Istanbul - Tips & Strategies

The rules already have the 2-player rule to use the unused game colors as neutral merchants (starting at locations 14-15-16).
You can add it also as a house rule in a 3-player or 4-player game (unused colors as neutral merchants (location 14 and/or 16), move them like smuggler/governor, pay encounters at the general supply).
Just to add some more difficulty.

Great game by the way.

One of the most powerful and most overlooked abilities in the game is the option to drop off an assistant at the Police Station to send your relative to another tile and perform its action. If you find yourself mostly stuck in one corner of the board due to loading up on Warehouse goods, or trying to game the Black Market for Jewelry, then having your relative go visit one of the Market tiles could save you a lengthy round trip. If you’ve just visited an appropriate warehouse but want to show your merchant’s devotion at a Mosque tile too far to reach, your relative is an excellent substitute — this may allow you to shut down an opponent’s strategy to reach the Mosque first and make the devotion action tougher for you!

While your opponents’ ability to encounter your relative and send him back to the Police Station to gain a benefit (3 Lira or a bonus card) can be somewhat annoying, and you may balk at handing them an advantage, proper tactical use of your relative can shave precious turns off your route through the bazaar. You may even find yourself in a situation where an opponent pounced upon your relative almost immediately, allowing you to retrace your steps, pick up your assistant at the Police Station, and dispatch your relative again to obtain an advantage. Be sure to thank your opponent for being so helpful!

I often find myself teaching people to play games, and this one is no exception. I often play with inexperienced gamers and have found that the mechanics can quickly become confusing and drain away the enthusiasm of your group, but if you teach the game using the theme as the basis of why you do things it has made a world of difference!

teach from the perspective of Merchants of Istanbul in the crowded bazaar vying for dominance in the eyes of all! You’re not above exploiting your shady relatives for a leg up, nor trading favors with the local governor, much less the local smuggler. The Gems are the key to winning they day and every move must get you closer to obtaining that single prize.

Trust me it works wonders.

This game can lead to planning your play 3-5 moves ahead, especially if you are playing with more that 2 players. The more crowded the board gets the more often those brilliant 3 move plans are ruined. Suddenly players find themselves staring at the board as their hopes and dreams crumble before them.

DON’T GIVE IN TO THE PARALYSIS!!!

Nothing makes a game like Istanbul worse then taking it from a 30 minute race through the Bazaar into an hour long trudge. If you find that players are struggling with Analysis Paralysis, add a turn time limit-

If playing the base game with some deep thinkers or players new to the game, just go for the throat and use the simplest strategy available. Money all the time. Warehouse, warehouse, market, repeat, maybe go gambling at the tea house if it’s well placed for you, throw a relative back in jail and take the money, then raid the gem dealer’s store again and again. You can rack up 3, maybe even 4 rubies before anyone’s caught on to what you’re doing. The vulnerability is that you can stall out at 4 gems and have to switch it up to win, which takes time and allows the others to perhaps get back in the game, but the pressure is on them, not you.