Jamaica

This is without a doubt one of the greatest board games I have ever played.

Jamaica is a pirate-themed strategic racing game where players compete to see who can collect the most booty while sailing around the island of Jamaica.

Why This Game Rocks?

This game is beautiful. The design is stunning and the mechanics are very impressive.

This isn't your average racing game, and by this, I mean that you don't simply roll the dice and move your piece. There is quite a bit of strategy involved in this game that makes it so much fun!

The person who is the "Captain" for the round, rolls both dice. Everyone then secretly decides what card they will play for the round. After the cards are decided, and placed face down on the table, the Captain decides what order to place the dice (see below).

How the dice effects the cards can be seen below. Players look at the symbols on the top-left, and top-right of their cards. In this case, the top card below (the image of the seagull and boat) was played. At the top of the card there are two symbols, in this case two green arrows. This player would move their boat forward the number of spaces on the dice to the left, and then they would move forward the number of spaces on the dice to the right. The next card shows a green arrow and a symbol representing food. The player would move forward the number of spaces as indicated by the dice on the left, and then collect as much food as indicated by the dice on the right. There are other symbols, including move backwards, collect gold, and collect gunpowder.

The board contains different markers. In the below picture, we can see three small squares and a number 5 in what looks like a yellow circle. Players that land on the square markers must pay food tokens (in this case, three food tokens). The green player would have to pay five gold coins for landing on the space with the yellow circle symbol.

If a player is unable to pay the full amount required, they must pay all that they can, and then move backwards one space. Sometimes a player will have to move back multiple spaces (i.e. they land on a pay three food tokens space. If they only have two food tokens, they must pay all two, and then move one space backwards. Let's pretend it's a space requiring four gold. If they only have three gold coins, they must pay all three coins and then move backwards one space).

Other aspects of this game include battling opponents that are on the same space as you. If you win by rolling a greater number on the battle dice (or by added gunpowder tokens you might have played before you rolled the dice), then you can steal something from the opposing ship!

After a player lands in Port Royal, having completed a loop around the island, points are calculated (gold coins and additional treasures picked up along the way). The player with the highest number of points wins the game.

JAMAICA is a whole lot of fun. I have never played a bad game of Jamaica (win or lose). This is an easy-to-teach, easy-to-learn game with lots of fun, strategy, and laughter. The box gives the added bonus appearance of a treasure chest when laid on its side, making this an attractive addition to the game shelf.

I can't wait to play again!