Merchant of Venus

Overview

Merchant of Venus is a game of interstellar trade and exploration for 1-4 players. Each player is a merchant exploring a galactic cluster recently opened for trade after a devastating alien attack. Players navigate a hex-based space map, discover alien civilizations, buy and sell goods, upgrade their ships, build spaceports, and complete missions. The player with the most credits at the end of the game wins. This edition includes both a standard (reimagined) and classic (original Richard Hamblen design) game.

Components

• 1 double-sided game board (hex space map)
• 4 plastic merchant ships with stands
• 4 dashboard sheets and 8 ship class sheets
• 42 encounter cards, 78 small cards (challenges, first contacts, missions, pilots, rewards)
• 103 credit tokens, 38 demand tokens
• 76 goods tokens, 14 factory goods/deed tokens
• 42 market tokens, 14 culture tokens
• 15 passenger tokens, 8 pirate tokens
• 35 encounter tokens (hazards, relics, telegates, neutral spaceports)
• 34 racial technology tokens
• 48 merchant spaceport/drill tokens
• 5 six-sided dice (4 white speed, 1 red navigation)
• Round marker, fame/infamy tokens, shield/cargo tokens

Setup

1. Place the board centrally. Populate encounter spaces with random encounter tokens face down.
2. Each player selects a ship and pilot, takes starting credits and equipment.
3. Place culture tokens face down on civilization spaces.
4. Prepare market and goods tokens.
5. Set the round marker to 1.

Turn Structure

On your turn:

1. Move your ship by rolling speed dice (based on ship’s drive). Navigate through space hexes.
2. Encounter hazards, telegates, or relics in your path.
3. Take actions at your destination: buy/sell goods, hire passengers, build spaceports, upgrade ship, complete missions.

Actions

Movement

• Roll speed dice to determine movement points.
• Navigate through connected space hexes.
• Hazard tokens may require challenge rolls or detours.
• Telegates allow instant travel between connected points.

Trading

• Buy goods at alien civilizations where they are produced (at production price).
• Sell goods at other civilizations where they are in demand (at demand price, which varies).
• Demand tokens indicate which goods each civilization wants and their bonus value.
• Matching supply and demand across the galaxy is the core economic challenge.

Building Spaceports

• Spend credits to build spaceports at civilizations.
• Spaceports you own provide ongoing income when other players trade there.

Ship Upgrades

• Purchase better drives (more speed dice), cargo holds, shields, and weapons.
• Different ship classes have different base stats and upgrade slots.
• Racial technologies provide special abilities.

Passengers

• Transport passengers between civilizations for credits.
• Passengers have specific destinations and pay upon delivery.

Missions

• Draw mission cards with specific objectives (deliver goods, visit locations, etc.).
• Completing missions earns credits and fame.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends after a set number of rounds (varies by player count and variant). The player with the most total credits wins. Credits come from trading, delivering passengers, completing missions, spaceport income, and selling ship equipment.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Pirate encounters may force combat or payment.
• First contact with a new civilization reveals its culture and available goods.
• The navigation die may cause complications during movement.
• Fame/Infamy tokens affect interactions and scoring.
• Classic and Standard games use different rules; this summary covers the Standard game.

Player Reference

Turn: Roll speed dice -> Move through hexes -> Encounter tokens -> Trade/Build/Upgrade at destination

Income sources: Trading goods, passenger delivery, missions, spaceport ownership

Ship upgrades: Drives (speed), Cargo holds (capacity), Shields (defense), Weapons (combat)

Game end: After set rounds; most credits wins