Game Objective

The Secret Stash is a modular expansion for Merchants Cove. It provides a treasure trove of additional content—including new Rogues, Townsfolk, and Boats—designed to enhance the gaming experience. Players can mix and match these components to adjust the game's difficulty, length, and competitiveness. In solo mode, players face specific Scenarios and Challenge cards to test their economic skills.

Preparation (Setup)

Because this expansion is modular, you only set up the components you wish to use. Based on the available modules:

• Corruption Cards: Mix the 12 new Corruption cards into the existing deck. Alternatively, remove 12 cards that have only one Corruption icon before shuffling these in.
• Rogues: Select the Rogue cards you wish to include. Each has specific setup requirements for the bag and the Lair (e.g., Pirates: 4 in bag, 3 in Lair).
• Townsfolk Sets: Mix the new Townsfolk cards (Officials, Artisans, Underworld, or Legends) with the core game cards.
• Grey Rogue Goods: If using the Underworld set, place the 8 Grey Rogue Goods nearby.
• New Boats:
  • Place the 2-seater Boat just below Dragon Island.
  • Place the two 5-seater Boats on each side of the board, between the two 4-seater boats.
• Boat Setup Cards: Shuffle the 8 Boat Setup cards, randomly select 3 to form the Boat deck, and return the others to the box.
• Halls of Plenty: Place these tiles near the board with the side showing 2 Faction icons face-up.
• Lair of Villainy: Place this tile near the board with the side showing five Corruption icons face-up.
• Dragon Island Festival: Place the Dragon Island Festival tile so it covers Dragon Island on the board.
• Faction Leaders: Replace one Adventurer of each color from the Adventurer bag with their matching Faction Leader.
• Solo Mode: Separate Challenge cards into two piles (one with 4 specific cards and another with 8). Form the Challenge deck by placing 4 random cards from the larger pile on top of 2 random cards from the smaller pile. Flip the top card face-up and place an unused Timepiece (the Challenge Timepiece) on the Clock.

Game Flow

The expansion modifies existing phases of the game as follows:

• Arrival Phase:
  • Reveal the top card of the Boat deck and set up the Boats as shown.
  • If the Dragon Island Festival is active, after placing Adventurers on Boats, draw and place Customers one-at-a-time onto Dragon Island until there are eight total (return any Rogues to the Adventurer bag).
  • When filling 5-seater Boats: fill with 3 Adventurers if the 2-seater Boat is in play; otherwise, fill with 2 Adventurers (unless in a larger player count game, where 2 Adventurers are used regardless).
• Production Phase:
  • If the Dragon Island Festival is active, when required to draw an Adventurer from the Adventurer bag (such as during the Load the Boats action), you may instead pay the cost shown to select an Adventurer from Dragon Island.
  • In Solo Mode, before moving your Merchant figure and performing an action, you may choose to complete the active Challenge card.
• Market Phase: Charlatans count as one of each color Customer not otherwise present at the Pier.

Actions and How to Play

New Townsfolk Abilities

• Officials: Activate any 1 Staff Ability on your Staff board. (Note: These do not require assigned Townsfolk in the spaces).
• Artisans: Move matching Goods from supply to Sale Shelf. Some abilities require discarding Corruption cards to move large Goods or small Goods.
• Underworld: Move 1 Grey Rogue Good from supply to Sale Shelf, or immediately take the Recruit/Replace Townsfolk action before refilling the Town Square.
• Legends: Gain 3 Gold or draw 1 Corruption card.

Rogue Effects

• Pirates: When you Dock a Boat with Rogues, gain 3 Gold for each Rogue on that boat.
• Kraken: When drawn, return it to the Adventurer bag and remove one Customer from a Sailing Boat, removing it from the game.
• Ghost Sailors: Customers left on an undocked Boat with Rogues move to the Lair instead of their Faction Hall.
• Grey Walkers: When drawn, they must be placed on a Boat that already contains a Rogue, if able.
• Raiders: When you Dock a Boat with Rogues, you may draw 1 Corruption card to activate the Townsfolk Ability of 1 Townsfolk card in the Town Square, then discard that card to the bottom of the deck.
• Charlatans: Count as any missing Customer color at the Pier during the Market Phase.
• Doppelgangers: When drawn, place them in a Faction Hall of choice (not the Lair), then return 1 Adventurer from that hall to the Adventurer bag.
• Assassins: When drawn, discard 1 Townsfolk from the Town Square and refill it.
• Warlocks: When you Dock a Boat with Rogues, advance your Timepiece 1 Hour.
• Mind Controllers: When drawn and placed on a Boat, you may draw 1 Corruption card to return 1 Customer from that Boat to the Adventurer bag.
• Backers: When drawn, Rogues must be placed so they cause a Boat to Dock, if able.

Special Components

• 2-seater Boat: When filled, it can Dock at any Pier regardless of whether it has a Docked Boat. It does not fill a Pier space.
• Faction Leaders: Count as two of their matching Customer or Rogue when buying Goods, awarding Sponsorship, and during Final Scoring.
• Grey Rogue Goods: Worth 12 Gold. Sold to Rogues at any Pier. They benefit from multipliers (e.g., 1 Grey Good sold to 3 Rogues = 36 Gold).
• Corruption Cards: New cards can be discarded at any time by paying the cost shown on the card. Goods discarded for this are returned to your supply.

End of Game and Scoring

Consult the manual for details about the core game's end trigger. The Secret Stash adds the following to Final Scoring:

• Halls of Plenty: The player with the most Faction icons from each Faction Hall gains the matching Halls of Plenty tile (+2 Faction icons). If tied, the tile is flipped, and tied players gain 1 Faction icon.
• Lair of Villainy: The player with the most Corruption icons gains the Lair of Villainy tile (+5 Corruption icons). If tied, the tile is flipped, and tied players gain 2 Corruption icons.
• Solo Challenges:
  • Gain 2 Corruption icons for each Challenge card remaining in the Challenge deck.
  • Gain 1 Corruption icon for each Challenge card set aside face-up.

Tips for Winning

• Maximize Rogue Value: Use Pirates to generate quick Gold (3 Gold per Rogue) when Docking.
• Strategic Corruption: Use the new Corruption cards' ability to be discarded by paying their cost to manage your corruption levels.
• Leverage Faction Leaders: Utilize Faction Leaders to double your influence for Sponsorship and Final Scoring.