Trading Games

Enter the street bazaar…the enticing sights, sounds and flavor of the marketplace are everywhere!

In BASARI® players act as merchants who compete on the streets of a lucrative gem marketplace. Each round, players earn valuable points by haggling and bartering for precious gemstones. The player with the most points after three rounds wins BASARI.
No. of Players: 3 - 4
Duration: 20 to 30 minutes
Min. Age: 10
GamesLore Rating: 7

GL Price: £13.99        (RRP is £14.99)

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Magnificent sunsets, exotic flora and fauna, the aroma of finest spices in the air – the Far East has always had a magical appeal to adventurers, soldiers of fortune, explorers, traders and merchants.

Around 400 years ago, merchants in many different countries organized themselves into companies so that they could send larger fleets of ships to the Far East.

They hoped for huge profits from these voyages, because spices such as pepper and nutmeg were quite literally worth their weight in gold.

The players take the roles of bean traders and are members of the famous Bohn Hanse, the union of northern European cities and merchants involved in the bean trade in the middle ages. The players travel from Hanse city to Hanse city in wagons filled with valuable beans to deliver bean orders and to buy more beans. When a player is in a city and has an order card and the necessary beans to fulfill the order, he may deliver the beans and collect the value of the order from the bank. When two or more players are together in a city, they may trade beans among themselves. Trading beans is important as it allows players to get rid of unwanted beans and acquire needed beans. In addition, a player will buy beans in the city, if they have the kind he wants. From time to time, the bean supplies will be replenished as described on new harvest cards. After eight new harvests, the game begins its last round. After this last round, the game ends and the player with the most bean thalers (money) is the winner.

The Industrial Revolution in Lancashire. The game starts at the beginning of the Canal Age and ends after the development of railways. Players take the roles of entrepreneurs attempting to make the most money from the various industries of the time. Cotton dominates the game but players ignore the other industries such as coal mining and engineering at their peril.

In 1835, the British East India Company leased the region around the location of the modern-day city of Darjeeling.

The British had more than a strategically placed trading post in mind – because of the favourable climate, they wanted to build a sanitorium there as well!

That climate, which was to bring relief to sanitorium visitors, can be thanked for one of the most sought-after tea varieties in the world: Darjeeling. Tea connoisseurs from around the globe treasure the extremely fine and flowery aroma of the First Flush, the first harvest of the year’s new growth. But the many flavours of teas from the following harvests are also unsurpassed.

At first glance, it might remind you just another settler-like game, there are tiles of different terrains, there are villages and other buildings built on the tiles, and there are resources produced to build more of them. However, Graenaland uses these elements in a very unusual way, and offers brand new player interaction.

The main difference is that villages produce no resources; the tile produces them. They remain placed next to the tile, until players agree how to distribute them. Every village on the tile gives one vote to its owner, as well as the traveling heroes just visiting the tile, and you need more than half of the votes total for your proposal how to distribute the resources.

A tile produces only one resource per turn, no matter how many villages of how many players is built on it. Building more villages on the same tile strengthens your position here; however, if another player does the same, you both are spending lots of efforts and resources struggling for still the one resource card. May be it would be wise to live in peace rather. If you are able to come to an agreement, you can take turn taking the resource. You can vote together in the case an intruder appears. You can build some improvements on the tile together, increasing its resource production. You can spread your villages to other tiles and let your hero travel where it is more needed, rather than struggling for influence on this tile.

If you trust each other, you can work much more efficiently. However: does your neighbor deserve your trust? What if he returns with his hero unexpectedly, and confiscate the whole harvest of several turns? What if he builds another villages here instead of the improvement he promised? And especially, what would you do if you get such an opportunity yourself?

The game mechanics, simultaneous movement of heroes, small anomalies in player roles (one player has special role every turn), and decent randomness and uncertainty in resource harvesting (each terrain produce resources of more types, with different probabilities) lead to enough interesting asymmetric situations, and it is up to you whether you take any advantage you have, or whether you try to appear fair and righteous to the others rather. As the others take it in account when searching for partners for their deals.

Hamburg in the 17th century! Mighty walls protect the city against the devastations of the Thirty Years War. Thanks to Protestant religious refugees, Hamburghas become the biggest and most prosperous city of Germany. From far away the skyline shows the steeples of huge churches and the masts of mighty trade ships displaying the citizens’ pride and prosperity. The players guide families of Hamburg in the pursuit of wealth and prestige. They produce beer, sugar and cloth and sell these goods with their ships overseas. Theycompete over the best sites for their buildings and the best berths for their ships in the harbour. But ultimately they vie for the most prestigious church donations, because neither gold nor goods, but only prestige decides the game.Hamburgum is a strategy game for 2 – 5 players without any luck of cards ordice. The actions are selected according to simple rules on a rondel. The reverse of the big double sided game board offers another city, Londinium, a different strategic challenge.

Compete to become Master of the Hanseatic city-states during the 14th Century. Criss-cross the Baltic Sea in a merchant ship, always on the lookout for a chance to acquire valuable wares. Set up networks of market booths within the cities, which allows your goods to be re-sold at the most advantageous time and increases your power and prestige. At the end of the game the player with the most establishments and the greatest profits is the winner! Hansa is an outstanding tactical travel and trading game for the whole family.

In a distant land, many years ago there rose a great and wealthy city. It's name, now forgotten by most, was Hermagor. Commerce was the source of its richness, because from all its territory men, artisans, and adventurers brought to the city all kinds of merchandise to sell there: weapons, ancient books, precious relics, and the rare dragon eggs. In this city, one can buy and exchange almost everything. This made Hermagor famous and merchants can from far and wide to buy and sell all kinds of goods at the market, Some even undertook perilous adventures to acquire especially rare utems. They criss-crossed this wealthy region, creating new paths and roads, adding markets to towns, but always with the aim to become wealthy!

Heart of Africa by Andreas Steding (2-5 players, 60-75 minutes playing time) is a meaty trading game where the players each lead a trading company which tries to make profits in Africa.

Although Africa had been circumnavigated by the start of the 19th century, the continent remained largely undiscovered. One of the great mysteries was the source of the Nile, and explorers like Burton, Speke, Baker and Livingstone became immortal in their attempts to find it.

Jambo! is the friendly greeting Swahili traders offered their customers in Central Africa before colonization. The players are traders in this day, competing to be the first to earn 60 gold by selling tea, hide, fruits, salt, silk, and trinkets. The game is played with cards which represent goods, people (which can help you or hinder your opponent), and animals (which add a bit of spice to the game). Players take turns with up to 5 actions per turn until one player reaches the goal and wins the game.

The expansion contains 3 separate modules, which can be combined in many ways:

Originally announced as The Guild of Merchants, the final name is Jantaris. In this game each player represents a leader of the minor guild, which is trying to expand into new territory. The guilds try to take control over provinces of the kingdom, gain valuable items in the auction hall and sell their goods during the great market in the city square. Right assessment of other player´s moves plays vital role in the game. The game might offer mostly conventional game mechanics, but seen and combined from a new point of view.

Kogge is a game for two to four players. Across the web of trade routes, the players try to trade goods and to establish trade houses.

The ever-changing routes between cities don't make life easier for the merchants plying their trade on the Baltic Sea.

It is 1821, and for 250 years the Philippine Islands have been under the thumb of the Spanish crown. But, in the end, the Spaniards do not really control everything. In the shadow of the colonial power, self-willed natives have established secret maritime trade with neighboring islands and the Asiatic mainland. Using odd-looking punts and fragile bamboo barks, these black market traders cram their boats with nutmeg, silk, jade, and ginseng, and set sail to smuggle them into MANILA. Succes in each venture is uncertain, as the seaworthiness of both boats and captains is poor. To add to their woes, pirates lie in wait to plunder boats that cannot escape them.

Given all this, it is not surprising that wares that reach the black markets in MANILA command high prices, making the venture worth the risk for those who succeed. The black market dealers use accomplices to ensure they get the wares, bribe pilots to aid their cargoes and hinder others, and insure their cargoes against failure. And a few wealthy merchants hire pirates to attack the black market boats and secretly pocket the profits from these raids.

Travel with Marco Polo to discover the treasures of the East. Trade for spices, silk, oil, and exotic fruits as you move from place to place on the backs of your camels. The player who earns the most money with his caravan will win the game!

Return to the trading days of the ancient Medici family when ships sailed throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. Bid at the markets for the best prices on valuable and not so valuable goods. Corner the market on a commodity and reap additional rewards. Fill your ship and set sail for foreign markets where your goods will fetch high prices. After three trips to the market, the player with the most money wins! Games Magazine writes, "It's great to see Reiner Knizia's classic...redesigned in English.

This game re-lives the fierce competition between the two great Florentine families: Medici and Strozzi. The players compete to buy the best goods, load them on their ships, and sail away to sell them for great profits. The mechanism is similar to Medici, but for two players.

If you liked Medici, but wanted to play with two - now you can!!

As an Amsterdam Merchant you must establish warehouses at home, and a presence abroad, whilst trying to control the market of various commodities. This game has many possible winning strategies and an intriguing Dutch auction against a clock work timer.

Players try to build their cities so they can control the most islands in the archipelago. Taller cities must be build to the north and the shorter to the south. There are different maps for three and four players and lots of choices for the strategist.

Plymouth Rock, 1621. As you and your family step off the Mayflower, you tingle with excitement at the prospect of freedom. With this new land comes the challenge of survival. To succeed you must build shelters, grow crops and conduct trade with your neighbours. The winner of this game will be the one that achieves prosperity in New England.

The Mediterranean Sea is the lifeline for merchants living in the lands on its shores. In Oltre Mare, players represent competing merchant families plying their trade throughout the region. As the players move their ships from port to port, they try to load and deliver large cargos of the seven major trading goods of the day: spices, silk, silver, sugar, wine, wood, and grain. With experience, each has learned what the market limit for each good is, and will try to fill his ship with just this much of each cargo type to gain the most from his investments. Of course, players must always be on the lookout for pirates, who will board careless ships, stealing both cargos and reputations. The most successful player will earn the most money - you are merchants, after all), and win the game!

Welcome to Parthenon: Rise of the Aegean! You are about to enter an exciting, competitive world filled with aggressive trading, perilous voyages, and the construction of grand monuments. Parthenon is a game of commerce for 3 - 6 players set in the islands of the Aegean Sea. The time is 600 B.C., and mainland Greece stands on the threshold of glory. The Aegean Islands now attempt to share in that glory and to thrive in an increasingly profitable(and dangerous!) world.

Portobello Market

London, 1901: Shopkeepers gather at the world-famous Portobello Market to set up their stalls in the most lucrative places. Build your shops in the most profitable districts to draw in the wealthiest customers and snatch your opponents’ best lanes. The Bobby determines where stalls can be built, but with a little effort you can put the Bobby where you want it to be!

Contents: 1 Game Board, 96 Wooden Market Stands, 11 Wooden Customers, 1 Wooden Bobby, 20 Action Tokens, 4, Reference Boards, 1 Bag, 4 Scoring Cubes and Instructions.

Around the time of the Han Dynasty, from 200 B.C. to around 8 A.D., an overland trade route from the Mediterranean Sea to China developed called the Silk Road. This 4,000 mile (6,000 KM) route ran from the Mediterranean Sea to the early Chinese capital of Chang’an. Not only were goods traded from various European ports to China and the cities in between, but this route played a major role in the diffusion of Buddhism into China.

Silk Road is a strategy game for 3-6 daring adventurers who trade, buy, and sell along this historic trading route from Chang’an in the East to Antioch in the West. Players bid for control of the caravan leader to determine which cities to visit, where players will choose the actions they wish to perform: i.e. buy, sell and trade goods such as jewels, dried fruit, silk, etc.

Players will also be able to play in reverse, starting in the West and moving East.

Contents: 75 wooden goods cubes, 45 wooden coin disks, 5 wooden action disks, 2 wooden caravan pawns, 90 action tiles, 1 22" x 9" gameboard, 6 screens, cloth bag, 4 sets of rules (English, German, French, Dutch).