Guild of Merchant Explorers Game

Journey over treacherous seas littered with the ruins of explorers who have unsuccessfully sailed before. In the Kingdom of Tigome, there are many lands with hot deserts, rich grasslands and jagged mountains. As an explorer, you will travel through these regions seeking the rich fortunes this kingdom has to offer. Your mission is to update maps and reconnect cities that have lost contact with each other with the goal of collecting the most coins to win the game. Building trade routes, villages and visiting discovery towers all earn players coins. Unearthing sunken treasurers also brings immediate or game-end coin rewards. Choose three random goal cards at the beginning of the game, which also provide coins when they are completed.

Each game round or Era uses a deck of terrain cards that players shuffle and place one at a time on the main board to determine which terrain type and number of areas players can place their cubes to signify their occupation. At the beginning of each round, starting cubes can only be placed adjacent to villages. At the end of the first three eras, player boards are cleared of cubes and villages remain on the board, which gives players various starting points to explore across the kingdom during the next era. After the fourth and final era is completed and scored, the game ends. Any game end rewards are collected and the player with the most coins wins.

This quick, fun but challenging area control game has a 45-minute game time. For additional challenge and varied game play, there are four different maps with their own special rules included with the game. Although the official recommended age range of this game is 14+, the board game community suggests that those who are 10 years old can successfully play it. There is also a dedicated solo mode which stands out for me with solid mechanics, interest and replay value. ~ Marsha