Foundation Game Market Setup and Market Tenders

In this Foundation guide I’ve got tips on how to setup markets around your village, employ Market Tenders, and explain how the market works.

Types of Markets

The market is a monument that has several pieces, you place a peg down and have access to build around that peg wherever you like, so long as it’s not too far away.

The mandatory pieces to build are one Market Stall. When starting out place one stall to save yourself some precious maintenance costs and materials. You can always edit and update your markets later.

You start with access to the Food Market Stall, here you can place Berries, Bread, Cheese, Boar, Fish.

Goods Market Stall is unlocked when you gain a Commoner and it holds candles, common clothes, and common wares.

Luxury Market Stall is available when you have a Citizen and you can sell Jewelry, Honey, Herbs, Beer, Wine, and Gems.

What Does the Market Tender Do?

Your Market Tender will gather the resources you assign to the market stall from a Granary or Warehouse and sell them. Commoners and Citizens make good Market Tenders because they don’t need to be at the stall all the time in order to sell the items. More about villagers needs here.

Villagers and Markets

Your villagers will prefer to visit the nearest market to their house. They will walk past other markets to the one that is closest to their house and if that market doesn’t have anything to offer they will walk to the next closest and so on. They also like the Well and Services to be near their home.

If a villager needs 2 Foods or 2 Luxury they will walk to the first stall and then the next to fulfill that need. AFAIK 2/2 Foods means two different kinds of food, not two Berries or Bread etc. You can place two food stalls in one market to keep the villager from having to walk to the next market. However, if the food is sold out, they will walk to the next nearest market until their needs are met.

There isn’t a preference on food type or cost and they will buy the most expensive food if that is what is available.

Market Setup Ideas

Here’s a few tips to setup your market:

Place the market near housing areas along with a well and if needed a church because your villagers will visit all these places while on free time.

When you can afford it, make 2 Food Market Stalls, 1 Goods, 1 Luxury at each market where Commoners and Citizens live.

Place granaries and warehouses nearby Markets for efficiency. The Market Tender will not visit the production buildings to gather resources.

Decorating the Markets with canopies and signs, will cause the maintenance cost to rise but you will gain some Labor Splendor.

Food Shortages

A food shortage happens when the market stalls are not stocked. This will cause unhappiness with your villagers. To prevent this from happening stock the food to the stalls and swap out foods if they are unable to be produced at the time.

Track resources by right-clicking on the icon in the Resources menu to see where they are distributed around the map and try to find a balance. For example, markets near the fish huts would be best to stock fish. Bread near the baker, berries nearby gathering huts, etc.

Check for blockage to access the market stall. Click on the market stall and make sure the green arrow on the front of the table is near a roadway.

Market Not Selling

If your market is not selling check for blockages to the stall, make sure the green arrows have enough space around them for a villager to access it and that it’s facing towards the road/path.

Check to make sure the types of villagers nearby are appropriate for the resources you are selling. For instance you might not needs a Luxury stall in an area where only Serfs reside.

Did the Market Tender abandon their post and leave the village? You might need to replace them with a new Market Tender.

Is nearby storage setup to receive the food/goods you are selling at the market with the issue?

Try switching the resource you are trying to sell with another one and test to see if the item sells.