Teach the Game
A script to teach Baghdad: The City of Peace — the goal, the board, the six-step turn, the end, every way to score and what each resource is for.
How you win
“Baghdad, 9th century, the House of Wisdom. You are Viziers at the Caliph’s court, inviting scholars, patients, students and artefacts into your household, raising Buildings in the city and helping build the Golden Palace. About 90–120 minutes. The most points wins.”
You need points, and most of them arrive at the very end. They come from the Scoring tiles that your Boats in port and your Architects in the Palace multiply, from Night Character cards whose goals you meet, from Artefacts, the Palace Base and Dome, level 5 Buildings and the Favour track. Shame costs 3 points each.
The core loop: every turn you play a Character card from your hand. Its skill icons stay on your board for three turns and let you take tiles and build. Then your Vizier moves one quadrant clockwise around the city, like a rondel, and acts where it stops.
The boards
- Day Character display — the deck and three slots you draft Day cards from
- Wisdom area — rewards for your second to fifth Book, and the four Skill tiles
- Night Character display — the deck and three slots of end-game goals
- Palace area — Palace pieces, their goods costs, Architect slots and four Scoring tiles
- Building site — the outer ring: one of your Buildings goes here
- Palace site — one per quadrant, in the green centre: stop here to build the Palace
- Building area — the two Buildings of each level on offer, and their Coin cost
- City tile slot — the hexes: Patients, Students, Books and Artefacts to take
- Ports — Boats in port score with the Scoring tiles beside them
- River starting space — new Boats start here and sail left or right
The city is split into four quadrants by the crossroads. Each quadrant has one Palace site, Building sites on its outer ring and City tile slots joined by roads.
Your player board holds your City tiles in four coloured rows, your Houses, Architects and spare Boats, the Favour track and the three card slots along the bottom. Its pointers are explained on Player Board and Bonus Actions.
A turn
Players take turns clockwise until every card is drafted and played. Full turn
- Slide Character cards — your played cards move one slot right; the one pushed off resolves: Starting cards give a reward, Day cards give one if you meet their goal, Night cards are kept face down if you meet their goal (for points at the end).
- Play a Character card from your hand into the leftmost slot.
- Move Boats — only if that card shows
: move once per Boat icon on your three cards. - Move your Vizier one quadrant clockwise (or further with
Step tokens) and take the action where it stops: take a City tile, build a Building or build a Palace piece. Your Buildings in that quadrant trigger too. - Pay tuition and gain Shame — 1
per Student and 1 
per Patient connected to your Vizier. - Draw a Character card and refill the City.
Bonus actions — buy a Boat, spend Favour, spend Wild tokens or Students — can be taken at any time in your turn. Bonus actions
How the game ends
When the Wisdom area runs out of Character cards, the end is near: keep playing until everyone has played every card in their hand. The player whose turn it is finishes it, then score with the scorepad. Game End and Scoring
Ties: most points from Night Characters, then highest on the Favour track; then the tied players share the win.
Ways to score
| Source | How | When |
|---|---|---|
| River Scoring tiles | Your multipliers from Boats in that port × how many of the tile’s item you have | End |
| Palace Scoring tiles | Your multipliers from Architects in that section × how many of the tile’s item you have | End |
| Palace Base / Dome | 15 / 12 points to whoever built it | End |
| Level 5 Building | 3 points per item it counts | End |
| Night Characters | Points on each card kept face down, plus those on your board whose goal you meet | End |
 Artefacts | Points printed on your face-up Artefact spots | End |
| Favour track | +1 to +4 above the start, −1 to −8 below it | End |
 Shame | −3 each | End |
| [Public Works] Public Houses / Civic board | Points beside your Houses on the Public Houses board; −5 per empty spot in your Civic column (Public Works) | End |
| [Objectives] Objective cards | 5 points per card kept, and per visible card where you hold the 5-point space (Objectives) | End |
What each resource is for
| Resource | Why you need it | How you get it | How you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character cards | Skill and Boat icons for three turns; a reward or end-game points when they leave | 3 Starting cards; draft one each turn | Play one each turn into the leftmost slot |
Skill icons      | Every City tile spot, House and Architect needs some | Your face-up cards, Skill tiles, Students, Wild tokens | Meet or beat the number printed on the spot |
| Coins | Buildings (1–5), Boats (2–5), tuition | Start with 3; selling Goods, Buildings, cards, Favour | Spend; Students connected to your Vizier cost 1 each |
Goods       | Palace pieces cost 1–4 different Goods | River spaces where a Boat stops, Patients, Buildings, cards | Pay for Palace pieces; sell different types in port |
| Boats | Each Boat in port multiplies a River Scoring tile | Start with 1; buy more (2–5 ) | Sail along the river into a port |
 Houses | Mark your Buildings; count for Building goals | On your board (5) | Placed when you build; need |
 Architects | Multiply Palace Scoring tiles; count for Architect goals | On your board (5) | Placed when you build a Palace piece; need |
City tiles    | Card goals, Scoring tiles, row bonuses | Your Vizier’s City tile action, Buildings, rewards | Patients give Goods, Students are spent as skills, Books unlock Wisdom rewards, Artefacts score |
| Favour | End points; spare money | Start position, Buildings, cards, rewards | Spend for Coins, Goods or Wild tokens while above the start |
| Step tokens | Skip a crowded or useless quadrant | Buildings, cards, rewards | Up to 3 per turn, one quadrant each |
 Wild tokens | One skill icon of your choice | Spend 3 Favour, Buildings, cards, rewards | Add one icon to an action |
Teaching tips
- Play the first three turns open-handed: show that a card sits on your board for three turns, then slides off and resolves. Its goal is checked when it leaves.
- Point at the roads: anything joined to your Vizier’s space costs money (Students) or Favour (Patients) at the end of the turn.
- Money is tight. Teach the port sale (different Goods + 1 Coin) and Spend Favour early.
- Leave the modules for the second game, as the rulebook recommends.