1869 USA West is set in the area between the Mississippi and the West coast. It reflects the building of the transcontinental railroads which started in 1862. The first railway link from coast to coast had been established by the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Railroad in 1869. Hence the name of the game. Despite the game is mainly based on 1830 there are a lot of features which makes it special.

At the start of the game 7 private companies are auctioned.  Then the shares of the corporations may be bought in a certain order. The corporations are set in groups. The shares are available by group after group. Contrary to most other games, there is no limit of shares a player may hold of any one corporation. Also there is no limit of shares which may and up in the Bank Pool. If 60% or more of a corporation’s shares are in the Bank Pool, this corporation goes into receivership. Most of the corporations have bonus routes which generates additional income.

At the end of its operating round, a corporation does not need to possess a train. Therefore there is no forced train purchase and consequently no player’s bankruptcy. Once in during the game the great merger between the Central Pacific Railroad and the Southern Pacific Railraod takes place, which leaves the Southern Pacific Railroad as the largest corporation with 20 shares instead of the usual 10 shares.

As an optional rule the mines enter the game. This makes the track building in the Rocky Mountains less expensive and can even lead to a profit.