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Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan thumbnail

Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan FAQ

85 questions players ask · Updated Nov 7, 2026 · Full rulebook

Setup and Round FlowActions, Dice and Black DiceBooks, Khan's Favor and Guild SealsTravel and Trading PostsContractsSpecial Cities and City CardsBonus ActionsEnd of Game and Final ScoringCharactersMarco Polo II: The Caravans

Setup and Round Flow

  • How many rounds does Marco Polo II last?
  • Are dice rolled during setup, or at the start of round 1?
  • Do you get low-roll compensation in the first round?
  • Who becomes first player for the next round when several players travel?
  • Are goal cards kept hidden until final scoring?
  • Do I score from all three goal cards I draw?
  • Why is a figure placed on the 50 VP space during setup?
  • Are goods, coins and camels unlimited?
  • Can the city bonus marker ability pick the unused bonus marker returned to the box?
  • Are the original Marco Polo and its expansions compatible with Marco Polo II?

Actions, Dice and Black Dice

  • How many times can I resolve an action, and what does the die value decide?
  • What does it cost to use an occupied blue action space, and how many players can use it?
  • Can a black die go on a space where I already used my own colour this round?
  • Do I pay coins when a black die goes on an occupied blue space?
  • Can a black die be placed on an occupied travel space?
  • Can I combine my own colour and a black die for a two-die action?
  • Can a black die go on a brown space or city card that already has a die?
  • Can I pay coins or camels with jade?
  • Can I take bonus actions once I have no dice left?

Books, Khan's Favor and Guild Seals

  • Can I use the same colour on both blue spaces of the third book?
  • If a book space needs a die of at least 5, must dice stacked on top also be 5+?
  • Can I use Khan's Favor twice in a round with my own colour?
  • Which guild seal can I take with my dice on the Guild Seals space?
  • Can I use Guild Seals just for the jade without taking a seal?
  • Can I hold more than one copy of the same guild seal?
  • Does the city card that does a Guild Seals action with one die still give jade?

Travel and Trading Posts

  • Can I place higher dice than required on a travel space, such as a 4 and a 5 on the 1-3 space?
  • How many trading posts does the three-dice travel action place?
  • When do I get the bonus from the extra trading post of the upper travel action, and can I claim outposts and contracts there?
  • If a bonus or city card moves me through several cities, do I place a post in each?
  • Can I keep an outpost movement bonus if I can't afford to use it?
  • What if I have placed all my trading posts and must place another?
  • Does Kashgar give both a city bonus and a city card?
  • Do I get the outpost bonus if I am the first to place a trading post in a city with an outpost tile?
  • Can I place a die on a city card the same turn I arrive in its city through a contract's free movement?

Contracts

  • How many contracts can I take and hold?
  • Where does a contract granted as a reward come from?
  • Can I discard an active contract before taking a new one?
  • Where do discarded contracts go?
  • Can I draw a face-down contract or take contracts without a trading post in a contract city?
  • Do I take a contract when I place a trading post in a city with contracts?
  • Is a contract's movement reward mandatory?
  • Can I pay more to repeat a contract's reward?
  • For a contract needing any 6 goods, can they be mixed?

Special Cities and City Cards

  • Does a post in Baghdad, Balkh or Hormuz give the bonus or the action?
  • Can I use a special city twice in a round?
  • Can a special city's guild seal be used repeatedly for victory points?
  • Is the card that exchanges points for coins limited by die value?
  • Why do some city cards depend on die value and others don't?
  • How many points does a city card scoring 1 per trading post give?
  • Can a city card use the question-mark bonus several times?
  • How often can a city card be used?

Bonus Actions

  • How many black dice can I take in a round?
  • When can I take bonus actions?
  • Can I pay camels to change a 6 into a 7 or a 1 into a 6?

End of Game and Final Scoring

  • If two players tie for most contracts, do both score 8?
  • On a goal card, does a shield shown with two cities need posts in both?
  • Do several posts with the same shield score extra?
  • Is the +1 icon a multiplier for shields?
  • Do goal bonuses score every time a special city's seal is used?
  • Can jade become a coin or camel at final scoring?

Characters

  • Does Isabella Donati's roll bonus apply to every die, including black dice?
  • Does Isabella Donati get her bonus again when a die is rerolled?
  • Can Isabella Donati take the doubles bonus when she rolls three or more of a kind?
  • Does Isabella Donati get her bonus from the dice rolled at the start of round 1?
  • Is the Isabella Donati supplement example's coin total misprinted?
  • How does Mailin and Tian Chin's ability work?
  • Does Mailin and Tian Chin's doubling work in round 1?
  • How many trading posts do Mailin and Tian Chin place when both figures travel?
  • Can Mailin and Tian Chin pick two different bonuses at a question-mark city?
  • Does Abha Basu get her income bonus at the start of round 1?
  • Does Abha Basu score for the jade from completing a contract, and when does she get it?
  • What does Gantulga Od pay when he travels?
  • How does Gantulga Od move more than one space in a turn?
  • Can De Wu place a second die on a guild seal space to take another seal for one die without paying?
  • If Filippo Vitello is first into an outpost city, does he get the bonus now and again later?
  • Can Filippo Vitello use several stored outpost tiles in one turn?
  • Can I use characters from the original Marco Polo?

Marco Polo II: The CaravansExpansion

  • Can Vidal Badoer exchange goods for 5 VP once per turn or once per round?
  • When can Vidal Badoer complete contracts, given they cost him nothing?
  • Can I complete a caravan route and start another caravan in the same turn?
  • Can the Book action's caravan movement move a caravan placed the same turn?
  • When can I take a caravan route tile during my turn?
  • Can I sell goods and then take a new caravan route in the same turn?
  • How many goods can a caravan carry?