Sheriff of Nottingham’s long-overdue first expansion Merry Men adds a sixth player and plenty of optional modules

Sheriff of Nottingham is dear to our hearts not only because Tabletop Gaming HQ is within spitting distance of the titular home of Robin Hood (okay, it’s a long spit), but also because it’s an ace card game of bluffing, trading and negotiation.

It’s for that second reason that we were surprised the widely loved title (still safely within the top 20 party rankings on BoardGameGeek) never received a full expansion in the several years after its 2014 release.

As they say: good things come to those who wait. Sheriff of Nottingham is now getting its first boxed add-on, Merry Men – and it looks to be a cracker of an expansion.

First of all, Merry Men adds support for a sixth player. Simple as that.

There’s more, in the form of several different gameplay variants and modules that can be mixed in as you see fit.

These include the introduction of deputies, two of which replace the Sheriff when playing with six people. The deputies can work together to search bags or allow players to pass through – sharing the benefits or punishments equally when in agreement, or splitting their decision to the potential gain (or loss) of just one.

Laws are also new, allowing the Sheriff to implement two laws each round for a greater variety of playing tactics.

The black market consists of an extra set of cards, all showing a particular illegal good. The first player to smuggle the good in successfully gets to claim those cards, offering a big cash bonus.

Similarly, there are also special orders, which are bonus cards but with both legal and illegal goods displayed – smuggling both displayed goods in the same bag gets the card and reward.

The eponymous gameplay variant, Merry Men, adds in characters from Robin Hood’s gang, who can be smuggled to unlock their special abilities.

Sheriff of Nottingham: Merry Men should be out this August – probably at Gen Con – but there’s no word on price yet.