Istanbul

Set up Istanbul by laying out the 16 market location tiles in a 4x4 grid using the recommended layout numbers. Stock the two mosques, Sultan's Palace, gemstone dealer, post office, and markets with rubies, mail cubes, demand tiles, and goods according to the player count. Place bonus cards, dice, and lira near the board. Position the governor and smuggler on tiles determined by rolling dice. Each player takes a set of wooden components, a wheelbarrow, an overview tile, and a family member. Place four assistants in a stack beneath your merchant at the fountain, keep one extra assistant nearby, and start with a designated amount of lira and a secret bonus card based on turn order.

The main objective in Istanbul is to be the cleverest merchant who navigates the busy bazaar streets to collect a set number of rubies before anyone else. You achieve this by gathering goods, upgrading your carrying capacity, trading at markets, and acquiring special mosque tiles.

On your turn, you perform four distinct phases: movement, assistant management, paying fees, and executing the location's action. During movement, slide your merchant stack to an orthogonal adjacent tile. If an assistant is already waiting there, pick up your entire stack; otherwise, leave the bottom assistant behind. If you have no assistants left to drop and choose not to, your turn ends immediately. Pay two lira to any opposing merchants or family members on your tile. Finally, you may optionally carry out the special action of the tile you landed on, such as gathering goods, fulfilling market demands, purchasing upgrades, or acquiring mosque tiles.

Victory is determined entirely by who has collected the target number of rubies (five in standard games, six in two-player). In the event of a tie, the winner is decided by comparing remaining lira, then leftover goods in wheelbarrows, and finally remaining bonus cards.

The game end is triggered the moment a player successfully acquires their fifth (or sixth) ruby. The current round is then played out to its completion so that every player receives an equal number of turns. After final tiebreakers, the wealthiest and most accomplished merchant is declared the winner.