Z-Man Games ZMG7062 Merchants and Marauders Board Game,Gold

Product Information

If there is still a tie, the player with the largest amount of stash wins. If this does not resolve the tie, both players are declared winners. Merchants and Marauders is an open-world board game, where play and exploration is completely open and players can try to achieve victory as they wish. Released 10 years ago, a nautical season wouldn’t be the same without a review of it. The Game Board is divided into 17 Sea-Zones. 16 of these have a port associated with them, represented by a national icon from one of the 4 nations in the game (Dutch, English, French and Spanish). I think that there are two main ways to handle the pirate theme. One involves antique-looking charts, gritty and worn colors, and a generally serious approach to this violent and grim profession. With 2.5 to 4 hour-long sessions, Merchants & Marauders is far from a short game, but it gets better once the group becomes more experienced. It does not have a solo mode and is limited to only 2– 4 players.

At the upper-left of the board you will find the "At War!" space, used to show which two nations are currently at war. Declare which of your goods (Cargo Cards) you wish to sell. All goods can be sold for the price of 3 Gold per card. However, the good in demand (the good displayed on the Demand Token next to the port) can be sold for 6 Gold. Sold Cargo Cards are placed face-up in the Cargo Card discard pile.You may not scout for the same target twice during the same turn. However, you may scout for another target in the same Sea-Zone, or move to another Sea-Zone and "scout" if you have enough actions. Merchants & Marauders is one of the best pirate-themed experiences you’ll find in board game format. Start as a trader, turn into a pirate, switch sides, and betray your own country — there are plenty of possibilities to create a unique experience while still playing a competitive game. This is Olivier La Bouche, commanding the pirate sloop – he is going to be placed in the sea-zone of Nassau. If there was already a pirate sloop in play, it’d be replaced by this one. Each captain or admiral has a different skill profile – some will lend themselves to particular kinds of engagement and strategies. We will get to that though. I should start this section by saying that if everyone at the table is playing Merchants & Marauders for the first time, set aside at least 5 hours for the game. The rulebook is well organized and there are no edge cases, so if everyone read it, it would help speed up the game.

Trading is lucrative, but if you want to earn glory points you have to trade in bulk. The key method by which traders can earn glory points is to provide three cards of an in-demand good at any one time. A sloop, with a cargo capacity of two, can’t do this even at the best of times. They’re manoeuvrable, and great if you turn robber upon the salt sea, the salt sea. They’re useless for earning your bones as a merchant. Most Sea-Zones have a unique advantage or disadvantage which is written in each Sea-Zone. This Sea-Zone information can also be found on the Player Aids. Even though you’re free to take whatever path you’d want to, the starting captain has certain skills that make them better for piracy or trading. With that in mind, you can select your starting ship — flute for transporting cargo, or sloop for maneuverability. Non-Player CaptainsA pirate should favor the grappling hook, caltrops, grape shot and chain shot. Sinking a ship is fine for glory and spreading terror, but there's no money in it, and you know you want to keep that man-o-war for yourself.

Module two adds new Special Weapons to the game in the form of Heated Shot, Double Shot and Caltrops while module three adds four new Ship Mods. The Special Weapons and the Carved Hull and Crow's Nest Ship Mods are fun to add for players seeking to add variety to the game without significantly changing how it plays. The Smuggler's Hold Ship Mod and The Plank Ship Mod are actually dependent upon the use of other modules included in the game, one of which is an excellent addition while the other is rather mediocre. Once a player declares they’ve accumulated 10 glory points by revealing the secret points accumulated through stashing gold, the game ends after everyone has had their turn.Tip: Stash or spend your Gold when you can to avoid sailing around with too much Gold onboard. If you get sunk you would lose all that Gold, or even worse; another player can take your Gold if he boards and defeats you. This means in one swift blow he would gain a Glory Point and potentially a few more when he stashes all your hard earned Gold. If you start feeling the pressure and you are far from your home-port, perhaps upgrading to a larger ship might be worth considering. Roll your Captain's Scouting skill. If successful, you find the ship you scouted for after which a battle takes place. Battles against players and NPCs are elaborate affairs while the resolution of a Merchant Raid is faster and more abstracted. The component quality meets a high production standard, from punch-out cardboard tokens to rulebooks and reference sheets. Player and NPC ships look great, as do the treasure chests for stashing coins.

The fourth module is all about NPC Upgrades. This module gives NPC ships that enter the board upgrades in the form of Ship Mods and Special Weapons. When an NPC ship is drawn, players will randomly draw an NPC Upgrade and place it on the drawn card. The NPCs will use the Ship Mods whenever possible, and when battle is joined with that NPC, the player that takes control of that NPC is free to use the combat-related Ship Mods or Special Weapons as they see fit. This is a great module for players who really want to increase the danger and excitement of interactions with NPC ships.Randomly place one Demand Token face up in each Sea-Zone. Place the tokens on one of the two square areas close to each port. The remaining 8 Demand Tokens are put in a pile face down (or in a cup) next to the Game Board for later use. Note that the 'Caribbean Sea' Sea-Zone does not get a Demand Token as there is no port there. With the exception of the cargo extension on a galleon (and a few of them on man-o-wars), all mods are useful for all players. If you can afford it and aren't planning on buying a new ship soon. Take it. This isn’t hyperbole – you can do every single one of these things. The only thing is you can’t do them all – not in a single game. When you buy Merchants and Marauders, you’re buying a box that contains more adventure than you can hope to experience in a half-dozen play-throughs. There is nothing quite like defeating someone in combat and stealing everything they have been working so hard to acquire. These are just a few of the different choices that are open to you whilst playing this game.