The game is played with players taking their turns one after the other in clockwise order, over 5 rounds. On each turn, the players roll their dice, and then place these dice on action areas on the game board in order to take various actions.
They take turns until all of their dice have been used, which signals the end of a round.

A new start player is determined every round. The player who performed the “Travel” action last in the previous round becomes the start player for the new round. He takes the Start Player Marker (hourglass).
Note: Because the dice of different players are stacked on top of one another on any action space, the player who has performed the “Travel” action last will be the one with his dice at the top of the stack.
Exception: If, in the previous round, no player has performed the “Travel” action, the start player does not change.
Exception: If the last player to perform the “travel” action in a round uses a black or white die, the players will need to remember which player this was. Alternately, the player in question can take the Start Player Marker as soon as he performs the “Travel” action.

• All Small Towns with a “!” now pay out their bonuses. Each player with a Trading Post in such a Small Town receives the corresponding bonus. A description of the symbols on the Small Town Bonus Tiles can be found in the Supplement.
• All Character Tiles with a “!” now pay out their bonuses. See the Supplement for descriptions.

All players now take back all of their dice from the board and place them on their Player Boards.
All black dice are returned to the black dice area on the board.

Finally, all players roll their dice simultaneously. If any players roll dice totaling less than 15 he receives compensation in the form of Camels or Coins.
After all players have rolled their dice again, the new round can begin.

The players now take turns, beginning with the start player and moving clockwise. They continue to take turns until all players have placed all their dice.

On a player’s turn, he must take at least 1 (previously rolled) die from his Player Board, and places it/them on an action space of his choice. He may place dice on either an empty action space, or one that is already occupied. He then immediately performs the corresponding action.

When performing one of the main actions, the following general rules must be observed:

• A player may only place his own dice on action spaces, never those of the other players
• The number of dice placed on an action space must match the number of dice illustrated on it
• A player may place his dice on either empty or occupied action spaces. (Exception: Large City Card Actions) In all instances in this rules, we will always first assume that an action space is unoccupied.
• If an action space is already occupied, a player must pay Coins to the supply to be able to take the action. This is explained in detail in the “Special Situations” section.
• Each action space may only be used once by a player color (blue, yellow, green, red).
• Once a player has placed his dice on an action space, he immediately performs the corresponding action.
• The value of the dice placed on an action space indicates how often an action may be taken, or how much of an item is gained. (Exception: Take 5 Coins, see below.) The deciding factor is always the lowest-numbered die.
• If a player is allowed to perform an action more than once, or take more of an item, he may perform the action less times than allowed, or may take less of an item. However, he must always use the action a minimum of 1 time.

Before or after taking a main action, a player may perform 1 or more “Additional” actions. These actions are always optional.
A player must take exactly 1 main action on each turn, as long as he has any unused dice available on his Player Board. Once he has no more dice, he automatically passes, and does not participate any further in this round!

All Contract Tiles still on the board at the end of a round are placed underneath the “special” stack of Contracts.

Then, 6 new Contract Tiles are placed in their spaces on the board from the next stack of Contracts. (If this is the end of 5th round, this does not happen.)

The game ends after 5 rounds have been played. The number of rounds played and left to be played can be determined by the number of Contract Tile stacks remaining next to the game board. The final round begins when the last stack of 6 Contract Tiles (placed next to the game board during setup) is placed in the “Obtain Contracts” area of the board. After the final round is played, the final scoring is performed.

In the final scoring, players receive victory points for the following:

• For completing either or both of his 2 Objective Cards, each player receives victory points as shown on the card. A description of the Objective Cards can be found in the Supplement.
• Each player receives 1 victory point per 10 Coins
• Any player having a Trading Post in Bejing receives the number of victory points corresponding to the space his Trading Post occupies.
• Any player having a Trading Post in Bejing also receives 1 victory point per 2 Goods of any type. Players without a Trading Post in Bejing do not receive any points for their remaining Goods.
  Note: Camels are not considered to be Goods!
• The player or players who have completed the most Contracts receive 7 victory points.

The player with the most victory points wins the game.

If there is a tie among the players, then the player with the most Camels remaining in his storage area is the winner. If there is still a tie, then all tied players share in the victory.

In order to get 5 Coins, the player must place exactly 1 die on the “Take 5 Coins” action space. The number on the die does not matter for this space; it is not considered when taking this action.

The player always receives 5 Coins for taking this action. If the action space is already occupied, the player must pay the cost for placing his die there

 

Goods are needed to complete Contracts. In addition, certain Large Cities may contain action spaces that allow players to convert Goods into Coins, Camels, or even victory points. Goods may also earn players additional victory points during the final scoring.

Procedure:

1. The player places as many dice on the action space as specified in the illustration on the space
2. To the right of the action space, a table shows the amount and type of Goods received for each die value of 1 to 6. The lowest-numbered die placed on the action space determines which column shows the maximum number of Goods received.
3. The Goods are taken from the general supply and placed in the Storage Area of his Player Board. The player may choose to receive the Goods selection in any lower-numbered column than his lowest-numbered die, if he wishes. (He may prefer one of the other selections available, for example.)

Camels are needed to complete Contracts, and are required to travel over certain routes on the map. In addition, they may be needed to gain the benefits from certain Large City Cards.
A player receives Camels using the same procedure as gaining Goods:
He places 1 die (showing any number) on the Marketplace action space “Camels”, takes as many Camels from the general supply as the number showing on the placed die, and puts them in the Storage Area of his Player Board.

Note: When choosing to obtain Camels, there is no reason to select a lower-numbered column.

Here, the player places exactly 1 die on the “Favor of Khan” action space. He then takes 1 Good of his choice and 2 Camels from the general supply, and puts them in the Storage Area of his Player Board.

Details:

The first player to use this area places a die showing any number on the leftmost action space. The next player who wants to take this action places his die on the next space, and the die must show an equal or higher number than the one to its left (if this is not possible, he cannot take this action). He may then take 1 Good of his choice and 2 Camels. Each other player wishing to take this action must follow the same placement rules.

Note: There are only 4 die spaces here. Once they are all filled, this action cannot be taken again this round.

The “Favor of Khan” action area consists of 1 action space made up of 4 dice fields. Therefore, each player may only place a die of his color (blue, yellow, green, red) once per round in the entire “Favor of Khan” action area. The player does not have to pay Coins if one or more of the dice fields are occupied; the only placement condition is that the value of the placed die is equal to or higher than the one to its left.
Exception: By using a black or white die, a player may perform the “Favor of Khan” action again in a round.

In order to get Contracts, the player must place exactly 1 die on the “Obtain Contracts” action space. He may then take 1 or 2 Contract Tiles from any of the Contract spaces on the board matching the number showing on the placed die, or lower, and places it/them on any empty active Contract space (see below) on his Player Board.

If a player takes a Contract Tile from the “5” column, he also takes either 1 Coin or 1 Camel from the general supply. If he takes a Contract Tile from the “6” column, he earns either 2 Coins or 2 Camels.

• After a player has taken 1 or 2 Contracts, all Contract Tiles remaining on the board are shifted to the left to fill any empty spaces.
• If, during a round, there are ever no Contract Tiles remaining on the board, 2 tiles are drawn from the “special” stack of Contract Tiles, and placed in the “1” and “2” spaces on the board.
• Each Player Board has spaces for 2 active Contracts. Whenever a player takes new Contract Tiles, he must have empty spaces in which to place them. If both spaces already contain Contract Tiles, one (or both) of them must be placed face down underneath the “special” stack of Contracts. The Starting Contract Tiles , however, are removed from the game instead.

Notes:

• A player may not take a Contract Tile from the board, and immediately place it underneath the “special” stack of tiles. A newly taken Contract must always be placed on the Player Board first.
• As long as a Contract Tile lies in an active Contract space on a Player Board, they do not earn anything for a player. In order to gain the Contract’s benefits, it must be completed, as described on page 13 and on the Overview Cards.

In order for a player to move his Figure across the map on the game board, he must place exactly 2 dice on the “Travel” action space. The procedure for movement is described below.

Procedure:

1. He may move a maximum number of steps on the map as shown on the lowernumbered of the 2 placed dice.
   Note: He may always move fewer steps than his lower-numbered die allows, but he must move at least 1 step.
2. For each space in the “Travel” action area, a cost in Coins is shown for taking that number of steps. This cost must be paid, but the player only pays the cost for the actual number of steps moved, regardless of the dice values. All Coins paid are returned to the general supply.
3. Often, either a number of Camels or an amount of Coins are shown on the route between 2 locations. In such a case, the player must pay what is shown (Camels and/or Coins) in addition to the cost on the action space.
4. The player now moves his Figure from location to location, the number of steps determined by his chosen action space. The player will end his movement in an Oasis, a Small Town, or a Large City. He may not end his movement between 2 locations.

Additional rules:

• If a player ends his movement in a Large City, he must place a Trading Post (from his Player board) there. Starting with his next turn, he may place a die on the Large City Card there, in order to take the action on the card. The Large City Card itself always stays in the Large City; it is never taken.
• If a player ends his movement in a Small Town, he must place a Trading Post (from his Player Board) there. He immediately receives the bonus shown on the Small Town Bonus Tile (see Supplement for more details). In addition, he will receive that bonus again at the beginning of each new round
• If a player ends his movement in an Oasis, nothing happens. The Oases simply slow down movement.
• When placing Trading Posts on the map, the player always removes them from his Player Board starting from the leftmost column, and then from top to bottom. If a player moves through a Large City or Small Town, but does not end his movement there, no Trading Post is placed there.
• If a player places his 8th Trading Post, he immediately receives 5 victory points , and moves his scoring Figure ahead on the scoring track. If he places his 9th Trading Post, he immediately receives an additional 10 victory points
• If a player moves his Figure to Bejing, he has reached his destination, and places a Trading Post on the available space showing the largest number. At the end of the game, he will earn bonus victory points as shown on that space (see page 14). Note: Even after a player reaches Bejing, he may continue to perform the “Travel” action on future turns.
• Backtracking to locations already visited on the map is allowed. That is, a player may repeatedly pass through or end his movement on any location on the map. Note: Each player may only have 1 Trading Post in any Large City or Small Town location. Therefore, the same player may not have several Trading Posts in one location.
• The “Travel” action determines the Start Player at the beginning of each new round

Large City Office Bonus

The first player to place a Trading Post in a Large City receives the Large City Office Bonus for that city. After gaining the bonus shown on the Large City Office Bonus Tile (from the general supply), he removes the tile from the board and returns it to the box. It is no longer needed for the remainder of the game.

Notes

• At the beginning of the game, all players start their travels in Venezia. If, during the course of the game, a player returns to Venezia by ending his movement there, he may not place a Trading Post there.
• If a player places all of his Trading Posts on the map, and later ends his movement in another location requiring one, he must move one of his already placed Trading Posts of his choice to the new location.

All of the Large Cities on the board contain a City Card (Sumatra contains 3 Cards). To perform a Large City Card action, a player must have a Trading Post in that City. He must then place 1 die on the Card’s action space, and performs the action on the Card. A description of the symbols on the City Cards can be found in the Supplement.

The item(s) to the left of the bracket indicate the cost to be paid or the condition to be satisfied.

The bonus offered by the City Card is shown to the right of the bracket.

Important: A City Card’s action can only be used once per round, by one player only. Once a Card’s action space has been occupied, that action may not be used again until the next round. Note: In most cases, the number showing on the die placed on a Card action space determines the maximum number of times the action may be taken.

First, we will explain the structure of a Contract Tile: On the left side of a Contract Tile, the required Goods and/or Camels are shown. On the right side of the Tile, the reward for completing the Contract is shown. A description of the symbols on the Contract Tiles can be found in the Supplement.

• A player may only complete a Contract that he has previously obtained, and is currently on an active Contract space of his Player Board.
• To complete a Contract, a player must have all required Goods and/or Camels in the storage area of his Player Board. All required Goods and/or Camels are taken from the storage area and placed back into the general supply.
• The player then receives all rewards printed on the right side of the Contract Tile. A description of the symbols on the Contract Tiles can be found in the Supplement.
• Finally, the player moves the completed Contract Tile face down onto the drawer space of his Player Board.

The player places exactly 1 die on the Coin Bag illustration on the board, and then takes 3 Coins from the general supply. Also note:

• There are never any additional costs for this action, even if other dice occupy the action space.
• The number showing on the die placed in this action area is immaterial to the action. That is, the player always gets 3 Coins for this action, no matter what numbered die he places there.
• A player may perform the “Take 3 Coins” action as many times as he wishes on his turn, as long as he has dice available to place. Any player may have multiple dice on this action space during a round.

The player returns 1 Camel to the general supply, in order to re-roll 1 of his dice.

The player returns 2 Camels to the general supply, in order to adjust the value of 1 of his dice by 1 number up or down. Note: A die may not be adjusted from a “1” to a “6”, or vice versa.

The player returns 3 Camels to the general supply, in order to take 1 black die from their area on the board. He immediately rolls this die and places it on his Player Board with any still-remaining dice. This die may be used as an extra die for placement during the current round. At the end of a round, any black dice that were taken must be returned to their area on the board. They will be available to take again in the next round.

Important: Each player may only tak e 1 black die per turn.

In general, almost all action spaces may be occupied by several players (Exception: Large City Cards actions). If a player wishes to use an occupied action space, the following rules apply:

• The player wishing to use an occupied action space must pay for its use. The cost is a number of Coins corresponding to his lowest-numbered die placed at that action space. This cost is regardless of the values of any other dice already placed at that space. The number of dice already placed at that space also does not matter. Once the player has paid the placement cost, he may perform the action as usual.
• The player places his dice on top of the dice already occupying the action space. Thus, it can always be determined who most recently performed the action. If the number of dice on an action space make stacking them difficult, the dice can be placed side by side on or near the space, in order of player placement. Exception: “The Favor of Khan” action area only has 4 total dice spaces available. When taking this action, the dice are never stacked on one another.
• The black and white dice do not count as one of the player colors (blue, yellow, green red). Therefore, a player who obtains these dice may use them to perform an action a second time in a round, even if dice of his player color already occupy that action space.
• A player may combine black or white dice with dice of his player color when placing them on an action space. Remember, however, that a player may only place dice of his color on an action space once per round.

Note: Any number of the black and white dice may occupy an action space in the same round.

If, when a player rolls all of his dice at the beginning of a round, the total value is lower than 15, he receives compensation in the form of Coins or Camels. For each pip below 15 that he has rolled, he may take 1 Coin or 1 Camel. If he is able to receive multiple items, he may take them in any combination he wishes.

If a player has placed Trading Posts in both of the locations listed on the Objective Card by the end of the game, he will receive the victory points indicated on the right side of the Card. If he only has a Trading Post in 1 of the 2 locations on the card, he receives no victory points for it.

This is evaluated individually for both of a player’s Objective Cards.

Next, the table at the bottom of the Objective Card is evaluated. This table is the same on every Objective Card. Since each Card lists 2 target locations for Trading Post placement, and each player has 2 Objective Cards, it is possible to occupy up to 4 different locations. For each different location (listed on a player’s 2 Objective Cards) that contain one of his Trading Posts, he receives a number of victory points at the end of the game, according to the table. For example, if he only occupies 1 location, he receives 1 victory point. For Trading Posts in 2 different locations, he receives 3 victory points, and so on.

Important: Locations must be different in order to score! Therefore, if both of a player’s Objective Cards list the same location, and the player has a Trading Post there, it only counts as 1 different location.