Merchant Prince is a turn-based 4X strategy video game franchise set in the Republic of Venice during the Renaissance. The first was published in Europe in 1993, and North America in 1994; in 1995; and in 2001. All three were developed by Holistic Design (HDI) but had separate publishers. The first two use MS-DOS; the third Windows. All three support up to four players and differ chiefly in their graphics and user interface.
In general, the games are trade simulators where items are bought low, transported, and sold high. They achieved notability, however, for their representation of Venetian and papal politics, with players able to bribe senators and cardinals for political, military, and religious power. Overt attacks against other players can destroy one's popularity and influence, but the game offers a thieves' den where covert options include arson, rumor-mongering, and assassination. The games are won after a predetermined number of turns (years) by the player with the highest net worth, including the value of bribed senators and cardinals.
The game's world map has been praised as "capturing what exploring is really like", as the player expands beyond the known and certain world into distant seas and lands which have been filled in only by rumor, legend, and wild speculation.
Story
The games begin with a letter from the player's wealthy uncle Niccolo announcing that he has died and left the majority of his estate to his daughters. He has left the player a yearly stipend of 100 florins (i.e., ducats), a map of the known world, at least one trading vessel, and some advice reminiscent of Machiavelli: "you must stick to the good so long as you can but if compelled by necessity you must be ready to use other means" and the "Golden Rule" that "he who has the gold makes the rules". The player's goal—over one lifetime or several—is to improve his family's standing.
Gameplay
Players choose a family crest and surname rather than an individual name. Play begins in AD 1300 and can last (in the first two titles) as late as 1492, the year of Columbus's rediscovery of the Americas. The default map covers all of Afro-Eurasia and permits the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope but not the North Cape. This can be replaced by randomized maps with variable amounts of ocean, forest, desert, &c. The game is won by the first player to acquire a million florins or by the player with the highest net worth at game's end.
Venice
The player competes with three other families—either other humans or AIs of variable difficulty—to be the most successful clan in Venice. Opponents may be negotiated or allied with, aided, or threatened. The Council of Ten may all be bribed into service, allowing the player to be appointed as Venice's council head, general, admiral, or minister of construction. A family may only hold one office at a time, but any family with a senator must receive a post. Funds may be well-used or embezzled; those without access to the city's army may still hire large mercenary forces at the Campanile. The council head receives no funds but may try senators for treason. Support from a majority of the council at the decennial election allows one to hold the office of doge, controlling other appointments and Venice's taxation. Popularity can be improved by donations to the church, by throwing lavish masquerades, or by funding major works of sculpture, painting, and architecture. Defeating brigands and pirates in battle is also well received. The wealthiest families may purchase ecclesiastical benefices, providing income and influence in the college of cardinals. Enough influence at a conclave gives a player control over the papacy itself. Popes may embezzle church funds, "excommunicate" (i.e., place an interdict upon) Christian cities, and gather crusading armies. In some games, overindulgence in indulgences provokes an earlier Reformation, turning northern cities against Italy and its traders. Direct attacks against friendly cities or fellow Venetians, when proven, is highly unpopular and must be compensated through fines. For the devious, impatient, or wrathful, "den of iniquities" permits players to burn others' warehouses and homes, destroy reputations with rumormongering, or to assassinate senators, cardinals, doges, and popes. Being tied to the act can destroy one's reputation, but other players can be framed as well.