Arcane Alley (2019)

About this game

Welcome to the black magic market. In Arcane Alley, each player is a merchant wizard, competing to sell items for gold while minimizing the infamy gained from their leftover unsold items during a round’s inspection. Each player starts with a full storehouse of nine items. On your turn, you’ll try to make sets (three identical items in a row) in your storehouse, which awards you gold for the sale and removes those infamous items from your storehouse so you won’t get caught with them in the upcoming inspection. You’ll continue selling until a player triggers the inspection and ends the round. Then, each player gains infamy for any items remaining in their storehouse. If those items gain you too much infamy, you’ll fail the inspection and be forced to spend your precious gold on fines. To win the game, be the player with the most gold after three inspections. -description from designer

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 6.
• Rules load. At 2.0/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 10 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.