Samarkand Bazaar Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Bazaar
  • Components
  • Setup
  • Playing the Game
  • Cube Limit
  • Purchasing a Ware Card
  • Game End
• Samarkand
  • Components
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • Movement
  • Space Types
  • Nomad Camps
  • Oases
  • Cities
  • Miscellaneous
  • Game End
• Samarkand Market
  • Components
  • Set Up
  • Gameplay: Bidding for Lots
  • Gameplay: Selling Cubes
  • Gameplay: Cube Limit and Market Rotation
  • Game End

Bazaar

Players attempt to gain the right combination of colored cubes through skillful trading to purchase the wares displayed in the Bazaar. Values of the various wares are determined by the number of cubes the purchaser has left over following the transaction. Trading is governed by the current rates posted at the Exchange. When the wares from two stalls have been completely sold, the Bazaar is closed, and the game ends. The player with the highest score wins!

Ages 9+, 2-5 Players, 30-45 Min.

Components

• Game Board
• 5 Player Camels
• 5 Player Aid Cards
• 1 Special Die
• 100 Goods Cubes: 20 Yellow, 20 Green, 20 Red, 20 Blue, 20 White
• 10 Exchange Rate Cards
• 45 Ware Cards

Setup

1. Randomly select 2 Exchange Rate cards and place them faceup on the game board as shown below.
2. Shuffle the Ware cards and separate them into 4 facedown stacks of 5 cards each. Place each stack on a stall space on the game board faceup. The remaining Ware cards are returned to the box.
3. All of the cubes are placed in a general supply within reach of all players, forming the Bank.
4. Each player also takes a Player Camel and places it on the camel space of the score track.
5. Each player takes a Player Aid card, rolls the die, and takes 1 cube of the color rolled. If the wild face (the multicolored symbol) is rolled, any color may be chosen. The cube is placed on one of the ten spaces on the Player Aid. The youngest player begins, and play proceeds clockwise.

2 Player Setup: the printed rulesheet shows a separate 2-player layout diagram; it is not reproduced.

Playing the Game

A player may EITHER roll the die to gain a single cube OR "trade" cubes in their possession on their turn. Trading consists of returning the cubes matching either side of an equation to the Bank and then taking the cubes matching the other side of that equation. Players may only make one trade per turn.

Example: Exchange Card 1 is in play. A player has 1 red cube. They may trade the red to the Bank and take either 1 blue, 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 white, or 2 white. Note: Later in the game, a player may use this same equation again.

The equations for each Exchange Rate card are printed on the card itself.

Cube Limit

A player may not have more than 10 cubes at the end of their turn. If a player has more than 10 cubes after their turn, the excess cubes are removed by the player to their left, who chooses any extra cubes and returns them to the Bank.

Purchasing a Ware Card

If a player has five cubes in their possession that match the five cubes pictured on one of the available Ware cards on display, they may purchase that Ware card by returning the cubes to the Bank at the end of their turn, and placing that Ware card in front of them.

When purchasing a Ware card, the player scores points on the score track based on the number of cubes the player has remaining. These values are shown to the right, and are found on the Player Aid cards.

In addition, some Ware cards have a Star on them, which are worth more points when purchased. When these Ware cards are purchased, refer to the column marked with a Star to determine values. The new Ware card in the stack is now available for purchase.

Important: When all Ware cards in one stack have been purchased, all Ware cards purchased from the remaining stacks with no stars are scored as if they had one Star; and Ware cards marked with one Star are scored as if they had double stars (two Stars).

Scoring Chart

Cubes Remaining	Point Value (no Star)	Point Value (one Star)	Point Value (double Star)
3 or more	1	2	3
2	2	3	5
1	3	5	8
0	5	8	12

Example: The Red player purchases a Ware card with a Star and has one cube remaining; they gain 5 points. The Yellow player purchases a Ware card and has three cubes remaining; they gain 1 point.

Game End

The game ends immediately after a second stack of Ware cards is completely exhausted. The player with the most points is the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the fewest Ware cards is the winner. If the number of Ware cards is equal, the tying players share the victory!

Samarkand

Samarkand is a fast-paced trading and selling game set in exotic Asia Minor. Cunning Merchants buy, exchange, and sell goods to build wealth. When visiting Nomad Camps and after offering gifts for their hosts' hospitality, Merchants trade for the goods they desire. When visiting Oases, they may purchase random goods. Ultimately, these Merchants travel to the bazaars in Cities such as Samarkand or Isfahan to sell the goods they have acquired. Merchants must plan which desert paths to use to travel efficiently between the Nomad Camps, Oases, and Cities so they can earn the quickest (and greatest) profit!

Ages 9+, 2-5 Players, 30-45 Min.

Components

• 102 Goods Cubes: 22 Yellow, 20 Green, 18 Red, 16 Blue, 14 White, 12 Black
• Number Die
• 120 Piaster Cards
• 5 Player Screens
• 5 Player Camels
• Cloth Bag
• Closed Market Token
• Game Board

Setup

1. Place the Game Board in the middle of the table and place the 102 Goods Cubes into the cloth bag.
2. Randomly draw cubes from the cloth bag and place 2 in each of the 10 Nomad Camps.
3. Sort the Piaster cards by value and place them beside the game board, forming the Bank.
4. Each player takes a Player Camel, 200 Piasters, and a Player Screen.
5. Each player draws 7 Goods Cubes and places them behind their Player Screen.
6. Place the cloth bag containing the goods cubes, the Number Die, and the Closed Market Token near the gameboard.
7. The oldest player starts by placing their camel on any one of the 20 spaces on the board. Then, in clockwise order, all players place their camels on the game board. Players may start in the same space. Play will now continue in a clockwise manner, beginning with the start player.

2 Player Setup: the printed rulesheet shows a separate 2-player layout diagram; it is not reproduced.

Gameplay

Players are merchants traveling the routes shown by the arrows. At Nomad Camps, players may trade the goods they have for others they want. In the Oases, they may purchase new goods and, in Cities, they may sell their goods for significant profits.

The more goods of one kind that a player sells, the more Piasters they can earn. With a bit of luck when buying and skill when trading, a player will do well. A merchant visiting a Nomad Camp with a full trading field will have a great opportunity to buy inexpensive goods. The first player to gain 500 Piasters or more wins the game.

Movement

On a player's turn, they can either move exactly one space or roll for movement.

Move 1 Space: The player may move their camel exactly 1 space in the direction of an arrow for no cost. Then take the Action(s) associated with the space they reach.

Roll for Movement: The player pays 5 Piasters to the bank and rolls the number die. They then move the exact number of spaces indicated on the die, in the direction indicated by the arrows. They ignore the actions of all spaces they move through. However, they must take any required actions and may take any allowed actions in the final space they reach. If their move ends in a Nomad Camp, they must give a greeting gift and trade, but they cannot give a greeting gift to continue moving (see Nomad Camps).

Rolling the Arrow: When the arrow symbol is rolled, the player must move one space backward (against the arrows); when a space includes more than one choice (multiple arrows), the player can choose which route to take. They then take whatever action(s) are allowed or required in the space they reached.

Space Types

The board has 3 types of spaces:

• Nomad Camps (10): where goods are traded.
• Oases (6): where goods are purchased.
• Cities (4): where goods are sold.

Nomad Camps

When a player enters a Nomad Camp, they must place a cube from their supply (as a greeting gift) on an empty space in the trading field for that camp. After giving the greeting gift, the player may trade cubes from their supply for those available at the Nomad Camp. To do so, the player takes any number of cubes from the trading field of that Nomad Camp and returns the same number of cubes from their supply to the trading field.

If a player ends their movement in a Nomad Camp, they can decide not to trade after giving a greeting gift. Since they have not traded, they may now move an additional space in the direction of an arrow. If they enter another Nomad Camp, they may do the same thing again after giving a greeting gift. When they finally end their movement, they take the Action(s) allowed or required in the space they have reached.

If a Nomad Camp already contains the maximum number of goods (4, 5, or 6), the player must pay 10 Piasters to the bank and take all the goods, adding them to their supply. The player then draws two cubes from the cloth bag and places them in the trading field for that Nomad Camp.

Nomad Camp Example: Robby enters a Nomad Camp that has four goods (yellow, white, green, yellow). As a greeting gift, he offers one blue. Then, he trades one red and one black for two yellow. This Nomad Camp's trading field is now full, with five goods (green, red, black, white, blue). The next player to enter this camp does not give a greeting gift, but must buy all five goods for 10 Piasters.

Penalty: If a player enters a Nomad Camp and has no goods to offer as a greeting gift, they must pay 20 Piasters to the bank and then draw a good from the cloth bag to place in the Nomad Camp as a greeting gift.

Oases

When a player enters an Oasis, they must buy 1 or 4 goods at the prices indicated. The player pays the Piasters to the bank and draws 1 or 4 goods from the cloth bag.

Purchasing Example: The two options in the oasis to the right are to pay 5 Piasters to draw 1 goods cube or to pay 30 Piasters to draw 4 cubes.

Penalty: If a player enters an Oasis and does not have sufficient Piasters to buy even a single cube, they must return 3 goods of their choice to the bag. If they have fewer than 3 goods, they lose all their goods.

Cities

When a player enters a City, they must sell at least two goods of one of the two types the City will buy, if possible. The player may only sell to one of the two markets in a City on each trip to a City. The price table shows the prices the City will pay based on the number of goods of each type. The player collects the indicated amount of Piasters from the bank, and the cubes sold are returned to the cloth bag. The wild market (the multicolored symbol) only accepts an assortment of goods and will buy just one of each type.

Price Table (columns are the number of goods sold; rows are the goods type):

Goods	2	3	4	5	6	7
Yellow	10	15	20	40	80	140
Green	10	20	30	60	120
Red	15	25	40	70	140
Blue	15	30	50

Sale Example: If a player sells five red, the Red market will pay 70 Piasters. If a player sells six blue, the Blue market pays 160 Piasters. If a player sells 1 white and 1 green, the wild market pays 10 Piasters.

After a sale, the player places the Closed Market Token over the market that purchased goods. This market is now temporarily closed and will not buy any goods. Once a purchase has been made in another market, the token is moved to the new market.

Closed Market Example: Robby sells five yellow goods and gains 40 Piasters. He then places the token on top of the Yellow Market, temporarily closing it until another purchase has been made elsewhere.

Penalty: If a player enters a City and cannot sell goods, they must immediately show all their cubes to the other players to prove that they cannot sell. If the other players determine they could sell, they must do so. If the player still cannot sell, they pay 20 Piasters to the bank.

Miscellaneous

• Goods Cubes: If the cloth bag runs out of goods when a player is drawing, then all players must immediately reduce their supply to 12 cubes and return any excess to the bag. Then the player may continue drawing.
• Piaster: If a player has no Piasters and can't sell cubes to a City, they are eliminated from the game.

Game End

Once a player has gained 500 Piasters or more, they are immediately declared the winner and the game ends.

Samarkand Market

Samarkand Market is based on Sid Sackson's game Business (1998). Each round, groups (Lots) of colored cubes are auctioned off, with players simultaneously bidding to determine in what order they'll pick their Lots. After cubes have been purchased, players can sell sets of cubes for the values listed on the Market cards. The player with the most money at the end of the game wins!

2-5 Players, Ages 9+, 20-30 Min.

Samarkand Market uses components from Samarkand Bazaar. The rules below are transcribed from the publisher's Samarkand Market rule cards (English, RuleCards-v9).

Components

• 3 Rule Cards
• 15 Market Cards
• 84 Colored Cubes: 22 Yellow, 20 Blue, 17 Red, 14 Green, 11 Black
• Money Cards
• Start Player Token
• Cloth Bag

Set Up

• Shuffle the 15 Market cards. Remove 3 and return them to the box, they will not be used.
• Reveal 3 Market cards faceup to the right of the draw pile. These are the Current Market cards.
• Each player starts with 75 Piasters. Change can be made with the bank at any time. Money may be kept secret throughout the game.
• Place all the cubes into the bag. At the beginning of each round, randomly pull cubes from the bag to fill the Lots based on player count:
  • 2 Players: 3 & 5 cubes (2 Lots)
  • 3 Players: 3 & 4 & 5 cubes (3 Lots)
  • 4 Players: 3 & 4 & 4 & 5 cubes (4 Lots)
  • 5 Players: 3 & 3 & 4 & 4 & 5 cubes (5 Lots)
• Randomly select a player and give them the Start Player token.

3 Player Set Up: the printed rule card shows three Lots (Lot 1, Lot 2, Lot 3) beside the Market cards; the layout is not reproduced.

Gameplay: Bidding for Lots

Once all of the cube Lots are on display, each player secretly puts their bid in hand. The minimum bid is 5 Piasters.

Once players are ready, all bids are revealed.

The highest bidder takes the first Lot of their choice, then the 2nd highest bidder, and so on. All bidders pay the amount of their bid to the bank.

Ties are broken in player order, beginning with the start player and moving clockwise.

Gameplay: Selling Cubes

In turn, players decide whether or not to sell their cubes at the market price. The Current Market cards determine the payout for sets of cubes. Cubes can only be sold in sets, but an unlimited number of each set may be sold.

Cubes sold are returned to the bag, and the player collects the Piasters from the bank.

Example: This player sells their 2 yellow, 1 blue, and 1 black and earns 85 Piasters, and keeps the unused red cube.

Note: the 15 Market cards are not transcribed here. The rule card shows only one Current Market card in this example, with the sets and payouts printed on the card itself.

Gameplay: Cube Limit and Market Rotation

No player may hold more than 10 cubes at the end of any round. Anyone exceeding the limit must discard back down to 10, returning the extras of their choice to the bag.

At the end of the round, the rightmost Market card is discarded, the other two Market cards slide to the right, and the next facedown card is revealed and placed in the first space. The Start Player token is passed to the next player.

Game End

When the last Market card is revealed, the game enters its final round. After this round, the game ends and if there is a tie, the tied player with the most leftover cubes is the winner.