Merkator

Run goods and orders between cities in post-war Hamburg, and tag along on rivals' trips when it pays.

Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Published by: Lookout Games

Merkator is set in Hamburg as it rises after the Thirty Years' War. You travel between cities to collect goods or fill orders, and every time someone visits a neighboring city, new goods are added to the ones you left behind. Filling an order hands you a better, more complex one, and you keep the old one to fill again, though the number of orders you can hold is limited. Entering a city either gives you time or costs you time, and you can pay a fee to tag along on another player's trip to fill your own orders there. A 2010 trading puzzle for one to four, with a solo mode, about ninety minutes, best with two or four.

Orders that unlock better ordersTime as a resource gained or spent per cityPay time to travel along with a rival

Who it's for

You like route planning and delivery puzzles, and you want a solo mode or a game that scales to four.

Not for you if…

You want a lot of direct conflict or a short game. This is a quiet planning euro.

Vibe's take

Thoughtful and economy-minded, with a puzzle of timing and routes. The shared time resource and the tag-along rule give everyone something to negotiate.