While you may be used to playing card games without a story like Rummy or Go Fish, the card game Jaipur tells a much more interesting tale. This game casts you as one of the most powerful traders in the city of Jaipur, capital of the land of Rajasthan. You’re competing against a fellow trader to decide who will become the best merchant in the city and earn an elusive invitation to the court of the Maharaja.

Beating out your fellow trader will require you to use all of your wits to buy, trade, and sell enough goods to earn two Seals of Excellence and nab the invitation. But can you make the right choices to trade your way to the top?

Take Vs. Sell

Jaipur is played with a pretty simple turn-based structure. Each turn you have one of two options: either take cards or sell goods. If you choose to take cards, you can take just one card or multiple. Taking one card is free, but taking multiple cards costs an equivalent number of cards to replenish the market. Face up Camel Cards can be taken from the marketplace for free during your turn, although you can only have up to seven cards in your hand at a time.

Selling goods requires you to discard between one and five cards, although they must all be the same type. These card can be items such as Silver, Gold, or Diamonds that will earn you the same number of Goods Tokens as cards you’ve sold. However, Goods Tokens decline in value over the course of the game, so you’ll want to sell as quickly as possible. You must balance selling more cards at once for greater rewards with the need to sell sooner rather than later.

Goods, Camels, And Seals Of Excellence

Each game of Jaipur is played in up to three rounds. The round ends when three of the six sets of Goods Tokens have been depleted. Whoever ends the round with the highest number of points wins the Seal of Excellence Token. Whichever player is the first to win two tokens is declared the winner, so the game ends in either two or three rounds.

If you sell three to five cards of the same type, you can earn a Bonus Tile. You can also earn a five-point Camel Bonus Token at the end of the round if you have the biggest herd of camels, so make sure you’re keeping an eye on Camel Cards as well. There are only 11 Camel Cards in the deck, so try and remember how many Camel Cards your opponent has drawn to see whether or not it’s worth it to try and grow the biggest herd.

You’ll need to factor in which strategy best serves your hand, as Camel Cards must be replaced with cards from the draw pile. This means that picking up a Camel Card can result in a new card being added that allows your opponent to make a major sale. It’s perfectly legitimate to ignore the Camel Cards completely and focus on selling goods if you’re doing well in selling large quantities at a time.

Jaipur: Trade Your Way To Victory

Jaipur is a two-person card game, so it’s perfect for friends or couples looking for a fun and easy game to play. Playing time lasts around 30 minutes, but you can play as many times as you like without the gameplay feeling stale. The game is suitable for ages 12 and up, which makes it a great card game for older kids or young adults.

One of the most fun aspects of Jaipur is its fast pace and its unique blend of strategy and luck. Whether you’re a frequent gamer or you’re looking for something fun to do in your downtime, you’ll enjoy the straightforward gameplay and high risk. Younger players can get a lot out of playing the game by learning about set collection and remaining aware of their opponent’s strategy as well as their own. With quick rounds and fast-paced action, you won’t grow bored of Jaipur anytime soon.

Buy Jaipur today and enjoy the fast-paced fun of merchant life!