The Voyages of Marco Polo: Agents of Venice

The expansion introduces components for a fifth player, including purple player pieces. New contract cards with high point values are added to the normal pile. Extra small town bonuses are placed on the new Venice board. The Venice board itself is a new module where players can place trading houses, starting from the main palazzo and creating a chain. Extra city cards offer new actions like triggering city powers, choosing contracts, or gaining camels and money. Nine new companion tiles are available, with six revealed each round, offering unique abilities. Finally, new character cards provide unique player powers for the game.

The primary objective remains to accumulate the most victory points by the end of the game. This is achieved through fulfilling contracts, strategically placing trading houses on the main board and the new Venice board, and effectively leveraging the unique abilities provided by companions and character cards.

During a player's turn, they place dice on action spaces. The new Venice board allows players to place a die to put one of their trading houses anywhere in Venice, following specific placement rules. Companions can be claimed by taking a specific action, and once claimed, they provide ongoing or one-time special abilities. New character cards also grant unique powers that can alter gameplay significantly, such as gaining extra resources or modifying movement costs.

Victory points are primarily scored by completing contracts, which now include new high-value options. Placing trading houses on the main board and the Venice board contributes to scoring. End-game bonuses from route cards are also a significant source of points, with new route cards introduced in the expansion to diversify scoring opportunities.

The game concludes after a predetermined number of rounds, as in the base game. Players then tally their total victory points from fulfilled contracts, placed trading houses, and any other end-game bonuses from route cards or character abilities. The player with the highest total score is declared the winner.