Overview

12 Thieves (originally published as The Thief of Baghdad) is a hand-management and area-control card game where players send thieves to steal treasures from six palaces in a bazaar. Players play palace cards to place thieves, move guards, and manipulate the board. When enough thieves gather at a palace, the controlling player steals a treasure chest. The first player to collect a target number of treasures wins.

Components

• Wooden thief meeples (multiple colors, 12 per player)
• Colored guard pieces (per player)
• Black neutral guards (6)
• Palace cards (6 suits matching the 6 palaces)
• Dancer cards (wild cards, usable as any palace)
• 6 Treasure chest stacks (4 chests per stack, showing 4, 5, 6, and 7 people required)
• Gameboard with 6 palace locations

Setup

1. Place the gameboard in the center of the table.
2. Place 1 black neutral guard before each palace.
3. Arrange treasure stacks at each palace (top chest shows 4, then 5, 6, 7 underneath).
4. Distribute guards based on player count:
   • 2 players: 4 guards each
   • 3 players: 3 guards each
   • 4 players: 2 guards each
5. Players alternate placing their guards on palaces (1 at a time).
6. Deal starting cards based on player count and turn order:
   • 2 players: 6 and 7 cards
   • 3 players: 6, 7, and 8 cards
   • 4 players: 6, 7, 8, and 9 cards
7. Oldest player goes first.

Turn Structure

On their turn, a player may perform up to 3 thief-related actions (placing thieves or stealing). They may also move guards. Then they draw cards.

Actions

1. Place a Thief

Play palace cards matching the target palace. You need 1 card per neutral or opponent guard in front of that palace. Place 1 thief at the palace.

2. Move Your Own Guard

Play 1 card matching either the guard’s current palace or its destination. The destination must have an open guard space.

3. Move a Guard with a Thief

Play 1 card matching the current or destination palace. Move both the guard and an accompanying thief together.

4. Move a Neutral Guard

Play 2 cards: 1 matching the guard’s current palace, 1 matching its destination. The destination must have an open guard space.

Stealing Treasure

When the number of your thieves at a palace equals or exceeds the number shown on the top treasure chest, you steal it. Remove your contributing thieves from the board and take the chest. The next chest (requiring more thieves) is revealed.

Drawing Cards (End of Turn)

• If you performed any actions: draw 3 cards.
• If you performed no actions: draw 4 cards and may choose 1 as a Dancer (wild) card.
• When the draw deck is exhausted, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.

Dancer Cards

Dancer cards are wild — they can substitute for any palace card.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The first player to collect the required number of treasures wins:

Players	Treasures to Win
2	6
3	5
4	4

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Guards block thieves — each guard at a palace costs 1 additional card to place a thief there.
• Guard spaces at palaces are limited; you cannot move a guard to a palace with no open guard space.
• You may only perform up to 3 thief-related actions per turn, but guard movements are separate.
• If you cannot or choose not to perform any actions, you get a better card draw (4 cards + potential Dancer).
• Multiple players may have thieves at the same palace, but only the player whose thief count meets the treasure requirement gets to steal.

Player Reference

Turn Sequence:

1. Perform up to 3 thief actions (place thieves, steal treasures)
2. Optionally move guards
3. Draw cards (3 if acted, 4 if passed)

Card Costs: | Action | Cards Required | |—|—| | Place thief | 1 per guard at that palace | | Move own guard | 1 (matching current or destination) | | Move guard + thief | 1 (matching current or destination) | | Move neutral guard | 2 (1 for current, 1 for destination) |

Treasure Requirements: 4, 5, 6, 7 thieves (escalating per chest at each palace)