| Players | 2-5 |
| Age | 10+ |
| Time (min) | 40-60 |
In Istanbul, you lead a group of 1 merchant and 4 assistants through 16 locations in the bazaar. At each location you can carry out a specific action. The challenge is to take an action, you must move your merchant and assistant there, then leave the assistant behind (to handle all the details while you focus on larger matters). If you want to use that assistant again, your merchant must return to that location to pick him up. You have to plan ahead to avoid being left with no assistants and unable to do anything.
In more detail, on your turn you move your merchant and his assistants one or two steps through the bazaar, either leaving an assistant at that location or collecting an assistant left earlier, then performing an action. If you meet other merchants or certain individuals at the location, you might be able to take an extra action. Possible actions include:
- paying to increase your wheelbarrow capacity, which starts the game with a capacity of only two for each good
- filling your wheelbarrow with a specified good to its limit
- acquiring a special ability, and the earlier you come, the easier they are to collect
- buying rubies or trading goods for rubies
- selling special combinations of goods to make the money you need to do everything else
When a merchant has collected five rubies in his wheelbarrow, players complete that round and then the game ends. If this player is the only one who reached this goal, he wins immediately - otherwise ties are broken by money in hand.