Merchants Cove - Tutorial & Playthrough

[@GettingGames]

Corrections: 1:07:22 - The Blacksmith should have gained 9 gold, not 8.

[@wicek3d]

This is the best guide there is :D Thanks a lot

[@magdakee]

The clarity with which you can explain such an intricate assymetric game still astonishes me, and I've been watching, enjoying, and waiting for your videos for years. Thank you so much Jon. I had my eyes on this one, then thought it might be a bit too much and forgot about it, and now just pre ordered it because your explained it so well !

[@TheFlood2009]

Wow. That was the best tutorial for such a crazy game. I’m now confident I can explain it to my group. Or at least have them watch your video lol.

[@ShaolinSlim]

This helped me immensely. thank you for being clear and concise, too many videos have meandering points and rule explaining punctuated by ummms and walk-back over explanations. Your fast delivery let's information stay in my brain while I watch! Thank you!!

[@yemendel]

Yessss. Asymmetric games are so fun, and such a bear to teach. Videos are wonderful to point to for help.

[@spaztekwarrior]

I’ve had my eye on this game since hearing about it earlier this year. What beautiful production quality. :)

[@Tanks.With.Teeth.Malloy]

Oo...I've been waiting for this. Thank you Jon!!

[@tah27891]

Same!

[@bradford2211]

Thank you for the video. Just in time when we took out our copy and going to learn the rules. Good timing.

[@Piffelyrion]

Thank the gods for this video!! There are not a lot of thorough and clear play through/explanation for this game! Thank you!!

[@bensmithxlvi]

Great tutorial! Lots going on in this one. I really liked how you showed all the available expansion content at the end

[@GettingGames]

Thanks :) The publisher asked for the expansions overview and I'm glad I did it. That part did take almost 2 extra hours believe it or not!

[@jonh716]

Great job! This is one of my favorite games, and this video helped flushed out some rules we were unclear on. Thanks Jon!

[@sgregory0753]

Finally, tutorial for this game where I don’t need to go through the pain of explaining it terribly

[@headovmetal]

Great explanations! Had to order this!

[@michaelkavanagh120]

Love a bit of Jon G G's Although it is not "eye cor", but pronounced "icker". You are my go to geezer.

[@GettingGames]

Ah, oops! Glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@Daetlus]

It was driving me nuts wondering if I'd been pronouncing that wrong for years. Also he's a geezer? Geez I feel old now.

[@craigzalk8926]

Jon: Fine, fine job explaining such a complex and seemingly disconnected game. You are indeed a master! My bet is that Merchants Cove is a game that is played with one hand on the player board while the other hand is clutching the rule book. The asymmetric aspect of the game is puzzling to me as it seems to lack solid integration into the overall game. Perhaps I am wrong. ☺️

[@vaeleksk8252]

Great playthrough. We love this game. It's a heck of a game to learn but fun! I think it moves too quick with 3-4 players.

[@cardflopper3307]

Wow great tutorial. Very clear and precise. I would like to try this, but it would be a bear to find the right group!

[@Cleansweep38]

Thanks for sharing! Very very thinky!

[@Pookiebear]

I hadn't realized I watched a video on this game a while back. Jon thank you for doing such a great playthrough :] I'm conflicted on my thoughts for it, on one hand it looks really interesting and the different powers is super cool and something I havent seen a ton of in games. On the other hand, it seems heavy and like it could be hard to pick up and teach to people. Curious on your thoughts

[@jonnypac]

Thanks for the amazing work! 🤠

[@oksanabarsik1254]

Perfect video👍

[@chico6988]

Very well done!

[@Meto-uk3gh]

Can you please make tutorial for the Thief gameplay...?

[@chico6988]

Love that shirt!

[@stevenvanheuverzwijn596]

A thread on bgg mentions that the blue token should have been put on top of the stack at the beginning of the market phase, thus preserving the physical order and not the turn order.

[@GettingGames]

Huh, I believe I emailed the publisher direction about this, and they also didn't mention this being wrong when I sent them the video for error checking.

[@stevenvanheuverzwijn596]

@@GettingGames Then I would presume your ruling to be correct. I was hoping that to be the case as this seems more logical maintaining the player order. Thank you for the feedback.

[@mr.rogers7612]

End of round Captain reshuffles Every large item chest. So you can't save the Red one like you did. You might as well keep it on your sales shelf for later right??

[@GettingGames]

Unfortunately, it's been too long since I played this game to remember the rules enough to answer your question. Sorry about that!

[@ashbyman]

Correct, in cleanup phase remove all chests, shuffle, deal randomly to each spot, turn over any in spots with ships already there.

[@sweeneytodd473]

Not sure if that is good or not to speak about other character you get in secret stash... I almost threw box away, thankfully I removed insert before hand and didn't trash small expansion box... Nevertheless great video, I need get this to table sooner rather than later, I just really don't want to teach it :D

[@GettingGames]

I didn't actually know about that secret character until after I published the video because I found it while packing everything away! I suppose it's fine for it to remain a secret considering the name of the expansion :P

[@loopyxo9575]

So if you move your time marker on or just past the market token, before all the boats are docked, does the production phase end?

[@StevenStJohn-kj9eb]

Once again a game I was pretty sure I wasn't interested in gets the JonGetsGames treatment and becomes a game I'm interested in...

[@mr.rogers7612]

The docks on board is different. Is it a second edition?

[@GettingGames]

I'm honestly not sure, sorry.

[@Benny_Shoga]

The chapter link to the Dragon Rancher points to the wrong time.

[@GettingGames]

Good catch! I've fixed it now, thanks.

[@magdakee]

yassss

[@Footrot13]

Am I the only one who sees the captain’s spinner and thinks replacing it with a 4sided 🎲 would be best?

[@GettingGames]

I thought the spinner was fun, it leaned into the theme of it being a compass anyway. I think the spinner was just as good as a die.

[@Cleansweep38]

1:07:00 ish Player that only sold 1 red item should have gotten 9 points not 8 (3x3=9)

[@GettingGames]

Good catch, thanks for pointing that out. I've added a note to the subtitles and corrections comment.

[@Skycroft1000]

1:07:20 Should be 9, not 8. Very underwhelmed by this one. It feels very gimmicky - asymmetry for the mere sake of asymmetry rather than to make the game interesting. A collection of disconnected minigames _can_ make a good game (Sid Meier's Pirates), but its an uphill battle. And that's when they combine to make an interesting overall experience. Here each player is playing a _different_ mini-game, each of which by itself does not make an interesting game. They're OK if this was a lighter game, but it's too long and complex a game for me to recommend it as lighter fare. At the same time, each minigame by itself is too simple for fans of complex games. Overall a disappointing package. Video was great as always though!

[@GettingGames]

Thanks for the correction, I've added a note about it to the Klingon subtitles and corrections comment. Regarding the game, I do think it's going to appeal to a narrower audience than most games. I'm glad the video was able to help you figure out where you landed on it.