Gamers build vast transport and trade networks that change over thousands of years as new technologies are developed and more modern products are discovered. Trade Empires begins at the dawn of human civilization and covers human history up to the 19th century. The game puts a single human player in a world evolving in real time. It is the first trading and transporting simulation to emphasize the effects of technological change over thousands of years on the relatively simple model of producing and delivering commodities to make more money than the other players.
All games are episodes.
Each episode spans an area during a time period, such as trade along the Silk Road between the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty. With each new episode comes a unique list of available products and technologies ranging from the silk, bronze and jade idols of Ancient China to the steam engines, iron plows and rum of the Industrial Revolution. The time period varies dramatically from one episode to another. Consequently, time passes at a different rate in each episode. Some episodes cover a relatively short time period, depicting a historical situation.