Mercante

About this board game

Mercante is an economic strategy game for 3–5 players, with an approximate play time of 60 minutes. Set in the bustling city-state of Tempest, it challenges rival merchant houses to control the city’s trade.

Tempest depends on the daily arrival of supplies, foodstuffs, goods, and luxuries. As a merchant house, you deploy trusted agents to purchase goods from arriving ships, then store them in your warehouse until the most profitable moment to sell them at the various markets.

At the beginning of the game, each player controls one warehouse and two agents. Goods are purchased through auctions and placed in your warehouse, creating opportunities to build wealth while competing against the plans of other merchant houses.

• Purchase arriving goods through auctions.
• Store goods in your warehouse until the timing is right.
• Sell goods into profitable markets.
• Use influence and skulduggery to advance your position.

Accumulating crowns helps finance your operations, while senatorial favors provide victory points. Success requires more than straightforward commerce: players may entice senators and engage in outright skulduggery as they struggle to claim the pinnacle of Tempest’s merchant class.

In this game of economic warfare, the player who accumulates the most money and favors will control all trade and profit in the City-State of Tempest. Mercante is the second game in the Tempest Shared World Game Series and was released in 2012.