Thank You Very Much, Mr. Roboto (a guide to math trades)

...for doing the jobs nobody wants to--like putting together a long chain of trades to make everybody happy.

Seriously, have you tried doing that by yourself? It's a pain. You have to send a string of e-mails to people you may not know, get individual confirmations, and organize all of the information  for the other traders. And if one trader backs out? The whole trade dies then and there.

Thank goodness there's an easier way--the math trade.

Special Delivery (A Guide to Pick-Up and Deliver)

There's a little inside joke within our hobby that complains about the over-abundance of "trading in the Mediterranean" games.  To be fair to old Mare Nostrum, it also applies to Medieval Europe, trains, planes, and boats, etc.  Of course, it's a stereotype exaggerated for humor.  Nevertheless, shipping and trading have been and continue to be very popular and common themes.  Did this mechanic start it all? Well, that's probably hard to confirm one way or the other.  But I'm certain it has fanned the flames!