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Market Trend is a market game from Japan, with players working as jewellers. The price of the different gemstones varies according to demand; when players put out new designs and clusters, prices go up, and fall for the gems out of popularity. Players aim to be the richest jeweller by the end of four rounds.
The game has 120 gem cards for different types, from 10 diamonds to 24 jet. The deck is varied for the number of players.
Once the deck is prepared and shuffled, players are dealt 8 hand cards. (If the deck is exhausted leter, discards are shuffled over).
Players then select one card to keep as stock, placing it face-down in front of them, and pass their hand to their neighbour (alternating each round). Then players can sell gems or sets of gems from their hand and make cash.
The value of what they sell is determined by a scoring plan, and alters each round. At the end of the game, there is a final bonus too.
Players can now move the prices of the gem types up or down, according to what they did and did not sell. After this, players are dealt back to 8 cards (or as best can be done), and the game continues.
At the end of the game, the stock cards the players have been collecting are scored for a final bonus. After this, most cash wins.
The distribution of the gem cards matters, and players try to keep in mind which gems they have seen and which have been sold. Understanding which are going to be rarer by the end of the game is a key strategy.
user summary
- Innovative market-driven scoring with tactile crate mechanics
- Tight two-player puzzle that scales in difficulty
- Engaging endgame with strategic blocking and placement
- Rule depth can be challenging; potential for misinterpretation
- Endgame scoring can feel opaque without careful tracking
- Produce brokerage and end-of-game market scoring
- A farmer's market storefront economy with a rotating market in front
- mechanical puzzle with thematic kitchen-sink flavor
- Chewbacco (original) and its rebranding under Avalon Hill
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Compound Scoring — The market track provides a final scoring layer that depends on crate placement and farmer placement.
- crates drafting/placement into a market grid — Each player has personal crates and there is a shared market; crates placed to maximize scoring potential.
- end-of-game market scoring — The market track provides a final scoring layer that depends on crate placement and farmer placement.
- hole management and stacking rules — Placement rules create holes and require careful planning to avoid zero-point placements.
- variable scoring tiers and blocking — Three tiers exist on the market, with two-player mode simplifying to two tiers; players can block opponents for strategic advantage.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Panda Spin is amazing.
- A whole new ball of wax for a trick taking game.
- There are so many things you can do with the spinning of the cards.
- It's basically streamline Mysterium.
- Doubles are terrifying to me.