London Markets Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Object of the Game
• Set-up – for a 4-player game
• Sequence of Play
  • 1. Reveal a Market Card
  • 2. Take Actions
  • 3. Replenish
  • 4. Auction
  • 5. Move Merchants and Assistants
  • 6. Change the Starting Player
• End of the Game and Winner
• Special Cards
  • ∞ Cards
  • 1x Cards

Game Components

• 1 Game board, double-sided for 3 or 4 players
• 72 Goods cards of four types (coffee, soap, silk, china)
• 5 Offer cards, to indicate which goods type is traded on which market
• 80 Goods bars, in 4 player colors. Each bar consists of 3 crates.
• 8 Replenishment cards, 2 each in 4 player colors
• 12 Market cards
• 3 Markers, to cover auctioned goods on the market cards
• 1 Market board
• 30 Special cards
• 1 Coach, to serve as a starting player token
• 3 Merchants
• 2 Assistants
• Play money: 20 x £1, 30 x £2, 20 x £5, 10 x £10, 10 x £20

Please attach the stickers to the round wooden discs before your first game. The back of each disc remains blank.

Object of the Game

To make more profits than anyone else at London's markets and secure their position as the city's most renowned merchandiser, players need to organize their goods cleverly in order to control their goods replenishment and their personal income.

Through clever use of the merchants and assistants at the different markets, in addition to smart acquisition of goods at the daily auctions, you'll earn the profits you need to win the game!

Set-up – for a 4-player game

1. Unfold the game board in the center of the playing area. In a 3-player game, use the side marked "3" with one track of spaces along the river Thames. The illustration shows the 4-player game set-up with two tracks of spaces and a "4" under the map's key. Place one assistant marker on the leftmost space of each track.

   Important: Use only one assistant in a 3-player game and two assistants in a 4-player game.

2. Sort the goods cards by type, then take 8 cards of each type (or with 3 players only 6 cards of each type), shuffle them well, and deal eight cards to each player. These cards form the hand of each player.

3. Shuffle the five offer cards, then place one offer card face up on each of the five markets. Place the appropriate goods cards on the coffee, soap, china and silk markets as face up piles, removing the offer card from each market as you do so. Leave the general merchandise market offer card in place.

4. Shuffle the market cards face down, then reveal the bottom card. If it's the "market closed" card, reshuffle and reveal again. If some other card is on the bottom, stack these cards face down in the "Stock Price" section of the game board. Place the three black cover markers next to the market cards.

5. Place the market board next to the game board, then shuffle the 30 special cards and place them face down on the market board in four piles of approximately equal size.

6. Give each player the 20 goods bars and 2 replenishment cards of the color of their choice. Each player places these cards face up in front of them and the goods bars in a convenient location.

7. Randomly choose a starting player, then give this player the coach token as a starting player marker. Each player then passes three of his goods bars to his left-hand neighbor. Beginning with the starting player and continuing clockwise, each player places one of these goods bars in any market of his choice. Players continue this process until all of these goods bars (3 per player) are on the game board.

   Note: At the start of the game, each market is limited to a maximum of 3 goods bars.

Sequence of Play

The game lasts 12 game rounds, with each round being divided into the following phases in this order:

1. Reveal a market card
2. Take actions
3. Replenish
4. Auction
5. Move merchants and assistants
6. Change the starting player

1. Reveal a Market Card

The starting player reveals the top market card.

This card shows how many pounds players can earn during the auction for which goods as well as for which goods type a special card will be drawn.

The market card shows, for each goods type: China – draw a special card; Coffee – £4; Soap – £1; Silk – £2.

2. Take Actions

Beginning with the starting player and continuing clockwise, each player selects one assistant or merchant, performs the corresponding action, then flips the token to its rear side. No other player can use this merchant or assistant during this game round.

Stack goods bars: After selecting this merchant, the player may place 2 of her goods bars on the market where this merchant is located.

Stack goods bars as follows: First, place the goods bars side by side until 3 bars are positioned next to one another. Place the next layer of goods bars on top of the current layer at a right angle to this current layer. Continue to place goods bars this way (vertical, then horizontal, then vertical, etc.) as you add layers throughout the game.

Important: Goods bars are never removed during the game, but they can (and will) be covered by a player's own bars and by those of other players.

Gain profits: After selecting this merchant, the player collects 1 Pound from the bank for each of her crates on display (i.e. visible) at this market.

The guaranteed minimum income is always 3 Pounds, even if this player has only 2, 1 or even 0 crates on display.

Example: Four of Marco's crates (red) are on display at Portobello Market, so Marco collects £4.

Take goods cards: After selecting this merchant, the player takes 1 goods card from this market for each of her crates on display (i.e. visible) here. The player takes a minimum of 3 cards, even if she has only 2, 1 or even 0 crates on display.

If this merchant is at the general merchandise market, the player takes the appropriate number of cards of any one goods type.

If the goods pile at a market is exhausted while a player is drawing, she continues drawing from any other pile.

Example: Two of Nico's crates (blue) are on display at Borough Market, so he draws 3 soap goods cards.

Use an assistant: Beginning with the starting player and continuing clockwise, each player selects one assistant or merchant, performs the corresponding action, then flips the token to its rear side. No other player can use this merchant or assistant during this game round.

Either before or after this action, the player can choose to play one special card in hand.

If desired, the player can pay £3 to the bank to play a second special card this round, again either before or after this action.

The assistant's action is shown in the rulebook beside the assistant's icon with three effects, each marked with the icon of the matching merchant action:

• The player may place one of her goods bars in the corresponding market.
• The player takes a number of goods cards from this market equal to the number of her crates on display here, with a guaranteed minimum of 3 cards.
• The player earns a number of Pounds from the bank equal to the number of her crates on display at the chosen market, with a guaranteed income of £3.

3. Replenish

Skip this phase during the two game rounds when the "market closed" market card is on display.

During all other game rounds, each player takes one goods card of her choice for each replenishment card in front of her. The starting player takes her cards first, then all other players in clockwise order.

The players may take cards from one market or from different markets, as they wish. Initially, players have only two replenishment cards in front of them, but they may add more during the course of the game.

4. Auction

Skip this phase during the two game rounds when the "market closed" market card is on display.

During all other game rounds, 1-4 auctions take place for the different types of goods.

All players act simultaneously during this phase. Each player places any number of one type of goods card from her hand on the table, then covers them with her hand; this is her offer for this auction. If a player wants to make a null offer, she places her empty hand on the table.

All players then reveal their cards and all offered types of goods are auctioned one after the other. Only the player who has offered the most cards of a particular goods type receives money from the bank, as shown on the current market card. In a tie, the tied players share that amount, rounded down. The other players who offered this type of goods receive no money. All offered cards are returned to the piles at the appropriate markets.

Cover each auctioned goods type with a black marker, then hold another simultaneous auction until all goods types shown on the market card have been auctioned or all players have simultaneously made a null offer.

If a player offers cards of different types (or of a type that had been auctioned earlier this round), this is considered a null offer and the player returns these cards to her hand.

Example: Ani wins the auction for china and draws a special card (as detailed below). Marco wins the auction for coffee by offering 3 cards versus Nico's 2 cards. Marco receives £4 from the bank. Alex wins the silk auction and receives £2 from the bank. China, coffee and silk have been auctioned, so they're each covered with a black marker. The only good left to be auctioned is soap.

A particular type of goods on a market card might show a special card icon instead of an amount of money. The auction winner of this goods type selects one special card by choosing one pile from the market board, looking through it, adding one special card to her hand, then placing the pile back in its former place. In a tie, none of the tied players may select a special card, but this goods type is still covered by a black marker.

Example: Ani wins the auction for china, chooses one of the special card piles from the market board, selects one card from this pile, then replaces the pile.

During the final game round, the winner of an auction for a special card may take £3 from the bank instead of a special card. She must decide to do this before looking through a pile.

The special cards are explained in detail on page 8 (see Special Cards below).

5. Move Merchants and Assistants

The starting player moves each merchant to the next market in a clockwise direction, then moves each assistant one space to the right on their individual tracks (or track in a 3-player game). After doing this, flip all merchant and assistant markers to their front side so that their pictures are visible.

Some spaces on the assistants' tracks are marked with a special symbol, and as soon as an assistant moves onto such a space, one of two things happens:

• Each player (beginning with the starting player) picks up one pile from the market board, selects one special card from the pile, adds it to her hand, then returns the pile to its former place. Each player must choose a different pile.
• Each player reveals how much money she has on hand, thereby giving everyone an idea of who's in the lead!

6. Change the Starting Player

The current starting player passes the coach token to her left-hand neighbor, who is the starting player of the next game round, which begins with phase 1.

End of the Game and Winner

The game ends after phase 4 of the 12th game round as the market cards are now depleted and the assistants have reached the end of their tracks.

The player with the most money wins the game and is acknowledged as the most renowned merchandiser in London!

In case of a tie, the tied player holding the most goods cards wins the game. If the tie is still not broken, the tied players share the victory.

Special Cards

Special cards can be played only in the 2nd phase: Take actions, before or after the player's regular action.

There are two kinds of special cards:

• The players keep cards marked with a "∞" in front of them after they have played them; these cards remain in effect until the end of the game.
• Cards marked "1x" are removed from the game once they have been used.

Each player may play only one special card for free during each game round. To play a second special card, she must first pay £3 to the bank. She cannot play a third special card that same round.

∞ Cards

Tiebreaker: The owner of this card wins each tie in which he is involved. This includes each auction during the auction phase as well as at the end of the game!

Replenishment plus exchange: This replenishment card allows its owner to draw one additional goods card during phase 3: Replenish of each game round. What's more, for each goods card in his possession, the owner may return that goods card from his hand to its pile, then take any one other goods card from a different market.

1x Cards

Any market: The player may place one of his goods bars on a market of his choice.

Clientele: The player earns profits from the indicated market equal to the number of his crates on display, with a guaranteed minimum of £3.

Monopoly: The player earns £4 if 5 or 6 of his crates are on display at the indicated market, or £8 if 7 or 8 of his crates are on display, or £12 if 9 of his crates are on display.

Example: Seven of Nico's crates (blue) are on display at the indicated market, so he earns £8.

Combined offer: The player earns £6 if at least 3 of his crates are on display at each of the two indicated markets, or £10 if at least 4 of his crates are on display at each of these markets, or £14 if at least 5 of his crates are on display at each of these markets.

Example: Five of Alex' crates (green) are on display at both indicated markets, so he earns £14.

Rich offer: The player earns £3 if at least 1 of his crates is on display at any three markets, or £6 if 1 crate is on display at any four markets, or £9 if 1 crate is on display at all five markets.

Example: At least one of Ani's crates (yellow) is on display at four markets, so Ani earns £6.

Important: The 1x cards Monopoly, Combined Offer, and Rich Offer may not be played during the first 4 game rounds!