Author Topic: Istanbul Review  (Read 5134 times)

Offline karkids

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Istanbul Review
« on: August 17, 2016, 04:58:56 PM »
So I visited the game shop in Prague that I mentioned before in another post, and my Grandmother in law refused to let me leave the shop unless she bought me a game, so I ended up choosing Istanbul, as I have heard good things about it, there are tiles, lots of fiddly wooden and plastic pieces, and good artwork. Anyways, I knew I made a good purchase, or rather my grandmother in law did, as soon as I opened the box and got a look at everything. The quality of all the pieces is really nice, and nothing is skimped out on. The tiles of which there are 16 make up the board, and have 3 predetermined layouts, or you can mix them randomly. All of the art is very nice, and I love the theme of a bazaar, because it ties in with all of the rules of the game, unlike some games I´ve played before. The wooden pieces were standard, and I didn´t get any with defects. It came with 32 red gem counters, the type you can find in many games, but red seemed to be the nicest color for them I´ve seen yet. There are also 5 cart tiles with 3 cutouts each where you can place cart expansions that allow you to carry more goods around, which is really cool in my humble opinion. Then there were a bunch of other smaller tiles used for market demand, and mosque benefits. Also, 2 nice dice, and stickers that don´t rip when you peel them off, unlike those from the game Artificium! I only played one 3 player game so far, and the players were me, myself, and I. Continued below.

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=2878.0
I don´t trust you with putting back my tiles. You might put them back upside down...

Offline karkids

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Re: Istanbul Review
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2016, 05:12:02 PM »
So yes, I played a game as 3 seperate players, but only because no one I know in Prague can handle games more complicated than Ludo or Trouble. The game went very well and luck had little to no effect on the outcome of the game. Every tile is very well balanced, and there are plenty of ways to win. I ended up winning using 3 of the 5 or so ways, collecting all the mosque tiles, expanding my cart to the max, and buying 2 rubies. I should mention that the game is over when someone collects 5 rubies. The only player interaction is always bad, but not bad designed, just bad consequences. Whenever you land on a tile with another persons pieces, you have to pay them. This is such a good mechanic, because you can put your pieces all over the board on the important places and gain money from players wanting to advance further in the game, to meet a goal yourself. In addition, the resource management in this game is interesting. You keep track of 4 things. Rubies, money, goods, and your Merchant and assistants. It´s interesting in the fact that whenever you use a tile, you must leave an assistant from your stack of pieces behind to deal with the details of whatever it is you are doing. However, you can revisit the tile to pick them up again, or go to the fountain to regain all your assistants. In this way, you have to plan to do a reset every once in a while. Anyways, I´m rambling on a bit, but I´ll finish it here. This game is very balanced, and very fun. It´s not slow, so you don´t have to wait 5 minutes for your turn to come again. The game should be different every time as you can mix up the layout. The quality is awesome. It´s a bit pricey, but well worth it, and if your a completionist, there is 1 official expansion out, 1 promo expansion of 1 tile, and due this very August another expansion. I already feel like buying them all. Anyways, thanks for reading through this long post of mine, and hope I could give you a sense of this wonderful game.  :red-meeple:

Offline Paul

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Re: Istanbul Review
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2016, 05:33:29 PM »
Played it a few times at the local game club. It's a fun relaxing game.

First game I had so much fun with drawing cards and using them and repeating the process. I had all but 2 gems left to acquire so it was not a bad tactics, at least I don't think so. :)
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Offline karkids

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Re: Istanbul Review
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2016, 05:40:07 PM »
I kept on having indecsion due to the fact that I was playing as 3 people. I had to act as if I were 3 people which was funny, and I was even commentating to myself as I played. I´m not crazy, am I? anyways I made a mistake, the above strategy about spreading your pieces around is invalid as you only pay the other players if their merchant is on the tile you land on. Big mistake.  :red-meeple:

Offline jungleboy

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Re: Istanbul Review
« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2016, 07:42:57 PM »
Thanks for the review. Istanbul is on my wish list so I might get it at Essen...


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Offline Khonnor

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Re: Istanbul Review
« Reply #5 on: August 18, 2016, 07:02:01 PM »
Istanbul is a great game. Thinky but still very much fun. I would definately recommend the expansion though as that really made the game for me.

Offline karkids

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Re: Istanbul Review
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2016, 07:13:26 PM »
Yeah, I did another playthrough today, and it ended up different from the first game, as there was a lot more use of the Sultan´s palace tile, which wasn´t used at all in the first game. I really want to get the Mocha and Baksheesh expansion because of the new resource to collect, and the barrier which can prevent other players from crossing one side of a tile. I would also get the new expansion that isn´t out yet, but due this month, because it adds 5 more tiles and a new mechanic, delivering letters for extra benefits, as well as selling secrets to a secret society, and a second helper that can activate tiles without workers, but must be moved only one space at a time, and instead of your usual move of the merchant. The rules came out a few days ago I think: https://www.pegasusshop.de/spielregeln/4250231709425_en.pdf

Offline jungleboy

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Re: Istanbul Review
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2016, 05:39:34 AM »
I played Istanbul for the first time a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. It was a two-player game with the easiest set-up, so that everything you need is nearby. I'm sure it's even more interesting with a different tile set-up, and with the expansion(s). But anyway I really liked it. I like how you have quite a few different pathways to the rubies and you're always having to think and re-think about what's the best way to get your next ruby.


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