How to Play Five Tribes: Bidding, Mancala Movement & Tribe Actions
Five Tribes is a tactical Mancala-style game. Every turn begins by choosing a tile containing meeples, picking up all meeples from that tile, then dropping one meeple on each adjacent tile as you move. The color of the last meeple determines which tribe action you resolve.
Base-game guide. This covers The Djinns of Naqala base game, excluding Artisans of Naqala, Whims of the Sultan and Thieves of Naqala.
Bid for turn order before each round
Players spend coins on the bid-order track. Higher positions act earlier. Coins are also victory points, so paying for first choice is worthwhile only when the board contains an opportunity valuable enough to recover that cost.
Pick up every meeple from one tile
Choose a tile containing at least one meeple and take all meeples from it into your hand. That starting tile becomes empty before movement begins.
Drop one meeple per adjacent tile
Move orthogonally from tile to tile, dropping one meeple on each tile. You cannot immediately reverse direction onto the tile you just left. The last meeple you place must match the color of at least one meeple already on the destination tile.
Take all matching meeples from the destination
After dropping your final meeple, take all meeples of that color from the destination tile, including the one you just placed. Then resolve the action associated with that tribe.
- Viziers: keep yellow meeples for majority scoring.
- Elders: keep white meeples for scoring and Djinn costs.
- Merchants: collect goods from the market.
- Builders: score coins based on nearby blue-value tiles and blue meeples.
- Assassins: remove eligible meeples and can affect board/control opportunities.
Claim an emptied tile with your camel
If removing the matching tribe leaves the destination tile empty and you do not already control it, place one of your camels there. The tile’s printed value becomes part of your final score. You keep control even if meeples later return to that tile.
Then resolve the tile action
After the tribe action, resolve the destination tile’s effect. Markets let you buy goods, sacred places let you acquire Djinns, and oasis/village tiles place palms or palaces that increase the tile’s end-game value for its owner.
Game end
The game ends when a player places their final camel or when no legal meeple movement remains. Finish the round as required, then total coins, tile values, viziers, elders, Djinns, goods sets, palms and palaces.
Continue learning
Source: Days of Wonder: Five Tribes. Checked September 20, 2026.