The Voyages of Marco Polo FAQ
104 questions players ask · Updated Nov 7, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup and Components
- What is a large goods or camel piece worth, and what if the supply runs out?
- Are characters chosen before goal cards are dealt?
- Do the small city bonus markers go on the lettered spaces or are they shuffled?
- How many black dice are used in a 2- or 3-player game?
- In a 2-player game, can I use Take 5 Coins when a neutral die sits on it?
- How many dice can the Khan's Favor hold in a 2- or 3-player game?
Rounds, Turns and Dice Placement
- Who becomes start player next round?
- Does travelling with black or white dice make me start player?
- Do I get only one action per round?
- Must I take a main action on my turn while I still have dice?
- If I start my turn with no dice, do I pass automatically?
- Can I place a die on an action space just to block other players?
- What do I pay to use an occupied action space, and who gets the coins?
- Which action spaces can more than one player use in a round?
- Can I use the same action space twice in a round with my own colour?
- Can I use a black or white die on its own, or stack it on my own die?
- Can I use an action fewer times, or take less, than my die allows?
- Does the die value mean I can repeat any action that many times?
- In what order do I take start-of-round bonuses (small cities, Matteo's contract)?
- What happens if my dice total less than 15 at the start of a round?
- Does Matteo Polo's white die count toward the 15-point compensation total?
Bonus Actions, Camels and Black Dice
- How many black dice can I get per turn?
- Can I buy a black die and use it on the same turn?
- When do black dice go back to the supply, and can I keep one into the next round?
- How many bonus actions can I take, and when?
- Can I still take bonus actions after I place my last die?
- How does the Take 3 Coins bonus work: cost, repeats, and last die?
- How do I reroll or adjust dice with camels?
- Is using a city card a main action?
Bazaar, Khan's Favor and Take 5 Coins
Contracts
- If only one contract is left on the board, can I take two?
- When is the contract board refilled from the special pile?
- When do the remaining contracts slide left after I take some?
- Do I get the 1 or 2 coin/camel bonus when taking the contract under the 5 or 6?
- Can I complete a contract on the turn I take it?
- Can I complete more than one contract per turn?
- Can I complete or discard a contract to make room for another one in the same Contracts action?
- How many unfinished contracts can I hold?
- Where do discarded or leftover contracts go?
- What happens to a starting (blue-backed) contract if I discard it?
- Where does a contract awarded by a bonus come from, and must I accept it?
- Can I complete a contract with goods I receive after running out of dice?
Travel and Trading Posts
- Do I place trading posts and collect bonuses in every city I pass through?
- Can I move fewer spaces than my die allows, and what do I pay?
- Do I pay a route's camel or coin cost again if I cross it twice?
- When are city bonuses collected after a Travel, and can they pay for that move?
- How does a free movement bonus work: costs, saving it, and further trading posts?
- Can I split a Travel action over several turns, or use Travel twice in one turn?
- Can I use the Travel action twice in one round?
- When do I receive a small city's bonus?
- Can two figures stand on the same location?
City Cards and Small City Bonuses
- Can more than one player use a city card in a round?
- If a city card gives me several moves, do I place a trading post in cities I pass?
- How many points does a city card paying per contract or trading post give?
- Can I trade in both directions with one die on an exchange city card?
- Can a die on a card that copies small city bonuses use the same city twice?
- Does the choose-any-bonus marker work without a trading post in the chosen town?
- On a card that sells goods for 2 coins each, how many can I buy?
- Can I go below zero victory points to buy coins with a city card?
Characters
- Can a player swap characters during the game?
- Which good does Mercator ex Tabriz receive when another player goes to the bazaar?
- What extra bonuses does Mercator get in 3- and 2-player games?
- Does Raschid ad-Din Sinan roll the black dice he gains?
- What does Matteo Polo get each round?
- What can Berke Khan do for free?
- How does Wilhelm von Rubruk place trading posts while passing cities?
- What bonus points does Wilhelm von Rubruk score for his black trading posts?
- How do the two Polo figures move: costs, trading posts and bonuses?
- How does Johannes Caprini's oasis jump work?
Game End and Scoring
The Voyages of Marco Polo: Agents of VeniceExpansion
- How many dice spaces does Venice have and how is it set up?
- In a 2-player game, can I place more than one trading post in Venice per round?
- What changes with five players?
- Do Venice trading posts count as trading posts for other rules and bonuses?
- Can I use the Travel action to place trading posts on the Venice board?
- Does Altan Ord's bonus apply to Venice posts?
- How do I take an agent and how does it activate?
- How does the Agents of Venice city card with an agent and 3 coins scale?
- Can I use a companion another player holds?
- How do Donata Badoer's dice tokens work?
- How does the Saracen swap camels and coins?
- How does Rusticiano's city card bonus card work?
- How do the Scribe and Money Changer work?
- How far can the Nun and Merchant change dice?
- Can Tartarino remove a neutral die in a 2-player game?
The Voyages of Marco Polo: The New CharactersExpansion
- What if I draw a gift that duplicates my character's ability?
- Are gifts kept secret, how many can I use, and where do they go afterwards?
- What do the X and the pass-through trading post icon on gifts mean?
- Do gift contracts come from the display or the stack?
- How does Khan Arghun use his city cards?
- How often can Gunj Kokochin use her private actions?
- Does Altan Ord's per-post bonus apply to the 8th and 9th trading posts?
- Are the new contracts shuffled into the base contracts?