Federation 2 Community Edition

Federation 2 Community Edition is a space-trading game where you start out hauling cargo, then rise through the player ranks through company ownership until you’re building worlds of your own.

At the bottom, it's just you, a small cargo hold, and a running tally of Imperial Groats. You earn your way up by trading commodities on the galactic exchanges, cornering markets, building factories, and gambling on futures contracts. Climb far enough and the game changes shape entirely: you get your own planet to build and run — laid out room by room, described however you like, its economy yours to steer. Go further still and you'll command a whole system of planets to shape and defend. At the highest ranks, you wield immense economic power as you steer your own cartel of planetary systems, and finally rule over a syndicate of cartels.

Getting rich is a lot faster with friends. Fed runs on cooperation, not combat: the players who rise quickest are the ones who run supply chains together and know exactly who to call to thrive on the commodity exchange markets. You can go it alone, and plenty do — but the deals, the alliances, and the people you meet along the way are half the reason to log in.

It's a text game: you read what's happening, you type what you want to do. That means it runs anywhere and the whole galaxy fits in one window. Play free in your browser, or plug in your favourite MUD client. Fed has been running, in one shape or another, since 1985, and there are people logged in right now who'll happily show a newcomer the ropes.

One piece of advice: leave your guns at home on your first couple of ships. Cram them with weapons and you'll have no room for the cargo that pays the bills.

The exchanges are open. Come make your fortune.