How to Play Istanbul: Big Box

Game Objective

In Istanbul: Big Box, players take on the role of merchants and their assistants, racing through the narrow alleys of Istanbul's bazaar district. The main objective is to be the first to collect a certain number of rubies.

With the Mocha & Baksheesh expansion, merchants can also profit from selling coffee, and with the Letters & Seals expansion, they can deliver messages and collect information for the secret society in exchange for rubies.

The victory condition is to be the first to collect 5 rubies (or 6 rubies in 2-player games or with expansions) and, after the current round is completed, have more rubies than the other players.

Setup

Game setup involves assembling the board and distributing components:

1. Board: Arrange the 16 Place Tiles in a 4x4 grid to form the board. For the first game, the "Short Paths" layout is recommended. For future games, you can use the "Long Paths" layout or arrange the tiles numerically (1-16). For more variety, the tiles can be arranged randomly (consult the "Variants" section in the manual).
2. Player Components: Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding wooden components: 1 thicker Merchant disc (with sticker), 5 Assistants, 1 Family member, and 4 Goods indicators. Each player also takes a Wheelbarrow (individual board) and a Summary.
3. Merchant and Assistant Stacks: Stack your 4 Assistant discs and place your Merchant disc on top. Place these stacks on the Fountain (7). Each player's 5th Assistant should be placed next to the board, easily accessible.
4. Goods Indicators: Place your 4 Goods indicators on the gray spaces of your Wheelbarrow.
5. Family Members: Place all players' Family members on the Police Station (12).
6. Starting Player: Randomly determine the Starting Player. They receive 2 Lira and the Starting Player marker. Clockwise, each other player receives 1 more Lira than the player to their right.
7. Initial Bonus Cards: Each player draws one Bonus Card from the top of the pile.
8. Neutral Merchants (2-player game only): In a 2-player game, place the Merchant discs of unused colors on the Mosques (14, 15) and the Gemstone Dealer (16).
9. Mail Indicators: Place the Mail indicators on the top row of the Post Office (5).
10. Demand Tiles: Shuffle the dark Demand tiles and place them face up in a pile on the Grand Bazaar (10). Repeat the procedure for the Small Market (11) using the light Demand tiles.
11. Governor and Smuggler: Determine the starting positions of the Governor (purple) and the Smuggler (black). For each, roll both dice and place the token on the Place Tile with the appropriate number.
12. Bonus Cards: Shuffle the Bonus Cards and place them face down in a pile next to the board.
13. Coins and Dice: Place the coins (Lira) and dice near the board.
14. Wheelbarrow Extensions: Per player, place 1 Ruby and 3 Wheelbarrow extensions on the Cartwright (1).
15. Rubies on Locations: Place Rubies on the Gemstone Dealer (16) and the Sultan's Palace (13), starting from the top right space and continuing to the space for the appropriate number of players. Place 1 Ruby on each space and leave the remaining spaces empty.
16. Mosque Tiles: Separate the Mosque tiles by color into 4 piles. Arrange each pile by the number of goods symbols in ascending order (the tile on top of each pile has 2 goods symbols). Place them on the two Mosques (14, 15). Place 1 Ruby per player on each of the Mosques (in 5-player games, place only 4 Rubies on each Mosque). In 3-player games, remove tiles with 5 symbols. In 2-player games, remove tiles with 3 and 5 symbols.

Mocha & Baksheesh Expansion Setup

1. Additional Places: Arrange the 20 numbered Place Tiles (1-20) in a 5x4 grid.
2. Bonus Cards: Add the additional Bonus Cards to the base game cards.
3. Coffee Merchant: Roll the dice to determine the initial position of the Coffee Merchant, just like the Governor and Smuggler.
4. Guild Hall (18): Shuffle the Guild Cards and place them face down in a pile on the Guild Hall. Played or discarded Guild Cards are placed in a face-up discard pile next to the board.
5. Tavern (19): Place the Barrier and the corresponding Barrier Control tile next to the board. Separate the Tavern tiles into 2 piles. Arrange each pile by the number of coffee symbols in ascending order (the tile on top of each pile has 1 coffee symbol). Place both piles next to the board. Place the Baksheesh tile (3 yellow goods face up) on the designated space.
6. Coffee House (20): Starting from the space showing a Ruby symbol, place 1 Ruby on each space of the Coffee House (except the space showing "6").
7. Coffee: Place the coffee tokens next to the board.

Letters & Seals Expansion Setup

1. Additional Places: Place the 20 numbered Place Tiles (1-16 and 21-24) in a 5x4 pattern.
2. Bonus Cards: Decide whether to use only the new Bonus Cards or shuffle them with the base game cards.
3. Messenger: Roll the dice to determine the initial position of the Messenger (just like the Governor and Smuggler).
4. Kiosk (22): Shuffle the Kiosk tiles and place them in 2 face-down piles on the Kiosk. Used Kiosk tiles are placed in a discard pile next to the board. If tiles run out, shuffle the discard pile to form new draw piles.
5. Secret Society (24): Place the amounts of Lira represented below 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
6. Letter Cards: Flip the Letter Cards to their back (showing 2 Seals) and shuffle them. Place them next to the board, forming one or more draw piles. Used Letter Cards are placed in a discard pile. If cards run out, shuffle the discard pile to form new draw piles.
7. Companions: Place the Companions and remaining Rubies next to the board.

Game Flow

The game proceeds in turns clockwise, starting with the Starting Player. A turn consists of 4 phases, but most of the time, only the Movement and Action phases are played. The other phases, the "Encounters," only occur when your Merchant is on the same Place as other tokens.

During your turn, you can use any number of Bonus Cards and the special abilities of your Mosque tiles. Any used or discarded Bonus Card is placed in the face-up discard pile at the Caravansary (6).

The following phases always occur in the given order, regardless of whether you play all of them or not:

1. Movement:
   • Move your Merchant and the stack of Assistants under him (if any) 1 or 2 Places. You cannot move diagonally and must end on a different Place than you started.
   • At the Merchant's Destination Place, you have three options:
     1. Pick up an Assistant: If one of your Assistants was already present at the Destination Place, place your stack on top of that Assistant. He will leave that Place as part of the stack during the next Movement phase.
     2. Leave an Assistant behind: If none of your Assistants were present at the Destination Place, remove the bottommost Assistant from your stack and place him next to it. He will be left behind at that Place during the next Movement phase.
     3. If you cannot or do not want to pick up an Assistant or leave one behind: Your turn ends immediately (exception: Fountain (7)).
   • Note: If you have the yellow Mosque tile, you can pay 2 Lira to pick up an Assistant from another Place and add him to your Merchant stack.
2. Encounters with other Merchants (if any):
   • If there are other Merchants at the Destination Place, you must pay 2 Lira to each of them. Your turn ends immediately if you cannot or do not want to pay.
   • Exception: You do not need to pay other Merchants at the Fountain (7).
   • Special case in 2-player game: If you encounter a neutral Merchant (i.e., of an unused color), pay the 2 Lira to the general supply. Then, roll both dice to determine a new position for this neutral Merchant and place him there.
3. Action:
   • You can perform the action that the Destination Place offers, regardless of whether you left or picked up an Assistant (as long as you did one of the two). If you cannot or do not want to perform it, you can proceed to phase 4 (Encounters).
4. Encounters (if any) in any order with…
   • Other Family members: If there are Family members of other players at the Destination Place, you must pick them up and send them all to the Police Station (12) (unless they are already there). As a reward for picking them up, you can take 1 Bonus Card or 3 Lira from the general supply for each Family member. If you pick up more than 1 Family member, you can take a different reward or the same for each (you receive no reward at the Police Station).
   • The Governor: You can buy 1 Bonus Card from the face-down pile and place it in your hand. If you do, pay 2 Lira or discard 1 Bonus Card from your hand.
   • The Smuggler: You can gain 1 good of your choice. If you do, pay 2 Lira or 1 good.
   • If you used the ability of the Governor or Smuggler, roll both dice and place the respective token on the Place indicated by the dice roll result (according to the large brown number). Roll separately if you used both.
   • Note: You can discard the Bonus Card or pay the good you received from the Governor or Smuggler to pay for their respective abilities.

Mocha & Baksheesh Expansion Game Flow

Your turn is played as in the Base Game, with the following 2 additions:

1. Alternative to using the Merchant: Instead of completing the 4 normal steps of your turn, you can play a Guild Card. Resolve the effect of the Guild Card and then place it in the discard pile next to the board.
   • Important: Playing a Guild Card replaces your entire turn, so you do not move your Merchant and have no encounters, unless the effect of the Guild Card states otherwise. You can play any other Bonus Cards. When playing a Guild Card, you cannot use any Bonus Cards or Mosque tiles that require you to be in a specific Place. You must perform all instructions on the Guild Card. If you cannot, you cannot play it.
2. Encounter with the Coffee Merchant: In phase 4 of your turn (Encounters), you can now encounter another token, the Coffee Merchant. He is used in the same way as the Governor and Smuggler. His effect: You can take 1 coffee if you pay 2 Lira or any 1 good.

Letters & Seals Expansion Game Flow

Your turn is played as in the Base Game, but with the following 2 additions:

1. New movement option (Companion): If your Companion is in play (i.e., on a Place tile), you can move him instead of your Merchant. The Companion follows the same rules as the Merchant with the following exceptions:
   1. The Companion can only move 1 Place (i.e., to an orthogonally adjacent Place).
   2. He works alone. He neither has nor requires Assistants.
   3. Bonus Cards and tiles that show the Merchant do not apply to the Companion, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

   Note: