Dale of Merchants Review

Deck building. It’s everywhere these days. It’s been a staple of the industry since Dominion blew the chapel doors off the industry. It’s safe to say that I really like deck building, but it’s equally true to say that I don’t like most deck building games. Many of them feel derivative and one-note; they can feel very “played one played them all” (apologies to fellow Review Corner writer Grace). Dale of Merchants does not feel that way. Like the squirrels of one of the factions included in this small box, it’s pretty darn clever.

All the familiar trappings of a deck builder are here. Everyone starts with the same starting deck and you’ve got to buy cards from a public area to build it up. Rather than a large grid of publically available card stacks, cards trickle out of a trade row and get cheaper the longer they sit. It introduces an element of push-your-luck while at the same time reducing the overload of information that often accompanies a traditional deck builder.

That on its own isn’t particularly novel or different, but Dale of Merchants layers minor tweaks all over the familiar systems. You’ll draw up to 5 cards each turn but you aren’t forced to discard unused cards at the end of your round. Holding on to certain cards is a big part of how you build combos or develop sets. A purchased card goes straight into your hand which adds some direct hand management into the system. While most deck builders feature cards to destroy or trim your deck, Dale of Merchants builds that process right into victory.

You’re one of the merchants in the eponymous Dale in town to sell your wares. You win by building the most impressive stall which is done by playing cards out of your hand - and thus your deck - to the table. To build a stall the merchants play 1 or more cards to the table in stacks of ascending values. The first stack must be a value of one; a 1-cost card is your only option. The second must be a value of 2, and so on. This system is great because of the push and pull it produces on your deck.

Higher value cards have stronger abilities as they’re also more expensive to purchase. It's critical to figure out when to play your 1-3 cost cards to the table to get them out of your deck while maintaining your purchasing power, as is saving them for the later stalls. A stall must be built to an exact value. While there are many configurations in which you can build the 6 or 7 value stall, saving the appropriate cards is tough. A low value card might just save the day if you can get past seeing it appear over and over again throughout the game.

Unlike Star Realms, where removing your starting cards is almost universally the appropriate decision, Dale of Merchant’s stall construction means that your decisions are more nuanced and layered. But it’s a shame that some of the card sets feel out of place. Each set of cards is a different animal species. Squirrels are crafty and can use discarded junk to build a stall. Macaws provide clever hand management options. It’s cute and I like the variation, I just don’t like all the abilities.

Dale of Merchants requires a lot of foresight and planning, especially with the wonderful Chameleon cards that constantly shift to take on the features of other cards on the table. So when the Ocelots and Raccoons inject chaos in the worst possible ways, it’s out of place and frustrating. I love randomness in my games, but not this way. One card sees you shuffle your hand with an opponent’s and redistribute them destroying your own combos and planning as much as theirs. Ocelots add a single die-roll to the table that presents a stark feast-or-famine situation into a game that’s typically more measured. While it’s possible to simply play without them at low player counts, the more players you have the more sets you need to add and they become unavoidable.

Normally it’d be enough for me to dock a few points or even take a pass on the game, but in this case I can deal with it for a few reasons. For starters the rest of the systems are that good but more importantly it’s easy to simply play with less players. On top of that, Dale of Merchants 2 exists and adds 6 new animal sets that can be freely combined with the base game, allowing players like me to pick and choose the sets they like. I don’t ordinarily like leaning on a subsequent purchase to shore up my issues with a base game, but in this case I’m willing to do it because my issues are a matter of taste.

I like Dale of Merchants quite a bit and I'm willing to overlook my frustrations because it’s smart and a breath of fresh air. It’s also small enough that grabbing the 2nd set - which I’m definitely planning to do - isn’t going to break the bank. The small box size belies the depth of the game within, and it’s a game I’m happy to keep exploring.