/pic1889500.jpg)
Game Info
Year
2000
Collection
Your Tier
Loading…
Expansions & Family
/pic252156.jpg){kind=small}
/pic3529183.jpg){kind=small}
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
Cartagena takes as its theme the famous 1672 pirate-led jailbreak from the fortress of Cartagena. Each player has a group of six pirates, and you want to be the first to have all six escape through the tortuous underground passage that connects the fortress to the port, where a sloop is waiting for them.
To move a pirate, you need to play a card from your hand. Each card bears one of six symbols (dagger, pirate hat, etc.), and when you play a card, you move one of your pirates forward to the next matching symbol in the tunnel, leapfrogging over matching symbols where another pirate already stands. The only way to get more cards, however, is to move backwards; more specifically, you move one of your pirates backwards to the first space that holds one or two pirates, drawing one or two cards after doing so. Each turn, you take 1-3 actions, whether moving forward or backward or both.
When you move a pirate to the end of the track, it jumps on the sloop where it must await the other pirates in its crew. With every step toward victory, though, you have fewer and fewer pirates to move each turn, possibly locking you in to actions you don't want, so be sure to plan ahead and not leave yourself empty-handed!
Cartagena Family
(3 games)
This page includes videos and mentions from the whole Cartagena family. Drill into a specific game below.
/pic1889500.jpg)
Featured Videos
Ask a Rules Question
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 8
This page: 8
Sentiment:
pos 6 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–8 of 8
Video mQuHoH4oNo4
Rolling Dice & Taking Names Discussion at 2:37 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 93608 · mention_pk 254144
Click to watch at 2:37 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's been a wonderful day so far we started around one o'clock we're going to like six o'clock and i think the last count was we had like 60 plus people going on yeah easily 60 plus marty and it's been a day of nothing but classic games
- if you know coo that's the kind of game you got going on there
- it's been a great experience so far
- international tabletop day is awesome
- play more games and keep rolling dice
- and taking names
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video aAHZPNQox-I
Board Gaymes James Event Coverage at 40:08
video_pk 93429 · mention_pk 253588
Click to watch at 40:08 · YouTube ↗
Pros
- Excited for this one
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Oh, we got Guardian Club here from Chris Couch Games.
- Yes, lots of shiny map rocks.
- Uh, it's very light. It's lighter than our neck.
- We got poop shuffle as well over here.
- We're just putting it out as cards instead.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video dX5QVIbYz0g
Getting Games Top 25 List at 15:59 sentiment: positive
video_pk 90305 · mention_pk 241121
Click to watch at 15:59 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- aesthetic toy factor (spinning circular board and large 3D tokens)
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- treasure/egg hunt with traps and take-that elements
- alien temple center
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- exploration/treasure hunt with traps — moving into a circular spinning temple and avoiding/spoiling traps
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the quickest meanest knife fight for veteran and 18xx style players
- it's supposed to be a 90 to 120 minute game
- adorable
- i'm going to be playing this game tonight
- i actually purchased a copy of this about 30 minutes ago
- this expansion adds in a few new things which seemed like they would slot in quite well
- this just sounds so cool
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video VVeaZzhp9F0
Chairman of the Board Discussion at 3:24 sentiment: positive
video_pk 87249 · mention_pk 227579
Click to watch at 3:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Thoroughly enjoyed.
- Fascinating little game.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- chess
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- abstract strategy — A two-player abstract game where movement depends on piece placement.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is where I talk about all of the games that I have acquired over the last couple of months
- this is one of the most interesting um combat systems that I think I've ever seen
- one of the coolest components um of the year for sure that is these pens and shields
- Arboretum which which is one of the best card games probably ever made a very nasty game but um but it's brilliantly designed
- it did feature on a a ranking video and it didn't do as good as I thought it would
- it's safe to say it's not for me
- it has this kind of beer and pretzel feel to it
- I'm sure it'll do well because I know these kind of games have a big audience
- so I'm going to be doing again a full video covering the gy series and talking through them in my you in my priority order and how much I like them
- definitely diversifying in what I cover on the channel here
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Pas-TtJBf9o
Chairman of the Board Discussion at 6:51 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13729 · mention_pk 129485
Click to watch at 6:51 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Real brain-burner; simple to learn but deep to play
- Elegant and tense with shifting map dynamics
Cons
- May feel niche to casual players
Thematic elements
- abstract strategy with changing movement rules
- chess-variant with shifting dynamics
- elegant, tense
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dynamic movement — pieces move based on position rather than fixed rules
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this one is a lovely game by Stephan Dora, a great design in his own right.
- you are trying to collect exactly three of these animal tokens of each type to get the maximum amount of points
- a real brain burner but so simple and elegant to play as well
- Lost Cities a joy to get that one back to the table
- it's far too long I think it took us nearly two hours to play this which is obscene for the weight of the game
- Katarena one of the best abstract strategy games out there
- this is a bit of a whitewash of a game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video SAPlvaxwOGg
Chairman of the Board Top List at 9:21 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8568 · mention_pk 25251
Click to watch at 9:21 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- high player interaction
- streamlined and puzzle-like flow
- compact and quick to play
Cons
- not ideal for very long games or heavy sessions
- less appealing to axis-heavy gamers seeking deeper euroweight
Thematic elements
- race / pursuit with interactive movement
- pirates escaping from jail along a track
- theme-driven, puzzle-like
Comparison games
- Hanamikoji
- Mandala
- Battle Line
- Lost Cities
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card-driven movement on a track — Play cards to move pirates along a track toward escape.
- deck cycling / card acquisition — Manage cards to optimize movement and timing; replenish as you progress.
- player interaction through blocking / card play — Presence of locks and cards allows direct interaction and competitive positioning.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is probably one of the best abstract style games I've played
- it's a shame it's not taking off as well as it could have
- I could still appreciate this game and I think it has huge untapped potential
- it's way better than it sounds on paper
- the best way to play it is shortening the map to keep it nice and snappy
- co-op isn't really my forte
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 8dnBjjq2SWQ
Chairman of the Board Review at 13:15 sentiment: positive
video_pk 7444 · mention_pk 22045
Click to watch at 13:15 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- clever, accessible card-driven movement with meaningful decisions
- modular board provides variability and replayability
- tightly tuned family-weight gameplay with surprising depth
Cons
- can feel one-note after multiple plays
- some players may find it relatively luck-dependent due to card draw
- not as satisfying for hard-core gamers seeking deep strategy
Thematic elements
- heist and race to freedom with tactical movement
- pirate-themed escape from prison with modular track layout
- lightweight, thematic but abstract card-driven movement
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- blocking and jumping rewards — players can jump ahead by choosing cards that leap over blocked spaces; backwards movement introduces strategic decision points
- Card-driven movement — players play symbol-matched cards to move their pirates along a modular track toward the escape boat
- endgame trigger and distance management — the first player to move all six pirates to the escape boat wins; gaps and positioning influence turn order and card draw
- Hand Management — when cards run out, players draw new cards according to the number of pieces they are behind and continue advancing
- Modular Board — the board is modular with tiles that adjust game length and route options
- token and hand management with draw dynamics — when cards run out, players draw new cards according to the number of pieces they are behind and continue advancing
- variable track setup — the board is modular with tiles that adjust game length and route options
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this one was dull as dishwater
- it's a very vanilla game
- the grail track is the most interesting part of the game
- i actually think that Cartagena is a very clever little game
- Cartagena is actually a very pleasant experience
- one note
- this is a good quality pushy like style game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video f-roYHvUt3I
Chairman of the Board Top List at 13:07 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4777 · mention_pk 14004
Click to watch at 13:07 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- fast setup and playing time
- great social interaction
Cons
- can overstay its welcome at higher player counts
Thematic elements
- racing and path optimization using cards
- Pirate-themed race along a tunnel path
- light, adventurous
Comparison games
- Formula D (racing framing)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card-driven movement — Play cards to advance along a track by matching symbols.
- interaction via blocking — Use others’ positions to jump ahead when the right symbol aligns.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this was definitely the hardest to rank these games
- none of these games I thought were bad this month
- this is an absolute delight
- ultra smooth ultra fun
- this is a thinky filler game with a great weight and repercussions
- you can teach this one in 30 seconds
- very elegant and easy to teach
- the elegance of the system is amazing
- I'm absolutely hit for me
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–8 of 8