Jerry Dziuba "Castle Merchants" of the Z-Men - Publishing on the road in Germany under that same name, which annoyed us at first, but was also curious about the game.

The "medieval trade and travel game" was revealed in its presentation as a little "stale". The game works like material produced from the last decade.

Trade we had during our game drive round in a very simple form, by certain products supplied to those castles whose name (Chianti Castle, Castle Cheese, etc.) are already on the preferred product in each case could be closed. We were rewarded for it with gold, the first appearing at the court of dealers can reap the biggest chunk.

The travel, however, proved to be a little more complicated: First, build pathways that possessed different surfaces such as forest, plains or mountains, the maneuver the pieces, namely, the traveler, using movement cards through the previously constructed trails.

This works of course not without problems, because the opponent can either butt in with a landslide chips or even relocate to expensive installed underground in a different area of ​​the court. Then, if no matching motion cards are available, you can get stuck before.

The whole is seasoned with a dose of randomness in the form of a dice roll and the pasture field, as in the castles on the new cards in hand and therefore more opportunities for action may be taken. Since the playing of cards, the core element of the game, this means rapid tightening of cards have a speed advantage.

The winner is who has collected 18 gold pieces at the end of the locks. This turns out to end the game when the road - resources are largely consumed a little more difficult than in the earlier phase of the game, so that even at this time came up a little race-character.

All in all not a very complex game Castle Merchants has mins with about 30 minutes. a short play time, and provides at least the race for gold is a little tension, and combinatorics.

Tags: Z-Men