Running a Merchant Through the Bazaar
Istanbul: Digital Edition is a faithful adaptation of the board game Istanbul. You lead one merchant and his four assistants across 16 locations in the bazaar. Each location offers a specific action, but to use it you must move both your merchant and an assistant there, then leave the assistant behind to handle the details while you move on. To reuse that assistant later, your merchant has to return to pick him up. Plan your route carefully so you never run out of assistants and get stuck with nothing to do. Collect and trade goods, grow your wheelbarrow capacity, take control of assistants, and pick up special abilities to gain an edge over rivals. The goal is to be the first merchant to collect a set number of rubies, either by buying them or trading goods for them.
Playing With Your Group
You can play against AI, against friends, or a mix of both. Online multiplayer is cross-platform and supports both synchronous and asynchronous turns, so your group does not all need to be online at once. There is also a pass and play mode for sharing one screen. When you are waiting on other players, you can replay opponents' last moves to see what they did. The board can be preset or randomly generated, and three AI difficulty levels each bring their own strategy if you want a single-player run or a filler opponent.
Before You Start
The game runs on mouse only and is touch-friendly, with 2D artwork by Andreas Resch plus atmospheric music and sounds. It ships with a colorblind mode and over 70 achievements. Language options include English, German, Dutch, Polish, French, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish. The Mocha & Baksheesh DLC is noted as coming soon.