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The Quagmire Cheat
While inside the Quagmire Insurance menu, you can press Ctrl-Q. This will randomly generate a new price. We recommend using this cheat if the original insurance price is high. In this case, there is a high probability that you will save some zables. However, if the price of insurance is already low, we don't recommend using this cheat button. It just may backfire on you.
The Construction Cheat
While inside the Edifice Construction menu, you can press Ctrl-C. This will randomly generate a new construction cost. We recommend using this cheat if the original cost of construction is high. In this case, there is a high probability that you will save some zables. However, if the cost of construction is already low, we don't recommend using this cheat button. It just may backfire on you.
The Royal Cheat
While inside the Royal Wholesaler menu, you can press Ctrl-B to buy a random product. You should only use this cheat if there is nothing else to buy and you want to try your luck at purchasing a completely random product. Sometimes this will pay off and other times you'll get stuck with worthless goods.
The Traveler's Cheat
While inside the Travel Options menu, you can press Ctrl-T to randomly generate a new selection of travel times and costs. This may allow you to travel to a better location at a lower price. However, it's a gamble because by pressing Ctrl-T, you are committing yourself to a journey, and if you don't like the new travel times and costs, you're stuck.
Hint: Buying Products
Once you know the value of a product, when you go to the Royal Wholesaler, look at the ESTIMATED NET PROFIT PER UNIT. Pick the product with the highest value. If you have the pricing set correctly, this product should make the most money per unit sold.
Now how much should you buy? Look at the SUPPLY VS. DEMAND chart. If the demand is low and the supply is high, you shouldn't buy too many units. It's still a good idea to buy a few units. You can usually sell a few units of each product if your price isn't too high.
If the demand is high, then you might consider buying as many units as you can fit on your store shelves.
There are really two basic strategies. One is to spread out your risk and buy many different types of products. For beginning players, this works well. It means you won't make much money on any one product, but you also won't get stuck with something that's difficult to unload.
When you don't know much about the products, especially at the start of a new game, it is always good to spread out your risk and buy many different products. However, once you begin to get a feel for which products sell at what prices, you can gradually start being more selective.
That leads us to our second strategy. If you see an opportunity to buy out a product you know commands a high price on the market, you should do this. You can often make much more buying up a choice product and jacking up the price than buying many mediocre products. But this method only works when you know what products are truly worth buying.
Hint: Pricing Your Products
What products should you buy? When you start, it is difficult to tell what products are worth buying. This is because you don't yet know much about the products. Every game is different. Each time you begin a new game the underlying perceived value and quality of each product is randomly generated. Figuring out the true worth of each product is like solving a puzzle.
To start with, the best strategy is to buy a variety of products and sell them at the default price. If a product sells easily, you can raise the price, and if it doesn't sell, you should lower the price.
In the Tutorial, Novice and Beginner levels you can spy on the other players' stores and see their pricing. A good technique is to find out the highest possible price at which the product will sell and make a note of this. This serves as a good reference point. You now know the maximum amount you can charge for the product under ideal conditions.
Once you have a feel for the products, you should begin thinking of the competition. If you are the first one to the Royal Wholesaler, look at the supply/demand chart. If you find a good product, and nobody else has that product in their store already, then it is a good idea to buy up the entire supply. This will give you a virtual monopoly on this product and allow you to charge a good price. How high you price the product depends on how many tons you have and the current demand for the product.
Keep in mind that it's not always a good idea to buy up the entire supply of a product. If the demand for that product is low or if the perceived value of the product is low, you may not be able to sell the product for a good price even if there is no competition. It's only a good idea to buy up the entire supply if you're sure you can sell the units at a good price.
If you aren't the only one with the product, you have to gauge how much your competitors will be charging for the same item. If they undercut your price, you may not sell many units.
As a general rule, it's a good idea to sell 70% or more of the products on your store shelves every turn. The goal of pricing your products is to move merchandise. If a product doesn't sell, then it's simply taking up valuable shelf space without producing any revenue.
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