[digitCruncher]

I can't seem to get the hang of this game... I seem to always run into BIG financial difficulty...

Somehow, I can lose over $12,000 in just 4 years!!

Anyway, just for people to point out where I am going wrong, here is what I did in my last successful game, which would have put me JUST with enough money to pay for my taxes for the 4th year (alas, I would have a mutiny of a crew at those low rates >.<)

Step #1: Buy the cheapest second hand ship.
Step #2: Recruit a cheap (but not the cheapest) crew
Step #3: In America, get a 3-way trade route:

Machines(New York) -> New Orleans. Textiles (New Orleans) -> Puerto Beurto. New Orleans sometimes accepts coffee: Which I give from Puerto Beurto the next way around... and I do so immediately, so it doesn't go "off"). This lasts 3 rounds, until New Orleans simultaniously gets enough Machines and Coffee to survive, and doesn't accept any more.

Step #4: Even with a massive profit from what seems like a great trade, I am still losing money. So, after making 2 more textile runs between New Orleans and Puerto Beurto, I try a new trade route:

Tobacco( Savannah) -> London. Tools(London) -> Cayenne. [With good winds, this can take less than 20 days (!?)] Wood(Cayenne) -> New York. Machines(New york) -> Savannah.

But again, SOMEHOW, this loses me money, again. I know this because each trip takes around 6 months. (And the previous ones took 4 months), so this means that now, I have a net worth of just over $4000 ($3000 in my ship, $1000 in other goods). After Cayenne stopped accepting tools, and New York stopped accepting wood (at the same time), I decided to do one last ditch effort. I pick up my last bits of wood and tools, and head for Havana (which accepts both)

But, unfortunatly, I run into some rebels, who take ALL my stuff. I ask for a bank loan, pay my crew almost nothing, and manage to get back with only a few cents in my coffers.

Finally, I think. My ship is almost falling apart, so I pay to offset some water so it doesn't sink (its 49% sunk, or something), and head to do my textile trade, which JUST pays off... before Puerto stops accepting Textiles.

I then grab what little money I have, and go to Caynenne again, for some wood. I nearly get to New York, which accepts a tiny amount of wood, and if I was able to get there before the Jan 1 cut-off date, I would be able to sell it, and get JUST enough money to pay my taxes (But not enough to pay my crew to go... anywhere, really). Alas, I arrive (by my reconning), about 2 days - 1 week late, and lose the game.

What am I doing wrong. By my reckoning, I should be racking in the dough for finding such insane, close, trades which all yeilded about $1000 a month!! Unfortunatly, with my ship costing that much in maintanance, and me unable to buy a new ship... I am stuck...

[Edit]Due to a bug, I accidentally jumped forward 2 years by mistake... and you wouldn't believe it...

I lost LESS money doing NOTHING than if I was trading. I don't lose much money from raids in unstable places (in that game, I lost around... ooo... $1000 in 4 years from raids (not including the tools / wood I lost). But... where is my money going then?? I saved close to $2500, each year, doing NOTHING.[/Edit]