Istanbul User Reviews

Name: Istanbul: Digital Edition
Rating: 4.7294 (425 reviews)

Istanbul: Digital Edition

Acram Digital Sp. z o.o.

What users say

Summarized from real user reviews of Istanbul. Based on 425 reviews and a 4.7/5 average, it highlights the 5 positives and 4 negatives reviewers mention most about this game.

Positive things

👍Great digital implementation
🎨Beautiful graphics and visuals
🕹️Smooth gameplay
🤖Challenging AI opponents
🕹️Well-designed user interface

Negative things

🐛Bugs with specific cards/tiles (e.g. 'sell any goods', mosque tile costs)
🐛Crashes and freezes, especially on older devices
🐛Issues with online/multiplayer functionality
🔋Battery drain on some devices

Top reviews

Most Recent Highest Rated Lowest Rated

Beautifully executed!

I’ve not yet played the physical version, but this digital one is great!

Thonemann

3 months ago

Buggy update

The latest update I was forced to get for Istanbul has some annoying bugs. The tiles/game board no longer fills the screen like it used to. The red & green and blue & yellow upgrade tiles are also very small on the screen in this upgrade. The player bar on the right is not centered top to bottom when starting a new game. Wish I could go back to the old version which didn’t have any of these problems.

Cactushead05

4 months ago

Mostly good

Everything adapts great the only
Issue I have is with the baksheesh tile glitching sometimes in the expansion. Have to restart the game otherwise great game, still worth the money.

2'eqt

4 months ago

Amazing App

I love this game, this app does it justice. Can’t recommend this developer more highly. Check out Concordia and Stone Age, more great games given the same care and attention to detail by Acram, they are all great to play against AI as well 👌🏻

Gapster77

5 months ago

Response from developer

Hey Gapster77, updating your application to the current version will resolve the Bonus cards issue. :)

Wirklich sehr abwechslungsreich

Kannte das Original-Brettspiel nur dem Namen nach – nach ein paar Runden gehen die Regeln und Sonderfähigkeiten in Fleisch und Blut über.

jugibur

6 months ago

“Sell and goods” card bug ruins experience

Great game, great implementation - but the bug with the “sell any goods” card — which they devs have acknowledged for months in responses to other reviews — ruins the experience.

You basically have to avoid taking any cards blindly (from the governor, or family members) to ensure you don’t destroy any plans for the cards you already have. You might as well resign if you ever draw that card.

_hossman

7 months ago

Response from developer

Hey _hossman, we have addressed this bug in our latest release. Please update Istanbul to ensure all Bonus cards function as intended. :)

Good game, but buggy

The small market use any resource type card is super bugged. If you have this card in your hand, no other cards can be used.

Crzyfire44121

7 months ago

Response from developer

Hello Crzyfire44121, please update Istanbul to the latest version to ensure you can continue playing without any issues with Bonus cards. ;)

Mocks & baksheesh

When the expansion release ??

mınvtkgd

8 months ago

Excellent!!!

I love the digital implementation of this game. I play both, the cardboard version and the digital version.

Pegi-NZ

8 months ago

Fun, but buggy!

I have enjoyed playing this game for years, but now there’s a bug that keeps crashing my game. If I pick up the “sell any goods” bonus card, the game will not let me play any bonus cards. It just keeps duplicating the “sell any goods” card. I’ve tried installing and reinstalling the game, but the bug’s still there.

Bedrockmom

9 months ago

Hängt massiv zur Zeit.

An sich ein Mega Spiel! Aber es hängt zur Zeit massiv. Bei jedem Zug zittert das Spielfeld auf mehreren Ebenen und es teils bewegt sich das Spielfeld von alleine. Anscheint gibt es einen bug und der beeinträchtig massiv. Aber wenn der behoben wird- Super.

Christ.in

9 months ago

Not as good as it used to be

Was a very good game but now too buggy. Issues with caravansary cards not working properly plus red mosque tile not working (or even appearing) at the black market. These issues need to be sorted before even considering the expansions.

MJCGeek

10 months ago

Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! Regarding the card interaction bug, you can expect a fix in the upcoming update. As for the Red Mosque tile giving you the option to change your dice draw: sometimes at the Black Market, if your draw result cannot help you improve your situation (for example, if your Wheelbarrow has only 2 free spaces for Blue Goods and your dice roll lets you pick up 2 Blue Goods), the game does not show the option to redraw your dice because it’s already the best possible outcome. The option would appear only if the result were unsatisfying. Hope that makes things clearer, and keep an eye on our social media for any news about Istanbul! :) EDIT: The issue you reported is now resolved in the latest update. :)

Bugs with the game now

The game doesn’t allow you to use your cards. Was a fun game until it didn’t work properly.

Dina15221

10 months ago

Schön gemacht, allerdings mit Fehler

Ich spiele das Brettspiel gerne und die App ist gut gemacht, insofern gibt es eine Empfehlung von mir. Allerdings ist wohl ein Programmierfehler drin. Wenn in den Moscheen die Plättchen gekauft werden, wird immer nur eine Ware abgezogen, egal wie viele auf dem Plättchen abgebildet sind. Insofern kriegt man hier die Edelsteine deutlich zu leicht. Ich hoffe, es gibt ein Update mit entsprechender Korrektur!

Bejangga

10 months ago

Response from developer

Hi Bejangga, thanks for the review, we're really glad to hear you’re enjoying both the Istanbul board game and the digital app! :) About the issue you mentioned with the Mosque tiles, this is actually working as intended. According to the official board game rules: ~ When you take a Mosque tile, your Wheelbarrow must carry the Goods shown on the tile in the required quantities. Then you pay 1 of the depicted Goods. Once you acquire both tiles of the same Mosque, you immediately take 1 Ruby. Each Mosque tile provides a special ability. Still, thank you for catching this and sharing it to clarify! :)

Really buggy since last update

Been playing this game for years and absolutely love it, however since the most recent update my friends and I keep finding glitches such as not being able to use cards, or have running very jumpy on iPhone. Please fix these bugs as the game has been excellent for years until now

25384939322

10 months ago

Response from developer

Hi there, thanks for the feedback. The next patch will include a fix for the card-related bug, so stay tuned. :) EDIT: Please update your app to enjoy the game as intended, without the pesky bug mentioned above!

Bug

Hay un bug en las cartas. Desaparecen las que hay y se añaden sin poder usarse las de mercado

_roman

a year ago

One of the classics, near perfect!

No complaints, I enjoy the game. Good adaptation!

EssJay1993

a year ago

Amazing App

Good, but now has a flaw? I’m on iPhone 13 Max, iOS 18.5;
Cannot use cards for additional actions, had it with another option but cannot remember now? In this case, I had the additional action card for the gem dealer, and tried to use it, it showed several cards when I only had a couple, duplicates of the ones I had, and if I try to select a card it creates another duplicate?! Can’t play this game until it’s fixed, shame because I love it and I am looking forward to the DLC 😕

Gapster77

a year ago

Update Ruined It

they updated the game in June 2025, now I can't see all of the players information, the game move so, and it freezes up when it had never frozen up before. Boo!

Team Ando

a year ago

Did something happen to the iOS version getting mocha expansion?

It was in the app under other games with a banner that said coming soon but that’s gone now? Looks like it’s on steam. Was there an issue with the App Store or something? I do t really use steam. Switch version maybe? Not trying to worry over nothing if it’s still being worked on, just asking because I saw the ad for it was removed and couldn’t find anything about the iOS app anymore. I’m sure stuff comes up in mobile game dev especially for adaptations of existing licensed games, etc so I just wanted to check.

Ronpaulstiltskin

a year ago

Response from developer

Hi there, Ronpaulstiltskin! 😊 No worries - the Mocha & Baksheesh expansion will absolutely be available for iOS as well! We're currently running a closed Beta to make sure everything is polished and ready for launch. Once it's good to go, we’ll share the news on our social media channels. Stay tuned! ☕