# Dale of Merchants

Dale of Merchants is a board game for 2–4 players. It plays in 30 minutes and is meant for ages 10 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 2. It is rated 6.9 out of 10 by 53 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $28.50 (United States).

- **Players:** 2–4 (best with 2)
- **Playing time:** 30 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 10+
- **Complexity:** 2.1 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2015
- **Categories:** Fantasy, Animals, Card Game
- **Mechanics:** Hand Management, Race, Auction: Dutch, Dice Rolling, Team-Based Game, Set Collection, Take That, Deck, Bag, and Pool Building, Open Drafting
- **Ludoya rating:** 6.9 out of 10, from 53 reviews
- **Owned by:** 95 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 284
- **Unique players:** 206

**Designers:** Sami Laakso

**Artists:** Sami Laakso, Jesús Delgado

**Publishers:** Snowdale Design

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ludifolie | 23.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/7365-la-vallee-des-marchands.html |
| Spielezar | 22.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/kartenspiele/dale-of-merchants-en |

## Expansions

- [Dale of Merchants: Systematic Eurasian Beavers](https://www.ludoya.com/games/dale-of-merchants-systematic-eurasian-beavers)

## Similar games

- [Dale of Merchants Collection](https://www.ludoya.com/games/dale-of-merchants-collection)
- [Dale of Merchants 3: The Grand Continental Railway](https://www.ludoya.com/games/dale-of-merchants-3-the-grand-continental-railway)
- [Dale of Merchants 2: The Era of Trade Masters](https://www.ludoya.com/games/dale-of-merchants-2)
- [Century: Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/century-big-box)
- [Century: Golem Edition](https://www.ludoya.com/games/century-golem-edition)
- [Century: Spice Road](https://www.ludoya.com/games/century-spice-road)
- [Dominion: Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/dominion-big-box)
- [Knarr](https://www.ludoya.com/games/rising)
- [Untamed: Feral Factions](https://www.ludoya.com/games/untamed-feral-factions)
- [Canvas](https://www.ludoya.com/games/canvas-2)
- [Ascension: Delirium](https://www.ludoya.com/games/ascension-delirium)
- [Splendor Duel](https://www.ludoya.com/games/splendor-duel)

## Rules questions

### How many actions can I take on my turn — can I do more than one action?

You choose one of the four actions (Market, Technique, Stall, Inventory) and do not get the others that turn unless you are awarded a bonus action. Some technique cards have a bonus-action icon (+) that lets you immediately take another action (and this can chain if the next technique also has +); bonus actions only trigger when the card is played as a technique, not when used to purchase or placed in your stall. (pages 5–6)

### How are market prices determined and am I allowed to overpay?

The rightmost market slot costs the card’s printed value and each slot to the left increases the price by +1; pay using cards from your hand and place the used cards into your discard pile and the purchased card into your hand. You may overpay, but the overpayment must be smaller than the value of each card you pay with (see the examples in the rules). (page 5)

### If I build a stack in my stall, can I later use those cards for effects or add to that stack later?

No — once you build a stack it’s considered finished and you cannot use those cards for other effects; you also cannot build a partial stack and continue adding to it later. Stacks must be built in ascending sequence with the first stack totaling 1, the next 2, and so on. (page 6)

### When a card says to 'throw away' cards, where do those cards go and can anyone look at discards?

When a card is thrown away, junk cards go to the junk pile and animalfolk cards go to the market discard pile; all discard piles are placed face up. Any player may look through the face-up discard piles at any time, but no one may reorder them. (page 5)

### What happens when I need to draw but my deck is empty — how do I refill my hand?

During clean-up you draw to refill your hand to 5; whenever your deck runs out shuffle your discard pile to form a new deck. If both your deck and discard are empty draw junk cards to fill to 5, and if the junk pile runs out use cards from decks not in play as substitutes. (page 7)

### When does the game end and how is the winner determined?

The game ends immediately when a player places the 8th stack in their merchant stall — that player is the winner. (page 7)

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/dale-of-merchants)
- [Dale of Merchants in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/dale-of-merchants)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/176165)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-24. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._