Istanbul (Plus Kebab Shop)
Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) [Included: Istanbul: Kebab Shop Mini Expansion, by Spielbox]- Designer: Rüdiger Dorn
- Artists: Andreas Resch, Hans-Georg Schneider
- Players: 2-5
- Ages: 10+
- Playing Time: 40-60 min
- MSRP $49.99
- Released: 2014
- Reviewed by: Mary Dimercurio Prasad
- Game Played: Review Copy
- Number of Plays: 4
Introduction
You are leading a merchant and four assistants through the 16 Places of the bazaar. At each Place, you can carry out a specific action. The challenge is that, to carry out an action at any of those Places, your merchant needs the help of an assistant and has to leave him behind. To use that assistant again later, your merchant has to come back to that Place and pick him up. So plan ahead carefully to avoid being left with no assistants and thus unable to do anything. (From Rulebook.)
Rules Summary
The goal of Istanbul is to collect a certain number of rubies, depending on the number players. Each player controls a merchant and four assistants (represented by round disks; the merchant disk is marked with a picture of a merchant on top). The board is made up of 16 numbered tiles (Places in the rulebook, but I will call them spaces), laid out in a 4×4 grid. Each space is described in detail in the rulebook.
Players take turns moving around the board, collecting goods, bonus cards, tiles, money, and rubies. Each player has a “wheelbarrow” player board where his goods will be tracked. The starting wheelbarrow comes with storage for up to two of each good, but players may expand the capacity up to three times during the game by stopping by the Wainwright space and paying 7 Lira (money in the game). The photo below shows a fully expanded wheelbarrow.
