Trading

Both the colonies that will be trading resources must have a Trading Port. Trading does not allow direct transfer of gold from one player to another.

Trading post
The trading post is the primary place to sell/buy resources from neighbors within range.

In the trading post, use the "Bargain Hunter" section to determine what is available or who is looking for your goods. Simply select the right option "I am looking for" or "I offer", the resource from the drop down list, and the search radius. The maximum search radius is determined by the level of your trading post; the form usually defaults to your maximum when loaded. (Even if you have none of a particular resource, you may click "I offer" just to get an idea of market prices.)

Once you click on "Find Bargain", you will see what the Bargain Hunter finds in the "Result" section. Results are arranged in order of price attractiveness. This will show the town, the player, how many are wanted or available, the offeror's buying or selling price in gold, the distance, and the size of the port. If you are interested in one of the bargains, click on the "Trade" button next to the deal you want.

Set the amount you want to buy or send. Make sure that you have enough Cargo Ships to support the trade. At the bottom of the screen you will see how many and how long it will take.



Status of your trade
Click on this button in the upper left corner of your screen to view the status of your cargo/trade ship.



The 5 (5) represents that you have 5 ships (the number of ships you own is shown in parentheses) and how many are available (the number outside of the parentheses). For example, using these numbers, if you have one trade underway and one of your cargo ships deports for the target city to trade with, it will say 4(5).

Directly
Trading directly with another player is done when two players have an informal trade deal together or to support an ally or friend. This is done without the use of the Trade Post.

To initiate a trade follow these steps:


 * Select the town you want to send from.
 * In world view, select the island with the town you want to send to. (note: You must have researched Expansion in order to trade with other islands)
 * In its island view, select the town and click on "Transport Goods".
 * Set the amount(s) you want to send. Make sure that you have enough cargo ships to support the trade. At the bottom of the screen you will see how many and how long it will take.

Trade Treaty
After researching Market you may enter trade treaties. These give you some priority when you accept an offer: it cannot be whisked away by some other ship that gets there first. You can always see and buy goods offered by people whom you have a Trade Treaty, no matter how near or far away they are and no matter how big or small your Trading Post are.

Trading amongst your colonies
Trading amongst your colonies is essential; especially for new colonies that have a limited number of workers and little resources - though new colonies may be able to supply a luxury resource your capital does not have on its island.

To initiate a trade follow these steps:


 * Go to the town that will be shipping the resources.
 * Click on the Trading Port in that town.
 * Look for the section "Send out trade ship".
 * Below "Send out trade ship" will be a list of all your towns. Click on the one you are sending resources to.
 * Set the amount you want to send. Make sure that you have enough Cargo Ships to support the trade. At the bottom of the screen you will see how many and how long it will take.

If you wish to send out from a colony that does not have a Trading Port:


 * Go to the town that will be shipping the resources.
 * Click on "Show World".
 * Find the island with your destination colony, select it, and then click to show the island map.
 * Click your town on the island map.
 * From the left hand menu select "Transport Goods".
 * Set the amount you want to send. Make sure that you have enough Cargo Ships to support the trade. At the bottom of the screen you will see how many and how long it will take.