Yspahan Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Goal of the game
• Setup
• The boards
  • A - City board
  • B - Tower board
  • C - Individual boards
  • D - Caravan board
• Progress of the game
  • Game turn
  • I - Supplying
  • II - Player's actions
    • A - Select a group of dice
    • B - Construct a building
  • End of the day
  • End of the week
  • End of the game
• 3-player game
• 4-player game
• Cards
  • Card effects
• Credits

Contents

• 1 City board
• 1 Tower board and 1 Caravan board
• 4 individual boards
• approximately 100 cubes ('goods') - about 25 in each color: blue, red, green, yellow
• 2 white cubes (day and week markers)
• 1 white 'Supervisor' pawn, and 1 black 'First player' pawn
• approximately 25 Camels and 25 yellow wooden discs (Gold coins)
• 9 white dice and 3 yellow dice
• 18 cards
• 1 game aid sheet
• this booklet

Goal of the game

The players embody merchants trading with Yspahan. Meaning to take advantage of the coming of the Shah's Supervisor, they score points by placing their goods in the right shops, by sending them to the Caravan, and by constructing buildings. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score is the winner.

Setup

NB: Depending on the number of players (3 or 4), you will need to refer to the proper chapter at the end of the rules to make the necessary setup adjustments.

• The boards are placed as shown on the next page. The Supervisor (white pawn) is placed on the center square of the road on the City board. The dice are placed close to the Tower board. Place the week marker on space 1 of the week counter (the track going up to 3 on the City board) and the day marker on space 1 of the day counter (the track going up to 7 on the City Board).
• Gold coins and Camels are sorted out and kept within reach; this is the general stock. Cards are shuffled and placed in a face down stack kept within reach.
• Each player chooses a color and takes the cubes and the corresponding individual board. They place a cube of their color on square 0 of the scoring track. Furthermore, each player is given 2 Gold coins.
• The oldest player will play first, and consequently takes the black 'First player' pawn.

The boards

A - City board

The city is divided into 4 neighborhoods: the Sack, the Barrel, the Chest and the Vase. Neighborhoods are demarcated by the road the Supervisor walks on. In each neighborhood, there are souks (groups of shops) which are distinguished by their color (in the Chest neighborhood there is a yellow souk, a blue one and a pink one).

On this board, there is also a score track, the week counter and the day counter.

At the end of each week, each souk fully completed by a player will yield points.

B - Tower board

At the beginning of each day, the first player casts the dice and divides them up on the Tower board according to their value.

Then, following the turn order, each player chooses a dice group and takes one of the actions corresponding to the chosen group.

These actions allow the players to place cubes in the City's shops, to move the Supervisor, to draw cards, and to take Camels and Gold.

C - Individual boards

At the end of their turn, each player has the opportunity to spend Gold and Camels in order to build a building.

These buildings yield points and allow the players to use special powers for the rest of the game.

D - Caravan board

Every time the Supervisor moves, his movement ends up in front of a shop or sometimes two shops. If the shop contains a good belonging to a player, the cube is sent to the caravan and it yields points to its owner.

By the end of each week, the Caravan is counted and yields points to the players according to the number of goods they have placed there, as well as the height of the goods.

Progress of the game

The game is divided into three weeks; each week is divided into seven days (that is, seven turns).

Game turn

A turn corresponds to a day. It is divided into two phases:

• I) Supplying
• II) Player's actions

I - Supplying

• The first player takes the 9 white dice, to which 1, 2 or 3 yellow dice may be added by paying 1 Gold coin per yellow dice.
• The first player casts the dice (the 9 white dice and the yellow dice they have paid for), sorts them according to the rolled numbers (without paying attention to their color). So the 1s go together, the 2s go together, etc...
• Then, the first player puts the groups of dice on the Tower board beginning with the group of dice with the lowest value and finishing with the group of dice with the highest value. The Tower is filled square by square, from bottom to top. So, the group of dice with the lowest value is always placed on the lowest square (Camel square). The group of dice with the second lowest value is placed on the Sack square and so on...

Special rule: the group of dice with the highest value is always placed on the Gold square (at the top of the board). By doing this, some squares of the Tower may not be filled.

NB: Thanks to this allocation method, the highest neighborhoods (especially the Vase neighborhood) are more scarcely supplied. On the other hand, the Camel square and the Gold square will almost always be filled (for example, if there is only some 2s and some 5s after the dice cast, the 2s will go to the camel square and the 5s to the Gold square). Finally there is but a slight chance to cast 9 dice with the same value! In such a case, all the dice will go to the camel square.

• Yellow dice: after the first player's action (see phase 2 below), yellow dice will be removed from the supplies board, possibly resulting in empty squares. As a consequence, yellow dice only benefit the first player.

II - Player's actions

Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player may take up to two actions:

• A) Select a group of dice (compulsory action)
• B) Construct a special building (optional action)

A - Select a group of dice

The player removes one of the dice groups from the Tower board. The chosen group will not be available to the next players anymore. Depending on the square they have chosen, the player may then take one of the three available actions for the chosen group of dice.

NB: Only the first action depends on the chosen square. The other two actions (move the Supervisor and take a card) are available on every square.

Actions

Camel square:

• Take Camels
• Move the Supervisor
• Take a card

Gold square:

• Take Gold
• Move the Supervisor
• Take a card

Neighborhood squares (Sack, Barrel, Chest, Vase):

• Supply some shops in the corresponding neighborhood
• Move the Supervisor
• Take a card

Take Camels

The player takes as many Camels from the general stock as there are dice in the group on the Camel square. The player places the Camels close to their individual board.

Take Gold

The player takes as many Gold coins from the general stock as there are dice in the group on the Gold square. The player places the Gold coins close to their individual board.

Supply some shops in the neighborhood

The player takes as many cubes from their personal stock as there are dice in the group they have just chosen, and places them in some shops of the corresponding neighborhood (that is, the neighborhood corresponding to the square where the dice were taken).

NB: A player cannot choose this action if all the shops in the neighborhood have already been filled or are occupied by another player (also see below: impossible actions).

Placing cubes in the shops:

In every neighborhood, shops are grouped into souks. Within a neighborhood, all the shops with the same color are parts of the same souk.

• You can place only one cube per shop.
• You cannot place your cubes in a souk which has some shops occupied by another player.
• You may not put cubes in a souk if you already have an unfinished souk in the same neighborhood.
• You do not have to finish a souk in one turn. Furthermore, you may finish a souk and start a new one in the course of the same turn.
• If the selected group of dice allows a player to place more cubes than there are shops left in the neighborhood, excess cubes are lost (that is, they go back into the player's personal stock).

Move the Supervisor

The player moves the Supervisor along the road by a number of squares corresponding to the value on the dice of the chosen group. The number of squares can be increased or reduced by spending Gold. It can be increased or reduced by one square per Gold coin spent. As a consequence, it is possible not to move him at all (by reducing his movement down to 0). Finally, the Supervisor cannot be moved back and forth on the same square.

If the Supervisor's movement ends beside one or several shops containing cubes, the cubes in those shops (no matter whose cubes they are) are automatically sent to the caravan following the order chosen by the player who has moved the Supervisor (see The Caravan).

NB: All the squares on the road are linked to a single shop, except the center square (no links) and two squares which are linked to two shops.

However, when a player whose cube is about to be sent to the Caravan has at least one Camel in their personal stock, they may choose to discard a Camel instead. In such cases, the cube is sent from the player's personal stock instead of being taken from the shop.

The Caravan:

The Caravan going to Yspahan is composed of 12 camels, divided in 3 groups of 4 camels along a road. Cubes sent to the caravan must be placed following the order of the camels along the road starting at the bottom left of the caravan board. Each camel can carry one cube. When a cube is placed on a camel, the owner of the cube immediately scores the points for this camel (2 points for the bottom line, 1 point for the middle line and nothing for the upper line). As soon as the Caravan is full, the cubes that have been placed in it are counted (as shown in the 'End of the week' chapter), and the Caravan is emptied. From then on, it is possible to start filling it again in the same way.

Take a card:

The player takes one card from the deck and adds it to their hand (see Cards below). Only one card is taken - the number and values of the dice in the chosen group are not relevant.

Impossible actions:

If there is no group of dice available, the player draws the card on top of the deck without removing any dice.

B - Construct a building

Buildings grant the players who build them special powers until the end of the game.

After having chosen a group of dice and carrying out the chosen action (which is a mandatory action) the player may build a building. In order to do it, the player must pay the building's price with Gold coins and Camels taken from their personal stock. Then, they place a cube on the special building they have just constructed (on their individual board). The player possibly scores victory points accordingly (see below).

NB: You do not have to follow the order shown on the individual board. A player may only build each type of building once.

Victory points:

By constructing buildings, the players also earn victory points. The first two buildings constructed by a given player (whichever the buildings) yield no points. The third, fourth and fifth buildings yield 5 points each. Finally, if the last building is built, it yields 10 points. A player who scores by constructing a special building immediately moves their marker by the proper number of squares on the score track.

Buildings breakdown:

The Paddock: (costs 2 Camels) A player who owns the Paddock benefits from it every time they take Camels from the Tower board. The player takes the number of Camels corresponding to the number of dice on the Camel square of the Tower, and takes one more Camel for free. This power does not work if the Camel square of the Tower board is empty.

The Shop: (costs 2 Camels and 2 Gold coins) A player who owns the Shop benefits from it every time they take coins from the Tower board. The player takes the number of Gold coins corresponding to the number of dice on the Gold square of the Tower, and takes two more Gold coins for free. This power does not work if the Gold square of the Tower board is empty.

The Hammam: (costs 2 Camels and 2 Gold coins) A player who owns the Hammam may adjust the Supervisor's movement up to three squares without paying anything when he chooses the action "Moving the supervisor". The player may however add Gold coins to adjust the Supervisor's movement by more than three squares.

The Caravanserai: (costs 3 Camels and 3 Gold coins) A player who owns the Caravanserai draws a card every time one of their goods is sent to the Caravan.

The Bazaar: (costs 4 Camels and 4 Gold coins) A player who owns the Bazaar has a bonus for each souk that is finished by the end of the week (see below).

The Hoist: (costs 4 Camels and 4 Gold coins) A player who owns the Hoist gets a bonus when they place goods in the neighborhoods. The player places the number of cubes corresponding to the number of dice in the chosen group, and places one more cube for free. However, this power does not work in an empty neighborhood square of the Tower board.

End of the day

The Tower board is emptied. If the seventh day is over, the week is over (see 'End of the week').

In every other case, the day marker is moved forward, and the player sitting on the current first player's left becomes the new first player and gets the first player pawn.

End of the week

At the end of the week, players count their points in the neighborhoods and at the caravan and move their marker accordingly on the score track, following the turn order.

• Neighborhoods: In each neighborhood, for each completed souk, the player scores points according to the value of the souk (indicated on the colored square, near the souk). Moreover, players who own the Bazaar score 2 more points for each completed own souk. Players score nothing for their unfinished souks. When all players have counted their points, the neighborhoods are emptied (The cubes go back in the personal stocks of the players) and points are counted in the Caravan.
• Caravan: The player scores as many points as they have cubes in the Caravan multiplied by the highest line occupied by at least one cube of theirs. The Caravan is not emptied.

Then, the week marker is moved one step to the right, and the day marker goes back to day one. The Supervisor goes back to the center square of the road. The player sitting on the current first player's left becomes the new first player and gets the first player pawn.

End of the game

The game ends when the third week is over. The player with the highest score wins. In case of draw, tied players share the victory.

3-player game

The only change in the rules affects the Caravan: the first camel on each line (colored in a lighter shade) is not used. As a consequence, consider there are only three camels per line.

4-player game

The only change in the rules affects the seventh day of the third week: for this last day, players do not follow the turn order. They play following the reverse order of their scores at the beginning of the turn. Thus, the player with the lowest score becomes the first player, casts the dice and takes actions. Then, it is the turn of the player with the second lowest score, and so on. The player with the highest score comes last.

If several players have the same score, the one who was the farthest, clockwise, from the first player during day 6, plays first.

Cards

Cards can be used at two times during a player's turn:

• During the selection of a group of dice: When it is time to choose a group of dice, the player may discard one and only one card (without triggering its power) to obtain one more die than the number the square contains. So, the player may get one more Camel or Gold coin, or place one more cube in a neighborhood. This power may cumulate with the effects of special buildings (the Paddock, the Shop, the Hoist). However, it doesn't work with empty squares of the Tower board.
• During a free action: At any other time during their game turn, a player may play a card to trigger the effects described on its face (effects are detailed on the game help sheet included in the box). The number of cards a player may use during their turn is unlimited (even if the player has already discarded a card during the dice group selection).

If the deck is empty, discarded cards are shuffled and a new deck is made.

Card effects

• Extra die (discard during dice selection): During the selection of a group of dice, discard one (and only one) card to get one more die than the number the square contains. It is also possible to get an additional Camel or Gold coin, or to place an additional cube in the shops. Be careful: this power does not work with empty squares.
• Exchange (1:1): Exchange Camels or Gold coins with the general stock. For each Gold coin given to the general stock, take a Camel. For each Camel, take a Gold coin.
• Take 3 Camels: Take 3 Camels from the general stock.
• Take 3 Gold coins: Take 3 Gold coins from the general stock.
• Place a cube in a shop: Place a cube from your personal stock on any shop in the city. Be careful: you cannot place a cube on a shop belonging to a souk which has already been started by an opponent. Also, you cannot place a cube in a souk if you already have an unfinished souk in the same neighborhood.
• Place a cube in the Caravan: Place a cube from your stock on the first empty square of the Caravan and score points accordingly. Be careful: even if you own the Caravanserai, this action does not allow you to take a new card.
• Discard Camels for points: Discard Camels and score 2 points per discarded Camel. Be careful: you cannot discard more than 4 Camels.
• Discard Gold coins for points: Discard Gold coins and score 1 point per discarded Gold coin. Be careful: you cannot discard more than 10 Gold coins.
• Build without paying Camels: Build one (and only one) special building without paying its cost in Camels (you only pay the part of the price which is supposed to be paid with Gold coins). Score points accordingly for this action. For instance: you can build the Hoist by paying only 4 Gold coins.
• Build without paying Gold: Build one (and only one) special building without paying its cost in Gold coins (you only pay the part of the price which is supposed to be paid with Camels). Score points accordingly for this action. For instance: you can build the hoist by paying only 4 Camels.

Credits

Game design by Sébastien Pauchon. Illustrations by Arnaud Demaegd. Layout by Cyril Demaegd. Yspahan FAQ & forum: http://www.ystari.com