Mercantile: Legends of the Silk Road

Mercantile

Legends of the Silk Road

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An asymmetric strategy game of risk, influence, and social maneuvering,
where fortunes are made in secret and settled in public.

Join the Guild — Be first to know

The Road runs long, and trust runs short

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In the wake of the Mongol Empire, play as a factor, a commercial agent managing a book of nine hidden contracts on behalf of a mysterious patron. Conquer the Silk Road before your rivals do.

Six rival factions compete for influence, each with their own identity, agenda, and path to power. Swap valuable merchants and deploy shadowy operatives to disrupt your rivals in a race to reveal your contracts first.

Players 2–6

Length 30–45 min

Designer Dhillon Welsh Nornforge Studios

Asymmetric Drafting Hand management Hidden information Press your luck

The Way of the Factor

Four ways to rule the road

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I· Choose your path to power

Lead one of six asymmetric merchant factions, each with its own philosophy, playstyle, and methods of control. Build influence through diplomacy, deception, defense, disruption, logic, or gambling.

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II· Deploy operatives from the underworld

Unleash ex-Mongol operatives to disrupt rivals and reshape the market in your favor. Every operative introduces new opportunities… and new dangers.

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III· Navigate a market defined by uncertainty

Adapt to shifting fortunes as contracts emerge, alliances fracture, and hidden ambitions collide. Success belongs not to the strongest player, but to the most opportunistic.

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IV· Easy to learn. Difficult to master.

Simple turns and intuitive systems make Mercantile accessible from the first game, while deep faction asymmetry, hidden information, and evolving player dynamics reward mastery over time.

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The Hand Behind the Road

Tom Welsh

Lead Illustrator · Mercantile

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Tom Welsh brings the ancient Silk Road to life through obsessive linework and a deep respect for historical texture. Each operative figure is developed from historical references, sketched by hand before being refined into the final card illustrations that define Mercantile's visual identity.

The sketches you see here trace the birth of the Dockmaster, from first gestural marks through to the final card. The weight of cloth, the set of a jaw, the suggestion of authority. Nothing is accidental.

Dockmaster — pencil sketches alongside the final printed cards, by Tom Welsh

⚓ The Dockmaster — sketch to card