How to play
The goal
Build your firm a net worth of $1,000,000 (cash plus bank, minus what you owe), then retire in Hong Kong. The faster you get there, the higher your rating.
Trading
Seven ports, four goods. Each port has goods it sells cheap and goods it pays well for. Buy low, sail, sell high. Every voyage takes a month. The sail list remembers the prices you saw in each port and what your cargo would fetch there, and the market shows what you paid.
Markets and gossip
Markets have memory: a port that is short of silk this month will probably still be short next month, then slowly settle. Gossip in the teahouses tells you where something is scarce or plentiful. It is usually right, for a while.
Seasons
From July to October it is typhoon season and storms are twice as likely. A badly damaged ship can go down in one, so repair before you sail.
Hong Kong
Home port. The bank pays a little interest and keeps your money safe from robbers. Elder Brother Wu lends money at 10% a month, and he does collect. Your warehouse holds up to 10,000 units off the ship. McHenry’s yard repairs the hull.
Your ship
Cargo takes 1 ton of hold a unit, each gun takes 10. Merchants offer guns and bigger ships when you arrive in port. If seaworthiness drops to zero, you sink; a badly damaged ship can also be lost in a typhoon.
Pirates
Fight with your guns for booty, run for it, or throw cargo overboard to run faster. Li Yuen’s fleet is bigger and nastier than ordinary pirates, but if you pay his “donation” in Hong Kong, his ships let you pass, until his favour wears off.
Hazards ashore
Opium can be seized outside Hong Kong. Carrying lots of cash invites robbers; the bank does not.