Merchants of the Federation
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Merchants of the Federation is a trading game for two-to-five players that is based in the Star Fleet Universe. The United Federation of Planets has just opened development of a new sector of space right on the Klingon border. Here you will find unexplored worlds¸ many of which contain resources for which the Federation will pay top credits. You run a recently charted trading company with one small ship. You boldly go into the new sector¸ exploring these strange new worlds. While you might meet a new civilization¸ you're more likely to find an empty world full of something (precious metals¸ fuel¸ biomatter¸ or mineral ore). Harvest the resources and take them to the base station¸ where the Federation will give you cash for them. Use the money to buy more ships (to explore more planets and transport more resources) and to plant colonies (mining¸ industrial¸ agricultural) on the new worlds so you can reap even more resources. While all of that is going on¸ Random Event cards may offer new opportunities or warn of new dangers. Even better¸ the Federation will issue contracts to do them small favors for which you will be paid big credits! Meanwhile¸ the Klingons (who think you're in territory that rightfully belongs to them) are getting increasingly annoyed with the whole situation. Tensions build every turn¸ although player actions and Random Event cards can affect just how fast it builds and might even cause brief cooling-off periods. But sooner or later¸ the Klingons will have had enough and will come across the border in force. You'll need to be ready to evacuate your ships and colonies before the Klingons take them away from you. The game is played in turns¸ during which you can move ships¸ accept and fulfill contracts¸ explore planets¸ and harvest resources. Every turn¸ the tensions with the Klingons will get a little better¸ or a whole lot worse. This is a play-testable PDF prototype including everything you need to print a functional copy of the game. (The board is a jpg¸ included in your library.) Please let us know what you think and if you'd be willing to buy a full-production boxes game with a mounted map¸ plastic miniature starships¸ decks of cards¸ and physical resource tokens.