Let Them Trade – Automate and Watch Your Kingdom Flourish

Introduction

Let Them Trade steers us away from the usual warring stress of strategy games and instead focuses on something far more serene: economic growth, urban planning, and the art of connecting towns through trade routes. Its proposal doesn’t revolve around conquest or combat, but rather around balance and efficiency—an experience that feels closer to a board game thanks to its polished presentation and clear logic. Ideal for players who enjoy watching a well-designed system come alive, this is a game that rewards long-term vision and patient optimization.

An Accessible and Addictive Experience

In Let Them Trade, you don’t command armies or fight epic battles. Instead, your goal is to found cities, specialize them based on nearby resources, and link them together with trade routes to fuel growth. Everything runs on indirect management: you decide where to build, but once established, commerce flows automatically between settlements—and therein lies much of the magic.

You play as a royal advisor to the eccentric King Mr. Nuts, tasked with preparing the kingdom for a grand celebration. The campaign is structured around three tutorial maps that introduce the basics, followed by progressively more complex challenges focused on exploiting the tech tree. By the end, you’ll have mastered the systems and can dive into sandbox mode with complete freedom. There’s also a map editor and Steam Workshop support, which greatly expand replayability.

Gameplay and Mechanics

Each map begins with a simple premise: establish a town near key resources (wood, wool, stone, food…) and connect it to others with roads. As trade routes develop, cities exchange goods and generate income. From there, you expand towns, unlock new buildings via a logical tech tree, and fine-tune the economy. Watching the system operate on its own feels almost like a strategic clicker—your role is to design, optimize, and let the machine run.

The tech tree serves as the backbone of progression. It doesn’t offer wildly divergent paths, but it does present logical sequences of upgrades that force you to prioritize: expand production, or extend your trade network first? Cities also level up when their needs are met, pushing you to keep supply chains efficient. Some technologies lack clear descriptions, which can be confusing, but it’s a minor accessibility issue.

You’ll also need to guard trade routes against bandits by assigning knights, and ensure towns specialize efficiently. The pace is relaxed, but there’s always something to tweak: rerouting roads, redistributing goods, or founding new settlements. When the system clicks into place, the satisfaction is immediate.

Art Direction: A Board Game Come to Life

Visually, Let Them Trade is delightful. Everything resembles polished wooden pieces on a hexagonal board: cities, paths, resources… It feels like a digital Catan without dice, radiating warmth and order. The color palette makes regions easy to distinguish, and icons are clear and intuitive.

The interface is equally clean and functional, allowing you to track progress without drowning in menus. Even on crowded maps, the visuals maintain clarity, which is crucial for long, relaxed planning sessions. And yes—don’t forget to pet the cat.

Sound design complements the visuals with a calm, understated soundtrack that supports the atmosphere without stealing focus. Effects are subtle yet effective, reinforcing the overall sense of balance and tranquility.

Progression and Difficulty: Balanced but Brief

One of the game’s greatest strengths is its difficulty curve. Each campaign map introduces new mechanics and goals that build naturally on what you’ve already learned. The tech tree supports this evolution smoothly, striking a rare balance between accessibility and depth.

The downside is longevity. Once you discover optimal strategies, challenge wanes. The campaign can be completed in just a few hours, and full mastery in around 20. While sandbox mode and community content extend playtime, more official maps or a full expansion would bolster replay value.

During the press preview, some design bugs caused softlocks, but these have since been resolved for the final release, making the experience smoother.

A Symbolic Approach to Combat

Combat is minimal, designed more as logistical foresight than action. Assigning knights to routes keeps bandits at bay, but there are no direct battles or tactical engagements. For some, this light layer of threat adds just enough tension; for others, it may feel like a missed opportunity for deeper strategy. Ultimately, it serves more as a reminder that not everything can be automated.

The Good

• Original mechanics centered on trade and city specialization

• Relaxed, thoughtful pacing—perfect for unwinding

• Charming board game-like visual style

• Well-structured campaign with a smooth learning curve

• Workshop and map editor boost replayability

• Very accessible for newcomers to strategy games

The Bad

• Predictable once core mechanics are mastered

• Short campaign

• Limited variety of challenges in the base content

• Bandit system is too simplistic

Conclusion

Let Them Trade is a breath of fresh air in economic management games. It trades the intensity of typical strategy titles for a slower, more reflective experience—something akin to a relaxing board game where the joy is in watching your systems flourish.

It doesn’t aim to revolutionize the genre, but it does offer something distinct: an accessible, cozy, and cleverly designed economic sim that invites you to build, optimize, and simply enjoy the flow. While it could use more content to maximize its potential, its strong foundation and community support through Workshop give it lasting value.

Final Score: 8/10

Recommended for:

• Fans of board games like Catan or Dorfromantik

• Players who enjoy optimizing economic systems

• Anyone looking for a relaxing yet strategic experience

• City builder fans who appreciate indirect, automated design

• Gamers who value community-driven content and mod support

Available on: PC (Steam)