Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)

Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)

Merchant of Venus uses many elements that come together to form a very interesting game. Players take on the roles of space traders who move their ships through interconnected systems discovering new alien worlds to trade with. As players start to make money delivering commodities in a unique supply-and-demand system, their earnings can be used to purchase better ships and equipment (shields, lasers, engines, etc...) and construct their own spaceports (which speed up trading) and factories (which create better commodities). Variations included in the rulebook allow for interplayer combat. The player who first acquires enough total value ($1000, $2000, $3000, $4000) in cash and port/factory deeds takes the day.

For the 2012 edition of Merchant of Venus from Fantasy Flight Games, the company promises that this revision "remains true to its magnificently campy core while updating the map and game components and expanding game play in surprising ways that will cause even the most hardcore fan to celebrate." That said, the player count has been lowered from six (in the Avalon Hill edition) to four, with the four races in the game being Human, Whynom, Qossuth, and Eeepeeep.

Podcasts Featuring this Game

TDT # 337 - 2014 Gaming Resolutions

It's 2014 - huzzah! In this show, Eric and Tom take a look at King & Assassin, Viva Topo, Baba Yaga, Race for the Galaxy: Alien Artifacts, and Among the Stars: Ambassadors. Greg visits an interesting gaming store in New York, Brian compares Merchants of Venus with Firefly, Geoff seems to forget something, Mark reviews Loka, Tish talks more about gaming groups, and Bill examines conventions as social events. We also discuss how to run a Wits and Wagers gaming event, a tale of true horror, and our gaming resolutions for 2014. Oh yeah, and we kick off our Kickstarter for 2014!

TDT # 334 - Best Queen Games

In this episode, Tom and Eric take a look at Canalis from AEG, as well as Francis Drake, Bruges, Super Fantasy, and Roll for it! We answer another pile of questions (almost catching up!) and then talk about our favorite games from the game company Queen Games.

TDT # 273 - Themes that Turn Us Off

In this show, Ryan talks about a new project he's beginning, Brian examines Shadow Hunters, and Geoff talks about hindsight in games. We take a look at Puzzle Strike, City of Horror, Banditos, Pirates of the Spanish Main Card Game, Lords of Waterdeep, Wilderness, and more! Tom rants about game manufacturing, and we finish up the show with themes that turn us off from a game, despite how good the game plays.