by Mike Clarke

This review was originally published to BoardGameGeek in January 2011.

Merchants and Marauders is an epic tale of plunder and trade in the Age of Piracy. You start as a slovenly pirate with grand ambitions in a lowly sloop or a small-potatoes merchant with dreams of wealth and adventure in a bucket-of-bolts flute.

During the course of the game, you’ll ply thousands of miles of open ocean through the seas of the Carribean and along the coast of South America.

Along the way you’ll plunder and trade your way to ‘Glory’ acquiring better vessels in the form of frigates and galleons and living a story told through the ‘Events’ that shape your world, the ‘Rumours’ you find in port and the ‘Missions’ that the less adventurous denizens of the land pay you to undertake.

In so doing, you’ll be living your own personal story, which due to the rumours and missions, the different captains you get to command, their different starting ports and the random nature of the goods in demand, will be different each time you play it.

Continue reading Merchants and Marauders: Why I sailed over galleons of water for a frigate rumour →