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Description
It is an age of great discoveries. New and wonderful items find their ways into the hands of the greatest merchants. And if there ever is a place those traders love, it is the town of Dale.
There’s an extraordinary guild in the Dale founded by the greatest merchants. The tricky part is getting the membership since one must win the annual trading competition to be invited to the guild.
Notable animalfolk merchants from all over the world have gathered in the town to take part in the event. Everyone has only one goal in mind – to be celebrated as the winner and the newest member of the legendary guild.
In Dale of Merchants, players take the roles of those participating merchants learning new techniques, trading goods, and managing their stock. The player who first manages to complete their astounding merchant stall wins the game and gets access to the guild!
Year Published
2015
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 8
This page: 8
Sentiment:
pos 7 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–8 of 8
Video GrajuEsakUw
The Broken Meeple top_list at 6:07 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11539 · mention_pk 33929
Click to watch at 6:07 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- beautiful gorgeous artwork
- first game from Snowdale Design
- many different factions with unique behaviors
- simple four actions (mainly three useful ones)
- lots of variety from faction abilities
- available in small box sets or collector's edition
- Cosmic Encounter-style player powers
Cons
- some factions more complex than others
- warning needed for complex faction selection
Thematic elements
- anthropomorphic animals
- merchants
- market trading
- multiple factions
Comparison games
- Cosmic Encounter
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- all these factors that go into this list and the games that I enjoy at any particular time
- I like deck builders, it's a good fun mechanic
- watch their brains click and then you're like yes got you hook line and singer
- it's only a game
- these people should not touch card games - hate those people
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video dRI57qPIS2I
Broken Meele Show general_discussion at 29:30 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9903 · mention_pk 29117
Click to watch at 29:30 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fun theme with playful chaos
- Good social interaction
Cons
- Light on depth; mainly casual
Thematic elements
- Trading and chaotic interaction
- Animal-themed market and trading
- Light, humorous
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deck-building — Draft animal cards to expand your shop and abilities.
- player interaction — Direct interaction through stealing, stealing back, and chaos.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's only a game
- New Zealand is definitely my factor
- I would give it a six out of ten
- Horse steak was surprisingly nice
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video eacze4jp16w
Peaky Boardgamer's rules teach at 0:24 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9436 · mention_pk 27863
Click to watch at 0:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- easy to learn and fast-paced
- expansion content included in the collection box
- interactive market and stall mechanics
Cons
- potentially fiddly overpay and passive card interactions for some players
- rule complexity could be challenging for first-time players
Thematic elements
- Economic engine-building through market interactions and card drafting
- A magical market town with anthropomorphic animals
- Educational, mechanic-focused tutorial narration
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deck-building — Players build a personal deck from junk cards and market purchases.
- draw/shuffle — When decks run out, players reshuffle their discard into a new deck; market cards refresh as plays occur.
- market — Market row with cards that can be bought by paying a cost determined by card value plus modifiers; payment is made with cards from hand.
- overpay and passive payment — Passive cards allow overpaying by discarding extra cards to pay for a purchase.
- plus actions chaining — Plus symbols grant extra actions, potentially chaining multiple actions together.
- scoring via stacks — The objective is to complete the eighth stall stack to win the game.
- stall (8 stacks) — A rule-driven stack system where players complete one of eight stacks by playing cards of a single animal type that sum to the stack value.
- technique cards — Technique cards provide effects; some are passive and some require actively playing them for additional actions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Dale of Merchants is a fast-paced easy to learn deck building card game for 2-4 players.
- The ultimate goal is to create 8 stacks of cards in your play area the stacks must have a specific value total from 1 to 8 and the first player who plays the 8th stack wins.
- There is a market a technique a stall and an inventory action.
- The first player who plays the eighth stack onto their style automatically wins the game.
- Very important if the played card has a plus on the top left corner then the player can proceed and take an additional action.
- If I take the market action and use this card as part of the payment then I can overpay.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video AVPQ0Qou9X0
Techos top_15_list at 6:55 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8342 · mention_pk 24564
Click to watch at 6:55 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- my number one game this year
- has development as a solo mode on board game arena
Cons
- will gain more plays once solo mode is released
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bidding/resource management — auction-like market and resource planning
- deck-building — deck-building with market-driven decisions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I love Wingspan. As you know, it's my number one board game of all time.
- My number one game this year is Date of Merchants.
- This is like one of my most favorite games ever.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video AC0OZsvhWXg
Foster the Meepolo top_10_list at 7:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8303 · mention_pk 24340
Click to watch at 7:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fun
- Like Dale of Merchants
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Trading
- Market
Comparison games
- Dale of Merchants 2
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Collection
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We love trick taking games
- This game is so much freaking fun
- I adore GMT games, they are becoming one of my favorite game publishers
- If you remember Vast Crystal Caverns is in my top five games of all time
- We bloody love it
- We can't stop playing
- It's a blimp game not a train game
- That's just work
- I don't think I want to play it
- I'll get it eventually
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 6ZKBYJGSe3Q
Three Minute Board Games top_10_list at 7:26 sentiment: negative
video_pk 2083 · mention_pk 6048
Click to watch at 7:26 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- Deep strategic potential for those who love deck-building
Cons
- Too busy and complex for those not into deck-building
- Not suited for casual players
Thematic elements
- dense market interaction and resource management
- fantasy trading and merchant empire
- immersive but heavy on mechanics
Comparison games
- Dominion
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deck-building — deck represents merchant actions and resources
- engine-building — scoring and actions scale with card acquisitions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- 2020 was the year that i finally decided i don't like legacy games
- if you like discovering new games and if you like playing a new game every week that's fantastic
- the experience for paradise lost was ... terrible
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video SykgVk2l9yA
The Broken Meeple top_10_list at 5:47 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1543 · mention_pk 4434
Click to watch at 5:47 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Simplistic feel
- Good depth
- Multiple factions create variety
- Easy to learn
- Many paths to victory
- Cute artwork with animals
Cons
- Inherent complexity of deck builders
- Limited depth with single set
Thematic elements
- Building merchant stalls
- A merchant's market
- Thematic deck builder with cute animals
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card abilities — Each faction has distinct card abilities
- Deck building — Players build decks by acquiring cards
- set collection — Combining different factions for synergies
- Stall building — Core goal is building 8 stalls
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a nice quaint little puzzle game that most people have probably never heard of
- there's a lot of different ways to approach it but the rules pretty straightforward
- this is another underrated gem in my book
- area control game in 90 minutes or less there's not many of those around really
- really has kind of won me over as a really solid deck builder and i didn't think i'd be saying that very often
- it is so good in fact that this has the easy chance of hitting my top 100 next year
- i love how simple this game is but you've got a lot of decision making to do
- in terms of a modern cluedo there is no better version to get than this
- one of the easiest games to teach especially if you already know how to do trick taking games
- really low complexity ratio with a pretty decent amount of depth
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video oseBisLUF44
The Broken Meeple top_100_list at 17:23 sentiment: positive
video_pk 737 · mention_pk 2144
Click to watch at 17:23 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Thematic and charming artwork
- Quirky but strategic deck-building
- High variability with factions and cards
Cons
- Factions can be fiddly and hard to teach
- Some rule modules add complexity
Thematic elements
- Deck-building with a dynamic shop economy
- Animal factions running a market and storefronts
- Light, thematic, with a quirky tone
Comparison games
- Cosmic Encounter
- Daily Merchants
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deck-building with multiple factions — Combine animal factions into one market deck to drive stores.
- Modular rules and variant numbers — Includes optional components that alter gameplay depth.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a quirky game of underwater city
- the gallerist still brilliant I love it
- it's dripping in theme it's difficult it's gritty it's dark
- Surely you can't be serious I am serious and don't call me Shirley
- the crew is now in the top half of the top 100
- Star Wars Outer Rim got the expansion it deserved
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–8 of 8