The Patrons of Venice

At the height of the Renaissance, the Mediterranean was alive with trading galleys exchanging prized goods between Europe, Africa and the Far East. Vessels from the Baltic Sea carried lumber, wool, iron, and hemp while vessels from the Black Sea delivered silk and spices from the Far East. At the center of it all was the port city of Venice, the "Queen of the Adriatic," where merchant families earned fortunes from the trade. As the head of a Venetian merchant family, you will begin the game with a warehouse and a few ships carrying trade goods. Sponsor local businesses to manufacture raw goods into valuable luxury goods and sell them to local Aristocraticci for money and favor. Compete against other families for raw goods and prime real-estate. Do you place your new draper business in the draper quarter where it will be more profitable, or beside the campo with the beautiful statue to earn your family more prestige? Raw goods are cheaper at the Pirate wharf, but if the Pirates get enough money, they will set sail and rob everyone's ships of their most prized goods!