
Wolves
of Mercia
Designer: John Ecker-Leo
Publisher:
BryBelly
Year
Published: 2019
No.
of Players: 5–16
Ages: 13+
Playing
Time: 45 minutes
Review
The
howl of wolves can be heard at night in Mercia - an omen. For some, it is the sign
they have been waiting for, while others see its evil spilling across the land.
During the day the townspeople carry on. Some, however, are more watchful to
see what others are doing. Then night comes, passes, and in the morning the
remains of the nightly events are found. It is clear there is more than one
person who is relishing the light of the blood moon.
Wolves
of Mercia is a party game designed for a larger number of players. We first played
Wolves of Marcia with a smaller group and recommend that it should be played
with more people. More players means more characters, more secrets, and more
actions taken.
In Wolves of Mercia, the player works to complete their personal goal to win the game. Some require actions on their part, others require actions taken by other players. As soon as a player reaches their goal, they show the winning condition and win the game. More than 1 player can win a game.
Setup
Players
start with a character that defines a daytime activity they can do. Everyone
also has a secret, which usually grants an activity at night. The activities
can also change as the game unfolds.
There
are 12 different secrets and some players will have the same secret. Secrets
direct the activities taken during the night. Night actions are taken in secret
and those who share the same secret will be able to recognize each other, but
are not allowed to talk. They can use non-verbal communication. Like the
daytime actions, the secrets characters have can lead players to create
alliances.
All
of the characters are available at the start of the game and character cards
are face up, because everyone in town knows each other, just not their secret.
The secrets have a couple of predetermined cards, a werewolf and a
predetermined number of cultists based on the number of players, and random
cards to fill out to the number of people in the game.
Once everyone has a character and a secret, you are ready to start the first of 5 days.
Wolves
of Mercia takes place over 5 days and nights. Play is broken into the 2 phases
and goes in separate initiative order, which is located on the upper left
corner of the cards.
Day
actions are seen by everyone. While people are taking action conversation can
be made between the players. This again works best when everyone is playing in
character and dealing with the omen that has been heard. As you progress
through the game, conversations can be had about what is happening. When they
are complete, the night phase begins.
Everyone starts out asleep when night falls. They close their eyes and a caller counts 1 through 12 giving each one time to complete their action during on the count based on initiative. During this time players are not to talk to each other. Those who are “awake” during the same initiative (cultists and lovers) can communicate non-verbally. After the count is done and everyone has had their chance of taking an action, dawn arises on the next day.
Because some of the actions create a “time-limit” for other players, actions need to be taken to keep another from winning.
This continues for 5 turns, or until someone declares they have met their win condition.
Theme and Mechanics
This is a Middle Ages town stricken with a werewolf and other troubles. There are people working to make things better, while others would rather watch the buildings burn.
There is some bluffing, and misdirection used in the strategy of some of the players along with the hidden actions taken during the night phase.
Artwork and Components
Wolves of Mercia has a wonderful look with high quality components and artwork. Art was by Katrina Turk and graphic design by Brandon Smith. The game’s look is carried through all of the pieces, cards, rulebook, and box.
The
Good
- Plays up to 16 players
The
Bad
- Some secrets have no real action for the player to take and they are left waiting and watching
Final
Thoughts
There are times when there is a larger group of people looking to play a game. There are few games that work for those times. Wolves of Mercia provides an alternative for when you have more people show up and everyone want to be involved playing the same game.
Players Who Like
- Large group games like Salem (Salem 1692) and the assorted Werewolf group games
Check out Wolves of Mercia on

Daniel Yocom - Reviewer
Daniel Yocom does geeky things by night because his day job won’t let him. This dates back to the 1960s through games, books, movies, and stranger things better shared in small groups. He’s written hundreds of articles about these topics for his own blog, other websites, and magazines along with stories, after extensive research. His research includes attending conventions, sharing on panels and presentations, and road-tripping with his wife. Join in the geeky fun at guildmastergaming@blogspot.com.
Wolves of Mercia Review
Reviewed by Guild Master Gaming
on
June 19, 2019
Rating:

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