After your journeys drew you to the East fulfilling contracts and making lucrative trades, you’re poised to embark on a voyage back to the West! Play as competing merchants as you set out from Beijing to seek your fortune throughout the khan’s vast empire. Travel from city to city establishing trading posts, taking new contracts, and acquiring camels and goods to complete them. But plan carefully—you’ll only make it so far without the right credentials. New guild seals will give you access to otherwise inaccessible routes, and upgrading them will bring you additional rewards. Whatever path you choose to take, you’ll have to act decisively. Some action spaces are limited, and if an opponent gets there first, it could be a longer journey than you planned for.

With a wide range of new components, characters, and actions, Marco Polo II provides a unique challenge for new players and veterans alike. Books replace the Grand Bazaar, varying your options for available goods, coins, and camels from round to round. If the selection isn’t to your liking, take advantage of jade: the rare and valuable new good can be used in place of coins and camels, in addition to fulfilling contracts as normal. To take new contracts, however, you’ll have to acquire them from cities on the board where you’ve established a trading post. Travel widely, plan shrewdly, and complete contracts to accrue wealth and fame. From your first footfalls out of Beijing to your prodigal return to the West, you’ll have to prove your skills as a merchant to write a lasting legacy.