Istanbul: The Dice Game

To set up Istanbul: The Dice Game, place the central board in the middle of the play area and populate its spaces with rubies according to the player count. Shuffle the action cards to form a draw deck and lay out a market display. Shuffle the mosque tiles, revealing six face-up next to the supply pile while the rest form a closed stack. Each player receives a reference card, five dice, and starting lira based on turn order. Crystals are placed in a general supply alongside the remaining dice and currency.

The primary objective of the game is to be the first merchant to acquire six rubies. Players achieve this by spending goods, lira, or crystals through various board actions and mosque tile abilities, effectively simulating a bazaar trading experience without the physical movement of the original board game.

A player's turn is divided into three sequential phases. First is the benefit phase, triggered by any mosque tiles the player owns. Second is the die-rolling phase, where the active player rolls their five dice, using crystals to re-roll unwanted results. Third is the action phase, allowing the player to perform two distinct actions such as gathering goods, acquiring cards, buying mosque tiles, or trading for rubies.

Scoring in the game is direct and cumulative: players collect rubies by fulfilling specific resource costs on the board or through card effects. Each ruby claimed increases the cost for subsequent purchases, making late-game rubies harder to attain and rewarding efficient early-game engine building.

The game triggers its final round as soon as any player successfully collects their sixth ruby. The round is then played to completion so that all participants enjoy an equal number of turns. If a tie occurs at the end, remaining goods and lira are converted and compared to determine the ultimate winner.