Crescent Moon is played over three years (or four years in the long game). Each year, players will take four actions which might be to deploy new armies, enlist mercenaries, build fortifications and settlements, conquer new land, expand their influence, and much more. Each character has a unique pool of abilities and available actions, which will shape their game, whether its the Sultan, who cannot raise their own army and must depend on mercenaries, or the Murshid, who can use their political influence to interfere in other characters' battles. Players can purchase potent power cards, representing ploys, wise advisors, and specialist units from a market shared between all players. At the end of each year, players score points according to their own unique character objectives, and at the end of the game, the player with most points wins.