Objective of the Game
In Portobello Market, players assume the role of stall owners in a famous London market. The goal is to earn the most pounds (points) by strategically placing market stalls along the street sections and becoming the most successful market merchant.
Game Components
- A board depicting the Portobello Market layout
- Stall markers in various colors (one color per player)
- Customer cards
- The Bobby (policeman) who controls the positioning
- A summary of starting money for each player
Game Setup
- Each player chooses a color and receives the corresponding stall markers and starting money.
- Shuffle the customer cards and place them face down next to the board.
- The Bobby starts at a designated spot in the market.
- Determine the starting player by a coin toss or any other method.
Game Play
The game is played in rounds, where each round consists of several phases:
1. Move the Bobby
- The starting player moves the Bobby along the streets on the board by 1 to 4 spaces. The number of moves costs the player a corresponding amount of pounds.
2. Place a Market Stall
- After moving the Bobby, the player can place a market stall at an adjacent street space if available.
- If a segment of a street is completely filled with market stalls, it is scored.
3. Draw Customer Cards
- After placing a stall, the player may draw a customer card.
- The card indicates the number of customers visiting specific market stalls.
Scoring
- Points are scored for occupied market stall positions on valuable street sections.
- Points are also scored from customer cards.
- If the customer card deck or a player’s capital runs out, a final scoring is conducted.
Strategic Tips
- Move the Bobby to make valuable locations accessible to you while also blocking others.
- Plan ahead which street segments can be occupied with your stand markers to score the highest number of points from the customer cards.
- Avoid excessive spending on moving the Bobby to maintain enough capital for placing stalls.
End of Game
The game ends when all streets are filled with stall markers or there are no customer cards left. The player with the most pounds wins the game.
Portobello Market combines strategy and resource management, rewarding forward planning and flexibility.
