
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,088
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Pandoria
- 2–4 players
- 90–120 min
- Complexity 2.5/5
- 2018

2020
Rules assistance for Pandoria Merchants
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 1 player

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Pandoria Merchants is a board game released in 2020 for 1–4 players, 30–90 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Bernd Eisenstein and Jeffrey D. Allers and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Area Majority / Influence, and Paper-and-Pencil.
Overwhelmed by the Goblin hordes, remnants of the Five Realms were forced to flee their prosperous Hiddenlands, eventually establishing their civilizations again in the newly discovered lands of Pandoria. But as they stake their claims and build anew, the old rivalries that were once their downfall resurface. You take on the role of one of these realms, working together with your opponents to develop Pandoria. But all the while, you are also looking to be the dominant realm in the land through gathering resources, building, and learning spells that harness the magic of this mysterious place. Pandoria Merchants transforms the critically-acclaimed board game into a “roll-n-write” game that you can print at home and play anywhere — even online! In the more streamlined “family” version of the game, you gain valuable spells whenever you close out a region, and instead of managing different resources, every region rewards you with victory points. If you are new to the world of Pandoria, then Pandoria Merchants Family is highly recommended. For the first time, you can play Pandoria solo: Your scouts have discovered a hidden valley deep in the mountains, divided by rivers and enormous lakes, a place for your Realm to expand exclusively! But as you begin to settle these new lands, you find that you are not alone: Trolls from the surrounding hills have come to lay claim. As you compete for the most influence in these 8 new territories, the Trolls become stronger. Can you develop your realm fast enough to be the dominant people group when the land is settled? Pandoria Merchants is one of the most interactive “roll-n-write” games ever created! Key differences with the Pandoria Boardgame Pandoria Merchants retains some of the main elements of the board game, but there are several key differences in addition to the components: You use dice to determine the 2 resources on your “tile”. The merchants of Pandoria produce an additional Resource: “Crafts”. You draw your worker on its own hex space, not on a space with a resource. Workers stay on the board the entire game. Resource tracks have a capacity of only 5, and every 2 resources over that is exchanged for a victory point. You can buy any Spell and Building “card” on your sheet, but if you buy all 3 in a column, your opponents are locked out of buying further cards from this column. There are no special powers for each realm. The Artifacts and Relics from the Pandoria Artifacts expansion are included in this game. —description from the publisher
Pandoria Merchants 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 Pandoria Merchants is 30–90 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 Pandoria Merchants for ages 8 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.
Pandoria Merchants has a complexity rating of 3.0 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.
Pandoria Merchants belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Economic, and Territory Building. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Area Majority / Influence, and Paper-and-Pencil. 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 Pandoria Merchants are: Bernd Eisenstein and Jeffrey D. Allers. 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 Pandoria Merchants 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.