The Voyages of Marco Polo: The New Characters

The Voyages of Marco Polo: The New Characters arrives as a small promotional expansion, commissioned as a thank‑you to the Deutsche Spielepreis winner. First handed out at Essen 2015, it adds four new characters, four new contracts, a small‑town bonus tile, and fifteen gift markers. Each character brings a unique power: Khan Arghun starts with six city cards and may use one each turn; Altan Ord gets a bonus for every trade post he places; Fratre Nicolão draws three gifts at the start of a round, chooses one, and holds a special token that lets him once take two of the three offered gifts; Gunj Kököchin gains two extra actions – one to take two camels and two goods of his choice (each opponent also takes a good of their choice) and another to make an additional voyage. The “gifts” are cards that grant immediate bonuses or special effects, adding a dash of unpredictability to the game’s core worker placement and dice‑rolling mechanics. The new contracts broaden negotiation and scoring options without changing the central rules. Component-wise, the expansion only adds cards, tokens, and the bonus tile, keeping the weight light and easy to slot into the original set. Playtime ranges from 40 to 100 minutes, depending on player count (2‑4) and familiarity with the rules. Complexity sits at about 3.1/5, making it approachable for those who already know the base game while still delivering enough fresh strategic twists. In short, it’s a compact pack that deepens character customization and offers small strategic surprises without overwhelming the established flow.