Merchants and Marauders
Merchants & Marauders lets you live the life of an influential merchant or a dreaded pirate in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy.
180m
2 - 4 Players
Ages 13+
Merchants & Marauders lets you live the life of an influential merchant or a dreaded pirate in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy.
ajewo
[b]Pros:[/b] + Modular, upgradable, different ships + Different unique captains who defines how to play / strategy + Unique minis for each ship type + Different tasks + NPCs that hunt players + Struggle between nations (narrative) [b]Neutrals:[/b] # Quite cut-throat # A lot of Pick-up and Delivery [b]Cons:[/b] - No random map, no exploration - Downtime / turns drag a bit too long (analysis paralysis, down time) - Some turns can be really long, other turns can be really short and underwhelming - Difficult to teach (each area has different effects printed on the board which is hard to read if there are a lot of ships on the board) [b]Similar games:[/b] * Xia: Legends of a Drift System (space theme) * Dead Reckoning (card crafting, deck building pirate game with leveling, exploration, and area control, more Euroish)
airheart
I so want to love this game... Pros: - pirates! - beautiful board and components - multiple ways to earn points and multiple paths to victory but only if playing with aggressive players - nice thematic touches with rumour cards and missions - the sense of dread when NPCs or other players are coming for you and you are holding a full load of great cargo (but again only if other players are aggressive) Cons: - absolutely need the right group of players (aggressive, tactically minded, prone to quick analyses, and fun) - sometimes has very low decision making and too much time between turns leading to a feeling of a slow playing game (this is particularly frustrating for me) - playing the merchant can become very boring if the pirates are not aggressive, as the pick up and deliver aspect has little decision making in itself
aandjso
First play is an "8", though some rules needed to be clarified. Second play regraded it to "7" as there could be long time of waiting, especially when a player is fighting a NPC.