Machiavelli: The Prince

by MicroProse Software, Inc.

Product Features

• Requires DOS (Windows 95 / 98)
• Remake of Merchant Prince

Product Details

• ASIN: B000I6DO5E
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,376 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

This game is a remake of the popular trading simulation Merchant Prince. You take control over one of the most influencial families in the 14th century. From their hometown Venice, Italy, they controled most of the sea and land trade of this era. The games main ideas a very well done and are based on Niccoló Machiavelli´s famous book "The Prince" which analized the political and religious situation in the the 14th century.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An old favorite of mine, December 7, 2011

By 

Leon Baradat "Homebrewer" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Machiavelli: The Prince (CD-ROM)

I gave this four stars because I happen to like the game--but it wasn't a popular one even in its day, so it may or may not appeal to you. I'll try to give a feel for the games mechanics so you can get a feel for whether you'd enjoy it.

This is a game for four players, human or computer. It mainly revolves around exploring the world and comparing prices for various goods between cities, then buying caravans or ships and setting up trade routes. That establishes an income you can use to explore further and set up more trade routes. Once you're established, you can buy (bribe) senators in order to gain a cabinet position (good for advancing your political, financial, or military position or simply raking in extra cash) or even claiming the Doge's office. You can also participate in ecclesiastical politics by buying (bribing) cardinals. Cardinals bring in kickbacks from indulgences and let you influence papal elections (either to put your house in the Papal See or foil an opponent's bid for it). You can also indulge in skulduggery: assassinations, arson, or spreading rumors, to hurt your opponents.

There's a military element as well. Brigands and pirates sometimes attack caravans, and it's wise to hire guards to defend them--but at times the bad guys become strong enough in an area to regularly cause havoc. Mercenaries are tougher, however, and you can hire mercenary bands to do your bidding--bring them to an infested area and have them attack the thieves, and the area will become safe again. Another good use of mercenaries is to besiege and conquer unfriendly cities that won't trade with Venice. A third use is to defend against hostile armies that sometimes appear (the Mongols, Genoese, etc.). A fourth is to attack your opponents' caravans and ships, if you're prepared for repercussions.

Later in the game it can seem pretty tedious: each turn begins with your automatic trade routes, so you can spend a long time watching your trading fleets come into towns and exchange goods before you get to do anything. The Senate and College of Cardinals never get to decide anything but Doge/Papal elections--it would have added an interesting political element if bills could be introduced and voted on, or what have you. Also, the game lasts a set period; at the start of the game you set it to 15/20/60/100/142 years. (Why 142 years? The game starts in 1300, so 142 brings you to the discovery of the New World in 1492.) So shorter games leave you scrambling to accomplish short-range goals, and longer games can reach a point where it just seems almost pointless to keep playing.

Once you reach the time limit, each player's money and assets are added up, and the one with the greatest total wealth wins the game.

Incidentally, the game can be downloaded free from abandonware sites, so if you just want to play it there's no need to purchase a box copy. OTOH, if you're into getting hard copies of original games, this is a good choice. Machiavelli came in two different boxes, at least here in the States. This one, the black box, included a copy of "The Prince" (one of the few really good translations I've found); the other was a thinner purple box which I don't think came with the book.