The queen has enlisted the help of the Guild of Merchants and Explorers. She has asked for heroic adventurers to travel to the far corners of the kingdom of Tigome. During the kingdom’s growth, the maps have become slightly dated and cities have lost contact with each other. It is up to you and your team of explorers to explore the kingdom and re-create the routes between the different cities. You will also discover picturesque villages, mystical towers and abandoned ruins. For one reason obviously: to become the richest adventurer!
The Guild of Merchant Explorers is a fantastic new game for 1 to 4 players published by AEG. Together with your team of explorers, you will try to discover as many villages as possible, explore ruins, find towers and build trade routes. You do all this in four different eras. The one with the most coin at the end of the fourth era wins the game!
Each player has their own map (everyone gets the same map) of part of the kingdom of Tigome. These maps depict all kinds of terrain that you get to explore. You do this by turning over the explore cards. These cards depict a certain type of terrain on which you may now place your explorers. Please note: the explorers may only be placed next to your capital, a previously placed explorer or a village you have discovered. Turns of players happen simultaneously, so everyone places their discoverers on their own map at the same time. During the game, you can encounter different things like ruins, towers or cities, all of which can give you coins or benefits for the game. This does depend on the era you are currently in. These eras are determined by the explore deck of cards which you flip through all the way during each era. So you always know what terrain cards will come, but not in what order. In addition, in each era you, as a player, obtain a new card that works like an explore card, but is unique to you and stays with you throughout the game.
A unique part of this game is the fact that there are four different maps to play on, each with its own unique gameplay options. These different maps also come with different mission cards (six per card where you only use three per game) that can also earn you coins and make you the game’s greatest explorer!
The Guild of Merchant Explorers is a great game with countless opportunities to play and win the game. Despite not directly thwarting each other or playing against each other, the game does have a real competitive feel to bringing in the most coins at the end. But even if you are not the biggest explorer, planning and considering the placement of your explorers is an extremely entertaining part. The game plays smoothly and is relatively easy to learn, but challenging enough to play more often. The different cards and different quests mean that every game you play is different every time. In addition, the game offers a very good solo mode where you have to achieve a number of objectives and bring in coins within a certain amount of eras.
The only point that stands out in the game that is less well put together, is the physical placement of your explorers and then removing them after each era which feels a bit finicky. With a small tap against the board, all the discoverers sometimes move and it is almost impossible to put them back correctly. All in all, it is an incredibly well put together game that is worth replaying often. For those who want a good accessible game but are a bit bored of Catan or Carcassonne, The Guild of Merchant Explorers is a great game!
