Intrigue Aboard the Orient Express is a short 2-player card game centering on the intrigues, romances, and murders that might happen on a round-trip journey from Paris to Istanbul and back. As in the stories of the OE, all of the action and drama happens aboard the train, not at the train stations along the way. Each card represents a person or thing aboard the train. Players compete to schedule departures so as to create opportunities for drama aboard the OE. The more drama—and the more publicity it generates—the better!
Each player has a "Departure Platform" in each of the five cities where they will schedule people and goods to board the OE when it arrives. The Orient Express will call at Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, and Istanbul. Then it will turn around and visit Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, and finally Paris to end the game.