Does anyone remember the old BBS door game Trade Wars 2002? Yeah, I'm showing my age a bit here, but if you were dialed into WWIV or any decent local bulletin board back in the 80s or early 90s, chances are you played it.

For those who don't remember, Trade Wars was a space trading and combat simulation where players explored sectors of the galaxy, traded goods, built up planets, formed alliances, and blasted each other into stardust. You'd start with a tiny ship and try to work your way up by buying low and selling high. Classic supply and demand stuff.

You could claim sectors, build space stations, and if you were lucky or ruthless enough, dominate the galaxy. But here�s the kicker, it was multiplayer, turn-based, and persistent. So when you logged off for the night, your enemies might sneak in and wipe you out while you slept. There were port busters, photon torpedoes, and corporate takeovers. It was basically EVE Online's great-great-grandparent. In ASCII.

The Ferengi would have loved it. It was pure capitalism with lasers. There was no Prime Directive, just profit margins and betrayal. Everyone started as a trader, but most ended up as pirates, warlords, or some hybrid of the two.

Honestly, with everything going on lately with China, international trade, market manipulation, and digital warfare, it all kind of reminds me of Trade Wars. Only difference is, back then, we didn't have to worry about supply chains or AI surveillance. We just had to worry about whether someone would blow up our colonized planet while we were in school.

Good times

LLAP/RR