No, I'm sorry Alexander of Greece. My score is 10 times greater than yours. I will not break my ties with Hapshatsut who is my biggest ally AND give you my knowledge of Economics AND 100 gold coins. That is not going to happen. Not this game. Maybe next time my cities get destroyed by barbarians and I have to start again and you are the second most powerful nation in the world. Maybe then I will make ridiculous trades with you. But until then, you will remain annoyed with me. However, it is in your best interest to get over it, because my civilization could crush your civilization like the puny little flea that it is.
In this game, my problem was getting the short end of the straw...every time I made a trade. At the beginning, I tried to avoid all confrontation and did not want anyone to be mad at me. Then I got over it. I decided who my allies were and who I would make trades with if they asked me. I chose not to suspend trade with anyone. This pissed off some of my fellow Earth-dwellers, but let's face it. I was better, stronger, and richer than them. They knew better than to try and pick a fight with me.
One of the best trades I made in the game, however, was the exchange of the World Map. One of my counterparts had circumnavigated the globe early on in the game. For his knowledge of the world, I gave him my knowledge of wine. I think I won. Because I then sent my settlers to parts formerly unknown and was able to settle on islands off the coast of Europe without having to discover them myself.
A problem with this game is that it is hard to relate real world values to some of the items (It would probably help to read the rule book, but who does that? Seriously.). I found myself trying to decide whether education was more important than gunpowder, or if the knowledge of the compass was worth a calendar and 70 pieces of gold. Decisions, decisions.
But the value of these items today aside, it is important to think about our trade strategies today. For instance, we choose not to trade with Cuba because of it is a communist country. However, China holds many similar beliefs but we trade with them. Why? Because these days China probably has the power to kick our butts in war. Not that we want to admit that. The threat of conflict (or lack thereof) dictates our willingness to trade with our neighbors. We do not want to be the country that irritates the next powerhouse of the world. Being friends with the person that could potentially harm you is better than being his enemy. The fact that you can benefit from his strength doesn't hurt too much either.
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I had similar problems in my game. I would get asked to trade my really good items and things for things that are not equal or lesser in value and when I would ask to renegotiate they would be all mad because I acually asked them do be fair. Although I think it is in the best interest to still trade because if you are trade partners then you will be on good terms and like you said it is better to be someone's friend than an enemy and if they are your enemy it is best to keep them the closest.
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