

This sense of being totally in control without having to concern yourself overly with the minutiae of day-to-day management is one of Anno's real strengths - once things are set up, they generally continue to work pretty well without supervision. This takes a lot of the graft out economic management, whilst maintaining a pleasantly observable front-of-curtain trade mechanism, letting you watch your caravel pootle between islands, laden with spices and cloths, without worrying too much about exactly what they're doing. All trade routes can be automated, too, with waypoints and loading/unloading schedules set up with an easy and precise interface on the map screen. Once you've got a harbour and dock, you can add to your initially available flagship with a flock of trade and military vessels, populate other islands and trade or battle with other factions.
