{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/economy-exchange--t088","type":"mechanic","id":"economy-exchange--t088","lang":"en","title":"Trade and trade routes","summary":"Trade moves goods between locations with different needs; routes connect margin to travel time and risk.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/economy-exchange--t088/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/economy-exchange--t088.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/economy-exchange--t088.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Economy and exchange","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-96be186d8ada50a0","source-aef62c4c0fc315ff"],"sources":[{"id":"source-96be186d8ada50a0","title":"Factorio: Content","url":"https://www.factorio.com/game/content","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-aef62c4c0fc315ff","title":"Anno 1800","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/916440/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Trade moves goods between locations with different needs; routes connect margin to travel time and risk."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t088-variants\"></a>\n\n- Price differences compensate a carrier's journey. <a id=\"t088-v1\"></a>\n- Caravans need capacity and protection. <a id=\"t088-v2\"></a>\n- Return cargo improves the value of a trip. <a id=\"t088-v3\"></a>\n- Border closures change available trade routes. <a id=\"t088-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Grain travels to a mining town and the same vehicle brings tools on its return trip.\n\nPrototype check: Check profit including time, upkeep and an empty return journey rather than price differences alone."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Economic rules connect production, allocation, commitments and exchange; prices should communicate scarcity and available alternatives. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"economy-exchange","id":"t088","title":"Economy and exchange","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/economy-exchange/#t088","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Trade and trade routes","description":"Trade moves goods between locations with different needs; routes connect margin to travel time and risk.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/priority-anno1800-02.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Anno 1800","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/916440/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/916440/957eb75b4ed13d3d313e0cda02b2486c99207f3b/ss_957eb75b4ed13d3d313e0cda02b2486c99207f3b.1920x1080.jpg?t=1791465786","credit":"Ubisoft Mainz / Ubisoft","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Ships and a trading harbor in Anno 1800","alt":"Ships and a trading harbor in Anno 1800","markers":[{"x":49,"y":67,"label":"A ship connects distant ports"},{"x":61,"y":42,"label":"A harbor receives sea transport"}]},"tips":["Account for travel time, capacity and risk alongside price differences."],"examples":[{"title":"Anno 1800","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/916440/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/economy-exchange"}}