Cartagena

Who doesn't like a pirate themed game? I would choose pirates over zombies, any day. Cartagena is a game about groups of pirates racing each other through an underground passage, to escape the fortress prison they were held in and to reach the port where a sloop is waiting for them. This will transport the lucky pirates away to a land of rum and, probably, booty.

According to the rules sheet, the game Cartagena is themed on a pirate jailbreak in 1672. I did a little research into it and could not find any information on this jailbreak. It seems others also looked into it and found no actual record of this, but there is an imposing fortress in Cartagena that was built in the 16th Century to ward off pirates so perhaps there is some kind of legend surrounding it after all. Also, I am sure the internet does not know every single detail of history.

I love this game. I have played it on numerous occasions and taken a vicious beating, only tasting victory one sweet time. It is very strategic, planning ahead to get your pirates through the underground passage, but also hindering your opponents. You are navigating a path for your pirates, and making sure you do not run out of cards.

This game is for two - five players and there are two different versions of the game; the Jamaica version and the Tortuga version. In the Jamaica version the cards in your hand are concealed and the rest of the deck is placed face down, where all players pick new cards from. In the Tortuga version the players lay their hand face up for all to see, and twelve cards from the deck are dealt and placed face up in a row. The row is re-stocked once it has run out. I tend to favour the Jamaica version as I like the secrecy!

The board is in six segments, you can assemble them together in many different ways, as long as the passages connect either end. Each player is allocated six cards in their hand. The player who looks the most like a pirate may take the first turn. This has only been me once, after I had a particularly manic hair day. 

The cards have a piratical theme, with six different symbols. There is the skull and crossbones, the Captain's hat, a key, a dagger, a pistol and a glass bottle. You play a card to move one of your pirates to the nearest symbol that matches your card on the board. The aim is to get all six of your pirates across the passage but using a strategy that hinders your opponents. When you need more cards you must move one of your pirates backwards, to the nearest pirate behind you, regardless if it is your own or your opponents. If you move to a space with one pirate resting there, then you pick up one card. If you go back to a space with two pirates there then you may pick up two cards. There can only be a maximum of three pirates on one space, so this makes life rather difficult when you are running low on cards, but you can use it to your advantage when trying to stop your opponent from picking up new cards. 

The player who gets all six of their pirates across the passage and onto the sloop is the winner. When I first played this game I hastily sent all my pirates out on my first six turns, it seemed like a good idea but I had so many stragglers and did not want to leave any pirates behind! I became rather obsessed with this game a few months ago, trying to crack the secret to winning and not running out of cards so severely. It takes a lot of plotting, going backwards whenever you see a space occupied by two pirates within your reach, and holding fort by keeping three pirates on a space behind your opponent rather than advancing at times. I am still working on the formula. It is a rather brutal game, but great fun. I hunger for more victories, but I enjoy a challenge so I keep swashbuckling away.