Contents

Space Tycoon is a virtual board game.  Move your ships around the playing board, buy and sell properties, and do your best to drive the computer's players bankrupt.  There are unpredictable events, uprisings, taxes, a Federal agent and more to look out for, and keep an eye on your fuel gauge...

Space Tycoon takes place in a future when anyone can buy a starship for a few million dollars and try to make a living bouncing around between the stars.  Banks and Feds are always interfering in the affairs of mortals.  Anyone can make a fortune, but there are a lot of bruises along the way.

How to Play
Main Window
Main Menu
Types of Boxes
Types of Events
Basic Strategy
Game Settings
About the Program


How to Play
How To Play?

Player Settings:
When you start a new game, go to the Game Menu: Player Setup to give each player a name, and decide whether you or the computer control each player.

The Game Board:
The game board starts off with 40 boxes, but you may add boxes to the board while playing.  The first box is always the Starbase, your home.  You start the game with a salary of k$250, and each time you make it around the board you dock at the Starbase box and collect your Salary.  See Types of Boxes for a complete list of all the boxes you might run into on the game board.

Next Player, please...
The main flow of the game involves pressing the Next Player button.  This rolls a 6-sided die, and moves the player the number of boxes rolled.  You must respond to the events that happen as the players move around the game board.  Messages and options pop up, and you need to make decisions about which properties to buy.

Events galore!
There are special boxes on the game board called Space Boxes.  When you land on a space box, any of a very wide range of events will happen.  Some are good, some are bad, others are weird, bizarre or funny.  But that's life in Space Tycoon ...

Special Powers, too.
As you play the game, you may find or win Special Powers.  These will cancel some of the hazards of the game and give you an advantage over other players.  But be warned ... the computer's players can get the same powers you have!

Keep an eye on your fuel gauge...
As you move, you use fuel, and you need to avoid running out of fuel, since this involves sending a personal rescue ship out to save you, which is dreadfully expensive.  You also have a limited supply of spare parts, which are used up when you land on Repair Boxes; if you run out of spare parts, your ship will be crippled and only move 1 or 2 boxes per turn until you can get to the Starbase to buy more parts.

See Main Window, Main Menu, Types of Boxes,Types of Events,Special Powers


Main Window

The Main Window of Space Tycoon is divided into a number of important areas, as shown on the illustration above.

The Playing Board is a series of 8 boxes.  Since the entire game board starts with 40 boxes, and may grow to as large as 100 boxes, there is no way to show the entire board.  Instead, 8 boxes are shown at a time, starting from the box where the current player is located.  The boxes on the screen are arranged sequentially, as shown here:

See Game Boxes for details on how the boxes are displayed.

The Die shows up over the last box of the playing board.  When players click the Next Player button, this virtual 6-sided die will roll.  Click the die to move the players the number of boxes rolled on the die.

The Player Icons and Cash Display shows the icon used for each player.  Under each icon is the player's cash total.

The Scores Area is where the scores are shown.

All of your players add their cash together and all the computer's players do the same.  The totals are shown in the scores area, with a colored bar graphic to help you visualize the scores.  At the top of the Scores Area, the computer will make occasional comments about how the game is progressing.

The Current Player Info Area shows important information about the current player, as shown here:

The info area shows the player number, name, and icon; plus the player's fuel reserves, cash total, and which box of the game board the player is on (as in "Space 5").  Finally, the info area shows whether the player is controlled by the computer or the user ("human").

The Development Fund Display is next to the Player Info Area.  This shows the amount of money currently waiting in the Development Fund.  Underneath is the current Growth Rate, as shown here:

The Game Controls Area has several buttons and displays of importance:

Property Survey Button:  Click here for a list of all properties, and who owns what.  See Property Survey for details.

Shops Button: Click here to bring up the Construction Window.  This is where you buy and sell shops on your properties, or even sell your properties.  See Shops for details.

Player Info Button: Click here to view detailed player information on all players.  See Player Info Window for details.

NEXT PLAYER Button: This is the button you click more than any other.  When a player has finished moving, click the Next Player button to make the next player roll the dice and move.  The ENTER key will press this button for you.


Main Menu

GAME Menu:
New Game: click here to start a new game.
Load Game: click here to load a game board or a saved game.   Game boards should have a *.BRD filename, and can be edited and created using the Tycoon Board Editor.  Saved games have a *.SAV filename, and are saved from Space Tycoon.
Save Game: click here to save the current game.
Player Setup: click here to change the Player Settings, which involves naming the players and deciding who will control each player (you or the computer).
High Scores: click here to bring up the High Scores window.  The 7 top scores will be shown, and the list of scores can be cleared at any time by clicking the Clear Button.
Quit: click here to end the program.

OPTIONS Menu:
Background Options: There are several options for the game background, either black, a random star pattern, or a bitmap.  The bitmap will be tiled, and should be mostly black, so that the game components stand out against it.
Music On: click here to turn the MIDI music on or off.
Music File: click here to turn the choose a new MIDI file to play.
Show Dice: click here to turn the die rolling on or off.  The game runs faster with the die turned off.

HELP Menu:
Contents: click here to bring up this help file.
About: click here to bring up a window with version and product info.


Game Boxes

The Space Tycoon game board is divided into at least 40 boxes.  Each box is displayed on the screen as shown here:

The box display varies depending on the type of box involved.  Every box shows the Title of the box, and which players are located on that box.  Properties will also show the buying price of the box (if it is available for sale) or the rent for boxes which have already been purchased.  Some properties are industries, which can be purchased, but cannot have shops built on them.  Special boxes will have a message instead of the rent display.

See Types of Boxes for a description of the types of boxes on the game board.


Types of Boxes
Types of Boxes on the Game Board

There are a lot of different types of boxes on the game board ... and this is what makes the game challenging.  Here are the different types of boxes, and how they affect you when you land on them:

Property Boxes are pieces of real estate you can buy and build shops on.

Industry Boxes are businesses you can buy, but you cannot build shops on them.

The Starbase Box is your home base.  When you pass the starbase, you collect your salary, whetever that happens to be at the time.

Market Boxes give you an opportunity to buy and sell stocks.  The process is automated for you.  A window comes up and asks you if you're ready for action.  Click the OK button and watch your stock prices as the prices fluctuate.  You closing balance will be shown.  Good luck.

Crew Payment Boxes will force you to pay your crew k$20.

Fuel Boxes are the ONLY place where you can buy fuel.  Fuel costs k$1 per unit, and do try to avoid running out.

Space Boxes are the life of the game.  You never know what will happen on a space box.  There are a wide range of Events that can happen here.  Events can change your salary, the income tax rate, destroy shops, send you to other boxes, and even give you special powers.  For a complete list of the types of events to look out for, see Types of Events.

Jump Boxes will send you somewhere else.  Some of them give you a clue, some shoot you off at random.

Add-a-Space Boxes are interesting.  They will allow you to add a new BOX to the playing board for 10% of your savings.  The box will be added at the end of the board, and can be almost any type of box except a starbase.

Add-an-Event Boxes will let you add a new event to the game.  You can only add simple events where you Pay or Collect amounts of money, but the event text can be as bizarre as you'd like.  Your new event is immediately active, and can happen at a Space Box at any time.

Repairs Boxes will cause a malfunction on your ship which can only be fixed by using spare parts.  You start the game with 50 spare parts, and can buy more at the Starbase.  If you don't have enough parts to repair a malfunction, your ship will be crippled, and can only go 1 or 2 boxes per turn.

Development Fund Boxes are very desirable things.  When you land on a Fund Box, you get all the money currently waiting in the Development Fund, and there is no upper limit to how much money the fund can hold!

Income Tax Boxes are not nearly as enjoyable.  The income tax starts at 10%, but certain events can cause the rate to change.  When you land on an Income Tax box, you pay your taxes immediately.  No way out.

Vortex Boxes are the bane of all space travellers.  Your ship will get caught in a gravitational maelstrom until you roll a 6.  If you are unlucky, you can spend a very long time trapped in a vortex...

The Roaming FED is not a box on the game board.  Instead, the Fed is an icon that moves around on the game board.  If the Fed lands on a player, the player will be interrogated, and may be forced to pay fines for breaking obscure regulations.  Watch out for the Fed, who looks like a small police officer's head.


Types of Events
Space Boxes: Types of Events

As you land on Space Boxes, you may get the feeling that there are and endless array of events that pop up.  In fact, the game starts off with 60 events, and they fall into a number of important categories:

Collect Events are events where you end up collecting money, no strings attached.

Pay Events are events where you pay money.

Property Tax Events are events where you must pay a certain amount per property or shop that you own.  This can get expensive.

Goto Events simply send you to another box on the game board.

Other Box Events cause the Space Box to act like another type of box, such as Fuel, Repairs, Income Tax, etc.

Salary Events will change your salary.  Could be good or bad.

Special Power Events will affect your Special Powers.  You may gain a power or lose a power.

Each Player Events will have you collect money from each player, or pay money to each player, depending on whether you are lucky or unlucky.

Growth Rate Events affect the Growth Rate, which is what percent of cash paid by players is trasferred to the Development Fund.

Lose-a-Turn Events cause you to lose a turn.

Fund Events cause the amount of money in the Development Fund to change.

Disaster Events affect a particular box on the game board.  All shops on this box are destroyed.  If there are no shops on that box, the property itself is lost, and is available to be bought by other players.  If nobody owns the box, nothing happens.

Income Tax Events will change the rate of Income Tax.  The Income Tax starts at 10% (after all, this is a fantasy game!), but can go as low as 5% or as high as ...?

Paying Money?  On the bright side, when you pay money during an event, the money is not entirely gone.  Half of all cash paid ends up in the Development Fund.  Actually, this half (50%) is the Growth Rate at the start of the game, but certain events may cause the Growth Rate to change during the course of the game.


Special Powers

There are 5 Special Powers which you may acquire as you zoom around the galaxy.  These are:

CyberPilot:  with this power, you may add or subtract one from any die roll, so you have control over which boxes you land on.  Unfortunately, if you modify the roll, it costs twice the fuel to get to the box you choose.

Market Master:  with this power, all Market Deals start off $20 higher than normal, and are more likely to come out positive.

Bank Subsidy: with this power, some bank will pay half of all rent expenses for your ship.  So, when you land on properties owned by other players, you only pay half the normal rent.

Sensor Array: with this power, you are never affected by the Vortex.

Master Engineer: with this power, you use half the spare parts usually needed for repairs.  Your engineer is much more creative, and can find parts your ship isn't really using, and use them for repairs.


Strategy
Strategy in Space Tycoon


Player Settings

The Player Setup Window is where you name your players and decide who will control each player (you or the computer).  At the top is a dropdown list where you can select the number of players you want in the game, from 2 to 6.  Below this, there is a line of information about each player, asking:
- the Name of the player, and
- who will control the player.  This is a check box labeled "Computer".  If checked, the computer controls the player, if not checked then you control the player.

When all players have been set up, click the OK Button to start a new game using the player setup you have defined.  Note that you can NOT change player settings in the middle of a game.  This would let you cheat and take over the players with all the money.


Property Survey
The Property Survey Window

When you click the Property Survey button on the main window, this window pops up.  It lists all the boxes on the game board.  Boxes that cannot be purchased are written in parentheses.  Boxes that can be purchased are shown in capitol letters, followed by the owner of the property and the current rent.

Click the Done Button to return to the game.


Shops
Shops: Buying, Selling and More

To buy or sell shops (or to sell a property), click the SHOPS Button under the main game board.The Properties Window will pop up.  This Window lists the properties your player owns.

To Buy a Shop, choose a property from the list and click the Buy Shop Button.  You will be told the price of the shop and asked if you wish to buy the shop.  Answer yes or no.  Each shop on a property is more expensive than the last, and the shops get more expensive as the property gets further from the Starbase.

To Sell a Shop, choose a property from the list and click the Sell Shop Button.  You will be told the resale value of the shop and asked if you wish to sell the shop at this price.  Answer yes or no.  Note that you don't get the full value of a shop when you sell it, but selling shops is the best way to bail yourself out if one of your players goes bankrupt.

To Sell a Property, choose a property from the list and click the Sell Property Button.  You will be told the resale value of the property and asked if you wish to sell the property at this price.  Answer yes or no.  You don't get the full value of a property when you sell it.  If you sell a property that has shops on it, the total value of the property and shops is given.

Click the Done Button to return to the game.


Player Info Window
the Player Info Window


Development Fund
The Development Fund
During the course of the game, various taxes and events channel money into a mysterious pool called the Development Fund.  This is a government program designed to help small-time investors, but it seems that the money is handed out purely by blind luck.  If you land on the Development Fund box, all the money in the Fund is yours, and the Fund starts over again at $50.


About the Program

About Space Tycoon

  Space Tycoon is copyright 1995 Komodoware.

  Programming and MIDI tracks by S.C.virtes.

  Design and Graphics by S.C.Virtes and Bill Fleming.

  Product testing by Jared Coffin, Jon M. Virtes, Kenneth Hill, Harushi Matsui and the rest of the gang.

Komodoware Entertainment
306-NW El Norte Parkway, Suite 408
Escondido, CA 92026
USA