East India Company

East India Company

Lots of seafaring fun with all of it’s parts. Like a lot of games it can be exasperating at times especially when your maxed out fleet loses to a wimpy faction. Not a whole lot of differences no matter what level you play at except on Easy you don’t have to worry that a port won’t buy your cargo or that your homeport won’t like any of their cargo.

There are 2 methods of combat. You can control all your ships in a high resolution graphic war or use Autoresolve that determines the winner. At first I used the graphic option but found that controling 5 warships was a problem, especially since more often than not your surrounded by islands that will rip ships apart and the ships are not capable of sharp turns. The enemy of course is on the seaward side of the islands. Additionally your ships will not fire near as often as the enemy. If you put all the ships on auto except the flagship they will run right into an island and sink.

Real player with 64.1 hrs in game


Read More: Best Economy Naval Games.


Let me state that I enjoy the game, but find many problems with it.

-For example, I’ve found that war with other companies isn’t worth it because the ships are far too expensive to just pump out a bunch of expendible warships.

-You really don’t buy anything but the big ticket items and sell them at your home port. Less of a commerce simulator, more of an importation simulator.

-The voices are okay, somewhat amusing at times.

-As stated in the first point, combat is rare as pirates don’t actually attack that much. This is a bummer as the naval combat is basically only rivaled by Napoleon: Total War in quality, so it’s a huge waste.

Real player with 31.4 hrs in game

East India Company on Steam

Europa Universalis IV

Europa Universalis IV

I’m a divorced woman of color. Recently, my ex got our son Larry a video game called Europa Universalis for his 14th birthday. It seemed good for him, because it takes place in the distant past and he’s always been interested in history, so it seemed like a nice enough game, no graphic violence or anything, at least until I sat down and watched him play at it. I don’t know what sorts of racists made this game, but it’s basically a colonialism and genocide justification simulator. If you want to survive, you need to have access to money and soldiers, and the most (only) reliable way to ensure you have enough is to attack and conquer your weaker neighbors. If you don’t, you can be sure someone else will eventually come attack and conquer you.

Real player with 4558.6 hrs in game


Read More: Best Economy Grand Strategy Games.


So EU4 was a good game. Then they released the 450+ ‘bug fixes’. The entire game outside Europe has now been put back behind a new paywall unless you have the paradise DLC as it is now impossible to develop your provinces to spawn institutions as army tradition gives you impossibly high dev costs. I played one game and when I needed to dev an institution from a 1/1/1 grasslands province and starting cost is 120. That is only with 33 army tradition giving a 150% penalty. This was a custom nation and I had -20% dev cost. Good job paradox forcing everyone to buy your shittiest dlc in order to use any of the other DLC’s you have paid for. The game is now broken outside of Europe without the paradise dlc. You make me sick Paradox!

Real player with 1819.5 hrs in game

Europa Universalis IV on Steam

Lorenzo il Magnifico

Lorenzo il Magnifico

I will freely admit that Lorenzo is a favorite board game. In Pre-Covid times I would beg my game group to bring it to the table. While this implementation of the game digitally had a rocky start, it’s now settled in as an elegant rendition of a very complicated game. In particular, the AI is finally modestly competitive…but very modestly… I play this game most often after a loss on Yukata or BGA…because it soothes my ego to have a reliable victory.

But the real reason for my “yes” recommendation is that I live in hope of finding a live human being to play this with. For months, I’ve hit the lobby at various times of day in the vain hope of finding a game I can join. So ] far just crickets. I just know I can’t be the only person who bought this game. I figure if I write a review, maybe someone will tell me where you’re all hiding.

Real player with 217.2 hrs in game


Read More: Best Economy Resource Management Games.


A nice digital adaptation of a great boardgame. If you’re not familiar with the actual boardgame you will have to follow the complete tutorial and then still have some trial and errors (the tutorial lacks a bit in dept concerning strategie, unless you want to read a lot of text in the glossary), but looking for great ways to score and learning to improve your game is actually something that makes this game a hidden jewel.

In a game of Lorenzo il Magnifico you will try to earn points by gaining buildings, assets, … (the parts shown in the big building on the right) and by gaining papal approvement (this is not obligated, but failing the pope gives you some kind of penalty).

Real player with 32.5 hrs in game

Lorenzo il Magnifico on Steam

Victoria 3

Victoria 3

SHAPE A GRAND TOMORROW

Paradox Development Studio invites you to build your ideal society in the tumult of the exciting and transformative 19th century. Balance the competing interests in your society and earn your place in the sun in Victoria 3, one of the most anticipated games in Paradox’s history.

THE ULTIMATE SOCIETY SIMULATOR

  • Lead dozens of world nations from 1836-1936. Agrarian or Industrial, Traditional or Radical, Peaceful or Expansionist… the choice is yours.

  • Detailed population groups with their own economic needs and political desires.

  • Reform your government and constitution to take advantage of new social innovations, or preserve the stability of your nation by holding fast to tradition in the face of revolutionaries.

  • Research transformative new technology or ideas to improve your national situation.

DEEP ECONOMIC SYSTEM

  • Expand your industry to take advantage of lucrative goods, taxing the profits to improve national prosperity.

  • Import cheap raw materials to cover your basic needs while finding new markets for your finished goods.

  • Secure vital goods to fuel your advanced economy and control the fate of empires.

  • Balance employing available labor force with the needs for new types of workers.

PLAY ON A GRAND STAGE

  • Use your diplomatic wiles to weave a tangled global web of pacts, relations, alliances, and rivalries to secure your diplomatic position on the world stage.

  • Employ threats, military prowess and bluffs to persuade enemies to back down in conflicts.

  • Increase your economic and military strength at the expense of rivals.

  • Accumulate prestige and the respect of your rivals as you build an industrial giant at home or an empire abroad.

Victoria 3 on Steam

Computer Tycoon

Computer Tycoon

This is the first review I’ve ever written, even though I have nearly 100 games in my library, so that should tell you something just there. Computer Tycoon is easily one of the greatest tycoon games I have ever tried, right up there with Game Dev Tycoon and Automation (might’ve got the name wrong). It is addictive, and my first 10 minutes of playing it turned into hours upon hours of doing so. For sure worth the price! You get a WHOLE lot of gameplay, and I haven’t even tried hard mode yet. Everything is nearly completely customizable and it is just overall amazing. Some aspects could use some work, though, such as a slow lategame. When you get near 2010, and really 2000s in general, the game really takes a hit. Demand is FAR more than you could ever produce (I mean, you could, but repeating the same process of buying sites, upgrading factories, upgrading recreation, repeat, gets REALLY boring and almost made me stop playing), research gets really slow as in you don’t really have anything to research lategame. For me, it just ran out for a while. Which REALLY made the research department useless, so that is a definite con. Competitors seem to research everything much quicker, and receive an unfair advantage even though you have the best computer on the market PLUS its cheap, and yet they still have the entire world in their color. If there was a way to mass-buy land or mass-produce sites, or to add more factory upgrades, it would make things much better. Again, competitors obviously don’t face this issue and complete everything instantly. At least, that is how it is currently working for me.

Real player with 712.2 hrs in game

After playing it for hours and as a tycoon-games fan, I think this review would be usefull for both the players and the developer(s).

A good, well-balanced Computer Business tycoon game. It’s main focus is computer parts and models, rather than Sims-style city building, which is what many Comp-tycoon players look for.

There are several pros and cons of this game and it is still in alpha-stage; which I hope will result in a batter, near flawless game.

Pros: Vast range of computer parts from memory units to mother boards. Rather than popping computer products, in this game you built your own computer to sell on the market. That way, there are endless possibilities from selling high-end computers to Celeron-type low-end ones; and maintaining classic Home Computer series. During the game, you’d have many available components to choose from. I named my graphic cards as Burnout 100, 109, 330 etc. Quite fun.

Real player with 51.3 hrs in game

Computer Tycoon on Steam

Port Royale 2

Port Royale 2

i started the game with high expectation, because many veteran reviewers commented favorlably.

I’m a senior old gamer, so retro graphic is ok, merchant part is repetive? it’s no problem.Rather, it’s fun.

Buy low and sell high and build facilities to produce goods…….all fun.

But one thing i can’t put up with……WHY MUST I FIGHT ENEMY FLEET WITH ONLY ONE SHIP?

i can build a fleet up to ten ships.

But when battle begins, only JUST ONE of my ships fights while enemy fleet attacks with 5 ships.

Real player with 348.1 hrs in game

There is no better economic simulator that exists that I know of. There are many good City Sims and Tycoon style games that wish they had the economic engine behind this game. Every one of the 65+ cities in this game have unique features and needs based on a complex mix of random events and your ability to supply them. I could go on and on about the complex yet easier to comprehend industry and economic simulation in this game, it is that engrossing and one of a kind. I am actually upset PR3 was so terrible compared to this gem.

Real player with 110.7 hrs in game

Port Royale 2 on Steam

Rise of Venice

Rise of Venice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibpa8xx8J04

Rise of Venice fits into a weird sub-genre of sail based economy simulator. Rise of Venice is almost an identical clone to Partician and Port Royale. The major difference comes down to the maps. Rise of Venice original covers the area of the world Genoa and east while the Gold version extends to the Portuguese coast of the Mediterannian.

The game is broken down into ships (convoys), businesses (production buildings), and warehouses (where you manage resources). The game can overly overwhelm new players to the sub-genre but it comes with an excellent single player that breaks down the game. The single player campaign can take up to 20 hours to complete while the free play will be worth another 100 hours. Add in the Challenge Mode and you are looking at a grand total of 160 hours of gameplay in this game.

Real player with 306.7 hrs in game

Once again, I’m left wanting a “meh” button instead of a thumbs up or down…

This isn’t so much a bad game as it is the complete stagnation of two different good series. As someone who loved Patrician III, I can say that this game basically just copy-pastes most of the good ideas from that game, dumbed some of them down or made you arbitrarily incapable of trading trading certain goods until you unlocked them, and went piddling on ahead with them.

Like Patrician, you basically just get a boat to buy low and sell high repeatedly until you can afford to buy more boats or build a business that lets you make things directly for less price than buying them, then turning around and selling them for even more money you can use to buy more stuff to make MORE money… Like Patrician, if you’re the sort of person who likes managing an empire, and seeing your assets grow and grow while you build up towards even larger steps of growth, this can be fun. This system is dumbed down compared to Patrician, however, with less interconnected supply lines and with prices much more strictly tied to an “average” price to the point where you don’t need to do anything but look for whether something has two or more green bars before you buy it and only sell when it has no green bars.

Real player with 199.6 hrs in game

Rise of Venice on Steam

The Seven Years War (1756-1763)

The Seven Years War (1756-1763)

yes this game is like total war but there are some crucial differences,

-of course one man cannot provide the same graphics as creative assembly but this is already the only negativ difference, allthough it should be mentioned that the graphics are amazing for a one man project

-this game is a rts: no round-based movement exploits like in total war, so army movement on the campaign map is also part of stretegic gameplay as it should be, no helplessly watching armies taking your undefended cities

Real player with 144.7 hrs in game

I am going to be as honest as possible here. I am an old grognard who loves games varying in compexity from Gary Grigsby, through the Scourge of War series to Total War and some of the great mods that have been made. The point is if there is a new grand stategy game that comes out I will buy it. No refunds, I will gradually work hard to understand the game and if it isn’t quite a diamond in the rough to start with I’ll be patient and revisit from time to time.

There is a huge amount of promise in this game. The mechanics make sense and I do love the passion that has gone into making this game. I will say straight away that it gets a recommend from me simply because of the ambition and effort of the one man who put it together.

Real player with 76.9 hrs in game

The Seven Years War (1756-1763) on Steam

Ozymandias: Bronze Age Empire Sim

Ozymandias: Bronze Age Empire Sim

If you’re interested in Ozymandias, please wishlist, follow us and download the demo! :)

At the dawn of history, Bronze Age kings built the first empires. Strategize their rise to power in a uniquely streamlined 4X.

DISTILLED DESIGN

  • Focus on strategy over tactics, we’ve stripped the busywork out of 4X gameplay.

  • Combat abstracted via innovative Power system so you need only move armies and fleets.

HISTORICAL MAPS

  • 8 handmade maps charting Bronze Ages around the world, empires in real-world locations.

  • Empires are tagged from ‘Easy’ to ‘Very Hard’ to reflect their unique challenges.

COMPETITIVE AI

  • Data-driven AI system, flexible enough to succeed in any environment.

  • Streamlined ruleset is inherently AI-friendly so no ‘AI cheating’ required.

MULTIPLAYER

  • Players take their turns simultaneously so there’s no waiting around.

  • Choose to play ‘live’ (short turn timers) or ‘asynchronous’ (long game timers).

Ozymandias: Bronze Age Empire Sim on Steam

Victoria II

Victoria II

“Ugh… What could’ve been… Praise KEK that I at least have my videogames to live out my epic power fantasies”

Real player with 1707.9 hrs in game

Really fun game once you get the hang of it, and If you ever get bored of the base vanilla content, there’s so much creative and fun community mods that gives the game infinite replayability

Real player with 1442.6 hrs in game

Victoria II on Steam