Istanbul vs ShellMate

The official digital adaptation of one of the best board games in history – Istanbul. Istanbul is, without a doubt, one of the best board games to have ever been published. The long list of its awards and honors speaks for itself: 2015 Nederlandse Spellenprijs Best Expert Game Nominee 2014 Swiss Gamers Award Winner 2014 Meeples' Choice Nominee 2014 Kennerspiel des Jahres Winner 2014 International Gamers Award - General Strategy: Multi-player Nominee 2014 Hra roku Nominee 2014 Gouden Ludo Winner 2014 Golden Geek Board Game of the Year Nominee 2014 Golden Geek Best Strategy Board Game Nominee 2014 Golden Geek Best Family Board Game Nominee In our 2018 digital version we have maintained all of the features that made Istanbul the fan favorite that it is, but also expanded upon it with a number of tools and features only available on the digital platform. We maintained the authentic board game feeling with the convenience you can expect from an electronic device. So what is the game about? Can you be the first merchant to collect a certain number of rubies? • Run, collect and trade goods across the bazaar • Take control over your assistants • Increase your wheelbarrow capacity • Acquire special abilities to increase the advantage over your competitors • Buy rubies or trade goods for them In Istanbul, you lead a group of one merchant and his four assistants through 16 locations in the bazaar. In each such a location, you can carry out a specific action. The challenge, however, is that to take an action, you must move your merchant and an assistant there, then leave the assistant behind to handle all the details while you focus on larger matters. If you want to use that assistant again later, your merchant must return to that location to pick him up. Thus, you must plan ahead carefully to avoid being left with no assistants and thus unable to do anything… What can you expect? • Official Istanbul game - 100% original rules • Adaptation of TOP 100 board game of all time by BGG ranking • Play with AI, with friends or both • Great artwork by Andreas Resch • Languages: English, German, Dutch, Polish, French, Korean, Japanese, Chinese Simplified, Spanish • Pass and play mode • Cross-platform online multiplayer with synchronous and asynchronous modes • Opponents' last moves replay • 3 levels of difficulty AIs with individual strategies • Preset or random generated game boards • Atmospheric music and sounds • Unique, original board game experience • Intuitive gameplay • Colorblind mode • Over 70 achievements • iPhone X support

Shellmate is a fast, playful scoring companion. Keep the table moving while Shellmate handles the maths. Add your players, score each hand, track totals across rounds, and let the app help with end-of-round choices such as Stop and Last Chance. Designed for quick use during a real game, Shellmate supports the base game plus Extra Salt and Extra Pepper scoring elements, including collections, duos, multipliers, mermaids, colour bonuses, events and instant-win checks. Features: - Score rounds for 2 to 4 players - Track running totals and current round progress - Support for Stop and Last Chance round endings - Largest colour series entry for Last Chance - Base game, Extra Salt and Extra Pepper scoring support - Saved player names for faster setup - English and Dutch language options - A subtle glitchy sea-inspired interface - Privacy-friendly: no account, no tracking and no automatic data sharing Shellmate is built to be a companion at the table, not a replacement for the cards. It keeps score, helps reduce mistakes, and leaves the game itself where it belongs: in your hands. Shellmate is an unofficial scoring companion. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Studio Bombyx.