Istanbul

About this board game

Istanbul is a board game for 2–5 players that takes about 60 minutes, placing merchants in the bustling alleys of Istanbul’s grand bazaar. Each player leads one merchant and four assistants through 16 locations while racing to be the first to collect five rubies.

Every turn presents a movement and planning challenge. Move your merchant and retinue one or two steps, then either leave an assistant at the location or collect one left there earlier before carrying out the site’s action. Since assistants handle the details, you must plan carefully: being left without assistants can leave your merchant unable to take further actions.

The bazaar’s locations offer several ways to develop your position and gather rubies. Your wheelbarrow begins with a capacity of only two for each good, so increasing its capacity can help you transport more goods. You can also fill it with specified goods, sell combinations of goods for money, and use that money to pursue other opportunities.

• Pay to increase your wheelbarrow capacity.
• Fill the wheelbarrow with goods up to its limit.
• Acquire special abilities, with earlier arrivals finding them easier to collect.
• Buy rubies or trade goods for rubies.
• Meet other merchants or certain individuals for possible extra actions.

When a merchant has collected five rubies in the wheelbarrow, the current round is completed. If that player is the only one to reach the goal, they win immediately; if others have also done so, the winner is determined by the money in hand.

With its narrow routes, assistant management, goods, and changing opportunities, Istanbul centers on making each movement count while keeping your merchant’s operation organized.