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

Product Information

If you're a pirate, remember that merchant players have a less volatile and usually more profitable road to riches and glory than you do. If you try to simply "race" them to 10 glory points, you might have a chance if you get that treasure galleon, but otherwise you will probably lose. Instead, you should be morally prepared to punish them for ignoring rules 1, 4 and 7.

The relatively high complexity of the game stems from the amount of information new players need to take in. Once the initial hurdle of learning all the mechanics has been surpassed, Merchants & Marauders will become more accessible. A 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. 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. Note that the Man-o-War cannot be bought nor sold. It can only be obtained by a hostile takeover and must be abandoned when acquiring a new ship.

Object of the Game

Wind and Weather, the eighth module, consists of two parts: the Storm token and Wind Direction. The Storm token is great. It represents a Storm that blows around the Caribbean that will damage player's ships if they begin their turn in or move into the same zone that it occupies. The Storm moves every round in the direction determined by the Wind Spinner and provides a fun obstacle for players to consider and avoid. If you attempt to take a mission, but fail (for instance, failing an Influence roll), then unless stated otherwise the mission stays in play. A new attempt to take the mission (or another mission in the same port) can be made next turn during a new "port" action. Anything that involves a test of some kind is carried out using 6-sided dice where the 5 and 6’s have been replaced with skulls. The skill characteristic for the test indicates how many dice are rolled, and a test is passed by rolling a single skull. Edit: Apparently, I had Italy on the brain when I wrote this article. Big thanks to reader Sceptrum for pointing out my geographical mixup! Merchants and Marauders is an incredible open-world adventure. Every game feels unique. The core rules are straight-forward, but there are some intricacies that might put off anyone looking for a simple game. The multiple ways to win are all great, and all have their own difficulties. The game has a large element of PvP, that rewards the bold and can be an issue for any players who don’t want that element to the game, but those who don’t mind will have an incredible experience and plenty of stories to tell. Get This Game If:

We often see board games that use the theme like a coat of paint to mask otherwise generic gameplay. Merchants & Marauders handles its theme perfectly to the point where everything in regards to the game just makes sense. 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. Always read new missions as they become available and consider taking those you can claim/complete.Merchants & Marauders lets you live the life of an influential merchant or a dreaded pirate in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. Seek your fortune through trade, rumor hunting, missions, and of course, plundering. Modify your ship, buy impressive vessels, load deadly special ammunition, and hire specialist crew members. Will your captain gain eternal glory and immense wealth - or find his wet grave under the stormy surface of the Caribbean Sea?