Merchants of Culture 2023

Players take the role of a new book publishing house, seeking to sign quality authors and publish their best works. By publishing best sellers and creating a diverse library of works they not only make money, but achieve the trust and confidence of the bookreading public.

Each turn begins with a die roll. Where this roll matches the dice players have placed, they activate, bringing in authors, books and money, or moving books further along the publishing pipeline, earning sales along the way.

Activated dice always reduce their value by one, and are eventually removed, so the player's holdings and situation are always in flux. Players must constantly evaluate where they stand and decide how best to place their new dice, not only with respect to their own tableaus, but also those of the opponents.

Players interact, not merely competing to create the best selling books, but also by signing away others' authors, and even their books.

—description from the designer