Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)

Merchant of Venus is a sprawling science-fiction pick-up-and-deliver game in which the map begins full of unknown cultures and untested routes. Players pilot modest ships through connected systems, roll for movement, and explore worlds to reveal alien civilizations. Each culture produces particular goods and pays well for cargo from elsewhere, so discovery creates a living trade network that every merchant can exploit. Profitable runs fund larger holds, stronger shields, improved engines, ports, factories, and specialized equipment. Navigation hazards and route timing introduce risk, while passengers, missions, and dynamic supply and demand reward detours and opportunistic planning. Other players cannot simply be ignored: a factory can reshape a market, a port can make a route more efficient, and a rival may clear the last valuable cargo before another ship arrives. Fantasy Flight’s second edition contains two complete interpretations: a redeveloped Standard game with modern systems and the Classic rules based closely on Richard Hamblen’s original design. After thirty rounds, cash and asset value determine the winner—the merchant who turned exploration into the galaxy’s most efficient commercial empire.