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Review Pirates of Maracaibo

What is it ?

It is a game set in the Caribbean in the late 17th century, where players take on the role of pirates seeking to accumulate wealth and glory while facing various dangers.

How do you play?

➡️ Movement Phase

During a player’s turn, they must first move their ship 1 to 3 spaces. Each space corresponds to a card, and players cannot go back.

➡️ Action Phase

Once the movement is complete, the player performs an action based on where they ended their movement.

Development Card: The player can choose to: ignore the card and gain 5 doubloons or acquire the card by paying the indicated doubloon cost.

Residence Card: On a Residence card, the player can spend the indicated cost to build a residence for end-game VPs.

Location Card: Location cards offer special actions such as raiding, exploring, upgrading your ship, burying treasure, or drawing a quest.

Raid: The player rolls the three raid dice. They choose a die that defines the power of their raid to earn rewards.

Explore: The player can move their explorer on the exploration track. The player gets the effects of the icons on the space where the explorer stops.

Bury a treasure: The player can bury a treasure for each shovel icon present. 2VP at the end of the game.

Draw a quest: The player can take a Quest card from the market.

Ship upgrade: This allows them to unlock bonuses such as figureheads or improve the power of their actions.

➡️ Final Scoring

At the end of the three rounds, players count their points based on accumulated treasures, completed quests, built residences, etc. The one with the most points wins the game.

It is good ?

Pirates of Maracaibo positions itself as a more accessible version of its big brother, Maracaibo, while retaining the very essence of the experience. With faster games and simplified learning, it manages to offer a nice strategic depth.

Maracaibo fans will feel instantly at home. The frenetic pace of the race, where one player imposes his tempo, is still present, as is the familiar iconography. However, Pirates of Maracaibo offers a more condensed experience, perfect for faster games.

Despite its apparent simplicity, the game is full of possibilities. The many actions to take, the diversity of the cards and the multiple ways to optimize your ship guarantee a very high replay value. The core of the gameplay revolves around piracy: sailing, plundering and improving your ship are the key words. Of course, a small dose of chance intervenes with the dice, but it does not spoil the fun.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, immersive strategy game with a touch of piracy, Pirates of Maracaibo is a great choice. It will provide hours of fun while allowing you to rediscover the mechanics that made Maracaibo a success.

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Review Pirates of Maracaibo
8.5Very good
Pirates of Maracaibo is a more accessible and fast-paced version of Maracaibo, offering an intense and strategic pirate experience, ideal for players wanting a shorter but equally rich game.

Positives

  • Fast and strategic
  • Cards that serve as a game board
  • High replay value
  • The Maracaibo experience

Negatives

  • Beware of dice frustration
  • Limited interaction
  • Setup time like its big brother

Breakdown

  • Components and illustrations 8.5
  • Mechanics 9.0
  • Thematic 8.0
  • Replayability 9.0
  • Handling 9.0
  • Interaction 8.0
  • Originality 8.0

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