Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan

The base game supports 2–4 for five rounds. Normally start with five colored dice, eight coins, three camels, a starting contract, and a figure in Beijing. Choose characters in reverse order and keep one of three goal cards. Two/three-player setup adds neutral blocking dice and adjusts the black-die supply.

Take turns resolving one normal action by placing the required dice and immediately applying it. The lowest die normally determines strength. You cannot freely pass while usable dice remain; without dice, skip subsequent turns. Retrieve and roll dice each round; a total below fifteen receives the shortfall as any mix of coins and camels.

Occupied brown spaces are unavailable. Occupied blue spaces cost coins equal to your own lowest die for this action, regardless of existing values. Each player color may appear on a given action space only once per round. Black dice have no player color but still pay applicable occupied-space costs.

Books offer one of four available rewards in goods, camels, or coins, sometimes at an additional jade cost; spaces have their own minimum die values. Khan’s Favor occupies four spaces in sequence for four coins and two camels, with each later die at least as high as the previous one.

Guild Seals normally uses two dice, whose lower value determines which unowned seal you can take and its one-time jade reward. Own at most one of each type. A matching seal opens certain routes without being spent or needing improvement. Paying its improvement cost grants its bonus immediately and again at subsequent round starts.

The three Travel spaces require one, two, or three dice. Movement is limited by both the lowest die and that space’s cap, with at least one step. Pay action and full route costs before moving. Normally place a post only at the destination city; upper three-die Travel can add one in a city passed through. Resolve post benefits after the full movement.

With a post in a contract city, Contracts takes one or two contracts from your eligible cities and three coins. You can hold two active contracts; discard old ones if needed, rather than immediately discarding a newly taken contract. Refill public contract spaces at turn end.

City cards and special-city actions normally require a local post and become usable on your next turn after establishing it. The two public city cards need no posts and change each round. An occupied brown city-card space cannot be reused that round. Special cities also reward matching improved seals.

Bonus actions occur before or after, never during, your normal action: complete a contract, improve a seal, spend a die for Money Bag rewards, pay one camel to reroll, two to adjust by one, or three to buy a black die. Buy a black die at most once per turn; adjustment cannot wrap six to one. Jade substitutes one-for-one for coins or camels, not vice versa.

After five rounds, score improved guild seals required by your goal card, different city shields plus extra shields, one point per two goods and per ten coins. Most completed contracts earns eight and second-most four; two players omit second place. Highest score wins, then most camels, then shared victory. The highest Travel space used sets next round’s first player, with later users winning ties; no Travel leaves order unchanged.