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Spezial 1
Hamburg iN THE Thirty Years’ War
Merkator
Merchandise for wartime enemies
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Fettdruck beibehalten und Bilder wie angegeben einfügen
What connects Hamburg and the Thirty Years‘ War? I was not aware of the fact that Hamburg was experiencing an economic boost in those times. Hamburg was the source that supplied the warring parties with goods. Okay, there is a harbor and a merchant can travel by ship to other countries to close deals and buy goods. Therefore I ask myself if the designer wanted to hint at the start of the era of trade wars?
Travel and acquisition of goods
Not the sale of weapons, but travelling is the central topic of this game. Travel destinations are countries in Europe, offering a different range of goods. The countries are connected to each other. Starting from a destination you use one move to reach any other country and acquire the goods available there. All in all 16 kinds of goods are on offer, two in each country. Goods are represented by 8 different kinds of goods markers, each marker can be used twofold. The goods you acquire result in delivery contracts. Each contract has a definite value, ranging from 1 to 14. If you fulfill a contract, you receive another contract with a value higher by 1 than the previous contract.
Buildings
In addition to the contracts players can set up buildings, which are paid for by the contracts. Money itself is only used to supply change and in reality is not really necessary. There is a building card in the game which is – due to a printing error – too powerful: The “Alsterhaus” earns you one point per goods marker, but should read “ each kind of goods” instead of “each goods marker”, which makes this card less powerful.
Game Board
The game board shows eight main destinations with eight containers of goods markers and four minor destinations. Each main destination is connected to two or three other main destinations – simple lines – and shows a colored goods marker and two time symbols, which you either receive when you are travelling there, and must pay for when you are co-travelling to this destination.
Grafik 1 Spielplann einfügen
Game Set-up
Each of the goods boxes holds about 40 goods markers. One goods marker each is placed in the eight main destinations. The time board next to the game board is set up with the time markers, depending on the number of players up to 28 markers are laid out. Each player receives a personal “Office” board to store his goods and a summary tile showing scores as well as a supply tile. The supply tile lists the main destinations with the two goods available in each destination. At start you are dealt a contract of values 2 to 5. There is no money for players at the beginning, instead of money you receive time markers; the amount depends on the number of players. And, finally, you are dealt two bonus cards giving you additional goods if you travel to these locations.
Grafik 2 Spielaufbau einfügen
Contracts
Contracts are sorted by values 1 to 14 and are stacked open-faced in several stacks.
Grafik 3 Verträge einfügen
Bonus cards and buildings
Four cards each, featuring bonuses and buildings, are laid out, the rest is stacked.
Game Turn
A game turn comprises four different parts, which are executed in given order: Investments, travel, fulfill contracts and co-travel. In a nutshell, that means, that a player goes to a destination of his choice, takes goods their and uses them to fulfill contracts and/or set up buildings. Other players can join him and travel together with him and fulfill contracts, too. The chief traveler is paid by co-travelers with time marker. Co-travelers reap the same benefits as the chief traveler, the active player. This probably is the most interesting feature of the game which keeps it challenging.
Distribution of Goods
After each trip new goods markers are set out in the main destinations of the board. The main destinations only receive markers of their own color. When the destination of a trip is a main destination, afterwards all destinations connected to this destination receive a goods marker of the main destinations. When the destination of the trip has been a minor destination each main destination receives one goods marker if the main destination already holds the number of goods marker stated on the minor destination.
Fulfilling of Contracts
If a player holds the goods which are listed on one of his contracts he takes those goods out of his office, discards them to the appropriate box and receives a new contract. He cannot choose a new contract, but receives the top one from the appropriate stack.
Investment
If you own more than five contracts and receive a sixth one, you must invest in buildings or bonus cards in the next round. Investments are voluntary while you own five contracts or less. Surplus money is returned in the shape of coins. Money only enters the game in this way. As already mentioned, I think money is not needed in the game at all, the game needs now brush-up, and furthermore money has no importance in the outcome of the game and does not score you victory points at the end of the game.
Time Marker
The time markers, on the other hand, have a certain importance for the outcome of the game and are necessary if you want to join a traveler to co-travel. Furthermore, some destinations can only be reached if you pay the necessary time markers. With the exception of a trip to Spain and to minor destinations each trip earns you one or two time markers. Every time when a player starts a trip the marker is taken off the board and is now owned by the main traveler. Co-travelers no not receive time-markers, but pay time-markers to the main traveler for travelling with him. Each time, when the last marker is taken from a row; this results in loss of goods from a depot or storage location which influences all players. Players who have goods in those storage locations or depots must discard one goods marker.
End Phase
As soon as a player fulfills a contract with a value of 10 and receives the card „Peace of Westfalia“ or when the last time marker is taken off the time board the end phase of the game begins, each player has one more turn. In this round you need not invest and the time markers are taken from the general supply.
This end phase is followed by the scoring. First, the five most valuable contract cards are placed on your office, the rest next to the office board. You receive one victory point each for the value of the contracts on the office board, and ½ victory point for all contracts next to the office board (no rounding up or down!). Furthermore, all players score victory points from their building and add them to the contract score. If you then have achieved the highest score you win the game. In case of a tie the higher number of time markers decides the winner.
One more question
Besides the note, that money is not really necessary to keep up the interest in the game I must ask the question „Why the differentiation between main and minor destinations?“ The varying distribution of goods to the locations could also be done following another point of view or suggestion: As soon as a destination holds three or more goods, you automatically place two more goods on all other destinations. This would somewhat even out distribution of goods to main destinations and the board would be even more clearly arranged than now.
Evaluation
The rules are short and precise. This enables you to grasp the game quickly. The design, too, follows the necessities for clear presentation and usefully complements the text. The number of components is manifold and the arrangement of components on the board is clearly structured and attractive. A note of praise is due to the storing of the goods markers in the boxes.
The topic of „Supplying the warring parties in the Thirty Years‘ War“, embedded in a historical context, seems to me to be a bit farfetched as regards to the flow of the game.
The main mechanism of „exchanging goods for contracts“ seems a bit worn-out and copy-cat at first glance. But due to the mechanism of Main Traveler, Co-Traveler and bonus contracts the game remains challenging and varied. The game offers active choices of what to do for all players in each phase of the game, so I have to rank it as “well-done and felicitous”.
The buildings are nondescript and at first glance are not considered to be as important as they turn out to be and as their value influences the outcome of the game. Very often the buildings are providing the difference between winning and losing the game!
Players who like a solitaire game will find that the game provides an interesting way to spend time to find strategies to achieve 60 points.
The tips for a smooth flow of the game and the variants provide challenges and variation even after a few games.
For me Merkator is a game to be played with friends, maybe even in a family with some gaming experience; my 77 years old mother likes to play it, with an emphasis on those strategic possibilities: Focus on the bonus cards at the start of the game, choose your building cards well in relation to the goods in your office or the on the bonus cards, and try to achieve a somewhat broad selection in acquiring the goods.
Erwin Kocsan
Spieler : 1-4
Alter : ages 12+
Dauer : ca. 2 Stunden
Autor : Uwe Rosenberg
Grafik : Klemens Franz
Titel : ident
Preis : ca. 40 Euro
Verlag : Lookout Games 2010
Genre : A game of trade and logistics
Zielgruppe : With friends
Version : de
Rules : de en
In-game use of language : some
Kommentar:
Good rules
Practical components
Very well-working solo version
Vergleichbar:
Basically all games on goods acquisiton and exchange, the co-travel mechanism is new
Meine Bewertung: 6
Erwin Kocsan:
Merkator for me is one of the „99“ games, which have a fixed place on the shelves in my games collection.
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