In October, Osprey Games will release Merv:  The Heart of the Silk Road, created by Fabio Lopiano, the designer of Calimala and Ragusa.

In the 13th Century, the city of Merv sat on the main trade route between the East and the West—the famed “Silk Road”—amassing a tremendous fortune and becoming one of the largest cities in the world.  This unique trading city is the setting for Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road.

In the game, the players are prominent merchants trying to acquire as much of the wealth flowing into the city for themselves as they can.  But, as the game goes on, the encroaching Mongol hordes threaten the city.  The players can divert funds to the city’s defenses, but doing so reduces their own profits.  They must therefore balance working together to protect the city and advancing their own agenda to maximize their personal wealth.

Merv:  The Heart of the Silk Road features artwork by Ian O’Toole (Lisboa, The Gallerist).  It includes 1 game board, 25 tiles, 48 cards, more than 100 wooden pieces, and more than 100 tokens.  The game is intended for 1 to 4 players, and takes about an hour and a half to play.  MSRP has not been announced.

Click Gallery below to see artwork from the game.

Earlier this year, Osprey released the word-assembly game Letterpress (see "Osprey Games Will Release ‘Letterpress’ into Trade").