Pandemain: Traditional Farmers’ Bread

About this board game

Pandemain: Traditional Farmers’ Bread is a worker-placement and bread-making game for 1–4 players, played in about 120 minutes. Set in the Duchy of Schwaben in 1276, it places you in the village of Nördlingen, where you must run a small bakery during the demanding Middle Ages.

Across five rounds, each divided into four phases, send your workers to gather what your bakery needs. Buy ingredients at the market, visit the mill for flour, bake bread in the Feudal Lord’s oven, and sell your loaves in nearby villages or to the Feudal Lord. Different breads have different prices and point values, while their quality affects your prospects and reputation.

• Collect ingredients and prepare recipes for high- or low-quality bread.
• Sell bread to meet changing demand in the villages.
• Gather gratitude and favors through set collection to gain extra actions and points.
• Hire and improve master bakers, unlocking benefits and the ability to bake the highest-quality bread.
• Use cows, oxen, and wagons to add variety when acquiring ingredients.

The Inquisition and the church are central to the experience. Donations provide influence that can help you avoid losing points each round, while also offering benefits and points. The church additionally controls turn order, making your relationship with it an important part of running the bakery.

Every round changes the bread demand in each village, the flour available in the market, the Feudal Lord’s servant position, and the Inquisition’s advance. Between games, the available master bakers, villagers, Feudal Lord’s favors, and church-donation benefits can vary. With its historical setting and mechanics inspired by original literature, Pandemain: Traditional Farmers’ Bread presents a detailed look at the daily challenges faced by medieval peasants.