Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan is a dice-placement game for 2–4 players where you traverse the map, build trading posts, increase your income, and fulfill contracts to score the most points.

Gameplay

Dice placement is brilliantly implemented in this game. Each player rolls 5 dice every round to use for taking actions, and the game offers clever ways to mitigate bad luck: compensation for low rolls, opportunities to reroll or manipulate dice by spending camels, and reduced costs for taking occupied action spaces with lower-value dice. This balance ensures bad luck rarely derails your plans. Also, a number of black dice (scaled to player count) are available each round and can be claimed by spending camels. These dice grant extra actions and bypass placement restrictions. Normally, each player can only use an action space once per round, but black dice let you get around that.

The game features a deck of action cards. During setup, some cities are assigned unique cards, and players can take the actions on these cards by building trading posts in the respective cities. This alone adds variety, but the game takes it further: two action cards are available to all players each round and are replaced during upkeep at the end of the round. This mechanic is an excellent way to improve replayability.

Progression in Marco Polo II is very satisfying. As the game goes on and through travel, you unlock additional action spaces and increase your income. While there are six resource types in the game, and they are all needed in different ways, coins and camels are the most crucial: they are used to pay for traveling and acquiring black dice, which accelerate your engine-building. This, in turn, increases your income of other resources, which are essential for fulfilling contracts and scoring points.

Like many other worker-placement games, there’s tension every time it’s not your turn. It’s very likely that other players will take the action spaces you need to execute your plans, so being able to adapt is important. However, if you manage to secure the actions you need, you will have incredibly satisfying rounds.

Another feature of the game is asymmetric player powers. At the start of the game, each player chooses a character with unique abilities and rule-breaking powers. These abilities shape your playstyle and strategy and encourage you to maximize their benefits. However, we’ve noticed that some characters feel stronger than others. This might be due to our lack of experience with them or potential balance issues.

It’s worth noting that unlocking additional city actions, combined with the many other available action spaces, can overwhelm some players toward the end of the game and lead to analysis paralysis for those prone to it.

Overall, the gameplay is incredibly fun, and we’ve enjoyed playing this game every time it’s on the table.

Components

One of our biggest issues with Marco Pollo II is tracking income from cities, especially late in the game. The board’s busy design made it hard to locate unlocked income tiles. A simple fix would have been to include tokens matching the city income tiles, so players could collect them as each city is unlocked. This would make it easier to track income without searching the busy board during every income phase.

Another area for improvement is player aids. A reference sheet listing end-of-round upkeep would be very helpful. Additionally, a slightly larger board with dedicated spaces for contracts, cards, and guild seals could make the table more organized.

Aside from the issues mentioned, the components are well-made. The player boards and character cards are made of thick cardboard, and the custom-shaped resource tokens add a nice touch to the overall presentation.

We also received a discounted set of metal coins from Moedas & Co that have been an excellent addition to the game. These coins are thematic, chunky, and heavy and are among some of the best metal coins we’ve ever used.

Final Thoughts

Marco Polo II is a fantastic dice-placement game with plenty of variety in both setup and gameplay. The satisfying combinations and engaging rounds make for a great experience that keeps us coming back. While there’s room for improvement, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed this game, and it has earned a permanent place in our collection.

Disclosure: We received a review copy of this game. Also, there may be an affiliate link in the links included at the end of this article.