---
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
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
---
# Trade and trade routes

id: economy-exchange--t088
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/economy-exchange--t088
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/economy-exchange--t088/

Trade moves goods between locations with different needs; routes connect margin to travel time and risk.

## At a glance

![Ships and a trading harbor in Anno 1800](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/priority-anno1800-02.webp)

[Anno 1800](https://store.steampowered.com/app/916440/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. A ship connects distant ports
2. A harbor receives sea transport

- Account for travel time, capacity and risk alongside price differences.

- [Anno 1800](https://store.steampowered.com/app/916440/)

## How it works

Trade moves goods between locations with different needs; routes connect margin to travel time and risk.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t088-variants"></a>

- Price differences compensate a carrier's journey. <a id="t088-v1"></a>
- Caravans need capacity and protection. <a id="t088-v2"></a>
- Return cargo improves the value of a trip. <a id="t088-v3"></a>
- Border closures change available trade routes. <a id="t088-v4"></a>

## Design example

Grain travels to a mining town and the same vehicle brings tools on its return trip.

Prototype check: Check profit including time, upkeep and an empty return journey rather than price differences alone.

## Context and limits

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.

## Connected materials


## Sources and 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.

- [Factorio: Content](https://www.factorio.com/game/content) (id: source-96be186d8ada50a0)
- [Anno 1800](https://store.steampowered.com/app/916440/) (id: source-aef62c4c0fc315ff)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors