Maracaibo
Maracaibo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Structure
Maracaibo is played over four rounds. A round ends as soon as one player's ship reaches the last "homeward bound" space; then an interim scoring takes place (after rounds I–III). After the fourth round, a final scoring ends the game.
On your turn, perform these phases in order:
- Phase A) Sailing — move your ship forward from 1 to 7 locations.
- Phase B) Main Action — perform one main action at your ship's location, plus any number of free actions.
- Phase C) Draw Cards — draw back up to your hand limit.
Then it is the next player's turn (clockwise).
Phase A: Sailing
You have up to 7 movement points and must move at least one location forward (unused points are lost). Each white numbered circle is a location: cities have an action scroll beside them; all others are villages. Move only in the arrow direction (never backward); with multiple arrows you choose the path. Multiple ships may share a location. Some locations (marked with a special symbol, and all "homeward bound" spaces) cannot be skipped — you must stop there. Otherwise you may skip locations if you have the movement points.
Phase B: Main Action
Depending on your ship's location, you may perform one main action (even if several are available, and you may also decline):
- City action (at a city): first optionally deliver a good, then perform the city's action.
- Village action (at a village): perform 1 village action; if you spent 4–6 movement points in Phase A you may perform 2 (AA), and if you spent all 7 you may perform 3 (AAA).
- Fulfill a quest if one is at your location.
- Assistant action if one or more of your assistants (figures placed by cards) is there (only one).
Free Actions
Before, during, or after your main action, perform any number of free actions:
- Plan a card: move a hand card to one of the three planning-area spaces above your ship board (they don't count against your hand limit; you can buy them later but not discard or use them as goods).
- Complete a career goal (see below).
City Actions
A city action has two optional parts, in this order:
- Deliver a good: if the city's market has an empty space, discard a hand card matching a goods symbol and move a disc of your choice from your ship to the market space. Only one good per city action.
- Perform the city's action. (You may do this even without delivering.)
Combat (a common city action): reveal a combat token (each shows a combat value per nation plus costs/rewards; if both piles are empty, each nation's value is 3). Choose one fighting nation and pay/take its costs. Modifiers: fighting for the nation with the most ownership markers reduces its value by 2; fighting for the one with the least increases it by 3 (neither in a tie). Then perform combat actions (each reduces the combat value; each may be used once per turn; a combat action can't reduce the value below 0):
- Gain influence: reduce the value by 2 or 5 to gain 1 or 2 influence with the fighting nation.
- Annex or Displace: reduce the value by 4 (empty flag) or 6 (occupied flag — remove the other nation's marker), gain 1 influence, place one of the fighting nation's ownership markers on the flag's location, and receive the flag's bonus.
You may spend combat points from your ship board or return figures to the supply (each +1 to the combat value), but never lower the value voluntarily to gain them. Max 8 combat points. When done, place the combat token face down on your ship board.
Other city actions grant various benefits, e.g.: gain 1 influence then perform a village action; gain a combat point and remove a disc; gain 3 combat points; take 2 doubloons then perform a village action; perform a village action per compass symbol you have; score VP for combat tokens; take doubloons/VP per assistant; etc.
Village Actions
For each village action available, choose one of:
- A) Discard all hand cards; if you discarded at least one, take 2 doubloons (you redraw in Phase C).
- B) Take 1 doubloon.
- C) Buy one card from your hand or planning area (place it in your display and use its effect immediately) — or invest in a prestige building.
With two or three village actions you may repeat options. Removing discs from your ship, and certain bought cards, can unlock new village actions.
Exploring
Move your explorer along the explorer track up to the indicated number of spaces (never backward, at least one space, skipping occupied spaces). You receive only the reward of the space you stop on. Crossing the red barrier grants 3 influence with one nation; the first to cross the blue/green barriers scores 4 VP (others 2). Reaching the end scores 10/8/6/4 VP by order of arrival. Ending on a quest space lets you fulfill it (all explorers then skip that space).
Influence Tracks
Each nation has an influence track; gaining influence moves your marker one space right. Red-background levels are noble ranks, which multiply your end-game scoring for that nation. A marker reaching the rightmost space instead scores 2 VP per space it would have moved.
Fulfilling a Quest
At a location with a quest tile, pay its cost to gain the tile and its reward. Add the tile to the left-most empty quest-track space on your ship board. The 4th quest you fulfill scores 3 VP immediately; each further quest scores 2 VP. (Campaign story tiles count as quest tiles.)
Assistant Actions
Cards can place figures (assistants) at locations; when your ship is there you may perform that assistant's action (only one per turn). Each time you skip or don't use an assistant (by sailing past it to a higher-numbered location, stopping without using it, or ending the round with assistants at higher-numbered locations), score 2 VP per such assistant.
Phase C: Draw Cards
Draw from the face-down draw pile until you reach your hand limit (start 4, upgradable to 6). You may instead take a face-up display card for 1 doubloon (free with the relevant ship upgrade). Refill the display to four cards. If the draw pile empties, shuffle the discard pile.
Homeward Bound and Interim Scoring
The "homeward bound" spaces (20, 21a/21b, 22) are special cities with no delivery, and cannot be skipped. Space 20: perform a combat action or move your explorer up to 2. Space 21a/21b: score 3 VP and trigger interim scoring (rounds I–III). Space 22: score 5 VP and proceed to final scoring.
Interim scoring (after rounds I–III): starting with the trigger, each player either buys a project card (or invests in a prestige building) or scores 2 VP; then all players receive income (doubloons and VP per their income-track markers — ignore the doubloon track's VP during interim scoring). Then: remove delivered goods from city markets; discard and rebuild the display; reveal the next prestige building; add new quests (non-campaign); and return all ships to Havana. The next player clockwise begins the new round.
Final Scoring (after round IV)
Once a player ends on space 22, the game ends:
- Each player (starting with the trigger) buys a project card / invests in a prestige building, or scores 2 VP. (You may complete career tasks before and after this step.)
- Score VP per your victory-point income-track marker, plus additional VP based on your doubloon income-track position.
- Score VP for all project cards in your display and prestige-building investments (cards in hand or planning area score nothing).
- For each nation, the player with the most influence scores 3 VP (ties all score; nations with all markers on 0 score nothing).
- For each nation, multiply your noble rank by that nation's multiplier (empty ownership-marker spaces + majority bonus: the nation with the most ownership markers on the board gets +2, the second-most +1; ties take the higher value) and score that many VP.
Reaching 100 VP flips your 100/200 token; the player with the most Victory Points wins.
Careers and Prestige Buildings
Each player has a career card with goals (tasks) you can complete as free actions for rewards. Prestige buildings can be invested in during a "buy a card" village action or scoring step by paying their costs, and they score VP at the end of the game.
Campaign (Story Mode)
Maracaibo includes an optional non-destructive, legacy-like campaign driven by story cards and story/legacy tiles. Story cards carry quests tied to numbered story tiles; fulfilling a story card's requirements lets a player read its reverse side aloud at the end of a round, advancing the narrative and introducing new quests, tiles, locations, and rules. Legacy tiles and certain C-cards carry over between games. New instructions from story content overrule the base rules where they conflict.