Pirates of Maracaibo

To set up Pirates of Maracaibo, first arrange the exploration board with location, improvement, and residence cards as shown in the rulebook, noting a correction for residence cards. Each player receives starting doubloons based on turn order. For solo play, set up the automa's ship board with a cube on the starting space and create its action deck by mixing a specified number of 'B' cards with 'A' cards to adjust difficulty. Place marker cubes on the treasure board and quest board as indicated.

The objective of Pirates of Maracaibo is to accumulate the most victory points by the end of three rounds. Players earn points through various actions such as acquiring location, improvement, and residence cards, completing quests, raiding and burying treasures, and upgrading their ship. The automa also scores points, providing a competitive challenge.

Each turn, a player must move their ship 1-3 spaces forward (to the right) along the exploration board. Upon landing on a card, the player has two main choices: either buy the card for its associated cost, gaining its immediate or ongoing benefits and end-game points, or discard it for five coins. If another player's ship is on the card, a toll must be paid. Landing on island spaces triggers adding a treasure cube to the treasure board, upgrading your ship, and choosing a raid action. Raiding involves rolling dice to determine 'sword power' which is spent on actions like gaining treasures or completing quests. Players can also explore the river board, gaining points for crossing rivers.

Scoring occurs throughout the game and at the end of each round. During the game, players earn points for completing quests, burying treasures (2 points each), and for specific card effects. At the end of each round, players receive income and points based on symbols on their acquired cards. The automa also scores points based on its actions and fixed conditions on its ship board. Final scoring at the end of the game includes points from all collected cards, buried treasures, completed contracts, and progress on the river exploration track.

The game concludes after three full rounds. The first player to reach the Maracaibo space on the exploration board in the final round triggers the end of the round for all other players, ensuring everyone has an equal number of turns. After the final round, players calculate their total victory points from all sources, including cards, buried treasures, completed contracts, and river crossings. The player with the highest total victory points wins.