1. Speedster09

   10

   If you're into micromanaging and slow-paced strategy gaming, Patrician 3 is my personal #1. Why? Because it is so incredibly addictive due to its depth, long-term goals, and complexity that create an incredible feeling of accomplishment if you decide to stick with it. First off, there are different scenarios you can choose from , though I always immediately went for the infinite play. You can adjust several game settings before you start to make your rise to wealth and power slower or faster. But the fun really starts after that. Starting with limited resources (money & ships) you are eased into the gameplay by starting out with a buying and selling goods; incredibly handy is the option to assign a key to switch between time settings; that way you can greatly cut down on idle time in the beginning of the game (later you'll likely be way too busy to use anything but the slowest speed); but the real excitement is all the other stuff you can do: build more and better ships; construct buildings to collect rent, or to produce or process raw materials that can be sold to the people in different cities as finished products; all of this serves to not only increase your wealth but to also gain the favor of the citizens in order to achieve your ultimate goal: to become elderman of the Hanse; not to mention that on your path to this goal you can become mayor of a city and take on all kinds of responsibilities that come with this, such as fighting off invaders and expanding the city; and did I mention you can also explore the far reaches of the seas, i.e. discover ports all over the owrld and bring back rare goods? or that you can decide to engage in some less legal profiteering such as sending out your ships on pirate raids? A word of caution though (perhaps really 2 points of caution): 1) if you get into this game and like it, prepare to spend countless hours doing so (for why, see below); perhaps the only other games I have ever spend more time on are Morrowind and GTR2; the first because the world it offers for explorations is just insanely huge; and the latter because it really is open-ended by design 2) the game is SLOW; especially later in the game when you will be manage a huge network of trade and supply routes to keep your production going and the people in different cities happy, you will likely play at the slowest speed settings at which a single day takes around 15 minutes (if my memory serves me well); now, even constructing a simple apartment complex or basic manufacturing buildings take a month or more to finish; not to mention that should you want to claim the mayor's seat in a city of your choosing, it will take a full year for new elections to commence… Expand

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2. apaeth

   10

   Even nearly 8 years after it's debut it still stands up as one of the most addictive and elaborate economic trading sims ever made. The economy is dialed in and the trading aspect is complex enough to keep you on your toes. The graphics have aged the sea battles are beyond lame and yet it beats out modern games in this genres by miles.… Expand

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3. tech-noir

   6

   This is a good game. Apparently, I just don't have what it takes to be good at it and advance to make it enjoyable past the point I have reached. I became frustrated after 26 hours of trying and gave up for now. I only plan attempting it again when I am bored, between other games, or when the longing for it surfaces again. It is not a matter of a negatively constructed learning curve. In fact, learning how to play is not an issue at all. There are five tutorials, and they do an okay job at introducing the player to the game. The first campaign focusing on player advancement also instructs and gives hints appropriately, even though not with very much detail as to how to accomplish certain more convoluted aspects of the game. Even after consulting one extensive Wiki and three FAQ pages online, the game is still too difficult for me to succeed in. I've tried, once again, for 26 hours, every strategy and approach known to the experts, and I still would not succeed. The other AI controlled merchants in the game were light years ahead of me. All of the more in-depth reviews seen here are true and accurate. I just simply became frustrated at being mediocre or worse in the game, after 26 hours of trying. The game is difficult to be successful in. It's as simple as that. Perhaps this is a game that requires much more patience, and many more hours to be fully enjoyable. That is the sole reason why I will keep this installed and go back to it sometime in the future. If my experience changes, I will surely come back here and update this review.… Expand

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