Objective of the Game

Welcome, aspiring traders of Jaipur! Your goal in this bustling marketplace is to become the wealthiest merchant in all of India. How do you achieve this? By collecting and exchanging goods at the best prices, and, of course, by keeping a keen eye on those valuable camels. The player who earns the most seals of excellence by the end of the game will be crowned the Maharaja's personal trader!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's get this market ready! Here’s how to set up your game of Jaipur:

1. First, shuffle all the goods cards (Leather, Fabric, Spice, Silver, Gold, Diamonds) and the camel cards together to form a single deck.
2. Deal 5 cards face down to each player. These are your starting hands. Remember, you can only hold 7 cards in your hand at the end of your turn, so plan wisely!
3. From the remaining deck, draw the top 5 cards and place them face up in the center of the playing area. This is the market.
4. If any of the 5 market cards are camel cards, immediately replace them with cards from the deck until there are 5 non-camel cards in the market. Place the replaced camel cards into a separate pile next to the market; this forms the camel herd.
5. Place the remaining deck face down next to the market.
6. Finally, arrange all the bonus tokens and rupee tokens by type and value, in descending order (highest value on top), within easy reach of both players.

The Turn of Play

On your turn, you have two main options:

• Take Cards

  When you take cards, you can choose one of the following actions:

  • Take a single good card: Simply take any one good card from the market and add it to your hand. Immediately replace it with the top card from the deck.
  • Take all the camels: You can take all the camel cards currently in the market (or in the camel herd, if you're taking them from there). Add them to your hand. You do not replace the taken camel cards in the market.
  • Exchange cards: You can exchange cards from your hand for cards in the market. To do this, you must exchange an equal number of cards. For example, if you want to take 3 cards from the market, you must discard 3 cards from your hand. You can exchange good cards for good cards, camel cards for good cards, or a mix. The cards you discard go into the camel herd.

  Remember: At the end of your turn, if you have more than 7 cards in your hand, you must discard cards until you have exactly 7. Discarded cards go into the camel herd.

• Sell Cards

  To sell cards, choose one type of good card from your hand and discard them face down. You must sell at least two cards of the same type to earn bonus tokens. For each card you sell, take the top rupee token of that good's type. If you sell 3, 4, or 5+ cards of the same type, you also take a corresponding bonus token (3-card bonus, 4-card bonus, or 5-card bonus). These bonus tokens are worth additional points at the end of the game. Once sold, the cards are out of the game.

End of Game and Scoring

The round ends immediately when:

• Three types of good tokens are depleted (meaning there are no more rupee tokens for those goods).
• The deck of cards runs out, and a player cannot refill the market to 5 cards at the end of their turn.

Once the round ends, players calculate their scores:

1. Add up the values of all your collected rupee tokens.
2. Add the values of all your bonus tokens.
3. The player with the most camel cards in their hand at the end of the round receives the camel token, worth 5 points.
4. The player with the highest total score receives a seal of excellence.

The game is played over multiple rounds. The first player to collect two seals of excellence wins the game and becomes the ultimate Maharaja's personal trader!

Tips for Winning

• Watch the Market and Your Opponent: Pay close attention to which good cards your opponent is collecting and which rupee tokens are running low. Sometimes it's better to sell a smaller set of goods to deny your opponent a valuable bonus token.
• Camels are Key: Don't underestimate the power of camel cards! They are excellent for making large exchanges in the market, allowing you to grab multiple valuable goods at once. Plus, they can win you 5 points at the end of the round if you have the most.
• Timing Your Sales: Selling 3 or more of the same good card gives you a valuable bonus token. Try to save up for these larger sales, especially for the more valuable goods like Silver, Gold, and Diamonds, as their bonus tokens are worth more points!