Merchant of Venus (Second Edition) / Similar games

18 games like Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)

The best games like Merchant of Venus (Second Edition) are Xia Legends of a Drift System, Star Wars Outer Rim and Terra Prime — the closest of 18 ranked alternatives, scored by shared mechanics and category. Xia Legends of a Drift System shares exploration, science fiction, space exploration with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition).

Every alternative below links to its own Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)-style fact page, drawn from MeeplePick’s economic / exploration shelf.

Ranked by shared category (3 pts) and mechanics (2 pts), bonus within 0.7 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 3.0 weight, then BoardGameGeek’s Bayesian rating — one entry per series, 18 shown.

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1. 1. Xia Legends of a Drift System (2014)
   3–5 players · 60–180 min · ★ 7.9 · Medium
   Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Exploration, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Transportation, Dice Rolling, Pick-up and Deliver · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
   vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 3–4 players · scales to 5 · ~60 min shorter · same complexity
   View Xia Legends of a Drift System on Amazon →
2. 2. Star Wars Outer Rim (2019)
   1–4 players · 120–180 min · ★ 7.7 · Medium-light
   Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Exploration, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Dice Rolling, Pick-up and Deliver · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
   vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 1–4 players · ~30 min shorter · 0.5 lighter
   View Star Wars Outer Rim on Amazon →
3. 3. Terra Prime (2009)
   2–5 players · 60 min · ★ 6.3 · Medium
   Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Transportation, Dice Rolling, Pick-up and Deliver, Point to Point Movement · 3 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (60%)
   vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~120 min shorter · 0.5 lighter
   View Terra Prime on Amazon →
4. 4. SpaceCorp 2025-2300AD (2018)
   1–4 players · 60–240 min · ★ 7.7 · Medium
   Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Exploration, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Point to Point Movement · 1 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (20%)
   vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 1–4 players · ~30 min shorter · same complexity
5. 5. Empires of the Void II (2018)
   2–5 players · 90–180 min · ★ 7.5 · Medium
   Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Exploration, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Dice Rolling · 1 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (20%)
   vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~45 min shorter · +0.4 heavier
6. 6. Roll for the Galaxy (2014)
   2–5 players · 45 min · ★ 7.7 · Medium
   Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Dice Rolling · 1 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (20%)
   vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~135 min shorter · 0.2 lighter
7. 7. Pulsar 2849 (2017)
   2–4 players · 60–90 min · ★ 7.7 · Medium
   Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Dice Rolling, Point to Point Movement · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
   vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 2–4 players · ~105 min shorter · +0.3 heavier
8. 8. Relic (2013)
   2–4 players · 180 min · ★ 6.8 · Medium-light
   Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Exploration, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Dice Rolling, Roll / Spin and Move · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
   vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 2–4 players · about the same length · 0.5 lighter
9. 9. Galaxy Trucker (2007)
   2–4 players · 60 min · ★ 7.4 · Medium-light
   Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Transportation, Dice Rolling · 1 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (20%)
   vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 2–4 players · ~120 min shorter · 0.7 lighter
10. 10. Firefly The Game (2013)
    1–4 players · 120–240 min · ★ 7.4 · Medium
    Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Dice Rolling, Pick-up and Deliver · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 1–4 players · about the same length · same complexity
11. 11. Star Trek Ascendancy (2016)
    3 players · 180 min · ★ 7.8 · Medium
    Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Exploration, Science Fiction, Dice Rolling, Point to Point Movement · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): both play at 3 · about the same length · same complexity
12. 12. High Frontier 4 All (2020)
    1–5 players · 30–240 min · ★ 8.7 · Heavy
    Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Exploration, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Pick-up and Deliver, Point to Point Movement · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 1–4 players · scales to 5 · ~45 min shorter · +1.7 heavier
13. 13. Silverton (1991)
    1–6 players · 180 min · ★ 7.1 · Medium
    Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Transportation, Commodity Speculation, Dice Rolling, Pick-up and Deliver · 3 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (60%)
    vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 1–4 players · scales to 6 · about the same length · +0.2 heavier
14. 14. Akrotiri (2014)
    2 players · 45 min · ★ 7.3 · Medium
    Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Exploration, Transportation, Pick-up and Deliver · 1 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (20%)
    vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): both play at 2 · ~135 min shorter · 0.4 lighter
15. 15. Martian Rails (2009)
    2–6 players · 120–180 min · ★ 7.2 · Medium
    Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Science Fiction, Transportation, Commodity Speculation, Pick-up and Deliver · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 6 · ~30 min shorter · +0.2 heavier
16. 16. High Frontier (2010)
    2–5 players · 180 min · ★ 7.4 · Heavy
    Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Dice Rolling, Pick-up and Deliver, Point to Point Movement · 3 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (60%)
    vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · about the same length · +1.3 heavier
17. 17. Container (2007)
    3–5 players · 60–90 min · ★ 7.2 · Medium
    Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Economic, Transportation, Commodity Speculation, Pick-up and Deliver · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 3–4 players · scales to 5 · ~105 min shorter · +0.2 heavier
18. 18. Starship Merchants (2012)
    2–4 players · 90 min · ★ 6.6 · Medium
    Shares with Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Transportation, Commodity Speculation, Pick-up and Deliver · 2 of Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs Merchant of Venus (Second Edition): overlaps at 2–4 players · ~90 min shorter · 0.3 lighter

Looking for the original? See the full Merchant of Venus (Second Edition) fact page — players, play time, age and complexity.