Battle Merchants

Should this hit the table?

Quick read before the metadata.

Moderate level of direct and strategic confrontation with high interaction frequency, but low emphasis on cooperation.

Teach 2.4

Teaching signal

Replay 3.9

High replayability

Interaction 3.6

Highly interactive

Scaling 4.0

Scales well

Strategy 4.5

Deep strategy

Control 3.2

Luck-sensitive

Table feel

Moderate level of direct and strategic confrontation with high interaction frequency, but low emphasis on cooperation.

Replay value

Battle Merchants has a high variability gameboard, offering different experiences each time it is played. The presence of expansions adds new content and gameplay elements, enhancing replay value. The game provides deep strategic possibilities and room for improvement over time. Player interaction is moderate. The game scales well with different numbers of players without compromising its appeal or balance. It is moderately easy to learn, striking a balance between accessibility and depth. Overall, Battle Merchants has a strong replayability score of 7.8.

Luck profile

Battle Merchants has a moderate level of luck involved in the game. Random elements like dice rolls and card draws have a notable but not exclusive impact on the game outcome. Players have some ability to mitigate the effects of luck through strategic decisions and planning. The game relies on a balanced mix of luck and strategy, with neither element dominating the outcome. Overall, Battle Merchants offers a good balance between luck and player agency.

Overview

What ABG knows about this game

In a faraway land, the Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Hobgoblins stand on the brink of war. After years of failed peace negotiations, they have finally decided to take up arms and stand ready to fight – which is great news for you because you'll be selling them their weapons. Battle Merchants is an economic game set in a fantasy land in which players manufacture four different weapons, then sell them to various warring races. Demand for each type of weapon differs throughout the game, but a well-crafted weapon will last longer. On each turn, players can forge weapons, sell a weapon, upgrade craft (to build better weapons), or take a Kindom Card (for special powers); for players with a high-enough level of craft, a fifth action is available: forge and sell a weapon in the same turn. Players earn money by selling weapons, and it's permitted (nay, encouraged!) to sell your weapons to both sides of the same battle. The game takes place over four seasons in one game year. At the end of each season, the races fight with the weapons that the players sold. Weapons are at risk of being destroyed in battle, and surviving weapons earn money for surviving. After all, someone has to get paid to sharpen all of those weapons... At the end of the game, the player with the most money wins.

Mechanism

3

Action Points Area Majority / Influence Open Drafting

Family

1

Crowdfunding: Kickstarter

Type

1

Strategy

Media

Images and visual references

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