Cartographers
$21.99
Cartographers at a Glance
| Game Type Fantasy Theme, Territory Building, Bingo, Grid Coverage, Line Drawing, Paper-and-Pencil, Solo/Solitaire Game | Play Time 30 - 45 mins | Skill/Complexity (2 - 5) Light |
| Age 10+ | Publisher(s) Thunderworks Games and others | Published 2019 |
| Categories Family | Players 1 - 100 | Cost $24.95 |
| Our Rating 8.9/10 | Rules of Play Official Rules |
About – Description
As a cartographer, you are on a mission: to map out the northern lands at the request of Queen Gimnax, who is intent on reclaiming those lands for the Kingdom of Nalos. Along the way, you will be competing with fellow cartographers and dealing with dreaded monsters in attempts to gain the most reputation and best meet the Queen’s demands.
Cartographers, designed by Jordan Adan, is a game in the “roll/flip-and-write” category, and which has gained significant popularity since its release in 2019 with its nomination for numerous awards, including the 2020 Kinnerspiel des Jahres and 2019 Meeples’ Choice awards. It is also in the same line of games as the immensely-popular Roll Player designed by Keith Matejka.
Best Suited for Families, Casual Gamers, and more Experienced Gamers
Cartographers is definitely a game that has the ability to appeal to many different types of gamers, including families, casual gamers, and more experienced gamers alike. While the scoring system and strategy (more on that below) may be a little tricky to pick up for people who have hardly any experience with modern games, the game is fairly quick to play with simultaneous turns and it’s fairly easy for players to get up and running in just one or two scoring rounds (of which there are four in the game).
The game has a fairly light fantasy theme, which many people will likely appreciate, but by no means is being a fan of fantasy a requirement to enjoy this game.
Complexity/Skill Level (Lightweight)
In general, Cartographers is not very complex in terms of rules to learn and remember. Most of the complexity of the game has to do with understanding the scoring system (more on that below) and executing long-term planning. But while this aspect of the game may be a little tricky to pick up for people who have hardly any experience with modern games, the game is fairly quick to play with simultaneous turns and it’s fairly easy for players to get up and running in just one or two scoring rounds (of which there are four in the game).
Gameplay and Insights
The goal of Cartographers is to get the most points over the course of four scoring rounds, and points are generally awarded for fulfilling certain objectives as listed on the scoring cards which are randomly drawn at the beginning of the game. Each player is equipped with their own blank map (11×11 grid) and a pencil (use colored pencils for some extra fun), and (of course) players all have the chance to create a cartographer name and title at the beginning of the game.
The goal of Cartographers is to get the most points over the course of four scoring rounds, and points are generally awarded for fulfilling certain objectives as listed on the scoring cards……..
Each turn in the game consists of the top card from the explore deck being drawn, which depicts a type of terrain that players must draw (or multiple and players must choose one), as well as a choice of shape for how players must draw it on their map. The shapes are polyomino (tetris-style), and as the game progresses, it can be quite tricky to decide which spot is best for the shape you are drawing.
Every once in a while, a monster card will be revealed, which requires all players to pass their map to a neighbor to their right or left (depending on the direction indicated on the card), and then each player will fill in squares with monsters on their opponent’s map based on the shape shown on the card. This creates an additional challenge for players to solve – during each scoring round, any empty space adjacent to a monster on their map will cause players to lose 1 reputation point.
Each card from the explore deck has a number in the top left corner, and these numbers determine when a scoring round is triggered (each explore card remains in display throughout the round, and the numbers in the corner from all the explore cards are added together). The game is played over the course of four seasons, and each season has a different number to trigger the scoring round for the current season. Each season card also states which two scoring cards will be evaluated at the end of the current round (i.e., A, B, C, or D).
The game comes with 16 different scoring cards, and these can really change up your strategy and how the game feels from game to game. Some of the scoring objectives include earning 1 reputation point for each village space in the largest cluster (but they can’t be adjacent to mountain spaces), earning 1 reputation point for each water space adjacent to a farm space (and vice versa), earning 3 reputation points for each mountain space connected to another mountain space via forest spaces, and earning 6 reputation points for each complete row or column with filled spaces. As you can imagine, with two of these scoring cards being evaluated each round, and the fact that you know which scoring cards will be evaluated in each round of the game, this can create some surprisingly deep strategic thinking and planning not only in terms of what will help you score points this round, but what will help you score points three rounds from now.
The game ends at the end of the fourth scoring round, and whoever has the most reputation points is the winner of the game and the master cartographer of the ages.
Related – See Cartographers official rules here if needed
Expansions
At the time of writing this, there are two mini-expansions currently available for Cartographers: the Ambush Mini Expansion and the Skills Mini Expansion. The Ambush Mini Expansion adds 4 new ambush (monster) cards to mix in to the game, and the Skills Mini Expansion adds 8 special ability/action cards which players can activate by paying the amount of money indicated on the card. For instance, the Search card allows players to draw an additional 1×1 square next to the shape they just drew (filling it in with the matching terrain type).
There are also a few upcoming expansions for Cartographers, including the Skills Mini Expansion 2, Map Pack 1 – Nebblis, Map Pack 2 – Affril, and Map Pack 3 – Undercity. The map packs provide additional maps for players to use in the game and new scoring cards which create new challenges to overcome.
Cartographers Heroes is also an upcoming stand-alone sequel to Cartographers, which includes new map sheets, explore cards, scoring cards, ambush (monster) cards, and the special ability (hero) cards from the Skills Mini-Expansion 2.
Likes & Dislikes
- Aesthetic fun – The game creates an experience that feels like a good blend of board gaming and art, especially if you opt to use colored pencils to color in the different terrain types. This can give the game a fun and relaxing feel.
- Replayability – With 16 different scoring cards, each game continues to feel fresh and challenging in terms of which strategies to pursue and how to most efficiently fill in the map.
- Easy rules – Yes, the scoring cards can be a little tricky for new players to digest, but the flow of the game is so simple that new players will be up and running in no time.
- Game length – At 30-45 minutes, the length of the game feels perfect for what it offers.
- Quick turns – The fact that player turns are simultaneous in this game means that you are never waiting on other players to take their turn. Although planning a move can be challenging and involve a lot of thought, all players are doing this at the same time so turns never feel that long.
- Player count – Because of the simultaneous nature of the game, there is really no limit to the number of players you can include in the game (each player gets a sheet of paper and a pencil). This would be a great game for really large groups of people who are looking to all play the same game (not quite a party game, but with the right crowd it could work).
- Player interaction – The monster cards add an element of direct player interaction, which is uncommon in flip/roll-and-write games. This aspect of gameplay manages to maintain the fun/lighthearted feel of the game without feeling too mean-spirited – it’s just enough to keep you on your toes, but not over the top with destroying other player’s plans.
- Portable box and small footprint – The game comes in a very portable box, and the fact that the game has a very small footprint on the table means that it could be played practically anywhere (at a pub, on a plane, etc.).
- Limited number of sheets – The game comes with 100 double-sided map sheets, so you are very unlikely to run out anytime soon, but it is worth at least mentioning.
- Scoring objectives can be tricky for non-gamers – People who have played a lot of games with variable scoring objectives are likely to catch on to this game very quickly and do quite well in comparison to people who don’t have as much experience with this concept. It would be easy for non-gamers to overlook, for example, the importance of knowing which scoring cards will be evaluated in the next round and begin to plan ahead. This could be one of the primary reasons the game was nominated for the Kinnnerspiel des Jahres award (“connoisseur” or “expert” game of the year award) rather than the Spiel des Jahres award which is more focused on family/entry-level games.
Final Thoughts
Cartographers is an excellent game with a small price tag that offers enough depth and strategy to satisfy more serious gamers, but also has the potential to appeal to less-experienced gamers as well. Its gameplay is fun, and unlike other games in the roll/flip-and-write genre, it includes a form of direct player interaction by having players draw monsters on each other’s maps. Because all players participate in this act, however, it refrains from feeling mean-spirited and doesn’t have the capability to completely destroy or derail your plans.
The bottom line: Cartographers is absolutely worth at least a try. Highly recommend it!
You Might Also Like!
