Cartagena board game review

Cartagena is a quick, fun game that is great for families. As you can see above the rules are simple and easy to teach.

The components for this game are very nice. The cards are durable the plastic pirate miniatures and art on the cards and board all add to the theme. The rules are easy to read and follow. The box is pretty big for its content and I do wish it was a bit smaller but that is not a major issue.

This game is very accessible. Young, old, gamer or non-gamer any one can be playing Cartagena in minutes. It is a great game for families as all ages can enjoy it.

You need a solid strategy and luck to win this game. Moving pirates to spaces and being able to gain two cards in one move backwards helps a lot. But sometimes just having the right cards at the right times wins you the game. Cartagena is a fun, fast family game. You can play and enjoy it with most anyone and is a very good gateway game.

Score and synopsis: Click here for an explanation of these review categories. Tags: Board Game Reviews , gateway game , family games , 2 to 5 players. Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Cartagena Board Game Review. If it occupied by two pirates, the player draws two cards into his hand.

Falling back in this manner is necessary in order to gain new cards, so it occurs frequently throughout the game. The rules are that simple.

First player to get all four of his pirates into the boat is victorious. There is an advanced game version that returns the game play to that of the original Winning Moves edition. Further, 12 cards are dealt face-up from the deck and when a player collects cards for moving his pirate backwards, he must take the cards in order from this row.

A new row of 12 cards are dealt when all of the prior 12 cards are taken. This variant is absent in the new edition. I am very happy to see Cartagena republished. The original has remained in my collection since it was first released and is one of those rare games that I tend to play a half-dozen or more times per year. It is fast and easy to play, yet has some interesting decisions and tactics to employ.

It is popular with both gamers and family and friends. The theme is appealing, and the hand management required is not overly taxing, making it easily accessible for just about anyone. While I do appreciate the nice miniatures and more appealing artwork, I am not sure a big box version was necessary. It is likely a good marketing tactic, but now it presents me with the dilemma of which edition to keep in my collection. However, mind-lock is kept to a minimum since there are only a few things one can do on a turn..

Schloesser, Matt J. Carlson 2 Neutral : 1 Not for me :. I still find the original edition to be the most attractive, by far. Cards, pieces, board, and box. The original, while completely functional, has basic, unadorned wooden pawns and very basic artwork. This version has detailed plastic pirate miniatures and, from my perspective, more professional art. Wooden pawns stand up better, feel nicer to the touch, and look classier than plastic miniatures. The simplicity, and more importantly, the greater differentiation of the original cards make them easier to identify at a glance.

I get it out every year on Talk Like a Pirate Day. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account.

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The Opinionated Gamers. Skip to content. Cartagena Posted on November 12, by gschloesser. On a turn, a player may take up to two actions the original granted three actions per turn , which can be either: 1 Play a card and move a pirate to the next vacant symbol on the board that matches the card played; or 2 Move a pirate backwards on the board to the next space which is occupied by one or two pirates.

Ratings: 4 Love it! Like this: Like Loading He is also a prolific reviewer of games and a regular contributor to numerous gaming publications and websites, including Counter, Knucklebones, Boardgame News, Boardgame Geek, Gamers Alliance and many others. Greg has been a gaming enthusiast his entire life, growing up in our hobby mainly on the war game side. His foray onto the internet exposed him to the wonderful world of German and European games and now nearly all of his gaming time is devoted to this area of our hobby.