Legacy and Modern
The same board played in two different eras is not quite the same game. Epoch Street lets you choose between them element by element — that is what the Ruleset row of the rule settings is for.
- Legacy … the older habits: commissions are charged, the tests are stricter, a cornered district hits far harder
- Modern … the newer habits: no commission, a faster turn, monopolies a little gentler
Neither is the "correct" one, and they mix freely.
1. The four presets
From the board list press R for the rule settings; the Ruleset row carries four chips.
| Default | The recommended mix. It is Legacy and Modern together — the ★ rows in the table below are its Legacy side |
| Modern | Every element on its Modern setting |
| Legacy | Every element on the most Legacy-leaning setting that exists in this build |
| Custom… | Your own set. The first time you choose it, it starts as a copy of Default |
Press Enter to open Ruleset (per element) and set each one individually (←→ changes the mode, ↑↓ moves between elements).
- A green row sits on its Default mode
- A gold row has been moved off it
During a match, Data → Rules → Elements lists every element with the mode you are actually playing under.
2. The elements
The "Default" column is the mode the Default preset picks.
| Element | Modern | Legacy | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shop price → base | base price stays put | base price moves too | ★ Legacy |
| Remodel → stock | shown right after the remodel | shown at end of turn | ★ Legacy |
| Stock purchase fee | no commission | A: price × (shares+1) × 3% / B: price × shares × 3%, rounded down | Modern |
| Shopping-fee multiplier | A: 2 of 3 squares ×2.00 / B: ×1.50 | areas of 4+ get their own multipliers; truncated twice | Modern B |
| Capital ceiling (max invested, × shop price) | A: 2 of 3 squares ×3.00 / B: ×2.25 | A: 4+ squares get their own table (peak ×9) / B: 3+ squares (peak ×20) | Modern B |
| Toll booth / Inn | Toll booth only; its toll rises +10G | Inn buildable; the toll booth is a flat level × 30G | Modern |
| My Home | the gather is optional; others pay level × 60G | the gather always happens; others pay level × 30G | Modern |
| Tax office | visitors pay 5% of their assets | visitors pay 10% of their assets | Modern |
| Realtor | another player's shop is buyable at 3× | unowned shops and vacant lots only | ★ Legacy |
| Trade contents | A: items can be traded, auctions take marks and wildcards / B: stock can be auctioned too | money only | ★ Legacy |
| Chance-card fee | no cash, no effect | the effect fires even if you are short | Modern |
| Temporary fees on lot buildings | half-price days etc. reach buildings | only closures reach buildings | Modern |
| Winning at the bank | the bank's own salary or stock buy may complete it | you must already hold the target on arrival | ★ Legacy |
| Who wins | first to the bank on goal takes it | the richest player takes it instead | Modern |
The Legacy preset picks Legacy B for both the stock purchase fee and the capital ceiling —the most Legacy-leaning tables written so far.
3. The ones that change the game most
3a. Shopping-fee multiplier and Capital ceiling
These two do most of the work. They decide how frightening a cornered district is, and how far a single shop can be built up.
- Modern A / Modern B differ on the two-of-three-squares case (fee ×2.00 or ×1.50; ceiling×3.00 or ×2.25). B is the gentler one
- Legacy gives areas of four or more squares their own multipliers, so a monopoly bites much harder — and the fee calculation truncates twice, which is a Legacy trait of its own
- The Legacy ceilings hold a lone shop to ×0.5 (hard to grow), but let a completed district climb enormously (Legacy A peaks at ×9, Legacy B at ×20)
3b. Winning at the bank, and Who wins
These two are the victory condition itself.
- Winning at the bank decides when the test happens. Under Legacy you must already hold the target as you arrive: the salary that bank pays, or a share you buy there, does not count on the spot. Under Modern it does. Passing through and stopping are judged identically
- Who wins decides whom it goes to: Modern gives it to whoever reaches the bank first, Legacy to whoever is richest at that moment
3c. Stock purchase fee
Legacy charges 3% every time you buy. A and B differ in whether the share count gets a +1 (A costs slightly more). With a commission in play, churning small trades stops paying.
3d. Toll booth / Inn
Legacy unlocks the Inn, and in exchange the toll booth becomes a flat level × 30G that never grows. Legacy's inn is for collecting tolls; Modern's booth is for growing one.
4. Buildings can override the numbers
Three of the elements — Toll booth / Inn, My Home and Tax office — state amounts that the per-building effect settings can take over (rule settings → Vacant lots → Building prices). When they do, the element's row says so:
- Tax office … Custom
- My Home, toll booth and inn … the mode's name plus (custom amount)
and the description switches to the numbers this match actually charges.
5. Saving a set
A set you like can be saved by name from Presets on the rule settings screen (P opens it too). See "Rule settings".