Mercator

Mercator is an item shop game set in the third century AD. You begin as a merchant in a tiny shack in Muziris, an ancient Indian trading port, buying and selling goods to customers. As your emporium grows, you can buy properties, work with other merchants, and trade across new regions.

Run your shop

Your aim is to maximize profits by making good deals with customers who visit your shop. Customers can value the same item very differently, and the game does not show you an item's value, so you decide what it is worth. During negotiations, you can ask for better deals and add or remove items in a back-and-forth process.

Workers can craft artisan items from raw materials, research new items, break items down into their raw materials, and reverse-engineer items you find. Later, ships and caravans let you reach new regions and engage in arbitrage.

Work after hours

The day-night cycle gives you activities beyond running the shop. At night, you can buy properties and farmland, scavenge for resources, grow crops including black pepper, travel on rivers and lakes by boat, and fish.

The ancient world

The game’s setting includes Rome and Persia as rival powers, the Chera Empire of Southwest India controlling the pepper industry, and the Aksumite Empire ruling the coasts of east Africa and Arabia. Christianity is just beginning to take hold. As your emporium expands, you encounter new peoples, ideologies and legacies. The world is depicted with pixel art and simple color schemes.