Margins of the Sea Chart

A 16th-century sailing and trading simulation set in 1502, beginning in Lisbon with a single caravel and incomplete maps. You explore uncharted waters—the Atlantic south, beyond Africa—gradually filling in your world map through discovery. The game combines realistic maritime mechanics: wind patterns vary by latitude, affecting travel speed; supplies deplete based on crew size and voyage duration, creating the pressure to find ports or face starvation, disease, and mutiny. Trade is central: 30 commodities have specific origins and markets (cloves from Ternate to Lisbon at tenfold profit), with prices that shift based on local supply and bulk transactions. You hire named officers with special abilities, upgrade your ship across seven types, establish trading posts, and navigate encounters at sea—storms, pirates, wrecks, and mysterious phenomena—each offering multiple tactical choices. The world evolves historically: 12 major events across the game years reshape trade routes and regional relationships, while your reputation with 67 ports determines access to trade and opportunities for privateering.