Tradelons (Analog Game Prototype)

Tradelons: A cooperative trading game

Tradelons is a cooperative analog game for 3-4 players. Each player plays as a wandering trader, buying and selling goods while trying to maximize profits. The goal of the game is to maximize the TOTAL amount of profit across all players - so cooperation is key.

Before the game starts:

Each player receives (by choice, or randomly, depending on your preferences), a number of trade secrets. The number will also be up to preference. For a basic start, let each player choose 1 each.

The game lasts for 30 rounds. 

Each Round:

1. Draw a location event card for each location
   1. The effects of the event are applied
2. Each player that is currently not in travel (including those that finish travel on this turn) can choose to
   1. Buy and/or sell as many units of goods as they want to

1. Begin travelling to another location 

1. Each player can exchange goods with any other player in the same location however they please (e.g for gold, for other goods, etc.)

There are two goals:

1. Competition: The player with the most gold at the end of the game wins!

2. Cooperation: Have as much shared wealth among all the players as possible at the end of the game - try to get a higher score each time!

The Goods

The game has 5 different goods.

1. Hardware Supplies
2.  Foodstuffs
3. Luxury Goods
4. Scholar supplies
5. War supplies

The price will depend on the base prices, events, and trade secrets. The price can never drop below 1.

The World

The world consists of a world map, with any number of travelable towns. Possible travel between each location should be clearly marked with:

1. The number of rounds it takes to travel between each location. 
2. The base travel cost to travel between each location

Each good has its own "baseline" price, based on the town. The locations can have their own baseline prices for each good. Reference for a "basic" baseline list

1. Hardware: 7
2. Foodstuffs: 4
3. Luxury goods: 10
4. Scholar supplies: 6
5. War supplies: 8

The Events

Listed are the events, and the number of them that should be shuffled into the deck, and their effects. Note that the term "All other prices" refers to goods, not to travel costs, unless explicitly mentioned.

1. Status Quo (5)! Things stabilize.

1. All prices (including the travel cost) that have difference of over 3 from baseline move towards the baseline by 1

2. War (2)! War starts, or is intensified if already going. 

1. War supply prices rise by 3 
2. Travel to and from this location rise by 3
3. All other prices rise by 1
4. Luxury good prices fall by 2

3. Peace (3)! Any conflict, big or small, moves towards resolution.

1. War supply prices move towards the baseline by 3
2. All other prices move towards the baseline by 1
3. Travel cost moves towards the baseline by 3

4. Famine (2)! 

1. Foodstuffs prices rise by 2
2. Luxury good prices fall by 3

5. Good harvest (2)! 

1. Foodstuffs prices lower by 2
2. Luxury good prices rise by 1

6. Forest fire (2)

1. Hardware supply prices rise by 2

7. Production boom (2)

1. Hardware supply prices lower by 2
2. Luxury good prices lower by 2

8. Educational Subsidies (1)

1. Scholar supply prices rise by 2
2. Travel to and from this location fall by 2

Trade Secrets

• Rapid Supplier
  • Any travel that takes longer than one round is reduced by one round
• Arms Dealer:
  • All war supplies cost 1 less
• Verified knowledge
  • All scholarly supplies sell for 1 more
• Ultrafine luxury
  • Luxury goods cost 1 more to buy, but sell for 2 more
• Salvager
  • Hardware supplies with a price of less than 5 can be sold for 5 gold
• Rations Keeper
  • Foodstuffs with a price of 3 or less gold can be bought for 1 gold