The winner of a race is generally expected to be the first to arrive. It’s a bit different when it’s organized by pirates… Let’s see that in Jamaica, our board game of the week.
To celebrate the appointment of a former pirate as governor of Jamaica thirty years earlier, a big race is organized around the island. Cast off !
Players are represented by small pirate ship figurines, and begin the game at Port Royal, the starting space of the track that goes around the island. They also receive an identical set of six cards and draw three at random.
Each card represents two actions: one in the morning, the other in the evening. These are either a move (move forward or backward on the track) or a loadout (of gold, food, or gunpowder). At the start of each turn, a player rolls two dice, and chooses which is assigned to the morning action, and which is assigned to the evening action, for all players. The latter simultaneously choose one of the cards in their hand, depending on the side of the dice. In turn, they then perform their actions.
The loadings consist in loading in their hold as many counters of the resource in question as the value of the die. In the case of a move, the die indicates how many spaces your ship advances or retreats. But beware, the arrival square is not insignificant. In a port, you have to pay gold doubloons. In the open sea, you have to spend food. In both cases, if you run out of resources, you move back a certain number of squares.
Fortunately, pirate hideouts are scattered all over the island. Here, nothing to pay. Even better, if you are the first to stop there, you receive a treasure. Some confer a special power until the end of the game, others add victory points… or remove them if they are cursed.
Obviously, if we land on a space on which there is already another boat, a fight begins. Both attacker and defender can spend gunpowder to increase their hitting power. The winner chooses his reward: steal the contents of a hold of the opponent’s boat, steal a treasure, or give a cursed treasure.
The players perform their actions in turn, and a new card is drawn before moving on to the next round. The game ends when a player has gone around the island. You score points for gold in the hold and its treasures, you lose points for your cursed treasures, and the highest score wins.
Why play Jamaica ?
Jamaicais not a novelty, since it was released for the first time in 2007. But we are taking advantage of its recent reissue to present this little marvel to you. It’s no coincidence that it featured prominently in our pick of the best games for family fun during the holidays.
The publisher took the opportunity to simplify and slightly streamline the rules. Nothing worthwhile though if you already own the old box.
The game hasn’t aged a bit. Visually first of all, it’s a real pleasure. The material is plentiful and pretty, and the illustrations are beautiful. The rules are easy to understand and explain. They offer a harmonious blend of chance and strategy. You obviously have to take the dice into account, but you also have to know how to manage the resources in your holds as well as possible, and balance the movements, while trying to avoid or run into the opposing boats.
Note that the game offers a mode to play head to head, in which a ghost ship interferes, controlled in turn by the two players.
Simple rules, an attractive theme, beautiful material, fluid turns, and stakeholders, everything is there to have a great time, with family or friends, with Jamaica . With its recent reissue, you no longer have any excuse to miss out on this original racing game.
- Jamaicais a game by Malcom Braff, Bruno Cathala and Sébastien Pauchon
- Illustrated by Mathieu Leyssenne
- Published by Space Cowboys
- For 2 to 6 players from 8 years old
- For games of about 30 to 60 minutes
- Priced at €40.50 at Philibert
Some links in this article are affiliate. we’ll explaine everything here.