Any good rules of thumb for Ports of Call?

[Amiduffer]

I've just discovered what a strangely adictive game Ports of Call is.

A lot of years ago, I got a version that came with a bunch of disks at the MIT flea market, but got discouraged pretty quickly.

Playing it again, I find its very enjoyable, but still a little frustrating. All I see is my bank accounts quickly dwindle to nothing  :-x  and then of course, my ships on the bottom of the ocean.

For those who made a success of it, what were some of your methods?

Any way to stop people from stealing from your bank account? :pissed:

Thanks.

[ricco32097]

It is a cool game. It gets boring when you get 20+ super ships. I remember I had to go in to my office every two weeks, or I would get some money stolen. I would follow closely the price of the ships. I only bought the super ships. Then I would sell some of them when the price was high and buy when the  price was low.
The route I was using were more of less always the same. I tried to explore the world with one super ship, but I lost a lot of money on that.

[Wildwolf]

Yes, there are the ways to earn money! But I hate to go in office every  2 weeks  :-x

[Amiduffer]

Wildwolf wrote:
Yes, there are the ways to earn money! But I hate to go in office every  2 weeks  :-x

 :lol:  :lol:

Have you tried the new PC version? I was surprised to see that the original authors have put out an updated version for PCs. It looks very nice.

They said they had to sue Aegis in order to get the money they spent researching the game. :rtfm:

[moonstoned]

Nice game. I've been playing it for a whole summer break, to determine the best route. Can't find my notes yet, but I remember Buenos Aires - Marseilles as the most lucrative route, at least when you're using the expensive ships.
Other interesting routes (but not safe ones, so better with low cost ships) are
SanFran - Cape Town
SanFran - Kalkutta (or Karachi?)
Monrovia - anywhere
To Basrah with Weapons
Rio - Sydney

Making quick money:
You should buy 2 big cheap ships, choose Rotterdam or Hamburg or Rio as home port, and travel only to Monrovia for a while.
Or: Buy the small high-class ship, keep it in the docks, and sell it when the price raises.
If this sounds boring to you, choose SanFrancisco or London as home port, and try to stay in the southern hemisphere and asia (low costs and no bad offers)

[avekatten]

I often bought the most expensive ship, in the cheapest category (think it was $5m or so) in the beginning.

Chose New York as home, hoped for an offer to sail with arms to Dar-Es-Saleem (I believe the name was, in the Middle-East). Cost $10.000 to pass the Suez, but otherwise risk-free.

Always buy the best ship within your range, when the price of ships are low. Don't spend time on cheap ones.