About Trade Tower:
So far I have played about 100 hours of this excellent game, and thought I’d give it a thumbs up with a quick reveiw because there are not many reveiws yet, and many of them refer to earlier versions. If you’ve ever played a Port Royale or Patrician game, you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly, but there are differences, such as the fluctuating market prices, which vary much more realistically. Also, there is a stock exchange, and your decisions regarding buying and selling goods in the various ports will have a direct effect on share prices. You can make big money investing in a company, supplying it with raw materials and selling their products. Countries may go to war, and issue contracts to spy on enemy territory, or transport troops or supplies, or they may undertake public works and require construction materials to be transported. If you’re on good terms with a country, you will be able to establish your own settlements in their borders, and these settlements provide you with free goods to sell or supply your own invested-in companies. Companies will also issue contracts for supplies or transportation of their executives to other towns. Towns will grow and establish new businesses as they are supplied with goods and these businesses will level up, increasing their productiviy and profitability. I’m a bit of a pacifist so I’ve played this with combat turned off, but it’s an option. You may be attacked by pirates if you have a valuable cargo, or you may choose to play conquest mode and attack your competitors ships in an effort to bankrupt them. Combat is a hexgrid turn based easy to understand system.
