NekonyancerWelcome to...
[img]https://x2.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___x.boardgamearena.net_data_tutorials_https___snipboard.io_1Q5HK3.jpg[/img]
You are a merchant in the service of the Khan of the Mongols, travelling across his empire in search of wealth and fame. Are you cunning enough to be the empire's most prosperous merchant?1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000
NekonyancerPlayers gain points by establishing extensive trading networks and fulfilling lucrative contracts. In order to do so, they'll need to negotiate with guilds, find acquire trading goods, and above all, *manage their resources efficiently!*2archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000uid-152 aHR0cHM6Ly94Mi5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaHR0cHNfX194LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldF9kYXRhX3R1dG9yaWFsc19odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb19IQmFQU1guanBn/-314/-10
NekonyancerBefore we start, we need to pick a merchant. Go ahead and click on them. Their special abilities will be displayed below!
Don't worry too much about the abilities for now though. They'll make more sense to you later.3archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000uid-155 6 uid-154 6 uid-152 6
NekonyancerLet's play as *Filippo Vitello!*
Select him, then click "confirm" at the top.4archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment010btnConfirm 16 uid-154 16
NekonyancerNext, we have to pick a *goal card.*
Goal cards can give you *bonus shields* and *bonus points for guild seals.*1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment61e4dc267a15300
NekonyancerThis goal card, for example, would give you an extra shield if you had the *bamboo* shield, another for the *moon* shield, and a third for the *cloud* shield.
This card will also give you 7 points if you complete a *Jewelers' guild* (ring) seal.
You'll learn more about *shields* and *seals* later!
For now, let's continue.2uid-15061e4dc267a15300
NekonyancerBy the way, I recommend you view this tutorial on a computer, not a handheld device. I also suggest you zoom out a bit so that your screen looks like this...
[img]https://x2.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___x.boardgamearena.net_data_tutorials_https___snipboard.io_kmrZBj.jpg[/img]1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment61e4ddd6f1b4a00
NekonyancerNow the game will really start!
At the beginning of each round, all players roll their five dice. Here's what we got!
Players will then take turns assigning their dice to various *action spaces*, mostly along the bottom of the game board.
The game is over after *five* rounds!
2uid-9461e4ddd700bd400uid-39 6 uid-42 6 board_spot_0_0 6 board_spot_1_0 6 board_spot_2_0 6 board_spot_3_2 6 board_spot_3_3 6 board_spot_4_0 6 board_spot_5_0 6 board_spot_6_0 6 board_spot_7_0 6 board_spot_8_0 6 uid-93 6 uid-94 6 uid-95 6 uid-96 6 uid-97 6
NekonyancerTime for our first action.
First, click on your "4" die. Then place it here!1board_spot_5_061e4ea1e4db1010board_spot_5_0 18 uid-94 17
NekonyancerGreat! This is the *travel* action. The iconography here shows that it costs *2 coins* and lets you move your meeple *1 space.*1board_spot_5_061e4ea956a97200board_spot_5_0 6
NekonyancerEveryone starts in *Beijing.* Our one step of travel will let us reach *Yangzhou* or *Xian.* As you can see, the roads to these places have additional travel costs.
It will cost an additional 3 coins and 2 camels to reach Xian, for example.2uid-3461e4ea956a97200map_node_7 11 map_node_8 11
NekonyancerWe can also reach this oasis if we like, but we'll need another travel step later to get all the way to Xanadu - it's two spaces away from Beijing!3map_node_1761e4ea956b51100map_node_17 11
NekonyancerLet's head southward. *Click on Yangzhou to travel there.*4map_node_861e4ea956b51110map_node_8 16
NekonyancerGreat! Several things happened when we travelled here...1map_node_861e4ea97b77aa00
NekonyancerFirst, we took the *outpost bonus* from this city because we were the first player to travel here. For most players, this bonus is instantly triggered.
However, our merchant, *Filippo,* allows us to hold onto the bonus for later, as well as the bonuses other people get.2uid-14361e4ea97b77aa00uid-143 6
NekonyancerSecond, we placed a *trading post* in this city. giving us access to the *Bamboo* shield.
At the end of the game, all your different shields will be counted up, along with any bonus shields from goal cards or contracts. You'll get points for them!3map_node_861e4ea97b77aa00map_node_8 6
NekonyancerThis scale shows how many points you get for your shields. For example, if you have *nine* different shields at the end of the game, you'll get *17* points!4shield_point_endgame61e4ea97b77aa00shield_point_endgame 6
NekonyancerThird, your trading post gives you access to this *city card,* featuring a unique main action. Like any main action, it will require us to use a die.
You can hover your mouse over this location to see what the action does.5uid-4161e4ea97b77aa00uid-41 6
NekonyancerNext turn. We spent a lot of coins travelling, so let's replenish our wealth with *Khan's favor.*
The green dice are here to eliminate two of the spots. There are only two *Khan's favor* spots in a two-player game.
When more dice are placed here, they must *match* or *exceed* the number on the die to the left of it!1board_spot_3_261e4eb4b7443200board_spot_3_0 6 board_spot_3_1 6 board_spot_3_2 6 board_spot_3_3 6
NekonyancerSelect your *3* die and place it here to activate *Khan's favor!*2board_spot_3_261e4eb4b7443210board_spot_3_2 18 uid-97 17
NekonyancerGreat! Activating Khan's Favor grants *4 coins* and *2 camels.* Both resources are sorely needed for travel!
Now that we've placed a three here, our opponent will have to match or exceed that number if they want to take the other Khan's Favor spot!1board_spot_3_261e4eb5052b1c00
NekonyancerNext, let's get some resources with a *book* action.1board_spot_choice_461e4eb794795500board_spot_choice_0 6 board_spot_choice_1 6 board_spot_choice_4 6 board_spot_choice_5 6 board_spot_choice_8 6 board_spot_choice_9 6 uid-83 6 uid-85 6 uid-87 6
NekonyancerThis book provides mostly *pepper.*
Any die can be used here.2board_spot_0_061e4eb794795500board_spot_0_0 6
NekonyancerThis book grants mostly *silk.*
Any die placed here must be at LEAST a 3!3board_spot_1_061e4eb794795500board_spot_1_0 6
NekonyancerThis book is for *gold!*
Only 5s and 6s can be placed here!
Note that there's a second slot open here in 4-player games.4board_spot_2_061e4eb794795500board_spot_2_0 6
NekonyancerThere's a slight problem though. [red]Red[/red] already used this action! We can still go here, but since we aren't the first to do so this round, we'll have to pay coins *equal to the number on our die!*5board_spot_0_061e4eb794795500board_spot_0_0 6
NekonyancerThat rule applies to any action space with a [blue]blue[/blue] background. [red](See highlighted spaces.)[/red]
Other spaces will only take one die per round!6board_spot_0_061e4eb794795500board_spot_0_0 6 board_spot_1_0 6 board_spot_2_0 6 board_spot_4_0 6 board_spot_5_0 6 board_spot_6_0 6 board_spot_7_0 6 board_spot_8_0 6
NekonyancerLuckily, we have a *1* die. Paying 1 coin isn't so bad. Let's do it!
There are four options when using a book. The top two options are free. The bottom left option costs 1 [green]jade[/green]. The bottom right option costs 2 [green]jade[/green]!
*Select your 1 die, place it here, and select the top-left option.*
7board_spot_choice_061e4eb794795510board_spot_0_0 18 board_spot_choice_0 19 uid-93 17
NekonyancerGreat! We got 1 [green]jade[/green] and 2 pepper from this.
[green]Jade[/green] is a very useful resource. In addition to letting us use the bottom halves of the *books,* we can spend a [green]jade[/green] in an emergency as a coin or camel!1board_spot_choice_061e4eb8986bc400
NekonyancerOur opponent just placed a die here. These two slots contain city cards, just like Yangzhou, Pagan, and many others.
However, these two slots will *feature a new city card every round.*1uid-3961e4eba5cba1b00uid-39 6 uid-42 6
NekonyancerThis particular card allows her to trade 1 [green]jade[/green] for 1 step of travel. Like most city cards, she can perform this trade *multiple times at once,* depending on the number of the die she placed here.
If she had 5 [green]jade[/green] in her inventory, and enough coins and camels to cover all the road costs, she could travel 5 steps!!2uid-3961e4eba5cc97b00
NekonyancerLet's think about getting a *guild seal* now.
To get a seal, you have to place *two* dice here. The number of the *lower* die determines what kind of seal you can get!1board_spot_4_061e4ebc03c2ac00board_spot_4_0 6
NekonyancerIf your lower die is at least 1, you can get a *farmer's guild seal.* It comes with 0 [green]jade.[/green]2board_spot_choice_1261e4ebc03c2ac00board_spot_choice_12 6
NekonyancerIf your lower die is at least a 2, you can get a *spicers' guild* seal. It comes with 1 [green]jade[/green].3board_spot_choice_1361e4ebc03c2ac00board_spot_choice_13 6
NekonyancerAt least 3 enables a *tailors' guild* seal, with 2 [green]jade,[/green]
and at least 4 enables a *jewelers' guild* seal, with 3 [green]jade.[/green]4board_spot_choice_1461e4ebc03c2ac00board_spot_choice_14 6 board_spot_choice_15 6
NekonyancerTake a look at this *city card* though! This card also allows us to get a guild seal, but it will cost us 1 die and 1 camel instead of 2 dice! Let's do this instead.
*Select a 5 die and place it here.*5uid-4161e4ebc03c2ac10uid-41 18 board_spot_4_0 13 board_spot_choice_12 13 board_spot_choice_13 13 board_spot_choice_14 13 board_spot_choice_15 13 uid-96 17
NekonyancerNow pick a seal. Since we used a *5,* we can take any one we want.
*Let's take the Jewelers' guild seal!*1board_spot_choice_1561e4ebdea897610board_spot_choice_12 13 board_spot_choice_13 13 board_spot_choice_14 13 board_spot_choice_15 6
NekonyancerThe seal is now in our inventory! This gives us special travel privileges.1uid-15761e4ebe1e75f500uid-157 6
NekonyancerThere are special paths marked with the Jewelers' Guild seal.
One is *south of Pagan.*
The other is *between Merw and Baghdad.*
Now that we have this seal, we can use these routes! We'll still have to pay though, if there's a cost on shown on the board.2map_node_361e4ebe1e75f501map_node_4 6 map_node_9 6 map_node_21 6 uid-44 6
NekonyancerAs you can see, there are many other special paths on the board, and they're each marked with the seal they require. If we want, we can get more seals later to unlock more of these paths.3map_node_361e4ebe1e75f500
NekonyancerBefore your next main action, let's talk about *bonus actions.*
Three of them involve camels:
[img]https://x2.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___x.boardgamearena.net_data_tutorials_https___snipboard.io_uqan0M.jpg[/img]
Pay 1 camel: reroll a die.
Pay 2 camels: increase/decrease a die's number by 1.
Pay 3 camels: acquire and roll a black die.5archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment61e4ec06c527a00
Nekonyancer*Click up here to buy a black die for 3 camels.*6btnBuyBlackDie61e4ec06c527a10btnBuyBlackDie 16
NekonyancerBy the way, if you want to see that graphic with the bonus actions again, just click up here on *Player Aid!*1btnPlayerAid61e4ec84b6b1c00
NekonyancerLet's do another bonus action. This is called the *money bag.*
You can throw a die away here and get 3 coins, 2 camels, or 1 jade!2board_spot_12_061e4ec84b6b1c00board_spot_12_0 6
Nekonyancer*Select your 5 die, then click here.*3board_spot_12_061e4ec84b6b1c10board_spot_12_0 18 uid-95 17
NekonyancerGreat! That was another *bonus action*, so it's still our turn.
Let's travel again. We normally wouldn't be able to, since we already placed one of our dice here.
However, we bought a special black die. We can use it to travel *again.*1board_spot_5_061e4ecb45083000board_spot_5_0 6
NekonyancerThis will cost us 4 coins: 2 for the built-in cost and 2 because this isn't the first die placed here this round.
*Select your black 2 die and place it here.*2board_spot_5_061e4ecb45083010board_spot_5_0 18 uid-101 17
NekonyancerLet's travel south to *Fuzhou.*
The road shows that we will have to pay an additional 5 coins and 1 camel.
*Click on Fuzhou to travel there.*1map_node_1261e4ecb9dd66d10map_node_12 16
NekonyancerGreat! We travelled, acquired another *outpost bonus,* and placed another trading post here.
You'll notice that *Fuzhou* has a bamboo shield, just like *Yangzhou.* Since we already had a bamboo shield, travelling here didn't do anything for our endgame shield points.1map_node_1261e4ecbcc1a6b00map_node_12 6 uid-146 6
NekonyancerThe trading post isn't useless though! It gives us access to this city's *contracts*. Since we just placed a trading post, we can take one!
*Click on the contract on the right to take it.*2uid-2861e4ecbcc1a6b10uid-28 13 uid-30 16
NekonyancerThe contract we chose is now in our inventory, which can only hold two at a time. By the way, we started the game with the contract on the left.1uid-3661e4ecc6cec6200uid-36 6 uid-30 6
NekonyancerCompleting a contract is a *bonus action.* Completing this one will cost us 2 camels, 2 jade, and 2 gold. It will give us 6 coins and 7 victory points.
If we acquire a new contract while our inventory is full, we will have to discard one of these to make room.2uid-3061e4ecc6cec6200uid-30 6
NekonyancerWe can also acquire new contracts by using a die here. This main action gives us 3 coins and allows us to take *2* more contracts, but only from cities in which we have trading posts!3board_spot_8_061e4ecc6cec6200board_spot_8_0 6
NekonyancerThat was the end of *Round 1!*
All the dice were wiped off the board, and we rerolled our dice again for Round 2. Yikes, looks like we got some very low numbers!
When the *total* of your five rolled dice is very low, the game takes pity on you and lets you take camels and coins in compensation.1uid-9561e4ecce067a100uid-93 6 uid-94 6 uid-95 6 uid-96 6 uid-97 6
NekonyancerGenerally, 1 camel is more valuable than 1 coin.
*Click on 5 camels.*2btnCompensation_camel_061e4ecce067a110generalactions 6
NekonyancerSince we have some [green]jade[/green] now, let's try spending it with a book action!
*Select a 1 die, place it on the pepper book, and then select 6 camels.*1board_spot_0_061e4ecd8a091e10board_spot_0_0 18 uid-82 19 uid-94 17
NekonyancerGreat! That spent 2 jade and gave us 6 camels.
By the way, did you notice that the bottom halves of these books are different compared to last round? *They change every round!*1board_spot_0_061e4ed09300df00uid-82 6 uid-84 6 uid-86 6
NekonyancerThe tiles down here show us what the books will offer next round!
Now, let's skip ahead a few turns...2uid-16161e4ed09300df00uid-161 6 uid-162 6 uid-163 6
NekonyancerAlright. Time for some heavy-duty travel. *Xian* is two spaces away from Fuzhou, since there's an *oasis* between them.
We're going to use a *different travel space,* so we can move up to three steps at once!1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment61e50c25c5d1600map_node_7 11 map_node_20 11
NekonyancerIf we place two dice here, we can move our merchant as many steps as the number on our *lower* die shows, up to a maximum of 3.2board_spot_6_061e50c25c5d1600board_spot_6_0 6
Nekonyancer*Let's place our 2 and 4 dice here.*3board_spot_6_061e50c25c5d1610board_spot_6_0 18 uid-96 17 uid-97 17
Nekonyancer*Now click on the oasis here.*1map_node_2061e50c8e7a6e110
Nekonyancer*And now on Xian.*1map_node_761e50ca58102910
NekonyancerGreat!
Now we have to pick a contract. We are already carrying two though. If we take a new one, we'll have to discard an old one. Let's just skip.
*Click on skip.*1uid-2961e50ca92655e10btnSkip 16 uid-29 13 uid-34 13
NekonyancerBy the way, if we had used a 3 and a 4 for that travel action, we could have travelled one more step - all the way to THIS oasis - but we likely would have chosen to halt in Xian anyway.
*That's because you may only place a trading post if you end your movement there.*1map_node_1861e50cb1eb78700map_node_18 11
NekonyancerThere's also a third action space here. This one is not for the faint of heart.
It takes *three* dice. Like the second action space, you can move as many steps as the lowest die shows, but this time it's not limited to *three.*
If you placed three *6s* here, you could travel *6* steps!2board_spot_7_061e50cb1eb78700board_spot_7_0 6
NekonyancerAlso, after using this fancy shmancy travel action, you get to place another trading post at one of the cities you blazed through, in addition to the city you stopped at!
So, with three 4s, you could travel from Beijing to Xian to Chengdu to Kabul. Then you could put trading posts on Kabul and one other city.3board_spot_7_061e50cb1eb78700map_node_3 6 map_node_6 6 map_node_7 6 map_node_10 6 map_node_18 6
NekonyancerAll these travel mechanics also impact the *starting player.*
Whenever someone uses a travel action that is the highest sort of travel used that round, they take the *first player marker.*4board_spot_7_061e50cb1eb78700
NekonyancerSince we have performed the highest sort of travel this round, we have the first player marker.
Let's skip ahead a few more turns...5panel_hourglass_1194135461e50cb1eb78700panel_hourglass_11941354 6
NekonyancerWe just traveled all the way to *Chengdu!* This city is a little different. Instead of a *city card* or *contracts*, this city has a *bonus.*
Let's look at some other bonus cities...1map_node_661e50d960293600map_node_6 6
NekonyancerIf you place a trading post in *Kunming,* you'll immediately take a camel and three coins, as well as at the beginning of each subsequent round! That's what the big "*!*" on the city means!2map_node_1561e50d960293600map_node_15 6
NekonyancerThe bonus for *Balkh* is 3 victory points! Again, you get these points when you place a trading post there, as well as at the beginning of all subsequent rounds!3map_node_561e50d960293600map_node_5 6
NekonyancerSo what about *Chengdu?*
Well, Chengdu's bonus lets us take the bonus of any other bonus city. Let's pick.... Hormuz!
*Select Hormuz to get Hormuz's city bonus!*4map_node_661e50d960293610map_node_13 16
NekonyancerNext, let's do the last of the bonus actions: *completing a guild seal.*
To do this, just click on the guild seal in your inventory. It will cost 2 gold and 9 coins. When we pay, we'll flip it over.
*Click on the guild seal.*1uid-15761e50da6c48de10
NekonyancerGreat! As you can see, the back of this guild seal has a "*!*", just like *Chengdu!* So, we immediately triggered the bonus of 2 camels, and we'll trigger it again at the beginning of each subsequent round!1uid-15761e50da9cbdbc00uid-157 6
NekonyancerIn addition, there's a checkmark symbol, which applies to two things.
1. Some goal cards, which are chosen at the beginning of the game, give you bonus points if you've completed the appropriate seal!
2uid-15761e50da9cbdbc00
Nekonyancer2. Some actions on the board become stronger. For example, once you have a trading post in Baghdad, you can perform the action and get 1 pepper, 1 silk, and 1 gold. But if you have a completed Jewelers' Guild seal, you'll also earn 1x or 2x the bonus shown on the seal, depending on the die's number.
So, if you place a 6 die here, you'll get *1 pepper, 1 silk, 1 gold, and 4 camels!*3map_node_961e50da9cbdbc00map_node_9 6
NekonyancerAnd that's about it! After five rounds, we go to *Endgame scoring:*
- Points for each improved guild seal that matches your goal card
- Points for different shields on cities in which you have trading posts. This is bolstered by +1 shields on your goal card and some contracts.
- 1 point for every 2 goods (pepper, silk, gold, jade.) Camels are not goods.
- 1 point for every 10 coins.5archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment61e50da9cbdbc00
Nekonyancer- 8 points for completing the most contracts
- 4 points for completing the 2nd most contracts (not in 2-player games)
- 5 points if you placed a 9th trading post, another 5 for a 10th.
- 10 points if you placed an 11th trading post.6archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment61e50da9cbdbc00
NekonyancerAnd that's it!
In a nutshell, players will roll dice at the beginning of each round and take turns assigning them to actions.
They get victory points by travelling and completing contracts.
After five rounds, some final points are dished out, and the game is over!7archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment61e50da9cbdbc00
NekonyancerThanks so much for sitting through this long tutorial! Now go try a game for yourself!8archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment61e50da9cbdbc00map_node_8 aHR0cHM6Ly94Mi5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaHR0cHNfX194LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldF9kYXRhX3R1dG9yaWFsc19odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb19IQmFQU1guanBn/-172/-88
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