Plundering coastal towns in Merchants & Marauders

[Anatoli]

I had not played boardgames (not counting the Settlers of Catan game) over the last couple of months. Due to school, then being busy with miniature wargaming projects and because my regular boardgaming buddies were either on vacation or also tied up with something else.

But last week we managed to get a game of Merchants & Marauders going one afternoon, something we all enjoyed. It just took a few turns to remember all the rules, but it's a great game with just the right amount of complexity to pass for a semi-casual boardgame afternoon.

The game turned out to be very exciting as my first captain was brutally killed by a monster wave that crushed his ship (inflicting 3 hull hits in one roll!!). My next captain was Pirate material, so I started plundering like mad and soon had everyone but the British after me. In the end I managed to pull off a victory, and it was the first time a pirate player had won this game - I think it was quite impressive considering I had lost a couple of turns of progress due to my drowned captain.

More pictures and descriptions of our session can be found on my blog:

http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.se/2012/07/plundering-coastal-towns-in-merchants.html

[Cherno]

Thanks for the write-up, this game has been on my to-buy-list for months now, but I haven't bought it yet becasue there's so many other games I have to play first and there's never enough time

Our regular gaming group consits of three people (me + 2 buddies), how would you rate Merchants and Marauders with 3 players? I asusme your game had 3 players as well, is it the "sweet spot" for this game or the bare minimum required to ensure at least some player interaction?

[Anatoli]

This game is 2-4 players. We most often play 3 players, and it works quite well. I suppose you will get a whole new dynamic with 4 players as the "in demand" goods of each port will change more often as players trade more - and there will also be higher potential of someone becoming a pirate and attacking human players as opposed to NPC merchants and coastal towns.

But regardless, the game is super fun and well balanced between the "pirate" and "merchant" parts. It's easier to be a merchant in the first half of the game, and it's only midgame that people upgrade with bigger and better ships and make a "career choice". At that point a pirate player may start cashing in victory points faster than his fellow merchant players, but the Merchant players get a steady and solid flow of cash from huge trade's they are able to perform.

Pirate captains are also less dependent on being able to go into ports to buy/sell goods and will as such be less affected by plagues and wars between nations that shut down coastal towns.

If you are interested in a more detailed review of the game you can check out my 2-part review here:

http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.se/2011/08/merchants-marauders-part-1-components.html
http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.se/2011/08/merchants-marauders-part-2-rules-and.html

[Hombre]

Ordered the german version yesterday,
 "Korsaren der Karibik" for 33 euro. 
 
thank's for the playtest!