Teach the Game

A table-ready introduction to Yinzi: Ming.

How you win

Develop your merchant family over four rounds. Plant Crops and sell them at Local Markets to recruit Peasants into Workshops; produce Goods, fulfill Silk Road Caravans and export through Ships. At the end, the most Wealth Points (WP) wins. Ties go to the tied player earlier on the Turn Order track.

The boards

The shared board joins four provinces to Local Markets, the City, Silk Road Caravans and the Port. Your Player board has five Command actions and holds the Order cards you use this round. The color of a Workshop tile sets the Peasant color it needs; the Overseer on it marks its owner.

Yinzi: Ming shared-board setup from the publisher's rulebook

A round

The game lasts four rounds. Adjust the Sapeque-to-Yínzi exchange rate, choose a Merchant bonus, then take six turns: three Command Directives and three City Directives. Resolve Regulation, then prepare the next round. After round four, resolve any final Caravan and score.

Player components and setup from the publisher's rulebook

Your turn

Use a revealed Order card’s top half for a Command Directive, or its bottom half and attached Overseers for a City Directive. Every round you use each personal Command action at most once and each City Quarter at most once. Actions make Peasants, Workshops, Goods, Caravans and exports; each engine depends on moving Peasants and Goods within your Transport Capacity.

How the game ends

After the fourth Regulation phase, fulfill any face-up Caravans in front of you, then score all categories. The game ends after scoring; there is no running WP track.

Ways to score

Score Transport Capacity, Workshops, Goods, foreign exports and Negotiation, Caravan Escort, completed Silk Road Caravans, Corrupt Administration, City Entrance, Yínzi and Misfortune. See Final Scoring.

What each resource is for

Sapeques buy things and exchange for Yínzi; Yínzi pays wages and scores. Wood raises Transport Capacity; Stone builds Workshops. Crop tiles and Peasants create raw goods, while Peasants move through Local Markets into Workshops. Goods are exported or used for Caravans. Overseers power directives and have food and wage costs.

Teaching tips

Show the peasant chain first: Field → Local Market → Workshop → Ship. Movement costs are measured by province borders, and a Ship cargo departure interrupts the current action. Keep an eye on food and wages before placing more Overseers.