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Game Info
Year
2015
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Vibe profile
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Description
Cacao is a tile-placement game that immerses players in the exotic world of the "fruit of the Gods". As the chief of your tribe, you must lead your people to prosperity through the cultivation and trade of cacao — and to do that, you'll need to put them to work in the best way possible.
In the game, each player has an individual deck of square worker tiles, with the number of workers on each side of the tile varying from tile to tile. The playing area starts with only a couple of jungle tiles in play: a cacao field and a small market; two jungle tiles are laid face up, and the remaining jungle tiles stacked as a draw pile.
On a player's turn, he places one of her worker tiles on the board adjacent to one or more jungle tiles already in play, then (if two worker tiles are next to an empty space) adds one of the jungle tiles to the playing area in this space. Her workers then get busy and deliver the results of their effort: If you placed workers next to a cacao field, you receive one or two cacao markers per worker; if they're next to a market, you can choose to sell one cacao marker per worker at the listed price; if next to a well, you receive water; if next to a temple, they stand and look good until the end of the game; and so on. He then refills her hand from her personal deck to three worker tiles.
Once all players have used all of their worker tiles, the game ends. Players score (or lose) points based on their water supply, and each temple rewards whichever players sent the most workers to it. In the end, whoever has collected the most gold wins.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 6 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video IIlM97J4VZo
Review at 1:21 sentiment: positive
video_pk 67288 · mention_pk 163248
Click to watch at 1:21 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fun family game
- Benefits from the chocolate expansion
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Leading your people to prosperity and glory through the cultivation and trade of cacao
- Exotic world of the fruit of the gods
Comparison games
- Carcassone
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area majority — And there are even temples where you want to have the most number of workers around it.
- Overbuilding — If you acquire a sun token, you'll be able to overbuild on a pre-existing village space that you've placed out.
- Resource Generation — The number of workers on the edge of the tiles that touches the jungle tiles will trigger that particular action or resource generation multiple times.
- set collection — It might be getting two cacao. It might be getting gold or movement up the water track around your board.
- tile laying — This is a tile laying game with a twist.
- Trading — You can even trade your cacao at different markets for different prices.
- worker placement — Each player in the game is going to have a set of worker tiles that depict different numbers of meeples on the four edges.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It's cacao and I love
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video xW1NGEDGlCg
Top 100 List at 9:35 sentiment: positive
video_pk 66463 · mention_pk 161945
Click to watch at 9:35 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Interactive tile placement with multiple interaction effects
- Classic euro-style decisions
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Concordia
- Dwellings of Everdale
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- tile placement — Common tile placement with interaction between tiles.
- worker placement — Workers on tiles enabling actions and interactions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's very difficult to come up with a top 100 board games over a long period of time
- it's an icebreaker
- two players can play up to four players
- this is a trick taking game which came out late in 2024
- the tile placement is what is different
- wake up order as I'll call it
- pandemic style cooperative game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video F4kYKgtOek8
Meeple University Rules Teach at 0:08 sentiment: positive
video_pk 64998 · mention_pk 158609
Click to watch at 0:08 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Gaining gold at the end of the game.
- Overbuilding tiles can be valuable.
- It is better to use sun worship tokens because you are more likely to get more than one gold out of overbuilding a tile.
Cons
- Excess cacao plants are lost if they exceed five.
- If a player comes to a market space with no fruits, the action is lost.
Thematic elements
- workers gaining access to action spaces to buy and sell cacao fruits, go gold mining, gain access to water, and worship at temples.
- jungle
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action drafting — Players choose from available jungle tiles to place.
- Action Point Allowance System — Players take actions for adjacent workers to jungle tiles. Players may take actions in any order, but must complete all actions in a pair before taking another.
- area majority — Players gain gold at the end of the game based on having the most or second most workers next to temples.
- End-game scoring — The game ends when all players have placed all worker tiles. Scoring includes temple majority bonuses, water track position, and leftover sun tokens.
- hand management — Players maintain a hand of three worker tiles and draw back up to three at the end of their turn.
- Resource management — Players can buy and sell cacao fruits for gold. Cacao fruits have a limited storage space.
- Route Building — Players advance a water marker on a track, gaining or losing gold based on position. Further actions on the water space have no effect if the end of the track is reached.
- set collection — Players gain cacao plants which are placed on their player board, limited to five. Excess cacao plants are lost.
- take that — Players can 'overbuild' their own existing worker tiles by placing a new worker tile on top, using a sun worship token. The underlying worker no longer counts for temple evaluation.
- tile drafting — Players draw worker tiles for their hand and choose from face-up jungle tiles in a display.
- tile laying — Players place jungle tiles into gaps between worker tiles, drawing from a face-up display or the top of the deck if more than two spaces are created.
- tile placement — Players place worker tiles representing their workers throughout the jungle. Worker tiles can only go next to jungle tiles and jungle tiles can only go next to worker tiles, creating a checkerboard pattern.
- Variable turn order — Turn order does not matter for taking actions as all players' actions are independent and can be taken simultaneously.
- worker placement — Players place worker tiles onto the board to gain access to action spaces. Actions are taken for any worker icons placed adjacent to a jungle tile.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- cacao is a tile placement game and in the game players will be placing these tiles representing their workers throughout the jungle to gain access to the various action spaces through the game players can buy and sell cacao fruits go gold mining gain access to water and worship at various temples
- the game ends when all players have placed all of their worker tiles and the player with the most gold at the end of the game is the winner
- players take actions for any worker icons who have just been placed adjacent to a jungle like on whether that's because the worker was placed or because the jungle was placed
- turn order does not matter when taking these actions because all players actions are independent of each other so players can take the action simultaneously
- note that for the purposes of evaluating temples only the maples on the top counts this one underneath who has been over built no longer counts towards this temple
- in the event of a tie most remaining cacao fruits breaks the tie and if still tied victory is shared and that's how to play cacao
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video tPIjz7HTtMA
Meeple University Top List at 12:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 64809 · mention_pk 158329
Click to watch at 12:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Unique and clever tile placement.
- Intuitive yet strategic gameplay.
- Feels different from other Phil Walker Harding games.
Cons
- Limited storage can be a constraint.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Resource management — Limited storage for cacao beans requires balancing gathering and spending actions.
- tile placement — Making a checkerboard pattern of tiles with worker tiles and scoring tiles.
- worker placement — Workers are placed on the edges of tiles and activate adjacent scoring tiles based on the number of workers.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a top five designer series where we pick a designer that we favor.
- He's got a very large catalog and he plays very much in the gateway to Gateway plus space.
- He has a Gateway version of almost every mechanism on the market with some smarts built into it.
- For me Cacao is his finest game on the market.
- One of the greatest if it's not the greatest engine building of all and the time.
- Please do play if you like engine building and it if you like tactile games this is it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video JKJBb9vmMH0
Getting Games Review at 0:02 sentiment: negative
video_pk 63643 · mention_pk 157133
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- Sun tokens add strategic depth for late-game decisions
- Easy to teach and understand for players new to the genre
- Gateway game that introduces Tiltang mechanics without overly complex illegal placements
- Balanced considerations across three main action types and temple scoring
- Tangible, visually appealing components and fast overall playtime
Cons
- Replayability is perceived as low by the reviewer
- Many turns feel like simple arithmetic rather than meaningful decisions
- Endgame sun-token overbuild decisions can be interesting but feel limited for the reviewer
- Occasional downtime in higher player counts due to math-heavy scoring
- Some players may not find the core decisions engaging or varied
Thematic elements
- cacao beans, forest growth, temple influence
- board with forest tiles, temples, water track, and sun tokens
- area-majority and resource placement with endgame temple scoring
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- forest growth — Forest tiles grow when there is an empty spot adjacent to two different player tiles; players choose from face-up forest tiles to fill spots
- Increase Value of Unchosen Resources — Sun tokens allow overbuilding on existing placements to gain additional actions and endgame benefits
- market sale — One of the actions on a tile is to sell a cacao bean at the market for money (points)
- mines and water holes — Mines provide money equal to the number of adjacent workers; Water holes advance workers on the track and contribute points
- sun tokens / overbuild — Sun tokens allow overbuilding on existing placements to gain additional actions and endgame benefits
- temple scoring — Endgame scoring based on majority of workers adjacent to temples; temples award points to top positions
- tile placement — Players select a tile from their hand and place it on the board, must be adjacent to forest tiles
- worker activation — Each tile has four sides with workers; when adjacent to a forest tile, workers activate to grant cacao beans or trigger other actions
- worker placement — Each tile has four sides with workers; when adjacent to a forest tile, workers activate to grant cacao beans or trigger other actions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Sun tokens that you gather throughout the game and then allow you to overbuild on top of your previous tiles
- This is a great Gateway game I think it teaches tailang very well
- how easy this game is to teach and to understand for people who are not necessarily as familiar with board gaming in general I think it's a great introduction into tailang as a mechanic
- that replayability of this game is pretty low for me
- most turns just feel like simple math problems
- I can't recommend it but that does not mean that it's bad
- it's easy to get out on the table and teach to people
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video nmX5IK8dH1E
Peaky Boardgamer Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13427 · mention_pk 39330
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Modular board setup creates varied, replayable layouts
- Diverse actions via jungle tiles and worker activations
- Strong thematic tie between cacao production, markets, and temple scoring
- Clear endgame scoring with token and temple mechanics
Cons
- Rules can be dense and require careful study
- Tile placement space can become tight on the table
- Jungle tile interactions demand good planning to optimize activations
Thematic elements
- Cacao cultivation, trading, and temple-based endgame scoring.
- A tropical cacao plantation with a modular board formed by worker tiles and jungle tiles, including temples and market interactions.
- mechanics-driven, tile-placement and resource management embedded in thematic farming/trade
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Market selling — Sell cacao fruits from markets for coins at varying prices.
- penalty/track bonuses — Water track penalties/bonuses influence end-game scoring and token gains.
- Resource management — Manage cacao fruits, coins, sun tokens, sand tokens, and other markers.
- temple scoring — Endgame scoring based on workers attached to temples; tie-breaks based on cacao fruits.
- tile placement and modular board — Players place worker and jungle tiles to create a changing playing area each turn.
- Work replacement — Players place worker tiles to activate actions; tiles determine available actions and future placements.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- hi and welcome back to Peaky Boardgamer this is Ektorakos and today i will explain the game
- a game for 2-4 players placed in under hour and it's a game that features
- a simple but interesting work replacement mechanism let's see how the game is played
- the game ends immediately after all players have played all of their worker tiles at this point
- the player with the most coins wins the game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video xgNI1-iDDDc
Adam in Wales - Board Game Design Analysis at 14:53 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8098 · mention_pk 23816
Click to watch at 14:53 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- agriculture
- colonial
Comparison games
- Carcassonne
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Your cards are ordered, you must never change the order of your cards
- If nobody guesses my card I get zero points and if everybody guesses my card I get zero points
- I've got to come up with a clue that's just obscure enough that some people around the table will get it
- Evolution is my absolute favorite game
- It's like a jigsaw but you build it all together - a game can be this
- Social deduction games can get quite loud and aggressive
- I really don't like games which require you as a player to be funny
- I find it so awkward and cringy, to be honest I won't play these games anymore
- There are billions and billions of possible combinations that we could make
- Hand management is a really satisfying part of many many card games
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7