Yeah, I know it's a dumb question, but hey... I have one computer, not hooked up to a newtork, that several of my friends and I would like to "hotbox" a game on. Is this possible with a registered version of Trade Wars, or do you have to play the game over a network of some sort?

yes, you can play it on just your own computer.
just fire it up, log in and play
(dont let your friends look over your shoulder) heh

Slim

So which version of the game would I need to purchase to pull this off?

hmm, well, since you will all be taking turns old school style,i would think just the tw2002 reg ($25) should be fine (i dont know anything about running twars outside twgs) but with twgs lite and tw2002 reg ($40) you get 4 nodes which is more than enough since you will all be using the same comp.
im sure there is someone other than JP who could help out and explain about the tw2002 solo code. is it just the old 3.09 door code? maybe gypsy or kemper will come across this and be able to shed a bit more light onto the subject.

Slim

3.09 is the door version. It is the most recent version that will function without a TWGS. Personally I'd suggest the tw2002 and twgs lite, with possibly the gold if you want to be able to edit ships and planets.

thank you k3. ya i agree with him, since 3.09 is no longer supported, i spring the extra 15 to go from just tw2002 to tw2002/twgs lite package. editing ships and planets and aliens and such will probably be something you guys will be interested in, so as k3 said, maybe the tw2002/twgs lite/gold package (i believe it was 60 total)
with twgs lite you will have access to the latest version of tradewars that is supported and discussed here in the forums. so if you have a question, it probably already has an answer here somewhere or someone can answer for you, with 3.09 it is very difficult to find answers (someone tried recently, decided to just upgrade to the twgs instead, heh)

good luck and have fun!

Slim