MERCHANT OF VENUS Classic Game Solitaire AI (v1.

2)

Introduction:

This is a solitaire AI intended to provide a reasonably challenging opponent for a 2-player game of the
Classic Version of Fantasy Flight Games Merchant of Venus 2 nd Edition. It can also be used as a solitaire
opponent for the first edition of Merchant of Venus produced by Avalon Hill. It does not use Challenge
Cards or Rastur. The AI has a limited set of instructions for movement, buying, and selling, but makes up
for its limited scope by having some starting advantages and some advantages in trading.

Setup:

1. The AI player is always the Whynom race. The human player can play any of the other three
races.
2. Both races start with the standard 2-player starting spaceship and money, a Scout ship and $40
($20 x 2 players).
3. The AI also gets the following advantages for their spaceship:
a. An Air Foil – This has the same function as the Relic Air Foil.
b. A Switch Switch – This has the same function as the Relic Switch Switch.
c. Both the Relic Air Foil and Relic Switch Switch are still available as Encounters for both
the Human and AI players.
d. The AI also starts with a Shield on the hull.

AI Movement:

1. GENERAL:
a. The AI never Observes Cultures. It will always attempt to land at a City or Spaceport.
When choosing where to land, it will choose Open and Player-owned spaceports over
Cities.
b. The AI will always try to use the shortest movement possible THAT IT CAN AFFORD to its
destination. This includes using the Air Foil to skip along the surface of a planet.
c. Encounter spaces: If the AI exposes a Relic on an Encounter space, it will land and pick
up the Relic. Anything else, it will attempt to continue its movement towards its original
destination, if possible. This includes using the Switch Switch to avoid using Telegates.
2. TRAVEL MODES:
a. The AI has three modes of travel. Each turn, it will make an assessment of which travel
mode it will use this turn and move accordingly. The AI has no memory of any previous
turn and will make a brand new assessment each turn depending on what System it is in
as to what type of movement to use that turn without regard to what it was doing last
turn. (i.e. it could be on the way to one system to explore on one turn and on the next
turn, decide to go someplace else instead to sell.) If the AI ends a turn between Systems,
continue to the original Destination, do not choose a new Travel Mode.
b. The three travel modes are: Explore, Buy, and Sell.
c. No matter which travel mode the AI is using, it will choose its intended
destination/direction using Appendix A, the Destination Priority Chart. The system that
the AI is currently occupying always has the highest priority. After the current system, all
other destinations are listed in priority order.
d. Explore Mode:
i. If the AI’s current system or any of the systems on the Destination Priority chart
for this system have NOT BEEN DISCOVERED and the AI’s ship’s HOLDS ARE
NOT FULL, the AI will choose Explore Mode.
ii. In Explore Mode, the AI will choose the direction that will take it to a landing on
highest priority undiscovered system and attempt to land there.
iii. See AI Commerce below for instructions on what the AI does when it discovers
an unexplored system.
e. Buy Mode:
i. If the AI’s current system and all of the systems on the Destination Priority chart
for this system have ALREADY BEEN DISCOVERED and the AI’s ship’s HOLDS
ARE NOT FULL, the AI will choose Buy Mode.
ii. In Buy Mode, the AI will choose the direction that will take it to a landing on the
highest priority system that is selling goods (regardless if buyers for that good
have been discovered or not).
iii. Sometimes, this means the AI will just stay at whatever system it is at and buy
as much as it can. It will move to an Open or player-owned Spaceport to do this,
if any are available.
iv. See AI Commerce below for instructions on what the AI will buy when it gets
there.
f. Sell Mode:
i. If the AI’s ship’s HOLDS ARE FULL, the AI will choose Sell Mode. Passengers do
NOT count as occupying a Hold. The AI ignores Passengers for cargo space.
ii. In Sell Mode, the AI will choose the direction that will take it to a landing on the
highest priority system that is buying any of the Goods it is carrying. If no buying
systems are listed for this system on the Destination Priority Chart for any of the
AI’s current Goods, the AI will switch to Explore Mode to try to find a buying
system.
iii. If there are no unexplored systems or buying systems on the Destination Priority
Chart for this system when the AI is in Sell Mode, it will look at the Destination
Priority Chart of the highest Priority system for first a buying system, then an
unexplored system. (Example: AI has FULL HOLDS at Giant Planet system and all
of its Destination Priorities have been explored and none are buying the AIs
goods. It will then look at the Destination Priorities of its Destination Priorities
to find a buyer or unexplored system. So it would look next at War-Torn System
and Water World, the Destination Priorities of the Multi-Generational Ship.
Space Station Planet would have already been eliminated on the first check.)
iv. The AI does not consider any Demands for Goods when choosing a Destination
in Sell Mode, it only uses the Destination Priority Chart.
v. See AI Commerce below for instructions on what transactions the AI will
conduct on arrival.
AI Commerce:

1. AI Advantages:
a. The AI gets a 10% Discount on Factory Deeds it buys. (Standard 20% discount on
Whynom Factory Deed.)
b. The AI gets a 20% Commission on ALL TRANSACTIONS at an AI-owned Spaceport.
(Example: AI buys an $80 Good at its own Spaceport. It receives $16 in Commission.)
c. The AI gets a 20% Discount on a Transport Ship bought at the Whynom system.
d. All Barter items (IOUs, Relics, Ships) receive no Discounts, Bonuses or Commissions.
They are always treated at face value. However, the AI receives change for all purchases
involving Barter goods or IOUs as if they were cash (unlike the human player).
2. First Contact IOUs:
a. See Appendix B, First Contact IOU Chart to see what the AI will do with the IOU when it
discovers a Culture. NOTE: If the IOU transaction uses up a BUY action, it will be called
out on the First Contact IOU Chart and may affect if the AI can or will buy anything else.
3. Selling Goods:
a. Regardless of the Travel Mode chosen for this turn, the AI will always attempt to sell as
many goods as it is allowed on the turn it lands or stays at a system that is buying Goods
it is carrying.
b. The AI will always chose an Open or Player-owned Spaceport to land on, if one is
available and can be reached.
c. Whether the AI STAYS at this System on subsequent turns or moves to a Spaceport to
sell more Goods DOES depend on the Travel Mode chosen on that subsequent turn. (i.e.
it will only stay in this System and sell more if it chooses Sell Mode or Buy Mode.)
d. The AI always does all the Selling it can before it does any Buying.
4. Buying:
a. The AI only buys Goods at a System when it has either chosen Buy Mode as its Travel
Mode OR it is using a First Contact IOU. (Exception: The AI will buy a Factory Good with
a Buy action regardless of Travel Mode if it has enough money and just purchased a
Factory Deed with a First Contact IOU. See First Contact IOU Chart.)
b. The AI will always attempt to buy a Factory Deed or first Spaceport Deed if it has enough
Credits/Barter and a Buy action available regardless of Travel Mode chosen this turn.
c. Whether the AI STAYS at this System on subsequent turns or moves to a Spaceport to
buy more items depends on the Travel Mode chosen on that subsequent turn. (i.e. it will
only stay in this System and buy more items if it chooses Buy Mode.)
d. If the AI decides to Buy, it will buy as many items as the turn allows and it can afford.
e. The AI will Barter any Relics it has (potentially receiving change) to buy items before it
uses any money. The AI will also always sell anything it can Sell before buying anything.
 f. The AI will attempt to purchase whatever it can afford following this priority:
i. Factory Deed
ii. First AI-owned Spaceport in a System.
iii. Factory Good
iv. Regular Goods (as many as Hold allows and it can afford on that turn)
v. Upgrade Ship (See Miscellaneous Section below)
vi. 2nd or more AI-owned Spaceport in this System.
5. Miscellaneous:
a. The AI never buys equipment (Shields or Drives).
b. The AI will upgrade its ship to a Clipper Ship from a Scout Ship ONLY if it has Barter
Items of any amount (other than the Scout Ship trade-in) to help pay for it or it is using
the IOU at the Yxklyx system. It will not pay cash only to upgrade to a Clipper Ship.
c. The AI will only upgrade to a Transport Ship (from a Scout or Clipper) at its home
Whynom system (where it can get a discount in addition to any trade-ins, see above). It
WILL use cash to buy its own Transport Ship if it has the money available. In this one
case, this has priority over all other Buy priorities.
d. The AI will stop to pick up Relics that are found on Encounter Spaces. The AI does not
use ANY Relics EXCEPT the Relic Shield and Relic Yellow Drive. It will keep and use those
Relics. For all other Relics, the AI will use it for Barter at the next system it buys from.
e. The AI will pick up a Passenger if it has Hold space and one is available at a system it
lands at. However, a Passenger never affects the AIs decision about where it will
attempt to go next and will be jettisoned for a Good at first opportunity to buy a Good
for that Hold. If the AI lands at the Passenger’s Destination and it somehow survived the
trip , it will cash in the Passenger. Passengers also never count as filling a Hold for
purposes of selecting a Travel Mode.
f. Once the game starts, the AI will only land on Galactic Base if it is passing through that
path on its regular movement Priority AND it is carrying a Passenger.

TRAVEL MODE CHART

For the system the AI is in: Holds Not Full Holds Full
Unexplored Systems on Destination Priority Chart EXPLORE SELL (EXPLORE)
All Systems Explored on Destination Priority Chart BUY SELL (EXPLORE Remote)
APPENDIX A:

DESTINATION PRIORITY CHART

NOTE: The AI’s Current System always has highest Priority as a Destination.
Current AI System Destination System Notes
Ice World Jungle World
Asteroid System
Trapped Rogue Planet
Asteroid System War Torn System
Ice World
Multi-Generational Ship
War-Torn System Multi-Generational Ship
Asteroid System
Polluted Planet
Multi-Generational Ship Space Station Planet [1] AI Chooses that direction and moves to the
War-Torn System/Giant Planet [1] one it can reach using Nav Circles and dice roll
Water World (including Switch Switch)
Giant Planet Multi-Generational Ship
Space Station Planet
Colony World
Jungle World Ice World
Trapped Rogue Planet
Giant Planet
Polluted Planet Water World/Space Station Planet [1] [1] AI Chooses that direction and moves to the
War-Torn System one it can reach using Nav Circles and dice roll
Inhabited Moon (including Switch Switch)
Space Station Planet Multi-Generational Ship [1] AI Chooses that direction and moves to the
Interstellar Biosphere one it can reach using Nav Circles and dice roll
Water World/Polluted Planet [1] (including Switch Switch)
Colony World Giant Planet
Space Station Planet
Interstellar Biosphere
Trapped Rogue Planet Jungle World
Desert World
Interstellar Biosphere
Interstellar Biosphere Space Station Planet
Desert World
Multi-Generational Ship
Desert World Trapped Rogue Planet
Interstellar Biosphere
Water World
Space Station Planet
Water World Inhabited Moon
Multi-Generational Ship
Polluted Planet
Desert World
Inhabited Moon Water World
Polluted Planet
Space Station Planet
Galactic Base [1] Space Station Planet [1] After first turn of game, AI will only land here
Interstellar Biosphere if it is dropping off a Passenger.
Colony World
APPENDIX B:

FIRST CONTACT IOU CHART

Culture IOU Amount Instructions

1a - Nillis c80 IF AI has c10 (cash or barter), buy Factory Deed, else buy 1
Bionic Perfume – BUY ACTION used if Factory Deed purchased
1b - Volois c120 IF AI has c20 (cash or barter), buy 1 Canned Traits, else hold
until next visit – BUY ACTION used if Canned Traits purchased
2 - Graw c90 Buy 1 (if in Explore Mode – c60 change returned ) or 2 Glorious
Junk (if in Buy Mode – c30 change returned)
3 - Niks c80 Buy 1 (if in Explore Mode – c60 change returned ) or 2 Living
Toys (if in Buy Mode – c40 change returned)
4a - Dell c60 Buy 1 (if in Explore Mode – c50 change returned ) or 2 Finest
Dust (if in Buy Mode – c40 change returned)
4b - Humans c90 Buy Factory Deed – Buy Factory Good with Buy Action if
Credits/Barter Available regardless of Travel Mode
5 - Shenna c90 Buy Factory Deed – Buy Factory Good with Buy Action if
Credits/Barter Available regardless of Travel Mode
6 - Yxklyx c100 Buy Clipper Ship if in Scout Ship for c90 – c10 change returned
ELSE
Buy 1 (if in Explore Mode – c50 change returned ) or 2 Immortal
Grease (if in Buy Mode)
7a - Zum c100 Buy 1 (if in Explore Mode – c60 change returned ) or 2 Chicle
Liquors (if in Buy Mode – c20 change returned)
7b - Eeepeeep c100 Buy Factory Deed – c10 change returned – Buy Factory Good
with Buy Action if Credits/Barter Available regardless of Travel
Mode
8 - Whynom c80 Buy Factory Deed – c10 change returned – Buy Factory Good
with Buy Action if Credits/Barter Available regardless of Travel
Mode
9a - Cholos c90 Buy 1 Designer Genes – c30 change returned
9b - Wollow c90 Buy Factory Deed – Buy Factory Good with Buy Action if
Credits/Barter Available regardless of Travel Mode
10 - Qossuth c120 If AI has c40 (cash or barter), buy 1 Psychotic Sculpture, else
hold until next visit – BUY ACTION used if Psychotic Sculpture
purchased