- BGG rating
- 7.6
Rules assistance for Merchant of Venus: The Variant Mini Expansion
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–6 players
- 180 min
- 12+
Rules assistant for Merchant of Venus: The Variant Mini Expansion
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Merchant of Venus: The Variant Mini Expansion is an expansion for Merchant of Venus released in 1990 for 1–6 players, 180 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Richard Hamblen and its main mechanics are Roll / Spin and Move, Dice Rolling, and Point to Point Movement.
About the game
Merchant of Venus provides a nice, solid base upon which to build variants. In addition to providing a simple movement system for combining speed, navigation and carrying capacity, it provides a balanced economic model with which to play. These two aspects combine to be very handy when you're modelling such expensive pastimes as war, politics or civilization. During the development of Merchant of Venus many alternative rules were tried and discarded. The variant here presents some of the best of these alternate rules, and the counters to implement them. These rules add quite a bit of versimilitude and fun to the game, but they also add some complexity, unbalance the play a bit, distract the players from the commercial aspects, and/or increase the playing time. That's why they weren't included in the original game. Generally, each variant rule can be used by itself, or it can be freely combined with the other rules. The variant rules are: - Fast Set-up: Shortens setup time by mixing in the bonus markers with the goods markers and placing them only on culture discovery, makes bonus markers appear more early. - The Lost "?" Box: Make the asteroid in the Multi-Generations Ship a "?" box. Variable Nova Balls: Change the firepower of Nova Balls according to blast attack rolls of the players. Own Species Bonus: Allow multiple items to be traded in a city matching the players species. Customized Spaceships: Ships work differently depending on the player species. Haggling: Adds a bartering system depending on presence, availability and luck to trading of items. Extra Forts: Additional fort markers for the merchants. Agents, Bases & 2nd Ships: Rules for the new agent, base and 2nd ship counters Mercenaries: Rules for the new mercenary markers.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- The Avalon Hill Game Co
Questions and answers
Merchant of Venus: The Variant Mini Expansion supports 1–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Merchant of Venus: The Variant Mini Expansion is 180 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Merchant of Venus: The Variant Mini Expansion for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Merchant of Venus: The Variant Mini Expansion belongs to these categories: Economic, Exploration, and Science Fiction. Its main mechanics are Roll / Spin and Move, Dice Rolling, and Point to Point Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Merchant of Venus: The Variant Mini Expansion are: Richard Hamblen. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Merchant of Venus: The Variant Mini Expansion as an expansion for Merchant of Venus. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Merchant of Venus to use it. Check that your edition of Merchant of Venus is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.