- BGG rating
- 7.7
Merchants of the Dark Road: Patron's Provisions
- 1–4 players
- 60–120 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,092
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Merchants of the Dark Road
2022
Rules assistance for Merchants of the Dark Road
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 60–120 min
- 12+
- Complexity 3.3/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Merchants of the Dark Road
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Merchants of the Dark Road is a board game released in 2022 for 1–4 players, 60–120 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Brian Suhre and its main mechanics are Set Collection, Dice Rolling, and End Game Bonuses.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 2.9
Merchants of the Dark Road: Secret Villages
- 1–4 players
- 60–120 min
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About the game
After half a year of daylight, we must now prepare for the dark season. The roads will be treacherous but they will still need to be braved by a select few in order to keep our cities thriving. In Merchants of the Dark Road, you are one of these brave few merchants that travel the dangerous paths between cities. While the job is perilous, fame and fortune await. Discover the capital city where most of your actions will take place using a rondel action system. Collect and produce items to add to your caravan, or sell these items to local heroes and hire them to travel with you. Manipulate the market price of items, visit the back alley sellers, or delve a nearby dungeon for magical items to gain the potential for even more coin and notoriety. Gather lanterns to ease your passage along the dark roads as you guide your caravan to distant villages. Deliver goods and heroes to the best destinations and gain fame for your bravery! Balance the money you earn with the height of your fame because your final score after a number of game rounds will reflect the lowest of these two values. After all, what good is a purse full of the coin if the people don’t sing songs about you, and what good is a song with an empty mug of ale? —description from the publisher
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Lucrum Games
- Skellig Games
- Elf Creek Games
Questions and answers
Merchants of the Dark Road supports 1–4 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 Merchants of the Dark Road is 60–120 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 Merchants of the Dark Road 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.
Merchants of the Dark Road has a complexity rating of 3.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Merchants of the Dark Road belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Exploration, and Medieval. Its main mechanics are Set Collection, Dice Rolling, and End Game Bonuses. 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 Merchants of the Dark Road are: Brian Suhre. 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 Merchants of the Dark Road as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.