If you think Microsoft or Google are powerful companies, a little historical perspective is in order. The companies that controlled trade between Europe and India from the 17th to 19th centuries had their own warships and could break governments. The British East India Company was, for all intents and purposes, the real government for hundreds of millions of people. Only when this governance provoked a bloody revolt in India did the age of businessmen/pirate kings come to a close. It's a great story of a commercial empire that flourished under the protection of the Royal Navy, and collapsed once Parliament decided that the extortion of the locals was really a job for politicians.

Losing a few of these ships is heartbreaking.Information that you might want is simply unavailable. You don't know if you are attacking a large trade fleet or a small war fleet until you've already committed your ships to the attack. You're only told about a rival's number of trade ships, which can be less important than its number of cargo holds. Likewise, a rough warship count is useless to me if all my rivals are sailing archaic tubs instead of frigates. Ships are described as "fast," but there is no information on how much faster they are than larger boats. Will my schooner be able to make two more trips to Goa per year than my galleon? More importantly, how much time (i.e., money) will I lose by attaching a slower escort ship?

This is not, in the end, an issue of competency as much as one of thoroughness. East India Company is well made, if not well thought out; attractive if not user-friendly; evocative of the age it portrays, if a little shallow. While it is a fine way to kill a few hours, anyone hungry for a more satisfying trading game would be better served by picking up last month's Dawn of Discovery. East India Company shows glimmers of insight, and demonstrates that Nitro Games is a studio strategy gamers should keep an eye on. But it isn't quite there yet.