8. Companies must start in cities; passes don't count.
9. Yellow tiles with single small cities upgrade; tiles with two don't.

Sum of old   Sum of old       Final Price on

Minor Corp   Major Corp     Stock Market Chart

    -        243 and up   moves to 242 (ref  N3)

    -        231 to 242   moves to 230 (ref  N4)

448 (max)    220 to 230   moves to 219 (ref  N5)

    -        219          moves to 218 (ref  M3)

419 or 426   209 to 218   moves to 208 (ref  M4)

397 to 406   199 to 208   moves to 198 (ref  M5)

361 to 396   181 to 198   moves to 180 (ref  M6)

357 to 360   179 or 180   moves to 178 (ref  L5)

325 to 356   163 to 178   moves to 162 (ref  L6)

283 to 324   142 to 162   moves to 141 (ref  L7)

255 to 282   128 to 141   moves to 127 (ref  K7)

213 to 254   107 to 127   moves to 106 (ref  K8)

191 to 212    96 to 106   moves to  95 (ref  J8)

153 to 190    77 to  95   moves to  76 (ref  J9)

139 to 152    70 to  76   moves to  69 (ref  I9)

107 to 138    54 to  69   moves to  53 (ref I10)

 97 to 106    49 to  53   moves to  48 (ref H10)

 71 to  96    36 to  48   moves to  35 (ref H11)

 65 to  70    33 to  35   etc, etc.