Monsoon Market
Monsoon Market Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
In 1405, the Chinese emissary Zheng He sails the Indian Ocean, reporting on the quality of each trading port along the way. That means it's time for you to get busy! Earn a reputation for accurate orders or rush off any old goods in bulk. Either way, it's a race to earn the most Seals of Approval in the Monsoon Market!
Components
38 Goods cards show either Gem, Scroll, Pepper, Cloth, Leather or Wood. Gems, Scrolls, Peppers, and Cloth are always in quantities of 1, 2, 3 or 4. Leather is always a quantity of 3. Wood is always a quantity of 4. If a card shows two different Goods, it is considered either of those two Goods, not both.
36 Order cards show requests for specific combinations of Goods in minimum quantities. Along the outer edge, there are Seals of Approval or Bonus Goods you may earn, depending on how accurately you fulfill this Order. There are three levels of accuracy, called Bulk, Silver, or Gold. Each Order card has a Bonus Action you may do as soon as you've fulfilled this order at Silver or Gold accuracy.
Set Up
Shuffle the Order cards. Reveal four face-up. Set the rest as a face-down Order deck.
Shuffle the Goods cards. Reveal four face-up. This is the Market display. Set the rest as a face-down Goods deck.
Deal four random Goods cards to each player face-up. This is each player's personal display. Each personal display has room for up ten Goods cards maximum.
Reserve a space beside the Market for spent Goods cards to be discarded.
How to Play
Players take turns clockwise around the table. The player who most recently ate Indian food takes the first turn.
On your turn, you may do one of the following actions: Steal a Goods Card, Buy Goods Card(s), or Fulfill an Order.
Steal a Goods Card
If your display isn't already full, take any 1 Goods card from any display. You may always steal from the Market. You may only steal from a player's display if he has more Goods cards than you.
When your turn is over, replenish the Market with new cards from the Goods deck.
Buy Goods Card(s)
Spend 1 Goods card from your display. Its quantity is how many Goods cards you take from the Market into your display.
Every time you take a card from the Market, do NOT replace it with a new card from the Goods deck yet. When your turn is over, replenish the Market with new cards from the Goods deck.
Remember: You have room for ten Goods cards in your display. You may not buy more cards than you have room for in your display.
Fulfill an Order
Spend Goods cards from your display to take an Order card from the Order display. You may spend more than the quantities required by the Order, but you do not earn change. Keep spent Goods cards face-up in their discard pile. Do not replenish the Order display with new Order cards until the end of your turn.
Here are the three ways to fulfill an order, from best to worst.
- Gold: Spend the correct quantities and exact types of Goods noted on the Order card. Take the Order card from the display and put it in front of you with the Gold edge facing you. You may now take the Bonus Action noted at the top of the card.
- Silver: Spend the correct quantities, as long as they're different types of Goods. For example, if an Order calls for two Cloth, two Gems, and one Scroll, you may fulfill the Order as long as you spend at least two of one type of Good, at least two of a second type of Good, and at least one of a third type of Good. Take the Order card from the display and put it in front of you with the Silver edge facing you. You may now take the Bonus Action noted at the top of the card.
- Bulk: Spend any assortment of Goods whose total quantity is at least the quantity noted on the Order card. For example, if an Order calls for two Cloth, two Gems, and one Scroll, you may fulfill the Order by spending any mix of Goods as long as their total quantity is at least five. Take the Order card from the display and put it in front of you with the Bulk edge facing you. You do NOT take the bonus action noted at the top of the card. However, some Bulk orders give you access to a Bonus Good.
Bonus Actions and Bonus Goods are explained in detail below.
Bonus Actions from Fulfilling Gold or Silver Orders
By fulfilling an Order at a Gold or Silver level of accuracy, you may take the bonus action noted at the top of the card. These actions are one-time, immediate effects.
- "Upgrade a previously fulfilled Order." Turn one of your other Orders from Bulk to Silver, or Silver to Gold.
- "Keep 1 Goods card used to fulfill this Order." Of the Goods cards used in this Order, you may keep one in your display instead of discarding it.
- "Fulfill another Order." (Follow normal Fulfill Order rules.)
- "Steal 2 Goods cards." You take two Steal actions. (Follow normal Stealing rules.)
You may not take the bonus action if you fulfilled the Bulk order.
Bonus Goods from Bulk Orders
Some Bulk level orders give you Bonus Goods which act just like any other Goods card, with the following exceptions.
- Bonus Goods cannot be spent to Buy Goods cards from the Market.
- Bonus Goods cannot be stolen.
- Bonus Goods are lost if you upgrade that Order.
- When you use a Bonus Good to Fulfill an Order, you must upgrade the Order from which you're spending the Bonus Good, turning it to the Silver edge.
Example: Let's say I want to fulfill an order that calls for two Spice and one Cloth. Let's call that ORDER A. Currently, I have a 2-Spice Goods card and 1 Bonus Cloth good on an Order card in my collection. Let's call that ORDER B.
- First, I discard my 2-Spice card.
- Second, I need to use the bonus Cloth good on ORDER B. So I rotate it from Bulk to Silver, thereby "spending" that Cloth.
Because I fulfilled ORDER A perfectly, I take it and set it to its highest value, Gold. Thereafter, I do not have access to the bonus good from ORDER B anymore because I spent it while fulfilling ORDER A.
End of Game and Victory
After one player reaches 15 seals or more the game is over and they're immediately declared the winner. For a longer game, raise this threshold to 30.
Strategy Tips
- Check the available Orders to see which Goods are currently in demand.
- Orders only specifically call for Gems, Scrolls, Peppers, or Cloth, but Leather and Wood are ideal for fulfilling bulk or silver orders. They're also good for buying from the market.
- Use Bonus Actions to set up future turns for maximum efficiency.
- Bonus Goods can be useful for fulfilling Orders cheaply and quickly.