What is OTC?
Offworld trading company is a game based around managing a free market economy on a Mars colonization mission. Players found corporations on Mars, collect resources from its surface, and then attempt to sell those resource on a fluctuating market to earn the most profit. If you are a fan of complex yet quick 20-30 minute strategy games this is a game for you.
OTC is all about understanding market bubbles and making tough moment to moment decisions. The game rewards the observant and adaptable player who thinks one step ahead over quick fingers or rigidly mastered build lists. This guide will attempt to give a framework for all 4 HQ types, but an adaptable player who can take these guidelines and realize when to deviate from them will be the most successful.
Winning the Game-
The best place to start guiding a player through OTC is with the end, winning the game. As each player on Mars represents a corporation, each players life in the game is determined by their stock sold on the public market. If a player has all of his/her stock purchased by an opponent, that player is eliminated from the game. However, instead of that players base being removed from the game, the player who purchased them is allowed to use all structures and tiles owned by the previous player, potentially doubling their resource output.
Imagine each players stock as a health bar. Each player begins with 10 health. If all 10 of that health is lost, that player is eliminated. The price of each players stock is determined by how strong their presence is on Mars, how many stocks that player owns, and how much debt that player owes. These are the only three things that affect a players stock, and players should always be striving to increase the first two and lessen the third. The game ends when one player has assumed control of all players on the map.
Buying Stock-
Players begin the game with stock prices ranging between $5-$10 dollars. This will vary based on game mode and options. A player has 10 stocks, and these can be purchased by anyone on the map, including the player. Each "stock" is actually representative of 1000 individual stocks, meaning that a player whose stock is listed as $7.00 would cost $7000 to buy in the game. A player loses when ALL of their stock is controlled by a SINGLE other player. If a player is close to being bought out by another player, a strong move to defend them is to purchase several of their stock so that one player can not acquire them all. This holds especially true for defending oneself. If you find yourself being bought by another player, make sure you purchase as many of your stocks as you can to avoid losing the game.
As will inevitably happen in every game, two or more players will hold stock in a single player. This player is not immune to elimination. If one player would like to "force purchase" another players stocks, they must pay twice the amount the stock was listed at. For Example:
Player A has stock valued at $15. Player A owns 2 of his own stock. Player B owns 2 of Player A's stocks. Player C owns the remaining 6 stocks in Player A and would like to buy Player A, and eliminate him from the game. To do so, Player C must pay double the price of Player A's stocks for each stock she does not own. Player A's stock is valued at $15, and Player C must purchase 4 more stocks to own all ten: (15*2)*4=120. (Remember, stocks come in groupings of 1000, so this would actually cost $120k). If Player C has $120,000 in funds, she may "force purchase" the remaining 4 stocks in Player A and take over Player A's company, knocking him out of the game. While Player C takes control of both her and Player A's base, Player B is paid the value of his stocks in Player A: 15*2=30. Player B is only paid $30,000, even though it technically cost Player C $60,000 to "force purchase" his stocks.
Keeping in line with the metaphor of stocks being a health bar for the game, purchasing your own stocks is like gaining armor, forcing other players to pay double for your stocks. On the other hand buying stocks in another player does make them easier for you to kill, however only the killing blow matters for who takes over their territory.
Players often find themselves caught in the rat race to get the best or most valuable territory and fail to secure their own stock. Often letting another player gain marginal leads while you buy their stock out from under them is the easiest way to win the game. The best part about this strategy is that all the territory and structures they worked so hard to produce now work for you. When to purchase yourself and other players will be expanded upon below.
Founding a Company-
Players will begin every game selecting a spot on the map to found a headquarters. The 4 HQ types are, Expansive, Scavenger, Scientific, and Robotic. Not only do the shape of each HQ differ, the game play is significantly different depending on a player's choice. HQ selection is very important in multi-player online play, and players should look into the associated pages of each HQ type to see which HQ to play in different situations.
The map upon which OTC is played is comprised of hexagon tiles. Tiles have many features ascribed to them, height, ground type, wind strength, and potentially several others that will not be covered in this beginners guide. References to these features may be made in other pages in this wiki, and clarification should be found there. The feature most important to a player, and the one outlined in this guide will be the resource markers found on the tiles. The only other feature of note is slope or hill tiles. These, along with the colony that begins in the center of every map are tiles that can not be built upon or claimed by the player.
Raw resources that can be found on tiles in the game are: 
Aluminum, 
Carbon, 
Iron, 
Silicon, and 
Water. Additionally there may be geothermal vents on certain tiles, this tile allows for the construction of a unique building on it, the Geothermal Plant, which produces the 
Power resource. (Power as a resource acts quite differently than the rest of the resources in the game, and for further information about Power go to its associated wiki page)
Players are advised to choose a founding location as close to as many raw resources as possible. There are several manufactured resources that can be made through some combination of the raw resources: 
Chemicals, 
Electronics, 
Food, 
Fuel, 
Glass, 
Oxygen, 
Steel. These manufactured resources do not depend on starting location and can be produced from any claimed tile.
A strong starting location can normally be determined by numerous raw resources of many different types close near by. During each game different resources will become valuable, and close, easy access to many options makes adjusting to market changes far easier. Players should also look for resource tiles that have several icons stacked on top of each other, representing a high deposit of resources on that tile. This tile will produce raw resources at a greater rate than tiles that only have a single or double resource icon on top of it. Finally, look for bunches of the same type resources in triangles. If two identical buildings are built next to each other, they receive an adjacency bonus and produce more resource than normal. Adjacency bonuses are one of the most important features to this game, and will be enumerated on more below.
There are several common pitfalls for new players. The most prevalent one is founding next to a large patch of a single resource. While this seems to be a strong idea, allowing a player to claim numerous adjacency bonuses potentially between 5-6 tiles, rarely can the market support so much of one good being produced. For example: If a player founds next to a larger patch of iron with few to no other resources nearby, then that player will be forced to produce and sell iron as his/her only raw resource. As more iron is sold on the market, its price will drop, and eventually that player will be left selling iron for mere dollars while other players produce raw resources that are valued in the tens or hundreds due to their scarcity. The other most common pitfall is not realizing what resources are rare on the map, and adapting a strategy to fit. For example: If there are only a handful of silicon tiles on the map, a strategy that utilizes the manufacturing of glass and electronics will become difficult without that necessary raw resource. While it is possible to simply buy the silicon from the market, this will drive its price up, and allow the players who do hold access to those tiles to make large profits.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you found a colony on top of a resource, you are gifted a small amount of that resource at the start of the game. While this small boost to your early economy can be helpful, those tiles are permanently removed from the game. This is a double edged sword, while you will not have access to these tiles, neither will anyone else, sometimes covering up an already scare resource and grabbing the few remaining tiles afterwards can secure a player an easy, early win.
Claiming Tiles-
Once a player has founded their HQ on the map, they will be given the option to claim territory on Mars. On the standard online difficulty, Manager, players are awarded 3 claims to begin the game. There is a small claims counter in the top left of the screen next to a player's funds and debt counters. Claims are permanent territorial acquisition tools. In layman's terms, once you have claimed a tile, you are the only person who can use that tile, and you can not revoke it or move it. As such, choose your claims wisely.
Tip: Building on a tile automatically claims that tile for the player, yet it is also possible to claim a tile and save it for later. By pressing 'C' on the keyboard, then clicking on the wanted tile, the territory will be claimed even if you do not yet have the money or the wish to build upon that space yet. Be warned, that claim is permanent like all the others, and comes from your limited claim pool.
In the early game, claiming tiles that hold raw resources is key. While later in the game the manufactured resources can be produced anywhere, claiming the raw resources is a limited proposition, and once a tile has been taken, it can only be acquired by purchasing the entirety of that player.
Finding close, valuable tiles defines the early game of OTC. Claims on a tile are not instant, and must fly from a player's HQ to the hopeful claim location. A player founding closer to a valuable resource may seek to claim the tiles before you, and excessive distance from a tile could cost you a valuable tile. Resources are transported by carrier blimps from claimed and worked tiles back to the base. Once there they may be used in construction or sold on the market for funds. A larger distance away from a player's HQ means that resources will take longer in transit, and those seconds will feel like an eternity when the resources are required for important upgrades or purchases. Finally, each blimp that flies between a player's tile and HQ costs the player power and fuel. Larger distances mean increased flight times and therefore increased hidden costs.
Tiles attached to a players base via claims do not use blimps and therefore save on fuel and power costs. Additionally, tiles close to a player's HQ are easier to switch between what resource is valuable due to the more immediate acquisition of high priced goods.
Upgrading Your HQ and the Mid Game-
The easiest way to acquire more claims is through the upgrading of a players HQ. HQs can be upgrade 4 times, allowing a maximum possible level of 5, and awarding the player with more claims after each upgrade. HQ upgrades are purchased with Steel, Aluminum, and Glass. (For all but the Scavenger HQ, who uses carbon instead of Steel). As a result, these resources are typically sought after in the early and mid game so that players can upgrade and gain a stronger foothold with more claims. The construction of most buildings also requires these same three resources and helps keep these resources valuable during this time.
Along with granting new claims, upgrading your HQ will introduce new strains to your economy in the form of Life Support. Each upgrade you buy will have your HQ consume more life support resources. If you do not have the resources in your inventory, the price to buy these resources will come out of your debt. While a small amount of debt is acceptable, larger amounts will drive your stock price down, making it easier for other players to purchase you.
As the economic pressure on the life support resources, Food, Fuel, Oxygen, and Water (Robotics HQ consume electronics instead of these 4 resources) grows with each players upgrades, the price of these resource will rise, and make investing in these resources at level 2-3 a typically strong play.
Mid-Late Game-
While in the early game, expanding, upgrading, and claiming the most valuable tiles are the most important objectives, these become less important as the game progresses. Resources will rise and fall in price, and surveying the map to figure out what will be worth investing in is critical. Unlike most games where building are static and permanent, buildings in OTC are often deleted and the claimed tile reused to produce a more valuable resource. For Example: In the early game you had several adjacent tiles collecting iron, but now its price is below $10. Deleting the iron mines and building electronics factories, valued at over $300 is often a terrific play. Each HQ upgrade costs more resources to complete, and it is often more advantageous to optimize the tiles you have than invest heavily in an upgrade.
Although it is typically advised against investing in player's stocks at HQ level 1 and 2, there will always come a time in a game when attempting to purchase another player is the correct choice. Players with high debt and less upgrades will have lower stock prices and may be easier to buy. While upgrading to level 4 or 5 may seem appealing for the three new claims, it is possible that the same amount of money spent upgrading could purchase an opponent, giving you 10-15 more tiles. Be careful though, investing in a player gives you no direct benefit on the map, if the market turns and your tiles do not produce enough money for you to finish the buyout, you may have lost valuable time and resources to a fruitless endeavor.
The choice of whose stocks to buy and when to buy them is often the determining line between a good and a great player. Several guidelines will be listed here, but realize there are exceptions to each one of these, and all the game's factors should be taken into account:
- Buying the player with the lowest stock price: This avenue of attack is often the easiest when going for a purchase. A player with high debt could be spinning out of control even though they have valuable tiles that are worth taking over. Their low price allows you to buy them up early and quickly. The pitfalls to this strategy lie in your own vulnerability. When buying a cheaper player, the other strong players will certainly take notice. You have now spent large amounts of money on another player and have no means to defend yourself if the other rich players start going after you.
- Buying stock in a player who is going after another player: When a player begins to buy someone, they are immediately marked as a target on the map. If they succeed in buying that player they will take a massive lead, and their stock will jump massively in price. However purchasing that player will give you whatever they own, whether that be other players directly or stock holdings in other players. Their investment of cash in another player leaves them with less cash to secure their own stock.
- Buying stock in a player who is going after you: If you believe that you can purchase someone before they purchase you, then the best play is often not to buy your own stock in defence, but to attack and purchase their stock right back. Not only will buying them raise your stock price and make you harder to purchase, but if you succeed in purchasing them, then you will have retroactively defended yourself by acquiring all of your own stocks.
- Buying a player who is getting bought out: This strategy is criminally underused by most players online. Allowing a player to purchase someone else will result in a massive power spike for one of your opponents. Securing 2-3 stock in a player will force the purchaser to pay double price on the last few stocks. This costs your opponent a LOT more money, and your investment is returned to you, often times with increased value after the purchase goes through.