Pyramid Pick from the Past
Cartagena [2000]
Published by Rio Grande Games
Designed by Leo Colovini
Six isomorphic board segments, 30 pirate pawns (six each in five colors), 103 movement cards, one boat counter, rules; boxed, full color, for two to five players; $27.95
We're drowning in an ocean of pirate-related materials these days, and it can't all be laid at the feet of Johnny Depp, curse his charismatic performances. He certainly wasn't around in 2000 when the board game Cartagena came out (okay, he was, but filming Chocolat hasn't thing one to do with the high seas), so it's just further proof that the world's love affair with all things swashbuckling is a long-standing arrangement.
The object of Cartagena is to be the first player to get all his pirates into the waiting escape boat.
The year is 1672 and the fortress at Cartagena, built to protect the island from the predations of seaborne marauders, now houses a number of them in its dungeon. One night, a group of these desperadoes crawl into the tunnels beneath the structure and make for the shore where a sloop awaits. Designed for two to five players, each person gets a set of six pirates, clustered at one end of the board, and a hand of cards. At the other end, the boat that stands ready to takes the brigands to freedom. In between, though, is a skanky old tunnel filled with bits of scattered junk. These pictures are actually the "spaces," and a pirate moves by playing cards . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: July 27, 2007
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