About Merchant Route
Merchant Route is the travelling salesman problem with a trading theme. Visit every town exactly once and return home, keeping the total distance below the limit. Your route is drawn as you tap. You have three attempts, and the limit tightens on higher levels.
How to play
- Tap towns in the order you want to visit them, starting from home.
- When the last town is chosen the trader returns home automatically.
- Keep the total distance under the limit.
Tips and strategy
- A good route rarely crosses itself.
- Visit neighbouring towns in sequence instead of jumping across the map.
- Use Undo to try a different order of the last few towns.
Levels, stars and XP
Finish a level to earn one to three stars and XP towards your player level. Replay any unlocked level to improve your stars. From level 151 the game enters endless mode, where each level is a remix of an earlier one with fresh colours and a slightly higher difficulty.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I play Merchant Route?
- Tap towns in the order you want to visit them, starting from home. When the last town is chosen the trader returns home automatically. Keep the total distance under the limit.
- What is a good strategy for Merchant Route?
- A good route rarely crosses itself.
- How many levels does Merchant Route have?
- Merchant Route has 150 levels that rise gradually in difficulty. After level 150 the game continues without end: levels are drawn from the first 150 in a newly shuffled order, with new colours, flipped or rotated layouts and a small difficulty boost, so the level number keeps increasing.
- Is it free to play?
- Yes. Merchant Route is completely free and runs in your browser on phones, tablets and computers. No download or account is needed.
- Does my progress save?
- Your level, stars and XP are saved in your browser on this device. Clearing your site data will reset them.