# Merchants Cove

Merchants Cove is a board game for 1–4 players. It plays in 60–90 minutes and is meant for ages 14 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 3. It is rated 7.5 out of 10 by 22 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $40.22 (United States).

- **Players:** 1–4 (best with 3)
- **Playing time:** 60–90 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 14+
- **Complexity:** 2.8 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2021
- **Categories:** Fantasy, Economic, Nautical
- **Mechanics:** Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, Worker Placement, Rondel, Commodity Speculation, Tile Placement, Solo / Solitaire Game, Turn Order: Time Track
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.5 out of 10, from 22 reviews
- **Owned by:** 71 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 146
- **Unique players:** 172

**Designers:** Jonny Pac, Drake Villareal, Carl Van Ostrand

**Artists:** Mihajlo Dimitrievski

**Publishers:** Final Frontier Games

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cardhaus Games | 56.49 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/merchants-cove/ |
| El Nucli | 49.9 € | https://www.elnucli.es/products/merchants-cove |
| Juegos de la Mesa Redonda | 62.96 € | https://juegosdelamesaredonda.com/11492-merchants-cove-8436572390454.html |
| Ludifolie | 65.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/10585-la-baie-des-marchands.html |
| Alphaspel | 789 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/109847-merchants-cove-retail-edition |
| Spielezar | 72.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/brettspiele/merchants-cove-en |
| Fantasiapelit | 97.1 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_208452 |

## Expansions

- [Merchants Cove: The Secret Stash](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-the-secret-stash)
- [Merchants Cove: The Innkeeper](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-the-innkeeper)
- [Merchants Cove: The Oracle](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-the-oracle)
- [Merchants Cove: The Dragon Rancher](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-the-dragon-rancher)
- [Merchants Cove: Master Craft](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-master-craft)
- [Merchants Cove: Backer-built Rogue Pack](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-backer-built-rogue-pack)
- [Merchants Cove: Game Maker](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-game-maker)
- [Merchants Cove: Loot Pack](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-loot-pack)
- [Merchants Cove: The Entertainer Crossover Pack](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-the-entertainer-crossover-pack)
- [Merchants Cove: Rogue Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove-tantrum-house-promo)

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## Rules questions

### When do I draw Corruption cards for an action — when I take the action or when I resolve the clock?

You draw Corruption cards during Step 3 of your turn, after performing the action: for each Corruption icon in the action’s cost you draw 1 Corruption card into your supply (p.5).

### If my Timepiece passes an Adventurer indicator, what exactly happens to boats and Adventurers?

When you pass an Adventurer indicator you immediately perform Load the Boats: draw 1 Adventurer from the bag and place it into an empty slot on a Sailing Boat (you cannot add to Docked Boats); if you fill the final slot on a Sailing Boat you must immediately Dock it and move its Adventurers to that Pier (pp.5–6).

### Can I sell goods anywhere during the Market Phase, and do my sales remove Customers so others can't use them?

Sales resolve in order: Bazaar (left, large goods), Grand Plaza (center, small goods), then Black Market (right, both sizes); you may only sell where matching colored Customers are present and Customers are not removed from Piers until the end of the Market Phase, so other players may also sell to them (p.7).

### What happens if the Production Phase ends while boats are still Sailing?

If the Production Phase ends with Sailing boats remaining, all Adventurers on those boats are placed into their matching Faction Halls or into the Lair as appropriate, leaving any empty Pier spaces (p.6).

### When I Recruit a Townsfolk, when does their immediate ability happen and can I use it to discard Corruption I just gained from that Recruit's cost?

When you recruit a Townsfolk you immediately activate its Townsfolk ability before paying the Recruit cost, and because those immediate abilities resolve before paying costs you cannot use them to discard Corruption cards gained as part of that same action’s cost (pp.10–11).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merchants-cove)
- [Merchants Cove in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/merchants-cove)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/277700)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._