Marrakesh

Objective and players: Players develop city districts over three seasons and compete for the highest final score. Queen Games supports two to four players and currently lists 60–90 minutes; BGG still lists 120 minutes, while the rules do not give a fixed duration. Each season has four rounds. The base game is competitive and its main rules do not provide a solo or cooperative objective.

Edition and setup: Marrakesh is Stefan Feld City Collection 4, released by Queen Games in 2022. Queen provides main rules for Classic Special/Deluxe and a separate Essential Edition manual. Materials, Keshi counts, and component icons vary, but the verified core round sequence and end scoring are the same. Prepare the player boards, assistants, colored Keshis, towers, resources, offering cards, river, and districts using the manual for the box you own; separately sold expansions are not automatically included.

Seasons and rounds: The game has three seasons with four rounds each, for twelve rounds total. In each round, players assign assistants and use matching colored Keshis to drive regional actions. At the end of each round, take any river reward indicated by position. At the end of each season, resolve river ranking and offerings, then prepare market and river cards and Keshi supplies for the next season. Plan short-term actions together with season-end payment.

Assistant placement and regions: Players place assistants in three regions on their city boards. Regions include the Mosque, Palace, Market/Shops, School, Square, Date Palms, Medina, Sahara, and River. The chosen region determines the action. Since assistant placements are limited, choose the districts to develop before considering whether the available Keshis can provide the resources or markers needed. Each region has its own action and scoring path.

Tower and Keshi selection: Secretly choose three different-colored wooden Keshis from those remaining behind your screen, reveal them, and place assistants in the matching sectors. Drop the chosen Keshis into the shared tower. In turn order, each player takes up to two available Keshis of one color they can still accept, continuing until no selectable pieces remain. Exchange them for cardboard pieces or advance the matching color markers as the edition instructs. Place red water vendors only in sectors without one; colors are not freely interchangeable resources.

Resolving regional actions: After assistants and Keshis are prepared, resolve actions for the regions. These can involve religious influence in the Mosque, Palace steps, market trading, development in the School or Square, resources and building in the Date Palms or Medina, and rewards in the River or Sahara. Costs and effects depend on each region. Place building markers, resources, or oases only in legal spaces and do not transfer them freely between districts.

River, offerings, and season end: At the end of each round, take the reward indicated by the River position. At the end of each season, score the river ranking and pay the revealed offering requirements. If a player lacks enough resources, they pay all resources they have and lose the points printed on all activated provision tiles. Then update Market and River cards and reset the Keshi supply for the next season. Resource reserves can directly affect final score.

Completed districts and oases: After the final round of the third season, score completed districts. A qualifying district is worth ten points; it generally must reach eight spaces in the relevant Keshi or marker track and contain the specified red cardboard Keshi. Players also score their three highest-value oases. District and oasis rewards encourage balanced development, but concentrating on one district does not guarantee the lead.

Leftover resources and ties: Add remaining Dirhams, Water, Dates, and Goods Keshis; every two are worth one point, rounded down. Add these to district, oasis, and other season scores. The highest total wins. In a tie, compare Palace steps first, then Mosque steps; if still tied, players share the victory. Follow the component icons in the edition you own rather than assuming every box has identical physical pieces.

Expansion and mode boundary: The main Marrakesh manuals contain optional module chapters, and Queen Games publishes separate rules for expansions such as Camels & Nomads and Gems & Experts. For the base game, use the basic setup and do not treat a separately sold module as a default rule. Classic Special/Deluxe and Essential are box editions, not three different core season systems.