Teach the Game

A script to teach Istanbul at the table — how you win, the bazaar and the Wheelbarrow, a turn, the end, every way to get Rubies and what each resource is for.

How you win

“The bazaar of Istanbul. We are merchants racing through sixteen Places with a stack of assistants: every Place we use costs us an assistant left behind, until we come back for him. Collect goods, sell them, buy upgrades — and be the first to gather 5 Rubies. Forty minutes to an hour.”

Rubies are the only score:

Buy them: Lira at the Gemstone Dealer, goods at the Sultan’s Palace.
Earn them once: the 3rd Wheelbarrow extension, both tiles of a Mosque.
[Mocha] coffee at the Coffee House or the Tavern; [Letters] Seals at the Secret Society.

The loop: move 1 or 2 Places, leave or pick up an Assistant, take the action — and plan a route that brings you back to your Assistants.

The boards

The 16 Places in the Short paths layout, each with its printed number

The board is 16 Place tiles in a 4 × 4 grid (20 or 25 with expansions); here the “Short paths” layout for a first game. Each tile prints its number, top left — read row by row:

15 Great Mosque — blue and yellow tiles.
5 Post Office — a bit of everything.
2 Fabric Warehouse — fill fabric.
14 Small Mosque — red and green tiles.
4 Fruit Warehouse — fill fruit.
12 Police Station — send your Family member.
7 Fountain — call Assistants back.
3 Spice Warehouse — fill spice.
8 Black Market — a good, and dice for jewelry.
6 Caravansary — Bonus cards.
11 Small Market — sell goods.
9 Tea House — gamble for Lira.
13 Sultan’s Palace — goods for a Ruby.
10 Large Market — sell goods, higher prices.
1 Wainwright — Wheelbarrow extensions.
16 Gemstone Dealer — Lira for a Ruby.

The Wheelbarrow with numbered parts

Goods tracks — jewelry, fabric, spice, fruit.
Capacity — 2 of each at first.
Extensions — up to 5 of each.
Ruby spaces — your score.
6th Ruby — with 2 players or an expansion.

A turn

Four phases; most turns use only 1 and 3. Details.

Move your Merchant stack 1 or 2 Places. Pick up your Assistant there, or leave one. Neither possible? Your turn ends (the Fountain needs none).
Pay 2 to each other Merchant there, or end your turn.
Take the action of the Place, if you want.
Encounters: catch other Family members (Bonus card or 3 Lira each); use the Governor (Bonus card) or Smuggler (a good) for 2 Lira.

Bonus cards can be played any time on your turn, outside an action.

How the game ends

Trigger: a player gets 5 Rubies (6 with 2 players or any expansion).
Finish the round, so everyone has the same number of turns. Details.
Ties: most Lira, then most goods, then most Bonus cards.

Ways to score

Source	How and when
Gemstone Dealer	Pay 12+ Lira, rising by 1 each Ruby
Sultan’s Palace	Deliver a growing set of goods
Wainwright	Your 3rd Wheelbarrow extension (7 Lira each)
Mosques	Both tiles of the Small or the Great Mosque
[Mocha] Coffee House, Tavern	6–10 coffee; or 4 coffee + the Baksheesh goods (Mocha)
[Letters] Secret Society	Letters worth 6 Seals, plus 3/2/1 Lira for the first three (Letters)

Nothing is ever lost: Rubies stay on your Wheelbarrow.

What each resource is for

Resource	Why you need it	How you get it	How you use it
Assistants	Every action but the Fountain	4 at the start, a 5th with the blue Mosque tile	Leave one to act; pick it up later
Lira	Rubies, extensions, paying Merchants	Markets, Tea House, Post Office, catching Family members	Gemstone Dealer, Wainwright, 2 Lira payments
Goods	Selling, Rubies, Mosque tiles	Warehouses, Black Market, Post Office, Smuggler	Markets, Sultan’s Palace, Mosques
Wheelbarrow extensions	Room for more goods, a Ruby	Wainwright	Up to 5 of each good
Bonus cards	One-off boosts	Caravansary, Governor, catching Family members	Play any time outside an action
Mosque tiles	Lasting abilities, Rubies	Mosques (own the goods, pay 1)	Dice fix, extra goods, 5th Assistant, recall
Family member	A second action	Police Station	Sent to any Place, no encounters
[Mocha] Coffee	Tavern, Coffee House	Roasting Plant, Guild Hall, Caravansary, Coffee trader	Baksheesh, Tavern tiles, Rubies
[Letters] Letters	Rubies, double moves	Embassy, Kiosk, Courier	Deliver them, then spend their Seals

Teaching tips

Show the stack: move, drop an Assistant, act. Then show what happens with none left — the Fountain costs a turn.
Point out the two money engines (Markets, Tea House) and the four Ruby sources: plan a loop that passes them.
Teach the Family member and the Governor/Smuggler after the first round; they are extras.
First game: base game only, “Short paths” layout. Add Mocha & Baksheesh or Letters & Seals later.
Rehearse dropping an Assistant, then picking it up on a later visit; the Fountain needs neither. Practice example.