Battle Merchants - Board Game Setup

Aug 27, 2026

Battle Merchants is a four-season fantasy strategy game where players forge and sell weapons to profit from escalating demand. Competition spans fourwaring races, with war breaking out at each season end and influencing which weapons remain in play. Players manage craft acquisition, enabling stronger weapon construction such as Vorpal variants, and race rewards based on region and race demands. The game uses demand tokens, reward tiles, and stacked kingdom/craft decks to drive turn-by-turn actions and victory through gold.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Components

Setup

Plaging the Game

Player Turns

Craft Cards

It isa time of conflict.The Elves,Dwarves,Orcs,andHobgoblins allhate eachother with a passion,andare ready to declare war.All they needare Weapons This is great foryou:you make Weapons.Andyou don't really care who wins,as long asyou make more money than anyone else... In Battle Merchants,the players Forge andsell fourtypes of Weapons Improve your Crafteven further,and you will be able to Forgeto the fourwaring races of afantasy realm(three races in a three-player game).There are no restrictions against selling Weaponsto both sides of the same batle.In fact,it can be a good mov...The action takes place over fourSeasons.At the end ofeachSeason,war breaks out creating even more demand across theDuring the game,you will acquire Craft,which allows you to Forgerealm.When Winter ends,the racesfight their last,bitter war—different types of Weapons.Gain enough Craft in a particularand the Battle Merchantwith the most gold wins!Weapon type,andyou can construct powerful Vorpal Weapons. and sell Weapons faster. # Components 80 Standard Weapon tiles(20 each of 80“gold”coins Axe,Sword,Mace,and Hammer) 40 Vorpal Weapon tiles(IO each of Axe,Sword,Mace,and Hammer) 24 circularDemand Tokens(with a fire on the front and a lockon the back) I double-sided game board (oneside for2or4 players,the otherside for3 players) 4 double-sided player mats(one sidefor2or 4 players,theother side for 3players) 68 hexagonal Reward Tiles,including 56Craft Cards(36 forSpring/Summer,20for Autumn/Winter) I6Dwarf tiles I6Elftiles I6Hobgpblin tiles I6Orc tiles 28 Kingdom Cards 64ownership cubes(I6each of red,purple,yellowand blue) 4 grey Craft Bonus cards I Desert tile I Forest tile I Mountain tile IGrasslands tile gaMQS # Setup This is the setupfor 3-or4-player games.See“2-Player Games” to see how to set upa 2-player game. L Place the board in the middle of the table(where else?.Be sure to use the 3-player side ifyouare playinga 3-playergame and the 4-player side for a 4-player game. 2.Place one circular Demand Token on each Battlefieldon the game board.The Demand Tokens placed closestto the center of the board are placed face-up(showing a fire).All other Demand Tokens are placed face down(showinga lock). 3.Place the four Reward Tiles that show a Region on thematching Region spaces(at the corners of the board). 4.Place the I6 Reward Tiles that show each race on thematching race's image.Place one Reward Tile from eachrace on each colored space next to the image. 5.Sort the Weapon tiles by type and place them near the board(you should have eight piles). 6.Look through all the Kingdom Cards and remove any thatdon't match the number of players in the game,as indicatedby the symbols in the lower right corner ofeach card(so,ina 3-player game,remove all cards that don’t say“3 players”in the corner). 7 Split the rest of the Kingdom Cardsinto four piles:“A”,“B”,“C”,and“D.”Shuffle each pile separately(face down).Then,build the Kingdom deck by placing the single“D”card facedown,then place the“C”cards on topofit,followed by the“B”cards,andfinally the“A”cards on top(after this point,the letters on the Kingdom Cards don’tmean anything一they’'re only used to make sure the deck is stacked inacertain way). 8.Turn over the top three Kingdom Cards and place them nearthe board. 2 The waris readyto begin in thisfour-player game! 9.Sort the Craft Cards into two pilesby color(pink/greenfor Spring/Summer and white/yellow for Autumn/Winter).Shuffle each pile separately.Setthe Autumn/Winter deck tothe side for now.Place the Spring/Summer deck nearthe board. I0.Turn over the topfive Craft Cards from the Spring/SummerCraft deck and place them near the board. IL.Give each player a player matand the cubes of the same colorAlso give each player IO gold coins.Be sure to use the side ofyour mat that matches the number of players in the game(seethe top right corner of the mat). I2.Place the four Craft Bonus cards near the board.

FAQs

How does the game progress across the seasons?

Play runs through four Seasons in order: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. During each season, players take turns until the races go to war, and the Winter season completion ends the game.

What actions can players choose on their turn?

A player chooses one action from: Learn One Craft, Forge Up to Three Weapons, Sell One Weapon, or Take One Kingdom Card. If enough Craft is learned, a fifth option becomes available to Forge and Sell One Weapon.

What is the role of Craft Cards in making better weapons?

Craft represents the ability to Forge weapons. Early forging is limited to basic weapons, but learning additional craft cards unlocks different and more powerful weapon options, including standard and Vorpal quality weapons.

Aug 27, 2026

Uploaded by Arica Lee