Crisis Strategy

Thematic Strategy

• Price protection: Elementary level. Use the anti-syndicate law of restricted cross-control to protect a share price of your company early in the game. Invoke maximally allowed cross-control with a player. Thereby he cannot repetitively drop your company's stock price without selling good shares in third companies.
• Nationalization: Elementary level. Do you want to control 100% in your company? Since you may hold at most 60% in it, you must distribute at least 40% among your other companies. The peaceful investor is director of two companies of which each has 40% to 60% in the other company while he owns the remaining shares. To get them all, start one of these companies as a daughter, threaten other shareholders by depleting assets, and collect what they abandon. An early bankruptcy is your risk but thereafter your opponents cannot drop your prices any longer.
• Printing money: Intermediate level. Open a subsidiary company, deplete all its cash in exchange for a worthless train, and dump all shares in it but 20%, which are written off, to the bank. E.g. an initial price $100 puts $600 in a concave daughter, gets $600 back in exhange for a rusting train, and creates ca. $400 net win from selling 40% shares soon. Do not waste time by using this strategy if you need to survive the next train rush or to let your company help you float another good company quickly or if attractive shares are available.
• Washing money: Advanced level. Do you believe that the same round rules prohibit washing money, i.e. shifting back and forth the same money repetitively? They do not - they only restrict it. You need to think ahead, recycle shares with a two rounds rhythm, and use structure purchases excessively. The order of turns of your companies and yourself is as decisive as the structure of your company hierarchy. Grey market prices assist you, however, stock markers should also have similar prices. You might be clueless unless you have some intention and desire to wash money. Which? It can reduce the capital burden on average or lead dividends to the right place. E.g. suppose you have a company A and a daughter B, both with a stock price $1 (bottom row), A has 60% foreign shares, B has 0%. A withholds going to the stock market field $0 while B buys the 60% foreign shares from A,  issues a dividend, and goes to $3. During the next round B withholds and moves to $1; then A buys the same 60% from B, pays a dividend, and is placed below B in the $1 field. What happens in the following round? Unfortunately, B, the company without sufficient capital, operates first. It buys the 60% foreign shares from A. Now A may not buy back them immediately. As the director you can allow A to get shares from you temporarily. A different option is timely restructuring of your hierarchy. This is less difficult if A and B have 40% or 60%, respectively, shares in each other. Then 60% can be reduced to 20% by parking them in the bank and obtaining them as a player right afterwards. However, if you want to continue washing, then your strategic plans must be worked out more precisely. Being a criminal is not illegal but hard work...

Real World's Business Wisdom

• In a boom pay dividends. Otherwise a sudden game end leaves you with worthless assets.
• In a recession withhold. Otherwise you will be thrown to the street in the next boom.
• Trading a moment too late is desastrous. Trading too early is inefficient.
• Money is worth nothing unless it is well invested.
• Important decisions must be quick and correct while long term planning cannot be neglected.
• If something cannot be achieved, dictate a balance in that nobody makes an achievement.
• Much control means much influence, too much control creates a burden.
• With unfavourable circumstances patiently wait for your chance to improve them.
• Do not waste great financial power.
• Let your strategies fit your risk.
• Be unpredictable.

Financing Trains

• Spending Cash: Simply using cash without any planning works for 2- or 3-trains. For a 4-train a convex / concave company must be floated at least at $80 / $60.
• Withholding: With a reasonable income withholding once or a few times is a rather safe method of financing a later train. A company must start withholding early enough if the player controlling it shall not become bankrupt. For safety one should predict when trains will be scrapped.
• Structure Purchase: If the hierarchy allows it and if another company in it has too many trains or can be sacrificed, then a train can be acquired using a structure purchase.
• Depleting Company: Using structure purchases other companies can be sacrificed by depleting their cash and accumulating it in the company to purchase a train. In particular a deep, linear hierarchy of companies can be wound up systematically.
• Cheaper Shares: Sell expensive shares and buy cheap shares.
• Dividends: Let a company receive high dividends.
• Order of Turns: Changing the order of turns might also change distribution of trains. A cheaper, a next generation's, or a permanent train might be attractive, depending on circumstances.
• Printing Money: Using the thematic strategy of printing money an early train might be financed quickly enough. For later trains this strategy would only provide assistance.
• Reinvestment: Sell shares in the company needing a train in time. If it should be necessary and does not invoke supports, write off 20%. If possible, surprise an opponent with a director certificate. Open a new company with sufficiently much money for a fresh train instead. Provide it with a good starting network.
• Foregoing Train Requirement: A convex company without any station token or a concave company without any route including two stations does not need any train and can be depleted mercilessly.
• Recycled Train: If some companies need not have income, then recycle a train mong them using structure purchases.
• Floating Assistant: Using forced purchases or letting more than one entity invest in a new company it can be floated quickly and receive sufficient initial money for the next train. Then either the new company replaces the old one or the latter buys the new train while the former is abandoned as quickly as it has been floated.
• Supports from One Entity: A company can also let its major shareholder pay for or donate it at least one train. This can be a fast way of financing but requires careful planning so that the right entities sufficiently support the right amounts and types of money or assets. Normally, only the director supports. This is expensive but well predictable.
• Advanced Methods: Supports from more than one entity or combinations of different types of financing might succeed in confusing opponents or oneself. In particular partially prohibited supports, altered company hierarchies, new support directions, or a new order of turns due to structure purchases, forced contributions, or forced surrenders increase complexity.