The Guild of Merchant Explorers
- Players
- 1-4
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 2 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 45 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 14+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 2.1 / 5
- Year
- 2022
About the game
The Guild of Merchant Explorers is a map-based exploration game where players simultaneously reveal terrain cards and place cubes on their personal boards to expand trade routes from their starting cities. Each round rewards connecting territory, crossing seas to new lands, and founding new cities before the round resets and cubes are cleared away. Treasure and common objectives offer bonus scoring opportunities for the quickest or most efficient explorers. With multiple maps and a solo-friendly design, it delivers a satisfying puzzle of spatial planning.
Hobbli's Notes
Hobbli's team highlights this as one of the best exploration puzzle games in recent years: simple to teach, but full of tricky spatial decisions each round. The simultaneous play keeps downtime low even at full player count. Its multiple maps and modular objectives give it strong replayability for a relatively short game. It's an easy recommendation for fans of light-to-medium strategy.
What we like
- Simultaneous play keeps all players engaged with low downtime.
- Multiple maps and modular objectives boost replayability.
- Simple rules hide surprisingly deep spatial puzzles.
- Fully functional solo mode.
Keep in mind
- Limited direct player interaction.
- Can feel repetitive if the same map is played too often.
- Scoring bonuses may reward first-player advantage in fast games.
Who it's for
Great for strategy-minded players aged 10+ who enjoy exploration and map-building, playable solo or in groups up to four.
