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Istanbul is a high-stakes dice-rolling game for 2 to 5 players, in which you will race around a crowded bazaar in the hopes of obtaining the most goods in your wheelbarrow. Theres lots to see and do in this busy market, and thus the best and speediest merchants are those who know the various locations and shops like the back of their hand. Unfortunately, for all of Istanbul’s strengths, many I’ve spoken to (including myself!) have found the rules quite confusing in places, and so I hope that this guide will help others that are stuck in this confused disposition. So without further ado, let’s get stuck in!
Use the instructions to set up the game – these are very self-explanatory and make much more sense than me explaining them here! For your first game, I would definitely recommend using the suggested layout for the location tiles, as it helps to introduce you to all the different actions available in the game, but any set-up works as long as the ‘fountain’ tile (number 7) is not on the edge of the market, and tiles 8 and 9 are separated by at least three other tiles.
The Basics
Merchants and Assistants – each player will have a merchant and four assistants (a fifth one can be gained during the game) in their colour. Your assistants will be stacked atop one another, with the merchant on the top, and will move as a unit around the market. When you land on a location, you can choose to leave one of the assistants that are in your stack at that location – this allows you to complete the available action at that location. If you return to a previously visited tile that has one of your assistant tokens on it, you may return the token to your stack, allowing you to take the action again. You can also gain all your assistants back from around the board by landing on the ‘fountain’ tile (number 7).
Places – the market consists of different place tiles numbered 1 to 16 that make up the game board. Each tile has a unique action, which may allow you to acquire resources for your wheelbarrow, earn precious rubies or Lira (the game’s currency), or gain other things such as bonus cards, special abilities, or more space for goods in your wheelbarrow. Most locations at which you can acquire rubies have a ruby symbol in the bottom left, and some other locations have symbols in the top right which link to bonus cards (more on that later).
Wheelbarrows – each player will have a wheelbarrow tile in front of them, with spaces for six rubies along with some other resources such as cloth or fruit, as well as four small cubes that act as goods indicators. When a player gains a ruby, they place it along the bottom of their wheelbarrow in the leftmost free ruby space. When they gain any number of one of the four ‘coloured’ resources, they move the goods indicator cube on that resources row forward (to the right) a number of spaces equal to the number of that resource which they gained. Likewise, they move the cube backwards (to the left) when spending or selling resources. Some tiles allow players to gain the maximum number of a resource that their wheelbarrow can hold (such as the spice warehouse). In this case, the goods indicator for that resource is moved all the way to the end of its row. The amount of goods that your wheelbarrow can hold can be increased by buying wheelbarrow extensions at the ‘wainwright’ (number 1) which fit into the empty space on your wheelbarrow tile.
Other tokens – you may encounter other tokens such as family members, the governor, and the smuggler as you travel around the board. The rules for these will be explained later.
Your Turn
Now we know the basics, let’s take a look at the general proceedings for a turn in Istanbul.
You will always begin by moving your merchant token (along with the stack of assistants underneath him) one or two tiles orthogonally through the market to a new tile. Then either place an assistant from your stack onto it, or pick up an assistant already on that tile to take the action of the tile you have landed on. You may also choose not to take or leave an assistant, but in this case your turn ends immediately.
Provided you have opted to pick up/leave an assistant on the tile, you must first check to see if you are sharing it with the merchants of any of your opponents. You must pay each merchant with whom you are sharing the tile 2 Lira; choosing or being unable to pay ends your turn immediately. An exception to this is if you are on the ‘fountain’ (number 7) tiles, in which case no fee needs to be paid.
You may now carry out the action of the tile you are on (more on this later). When you have finished, check again to see if you are sharing your space with any other tokens. If the family members (large cylindrical piece) of any opponents are on your space, send them to the ‘police station’ (number 12) unless you are already there. Doing this gains you 3 Lira or a bonus card from the supply for each family member you catch. If the governor (purple with bonus card symbol) is on your tile, you may draw a bonus card, but afterwards you must pay 2 Lira or discard a bonus card from your hand. The smuggler (black with goods symbol) works in the same way, however this time you can gain 1 good of your choice in exchange for two Lira or another good from your wheelbarrow.
And that’s a turn in Istanbul! Play continues in this way until one player has collected 5 rubies (6 in a two-player game or when playing with expansions), at which point play stops and they are declared the winner! You can stop reading here and get to playing right now, or otherwise read on for a more in-depth look at locations, bonus cards and more.
The Nitty Gritty
Towards the back of the Istanbul rulebook, there are extended explanations for all the different locations and bonus cards. This is very helpful whilst you’re playing, but some of these explanations are a tad confusing, so following is a broader, more accessible look at the different cards and tiles in Istanbul.
Tiles
All Istanbul tiles show a simplified, pictorial version of the action they allow you to complete. Its worth taking a look at the start of the instructions for a key to what some of the symbols mean, but here is an outline of what all the tiles do (from 1 to 16):
Wainwright – allows you to buy an extension for your wheelbarrow for 7 Lira. Buying 3 extensions gets you a ruby from the tile.
Fabric/Spice/Fruit Warehouses (2-4) – allow you to gain the maximum number of the corresponding good.
Post Office – you gain the showing rewards (either Lira or coloured goods). Then you move the leftmost cube on the top row of rewards to the space directly below, changing the rewards on offer slightly.
Caravansary – take two bonus cards from the supply or the face-up discard pile (or one from each) into your hand. Then discard a bonus card from your hand.
Fountain – this is a safe haven. You can land on this place and immediately bring all assistants back into your stack (you do not need to place down an assistant to do this). You do not have to pay for encounters with other merchants.
Black Market – this is the best location at which to gain blue goods. First, gain a red, yellow, or green good. Then roll both dice. A 7 or 8 yields 1 blue good, a 9 or 10 gets you 2 blue goods, and an 11 or 12 allows you to gain 3 blue goods.
Tea House – announce a number between 3 and 12. Roll both dice; if you roll a number equal to or greater than the one you announced, you gain the number you announced in Lira from the supply. If the roll was lower, just gain 2 Lira.
Markets (10 & 11) – sell 1 to 5 of the goods depicted on the top tile in the stack from your wheelbarrow, then gain the amount of money that corresponds to the number of goods you sold (see the tile). Move the top tile to the bottom of the stack so new goods are showing.
Police Station – this action releases your family member from the prison tile. You may place your family member on any other tile and do the associated action (they ignore encounters with merchants, governor etc.).
Sultan’s Palace – spend all the goods not covered by rubies by deducting them in your wheelbarrow. Then gain the next available ruby, thus making the next action there more expensive.
Mosques (14 & 15) – take 1 mosque tile from the top of the stack. In order to do this, you must have the goods depicted on the top of the mosque tile (2 to 5 of one coloured good). You then spend ONE of those goods from your wheelbarrow. Each mosque tile has a special ability (read on). If you take both of the two mosque tiles available at a mosque, you gain a ruby.
Gemstone Dealer – pay the number of Lira equal to the biggest number on the track on the tile not covered by a ruby. Then gain the next available ruby, thus making the next payment there more costly.
As is apparent, every different action available is equally necessary when trying to gain rubies quickly, so don’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to visiting the locations in Istanbul!
Mosque Tiles
There are four mosque tiles in Istanbul (two of the four kinds are available at each mosque).
Blue tile – gain a fifth merchant token (placed next to your wheelbarrow during setup).
Yellow tile – once per turn, you may pay 2 Lira to return one merchant from anywhere on the board to the bottom of your stack.
Red tile – when rolling dice (at locations with the dice symbol in the top left), you may choose to turn one dice to a ‘4’ after the roll, or roll both dice again.
Green tile – when gaining goods) at locations with the crate symbol in the top left), you may pay 2 Lira to gain one additional good of any type.
Bonus Cards
There are lots of bonus cards available to draw in Istanbul, and it would be impractical to go through all of them, so following is a short outline of what you can expect to find on a bonus card.
Bonus cards showing a merchant stack next to some numbers allow you to move your stack by a different distance when played (either 3-4 places, or no places at all).
Cards showing a place symbol repeated twice with an arrow in between allow you to carry out the action at the corresponding location two times when played (provided you are able to play whatever cost might be associated with completing said action).
When played, bonus cards showing coins or a multicoloured square allow you to gain the pictured coins or one good of your choice respectively.
More specific cards concern the small market or your family member. Playing the bonus card depicting a small market tile allows you to pay five of any combination of goods when at the market to receive the full reward in Lira. Playing the bonus card depicting a family member allows you to send your own family member to jail and collect the reward.
That might have been a lot to get your head around, so do use these sections as a reference in case you forget anything while playing (I still do occasionally!). But all that aside, good luck, and happy playing Istanbul!
