18XX is the generic term for a series of board games that, with a few exceptions, recreate the building of railroad corporations during the 19th century; individual games within the series use particular years in the 19th century as their title (usually the date of the start of railway development in the area of the world they cover), or "18" plus a two-letter geographical designator (such as "18EU" for a game set in the European Union).
 The games "2038", set in the future, and "Poseidon" and "Ur, 1830 BC", both set in ancient history, are also regarded as 18XX titles as their game mechanics and titling nomenclature are similar despite variance from the common railroad/stock-market theme.
Shatranj (Hindi शतरंज , Urdu شطرنج , from Middle Persian "chatrang چترنگ"), is an old form of chess, which came to the Western world by the Persians and later Greeks, and ultimately from India ("chaturaṅga)" via the Persian Empire.
 Modern chess gradually developed from this game.
Henry Lawrence Southwick (18xx- January 1932) was the third president of Emerson College of Oratory (now Emerson College), located in the Back Bay, Boston, MA.
 In addition to teaching at the college, he was a noted international performer of Shakespeare.
 With his wife, Jessie Eldridge Southwick, he created and directed The Southwick Recital Series, looked forward to by contemporary literary audiences of Boston and continues as an Emerson College event, today.
William Cooper Nell (December 16, 1816 – May 25, 1874) was an African-American abolitionist, journalist, publisher, author, and civil servant of Boston, Massachusetts, who worked for integration of schools and public facilities in the state.
 Writing for abolitionist newspapers "The Liberator" and "The North Star", he helped publicize the anti-slavery cause.
 He published the "North Star" from 1847 to 18xx, moving temporarily to Rochester, New York.
1830: The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons is a railroad operations and share trading board game first published by Avalon Hill in 1986 based on an original design by Francis Tresham.
 The popularity of "1830" spawned an industry creating similar ""18XX"" games.
 "1830" was republished in 2011 through a partnership of Mayfair Games and Lookout Games.
Norm Potter (18xx–1951) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer of the 1910s and 1920s .
 A Queensland state and Australia national representative front-row forward, he was one of Queensland's early stalwart star players making forty-four state appearances in an unbroken representative career between 1918 and 1927.
Francis Tresham is a United Kingdom-based board game designer who has been producing board games since the early 1970s.
 Tresham founded and ran games company Hartland Trefoil (founded 1971), a company well known for its "Civilization" board game, until its sale to MicroProse in 1997.
 His "1829" game was the first of the "18xx" board game series and some of his board games have inspired Sid Meier computer games such as "Railroad Tycoon".
1829 (South) is a railroad operations and share-trading board game in the "18xx" series, first published by Hartland Trefoil Ltd (UK) in 1974 from an original design by Francis Tresham, but is now out of print.
 "1829 (South)" is based on railroading in southern England and Wales and became the first game in the "18xx" series, with the basic game design now licensed to companies such as Mayfair Games and Hans im Glück.
 The game is also the inspiration for Sid Meier's "Railroad Tycoon" series.
JunaCon is an annual board game convention held in Turku, Finland since 2010.
 It is usually held in late winter or early spring.
 The convention concentrates on railroad-themed board games, such as "18XX", "Ticket to Ride" and "TransAmerica/TransEuropa".
 The convention's name comes from the Finnish language word ""juna"" ("train") and "-con", short for "convention".
 The convention also hosts the annual "Ticket to Ride" Finnish championship, the winner of which is eligible for the "Ticket to Ride" official world championship in Paris, France later in the year.
William R. "Bill" Dixon is an American board game designer, who has four 18XX games published:

Question: What is similar of Shatranj and 18XX? 
Answer: game