Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road

Overview

Merv is a Euro-strategy game set in the great Silk Road city of Merv in Central Asia. Over three years (rounds), players construct buildings in the city grid, collect resources, trade spices, build walls to defend against Mongol invasion, fulfil contracts, gain influence at court, and contribute to the grand mosque. Each year ends with a Mongol attack that can destroy unprotected buildings. The player with the most points after three years wins.

Components

• 1 game board (city grid, score/influence/favour tracks, caravansary, mosque, marketplace, palace, library, wall)
• 4 master meeples (1 per player)
• 36 buildings (9 per player color)
• 40 disks (10 per player)
• 32 servant meeples (8 per player; used as soldiers and courtiers)
• 12 camels
• 60 resource cubes (12 each: red, blue, yellow, green, white/wild)
• 20 wall pieces (16 segments + 4 gates)
• 24 caravan cards (spice types: cinnamon, ginger, juniper, pepper)
• 18 contract cards
• 32 scrolls
• 4 scoring tiles
• 24 building site tiles
• 6 solo cards
• Year marker, camel market tile

Setup

1. Place the game board centrally. Populate building sites with tiles.
2. Place resource cubes in the supply. Set up the wall area.
3. Shuffle and deal caravan cards to the caravansary slots.
4. Shuffle contract cards; place 3 face up.
5. Each player takes their master meeple, buildings, disks, and servants.
6. Place starting disks on all tracks at their starting positions.
7. Set the year marker to Year 1.

Turn Structure

The game spans 3 years. Each year consists of multiple turns until all players have placed their master meeple. On your turn:

1. Place your master meeple in the city (on an empty row or column).
2. Select a building site in the row/column where you placed your meeple.
3. Construct a building (optional) by placing one of your buildings on the selected site.
4. Take the action associated with that building site.
5. Produce resources from buildings you own in the selected row/column.

Actions

Building site actions include:

• Caravansary: Purchase spice caravan cards using resources. Collect pairs for bonuses.
• Mosque: Advance on the mosque track for ongoing scoring tiles and bonuses.
• Library: Collect scrolls and breakthroughs (immediate or ongoing abilities).
• Marketplace: Establish trading posts, trade resources for goods, use camels.
• Wall: Build wall segments or gates to protect the city from Mongols and gain prestige.
• Palace: Place courtiers to convert favour into points during scoring.
• Camel Market: Buy or sell camels for various boons.

Resource Production

After taking your action, you produce 1 resource cube of matching color for each building you own in the row/column of your master meeple placement. White cubes are wild.

Soldiers and Influence

Deploy servant meeples as soldiers in the city to protect buildings from Mongol attacks. Soldiers also advance your position on the influence track.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Year-End Scoring

At the end of each year:

1. Mongol Attack: The Mongol attacks a specific wall of the city. Unprotected buildings (without wall segments or soldiers) are destroyed.
2. Palace Scoring: Courtiers in the palace score points based on your favour level.
3. Mosque Scoring: Score points for buildings still standing based on your scoring tiles.

End-Game Scoring

After Year 3:

• Points from fulfilled contracts
• Points from collected spice sets (escalating value for larger sets)
• Points from influence track position
• Points from prestige (wall building)
• Remaining resources and scrolls may score

The player with the most points wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Destroyed buildings are removed permanently and cannot be rebuilt.
• White resource cubes are wild and can substitute for any color.
• Camels serve multiple purposes: turn order, caravansary access, marketplace trading, camel market selling.
• Scrolls committed to contracts are not discarded.
• Contracts require reaching a minimum prestige level before they can be fulfilled.
• The Mongol attack direction is predetermined for each year.
• Solo mode uses special solo cards to control a “corrupt magistrate” opponent.

Player Reference

Turn: Place master meeple -> Select building site -> Build (optional) -> Take action -> Produce resources

Year-end: Mongol attack destroys unprotected buildings -> Palace scoring -> Mosque scoring

Resource types: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green (standard), White (wild)

Key tracks: Score, Influence, Favour, Mosque, Prestige

3 Years, then final scoring: Contracts + Spice sets + Influence + Prestige + Bonuses