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Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)
Year
2012
Players
14
Play time
240min
Min age
14+
Weight
3.01
BGG rating
7.12
BGG rank
#1349
Best with
3

Local copies

Rating: 7.0

Merchant of Venus uses many elements that come together to form a very interesting game. Players take on the roles of space traders who move their ships through interconnected systems discovering new alien worlds to trade with. As players start to make money delivering commodities in a unique supply-and-demand system, their earnings can be used to purchase better ships and equipment (shields, lasers, engines, etc...) and construct their own spaceports (which speed up trading) and factories (which create better commodities). Variations included in the rulebook allow for interplayer combat. The player who first acquires enough total value ($1000, $2000, $3000, $4000) in cash and port/factory deeds takes the day. For the 2012 edition of Merchant of Venus from Fantasy Flight Games, the company promises that this revision "remains true to its magnificently campy core while updating the map and game components and expanding game play in surprising ways that will cause even the most hardcore fan to celebrate." That said, the player count has been lowered from six (in the Avalon Hill edition) to four, with the four races in the game being Human, Whynom, Qossuth, and Eeepeeep.

Categories

EconomicScience FictionSpace ExplorationExplorationTransportation

Mechanics

Variable Set-upDice RollingCommodity SpeculationPoint to Point MovementPick-up and DeliverRoll / Spin and Move

Best with how many players

1
Not rec.
2
Recommended
3
Best
4
Recommended
4+
Not rec.

Community votes from BoardGameGeek

Language dependence

Moderate in-game text(10 of 18 votes)

Sub-rankings

  • Strategy Game Rank#766
  • Thematic Rank#281

Learn to play

More videos

External data

Wikidata enrichment: 2 links · 0 facts · latest game data 06/20/2026.

Latest Wikidata run: ok · 06/20/2026.

Links

  • Official rulesfantasyflightgames.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official rulesfantasyflightgames.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official rulesfantasyflightgames.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official FAQfantasyflightgames.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official FAQimages-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official FAQfantasyflightgames.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official FAQimages-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Publisher supportfantasyflightgames.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Wikipedia (en)en.wikipedia.org

    Source: WikidataUpdated 06/20/2026

  • Wikidatawikidata.org

    Source: WikidataUpdated 06/20/2026