Overview

Marrakech is a family strategy game where players are rug merchants competing in the Marrakesh market. Players take turns directing Assam (the market organizer), rolling a die to move him, paying opponents if he lands on their rugs, and then placing their own rugs. The player with the most points from visible rugs and money wins.

Components

• 1 rug market board (7x7 grid)
• 60 cloth rugs (4 sets of 15 in different colors)
• Assam figure (market organizer)
• 21 coins worth 1 dirham
• 21 coins worth 5 dirhams
• 1 wooden die (faces: 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4)

Setup

1. Place Assam at the center of the market square.
2. Each player receives 30 dirhams (5x1 + 5x5).
3. Distribute rugs: 3 players = 15 rugs each; 4 players = 12 rugs each.
4. The last player who stepped on a rug plays first. Play proceeds clockwise.

2-player variant: Each player receives 30 dirhams and 24 rugs of 2 different colors, shuffled into a single pile.

Turn Structure

Each turn has 3 actions in order:

1. Orient and Move Assam

• Choose Assam’s direction: keep current orientation, or rotate 90 degrees left or right. Assam cannot turn 180 degrees.
• Roll the die.
• Move Assam that many spaces forward in a straight line. If Assam reaches the edge, follow the about-turn mosaic pattern (does not count as a move).

2. Pay Other Merchants (if required)

If Assam lands on a rug belonging to another player, you must pay that player. The payment equals the number of connected rug squares of that color touching the space Assam landed on (count all orthogonally adjacent same-colored rug halves as one group).

3. Lay One Rug

Place one of your rugs adjacent to Assam’s current space. The rug (2 squares) must touch at least one side of Assam’s square. Placement rules:

• May cover 2 empty squares.
• May cover 1 empty square and half of an existing rug.
• May cover halves of 2 different rugs.
• Cannot completely cover an existing rug in one placement.

Actions

The turn structure above covers all actions. Players have no optional actions beyond orienting Assam, paying, and placing a rug.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when the last rug is placed. Score:

• Each visible rug half = 1 point
• Each dirham = 1 point
• Total = visible rug halves + dirhams

The player with the highest total wins. Ties broken by most dirhams.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Assam’s about-turn at board edges follows the mosaic arrows; this movement does not count toward the die roll.
• Payment is based on the largest connected group of same-colored rug halves touching Assam’s landing square, not just the rug he stands on.
• If a player cannot afford payment, they pay all they have and the difference is forgiven.
• Rug placement is mandatory; you must place one rug per turn.
• In the variant, players choose Assam’s direction after rolling the die (instead of before).

Player Reference

Die Faces	Values
6 faces	1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4

Step	Action
1	Orient Assam (straight, left, or right – not backward)
2	Roll die, move Assam forward
3	Pay if on opponent’s rug (count connected same-color halves)
4	Place 1 rug adjacent to Assam