Merchants & Marauders
Overview
Merchants & Marauders is a pirate-themed game set in the Caribbean where players choose between the life of an honest merchant or a ruthless pirate. Players sail between ports, buy and sell cargo, complete missions, pursue rumors, fight naval battles, and raid merchant ships. The first player to reach 10 Glory Points wins. Glory is earned through combat victories, profitable trades, plundering, completing missions, buying powerful ships, and stashing gold.
Components
- 1 game board (Caribbean map with sea-zones and ports)
- 100 coins (1, 2, 5, 10 gold denominations)
- 26 plastic ships (5 sloops, 4 flutes, 9 frigates, 8 galleons)
- 24 demand tokens, 17 merchant tokens (Spanish, Dutch, French, English)
- 16 ship modification tokens, 12 special weapon tokens
- 20 bounty tokens (5 per nation)
- 254 cards (34 event, 70 glory, 16 captain, 64 cargo, 20 ship, 25 rumor, 25 mission)
- 29 wooden cubes, 4 naval tokens, 4 player boards
- 10 custom dice, 4 stash containers, 2 player aids
Setup
- Place the board. Set up demand tokens at each port. Place merchant tokens in their starting positions.
- Each player draws 2 captain cards and chooses 1. Take the corresponding starting ship and home port.
- Place glory cubes on the glory track at 0. Deal starting cargo and gold per captain card.
- Prepare event, rumor, and mission card decks. Place NPC ships as indicated.
Turn Structure
Each turn:
- Event Phase: Draw an event card. Resolve its effects (may activate NPCs, change game state).
- Action Phase: The active player takes 3 actions (may repeat actions).
Actions
Players choose 3 actions per turn from:
| Action |
Description |
| Move |
Sail to an adjacent sea-zone |
| Scout |
Search for merchant ships in your sea-zone |
| Port actions (in port only): |
|
| - Buy/Sell cargo |
Trade cargo cards at port prices; selling 3+ in-demand goods = 1 Glory |
| - Buy ship |
Purchase a new ship (frigate or galleon = 1 Glory, once per captain) |
| - Buy ship modifications |
Upgrade your ship with special abilities |
| - Buy special weapons |
Acquire tactical combat items |
| - Recruit crew |
Hire additional crew members |
| - Stash gold |
Store gold in your home port (10 gold stashed = 1 Glory, up to 5 Glory) |
| - Claim missions/rumors |
Take mission or rumor cards |
Merchant Raids
- When scouting, you may find a merchant ship (draw a merchant token).
- You can raid the merchant, which involves combat and potentially earns bounties.
- Plundering 12+ gold from a raid earns 1 Glory Point.
Combat
Combat can be Naval Combat (ship-to-ship) or Crew Combat (boarding):
- Naval Combat: Compare seamanship and cannons. Roll dice; hits damage hull.
- Crew Combat: Compare crew strength and leadership. Roll dice; resolve boarding.
- Defeating a player or NPC earns 1 Glory Point.
- Losing may result in death or capture.
Bounties
- Attacking non-pirate ships (merchants or other players without bounties) earns bounties from that nation.
- Bounties make you a pirate; naval ships of that nation will pursue you.
- Bounties can be removed by paying at specific ports.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
First to 10 Glory Points wins. Glory sources:
- Defeating a player or NPC in combat: 1 GP
- Selling 3+ in-demand cargo at one port: 1 GP
- Plundering 12+ gold in a merchant raid: 1 GP
- Completing a mission: 1 GP
- Confirming a rumor: 1 GP
- Buying a frigate or galleon (once per captain): 1 GP
- Stashing gold (10 gold = 1 GP, max 5 GP from stash)
- Glory cards (various conditions)
Stashed gold points are secret until declared. When a player reaches 10 (including stash), they declare it; the round finishes so all players get equal turns. Ties: most glory on the track (excluding stash) wins, then most stash.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
- Gold earned/spent is public information, but exact amounts held are hidden behind player boards.
- If your captain dies, you draw a new captain card and restart with a basic ship.
- NPC pirates and naval ships move based on event cards and may attack players.
- Missions have specific objectives (deliver goods, visit locations, combat challenges).
- Rumors may be true or false; confirming a true rumor earns 1 Glory.
- Ship modifications are port-specific; each port offers a unique modification.
- Players can retire captains who have achieved greatness to earn bonus glory.
Player Reference
Turn: Event card -> 3 actions (move, scout, port actions)
Glory sources: Combat victory (1), sell 3+ in-demand (1), plunder 12+ gold (1), mission (1), rumor (1), buy frigate/galleon (1), stash 10 gold (1), glory cards
Combat: Naval (cannons + seamanship) or Crew (boarding + leadership)
Win: First to 10 Glory Points (including stash); finish the round