Objective of the Game

Welcome, fellow travelers, to the vibrant lands of Naqala! In Five Tribes: The Djinns of Naqala, you're not just moving meeples; you're vying for influence and prosperity in a mystical desert realm. Your ultimate goal is to become the most influential leader by accumulating the most Victory Points (VP). You'll achieve this by strategically moving tribes, controlling valuable tiles, summoning powerful Djinns, and collecting precious items. The desert awaits your cunning!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's get this caravan rolling! Here's how to set up your game of Five Tribes:

1. Lay out the Tiles: Randomly arrange all 42 tiles in a 6x7 grid. Make sure all tiles are oriented the same way.
2. Place Mountains: Put the 6 Mountains on their specific designated tiles.
3. Populate the Tiles: Place 3 random Meeples on each tile, with the exception of the Chasm and the Great Lake tiles.
4. Set Up Tracks: Place the Bid Order Track and the Turn Order Track nearby. (Note: For 5 players, there are specific versions of these tracks).
5. Djinns Ready: Set up the Djinn Deck and reveal 3 Djinns faceup next to it.
6. Resources Galore: Set up the Resource Deck and reveal 9 Resources faceup in a line.
7. Player Components: Each player receives:
   • 1 Minaret / Player Marker
   • 8 Camels
   • 1 Tent
   • 50 Coins (9x "5" value coins and 5x "1" value coins), kept facedown.

The Game Turn

A round of Five Tribes is a dance of strategic maneuvers. Here's how a player's turn unfolds:

1. Bid for Turn Order

At the start of each round, players will Bid for Turn Order. Based on the current Bid Order, you'll bid for your desired turn position and immediately pay the corresponding cost in Coins. If you bid on '0', you pay nothing, but you'll push any other player already on '0' further down the track.

2. Player's Actions (When it's Your Turn!)

Once the turn order is established, players take their turns in sequence, performing these actions:

1. Move Minaret Back to Bid Track

First, move your Minaret back to the highest free space on the Bid Track, ready for the next round's bidding.

2. Move Meeples

This is the heart of Five Tribes! You'll:

1. Pick a Tile: Choose any tile on the board that has at least one meeple.
2. Grab All Meeples: Take all the meeples from that chosen tile into your hand.
3. Mankala Drop: Starting from an adjacent tile, drop one meeple onto each subsequent adjacent tile.
   • No Backtrack: You cannot drop a meeple on the tile you just came from.
   • No Diagonals: Movement is orthogonal (up, down, left, right), not diagonal.
   • Final Tile Rule: The final tile where you drop your last meeple MUST contain another meeple of the same color as the meeple you are dropping there.
   • Impassable: Mountains, Chasms, and the Great Lake are impassable and cannot be moved through or dropped on.

3. Check for Control

If you EMPTY your FINAL TILE of all its meeples, you immediately take CONTROL of it! Place one of your Camels on the empty control spot. This tile will grant you points at the end of the game.

Alternatively, you MAY place your Tent instead of a Camel. At the end of the game, your Tent also gives you the tile's points, plus 1 VP for each RED value tile surrounding the tent tile (including itself).

4. Do the Tribe's Action

After dropping your last meeple, you'll collect all meeples of the same color that are now on that final tile (including the one you just dropped). Then, you perform the action associated with that tribe:

• WHITE ELDERS: Keep your Elders. They are valuable for acquiring Djinns and are worth 2 VP per Elder at the end of the game.
• YELLOW VIZIERS: Keep your Viziers. At the end of the game, they are worth 1 VP per Vizier, AND you get an additional 10 VP for each player who has strictly fewer Viziers than you.
• PURPLE ARTISANS: Keep your Artisans. You immediately DRAW as many ITEMS as you have Artisans collected this turn. Keep 1 ITEM and discard the others faceup. Artisans are used at Workshops to get items, are worth 2 VP per Artisan at the end of the game, and 3 VP if you have strictly the most.
• GREEN MERCHANTS: Put your Merchants into the bag. Then, you DRAW as many RESOURCES as you collected, starting from the beginning of the resource line.
• BLUE BUILDERS: Put your Builders into the bag. You immediately SCORE COINS equal to the number of Builders (and any Fakirs you have) multiplied by the number of "Blue Value Tiles" surrounding the final tile, including that tile itself.
• RED ASSASSINS: Put your Assassins into the bag. You can either:
  • KILL 1 MEEPLE up to X tiles away (where X is the number of Assassins you collected plus any Fakirs). If this action empties a tile, you take CONTROL of it. OR
  • KILL 1 MEEPLE in front of an opponent (from their collected meeples).

5. Do the Tile's Action

After performing the tribe's action, you then perform the action of the FINAL TILE you landed on:

• SACRED PLACES (7 VP): Pay either 2 White Elders or 1 Elder + 1 Fakir to get 1 visible Djinn (you may use it right away).
• STRUCTURES:
  • OASIS (8 VP): You must add a Palm Tree (3 VP) to this tile.
  • VILLAGE (5 VP): You must add a Palace (5 VP) to this tile.
  • WORKSHOPS (5 VP): Pay 1 Artisan or 2 Fakirs to draw 1 ITEM.
• MARKETS:
  • SMALL MARKET (6 VP): Pay 3 Coins to get 1 good among the first 3 in the resource line.
  • LARGE MARKET (4 VP): Pay 6 Coins to get 2 goods among the first 6 in the resource line.
  • SPECIALIZED MARKET (10 VP): Pay 4 Coins to get 1 good among the first 9 in the resource line.
• CITIES (5 VP+): If there's a Sultan's Whim card available, add it to your hand. You may collect the reward (coins) whenever you meet the condition, then place the card faceup. The more cities you control, the more VP you score.
• IMPASSABLE (CHASM & GREAT LAKE): These tiles are forbidden and impassable. However, each surrounding Palm Tree and Palace get double VP if adjacent to a Great Lake.

6. Goods Sale (Optional)

You may optionally sell SETS of ALL DIFFERENT goods (but not Fakirs) from your collected resources for additional coins.

C. Clean Up

After a player's turn, the game board needs a quick refresh:

• Replenish Resources: Slide the existing Market Resources down and then replenish the line to 9 faceup cards.
• Replenish Djinns: Reveal new Djinns until there are 3 faceup.
• Replenish Sultan's Whims: Reveal new Sultan's Whims until there are 6 faceup.

End Game and Scoring

The game concludes when one of two conditions is met:

• A player drops their LAST CAMEL onto the board.
• There are no more LEGAL MOVES possible on the board.

Once the game ends, it's time to tally up those precious Victory Points!

Scoring Categories:

• VP from GOLD COINS: Each Coin you possess is worth 1 VP.
• VP from MEEPLES:
  • White Elders: 2 VP per Elder.
  • Yellow Viziers: 1 VP per Vizier, plus an additional 10 VP for each player with strictly fewer Viziers than you.
  • Purple Artisans: 2 VP per Artisan, or 3 VP if you have strictly the most Artisans.
• VP from CITIES (Control + Bonus): The more cities you control, the exponentially more points you get!
  • Control 1 city: (5x1)x1 = 5 pts
  • Control 2 cities: (5x2)x2 = 20 pts
  • Control 3 cities: (5x3)x3 = 45 pts
  • Control 4 cities: (5x4)x4 = 80 pts
  • Control 5 cities: (5x5)x5 = 125 pts
• VP from TILE CONTROL (except cities):
  • The base TILE VPs for tiles where you have placed your Camels or Tent.
  • TENT BONUS: 1 VP for each red value tile surrounding your Tent tile (including itself).
  • Palm Trees: 3 VP per Palm Tree (6 VP if adjacent to a Great Lake).
  • Palaces: 5 VP per Palace (10 VP if adjacent to a Great Lake).
• VP from CARDS:
  • Points from your collected Djinns (each Djinn has its own scoring condition).
  • Points from your collected ITEMS (e.g., Jewels, Chests, Crowns).
  • Points from completed MERCHANDISE SETS.

Tips for Winning

The desert is vast, but with these tips, you'll navigate it like a seasoned merchant!

1. Master the Mankala: The core of Five Tribes is the meeple movement. Always look ahead! Plan your drops to ensure your final meeple lands on a tile with a matching color, allowing you to perform a powerful tribe action. Don't just focus on your current turn; think about setting up future moves or denying opponents crucial opportunities.
2. Diversify Your Strategy: Don't put all your camels in one basket! While focusing on a specific tribe or tile type can be strong, a balanced approach often yields more points. Collect a variety of meeples for their end-game scoring, grab valuable items, and don't forget the power of Djinns. Adapt to what the board offers and what your opponents are doing.
3. Control is Key (Especially Cities!): Taking control of tiles, especially Cities, is a huge source of points. The exponential scoring for cities means even controlling one more than your opponents can make a massive difference. Look for opportunities to empty tiles and place your Camels or your strategic Tent to maximize your end-game score.