# Istanbul ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2014 - **BGG Rating**: 7.5 - **BGG Rank**: #191 - **Players**: 2-5 (Best with: 4) - **Duration**: 40-60 min - **Weight**: 2.58 / 5 - **Designers**: Rüdiger Dorn - **Artists**: Andreas Resch - **Publishers**: Pegasus Spiele, 2 Pionki, Albi, Alderac Entertainment Group, Asterion Press, Devir - **Categories**: Economic - **Mechanics**: Contracts, Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, Mancala, Market, Modular Board ## Verdict If you enjoy strategic planning and resource management with a unique twist, Istanbul offers a delightful challenge as you navigate its bustling bazaar. The core mechanic of managing your assistants creates a compelling puzzle that rewards foresight. Clever assistant management mechanic Modular board offers high replayability Engaging race to collect rubies Strategic movement and action planning Accessible rules for its depth Can feel punishing if assistants are mismanaged Initial turns might feel slow Player interaction is indirect RECOMMENDED ## Description Get ready for the hustle and bustle of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, where merchants and their assistants rush through narrow alleys in pursuit of prosperity! In Istanbul, your goal is to be the first to collect a specific number of rubies. You command a merchant and four assistants across a modular board of 16 locations, each offering a unique action. The trick? To perform an action, you need to move your merchant and an assistant to that location, leaving the assistant behind to handle the details. If you need them again, your merchant will have to return to pick them up. This means careful planning is crucial to avoid being left without assistants and, consequently, unable to do anything! On each turn, you move your merchant and their retinue one or two spaces, decide whether to drop off or pick up an assistant, and then execute the location's action. If you encounter other merchants or important figures, you might even gain a small extra action. The available actions are varied and essential to your strategy: you can pay to increase your wheelbarrow capacity (which starts with limited space for only two goods), fill it with specific goods, acquire special abilities that are easier to get the earlier you claim them, buy rubies or trade goods for them, and sell combinations of goods to earn the money needed for all your ventures. The race for rubies is intense! The game ends when a merchant accumulates five rubies in their wheelbarrow. The round is completed, and if that player is the only one to reach the goal, they win immediately. Otherwise, money in hand serves as the tie-breaker. It's a true dance of logistics and strategy in the heart of the bazaar! ## How to Play Objective of the Game Welcome to the bustling bazaar of Istanbul! As a shrewd merchant, your goal is to outmaneuver your rivals and be the first to collect a certain number of precious Rubies. Good organization and clever planning are key as you navigate the narrow alleys with your merchant and his trusty assistants. The first to gather enough rubies wins the day! Preparation (Setup) Let's get this bazaar ready for business! Here's how to set up your game of Istanbul: Lay out the Places: Arrange the 16 Place tiles in a 4x4 grid. This forms your game board. For your first game, we highly recommend the "Short paths" layout, using the blue numbers on the tiles as a guide. Determine Starting Player & Initial Lira: Randomly choose a Start player. They receive 2 Lira and the Starting player marker. Moving clockwise, each subsequent player receives 1 more Lira than the player to their right. Deal Bonus Cards: Each player draws one Bonus card from the top of the stack. 2-Player Game Special Rule: If you're playing with just two, place the Merchant discs of the unused colors on Mosques 14, 15, and the Gemstone Dealer 16. These act as neutral merchants. Mosque Tiles Setup: Sort the Mosque tiles by color and then by the number of goods symbols (into 4 stacks, with 2 symbols on top). Place these stacks on the two Mosques (14 and 15). Place 1 Ruby per player on each Mosque. 5 players: Only place 4 Rubies on each Mosque. 3 players: Remove tiles with 5 symbols from the game. 2 players: Remove tiles with 3 and 5 symbols from the game. Wainwright & Ruby Placement: Place 1 Ruby per player and 3 Wheelbarrow extensions on the Wainwright (Place 1). Then, place Rubies on the Gemstone Dealer (16) and the Sultan’s Palace (13), starting from the top right space and continuing for the appropriate number of players. Leave remaining spaces empty. Post Office Mail Indicators: Place the Mail indicators in the top row of the Post Office (Place 5). Market Demand Tiles: Shuffle the 5 dark Demand tiles and place them face-up in a stack on the Large Market (Place 10). Do the same for the light Demand tiles on the Small Market (Place 11). Governor & Smuggler: Roll both dice for the Governor (purple) and the Smuggler (black) to determine their starting Places. Place their tokens accordingly. Remaining Components: Shuffle the remaining Bonus cards and place them face-down. Place the coins (Lira) and dice next to the game board. Player Components: Each player chooses a color and takes their wooden components (1 Merchant disc, 5 Assistants, 1 Family member), a Wheelbarrow, and an Overview card. Wheelbarrow Goods Indicators: Place your 4 Goods indicators on the grey spaces of your Wheelbarrow. Family Member Placement: Place your Family member on the Police Station (Place 12). Merchant & Assistants: Stack 4 of your Assistant discs and place your Merchant disc on top. Place this stack on the Fountain (Place 7). Your 5th Assistant should be easily accessible next to the game board. The Turn of Play Turns proceed clockwise, starting with the Start player. Each turn consists of up to four phases, but you'll mostly be focusing on Movement and Action. You can play any number of Bonus cards and use your Mosque tile abilities during your turn. You must always follow these phases in order: 1. Movement Move your Merchant (and any Assistants stacked under him) 1 or 2 Places. You cannot move diagonally, and you must end up on a different Place than where you started. At your target Place, you have three options: a) Pick up an Assistant: If one of your Assistants is already at the target Place, place your Merchant stack on top of him. He'll join your stack for future movements. b) Leave an Assistant behind: If no Assistant of yours is at the target Place, remove the bottommost Assistant from your stack and place him next to your Merchant. He'll stay there. c) End Turn Immediately: If you can't or don't want to pick up or leave an Assistant, your turn ends immediately (unless you're at the Fountain 7). Note: If you have the yellow Mosque tile, you can pay 2 Lira to retrieve an Assistant from any other Place and add him to your Merchant stack. 2. Encounters with other Merchants (if any) If any other players' Merchants are at your target Place, you must pay each of them 2 Lira. If you can't or won't pay, your turn ends immediately. Exception: You don't have to pay other Merchants at the Fountain (Place 7). Special case in a 2-player game: If you encounter a neutral Merchant (from an unused color), pay 2 Lira to the general supply. Then, roll both dice to determine a new position for that neutral Merchant and place him there. 3. Action You may now carry out the action provided by the target Place. If you cannot or choose not to, proceed to Phase 4. Wainwright (1): Pay 7 Lira to take a Wheelbarrow extension. When you complete your Wheelbarrow (after 3 extensions), immediately take 1 Ruby from the Wainwright. Fabric/Spice/Fruit Warehouse (2-4): Move the Goods indicator for that type of good as far right as possible. (Green Mosque tile allows paying 2 Lira for an additional good of any type). Post Office (5): Receive resources shown on the 4 uncovered spaces. Move the leftmost Mail indicator from the top row to the bottom row. If all are in the bottom row, move them all back to the top. Caravansary (6): Take 2 Bonus cards into your hand, then discard 1 Bonus card. You can take cards from the face-up discard pile here! Fountain (7): Return any number of your Assistants to your Merchant stack. This is the only Place where you don't need an Assistant to take the action, and you don't pay other Merchants. Black Market (8): Gain 1 red, yellow, or green good. Then, roll both dice: 7 or 8 = 1 blue good; 9 or 10 = 2 blue goods; 11 or 12 = 3 blue goods. (Red Mosque tile allows turning one die to "4" or re-rolling both dice). Tea House (9): Announce a number between 3 and 12. Roll both dice. If you roll equal to or greater than your announced number, take that many Lira. Otherwise, take 2 Lira. (Red Mosque tile allows turning one die to "4" or re-rolling both dice). Small/Large Market (10/11): Sell 1-5 goods depicted on the Demand tile. Adjust your Goods indicators and take the corresponding Lira from the general supply. Move the current Demand tile to the bottom of its stack. Police Station (12): If your Family member is here, "free" them and send them to another Place. Carry out that Place's action. Your Family member does not trigger any encounters. Sultan’s Palace (13): Deliver all goods not covered by a Ruby. Take the next available Ruby from the track and place it on your Wheelbarrow. The next Ruby will cost more. Small/Great Mosque (14/15): Take 1 Mosque tile. You must have the depicted goods in your Wheelbarrow and pay 1 of them. You can only have one copy of each tile. If you acquire both tiles of one Mosque, immediately take 1 Ruby from that Mosque. Gemstone Dealer (16): Pay Lira equal to the biggest number not covered by a Ruby on the track. Take the next available Ruby. The next Ruby will cost more. 4. Encounters (if any) After your action, resolve any encounters in any order: ...other Family members: If other players' Family members are at your target Place, you must "catch" them and send them to the Police Station (unless they're already there). For each caught Family member, you get to choose 1 Bonus card or 3 Lira from the general supply. (No reward if they're caught at the Police Station). ...the Governor: You may draw 1 Bonus card from the face-down stack. If you do, either pay 2 Lira or discard 1 Bonus card from your hand. ...the Smuggler: You may gain 1 good of your choice. If you do, either pay 2 Lira or 1 good. If you used the Governor or Smuggler's ability, roll both dice and move their token to the Place indicated by the result (using the large brown number). Roll separately if you used both. End of Game and Scoring The game ends when the first player collects 5 Rubies (or 6 Rubies in a 2-player game) on their Wheelbarrow. Finish the current round, then each player may use any leftover Bonus cards that provide goods or money (this can be important for tie-breaking). The player with the most Rubies wins! In case of a tie, here's the order to break it: Most leftover Lira. Most leftover goods on the Wheelbarrow. Most leftover Bonus cards. If there's still a tie, all tied players share the victory! Tips for Winning Alright, future bazaar master, here are a few pointers to get you started: Assistant Management is Key: Your Assistants are your most valuable resource! Always be thinking about where you'll need them next. Don't get caught without any, or your turn ends prematurely. The Fountain (7) is your best friend for gathering them back up. Optimize Your Movement: Since you can only move 1 or 2 Places, plan your route to hit multiple valuable locations efficiently. The "Short paths" layout is great for learning these connections. Don't Underestimate Mosque Tiles: Acquiring Mosque tiles can give you powerful ongoing abilities or immediate benefits like an extra Assistant or a Ruby. Look for opportunities to grab them, especially if you can get both tiles from a single Mosque. ## FAQ ### How many players can play Istanbul? Istanbul can be enjoyed by 2 to 5 players, making it flexible for various group sizes and game nights. ### What is the average playtime for Istanbul? A game of Istanbul typically lasts between 40 to 60 minutes. It's an ideal length for a strategic game session without being overly long. ### What is the complexity level of Istanbul? With a BGG weight of 2.5837/5, Istanbul is considered a medium-complexity game. It offers interesting strategic challenges but is accessible to players with some board game experience. ### What are the main components of the game? Istanbul comes with a modular board made of 16 location tiles, wooden merchant and assistant meeples, dice, goods tokens (like fruits, spices, fabrics, jewels), and, of course, the coveted rubies. ### Who is Istanbul recommended for? Istanbul is highly recommended for players who enjoy economic strategy games, with a focus on action management and route optimization. If you like good planning and the feeling of building an efficient engine, you'll love the Istanbul bazaar! ### Is the Istanbul board always the same? No! One of Istanbul's great features is its modular board, which allows for different layouts of the 16 locations in each game. This ensures high replayability and keeps the strategy fresh every time. ## Price Comparison ### Best Offers in Brazil - **R$ 128,08**: R$ 128,08 (https://www.comparajogos.com.br/api/redirect?to=392084) - See all on Compara Jogos: https://www.comparajogos.com.br/item/istanbul ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 40.73 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=1660858&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/8758/istanbul?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com