«Jamaica» review

Jamaica

Jamaica, year 1675.

Captain Henry Morgan becomes the Governor of Jamaica with order to take out the Caribbean pirates and buccaneers! Though, he hires all of his former crew to join him in his quest to enjoy the fruits of the piracy without being punished!

Jamaica was published in 2007 by Asmodee and designed by Malcolm Braff, Bruno Cathala and Sébastien Pauchon who are well-known for such projects as Mr. Jack Extension, Shadows over Camelot, Corto and etc.

The main artist is Mathieu Leyssenne. He took part in such colorful games like Animalia, Bonbons and many others.

Game Contents

  • Game board
  • Action cards (66);
  • Treasure cards (12);
  • Gold tokens (80);
  • Food tokens (45);
  • Powder tokens (45);
  • Plastic boats (6);
  • Treasure tokens (9);
  • Hold sheets (6);
  • Dice (3);
  • Compass.

Cards and Sleeves:

  • 66 cards – 60 mm * 120 mm
  • 12 cards – 44 mm * 68 mm

Also, the card size is different in this game and unfortunately there are no sleeves for the big ones, but if they appear we will inform you about it!

Jamaica - Artwork

Gameplay

This strategy game is played in several rounds. Each player has a hand of three cards and a personal board which has five “holds” of their ship into which goods can be added during the game process. Battles are carried out by rolling a “combat” die, but players can increase their chances with help of “gunpowder” tokens. The winner of a battle may get some goods or treasures from the defeated player. By the way, you can search some videos on Youtube to look at the gameplay which is quite thriving and captivating!

Jamaica - Gameplay

Game Setup

  1. Place nine random treasure cards facedown on island (the rest go in the box).
  2. Place each player’s ship on starting location (Port Royal).
  3. Place all nine treasure tokens on the nine pirate lairs.
  4. Give each player a board for cargo and their action deck.
  5. Give each player 3 doubloons and 3 food to place in two separate cargo holds.
  6. Choose a random starting player. Each player draws three cards for starting hand.

Rules

As we mentioned before, this game is played in rounds. Round consists of the following:

Throwing Action Dice

The Captain rolls the action dice and chooses how to place them on the navigation box.

Choosing Card

Each player takes an action card (discards should be shuffled to form a new deck if needed) and puts it facedown across their discard pile.

Actions

The Captain turns takes his action card and perform morning action and then evening action. Other players reveal their cards and perform their actions. The morning action must be completed before the evening one.

Jamaica - Battle on the seas

End of Round

Each player takes the top card of their action deck and the compass moves to the next player in a clockwise order and this player is a Captain.

Endgame

A player stops when he reaches Port Royale. Any remaining evening action has to be ignored. The current game round is finished in normal way, the game ends and players refresh their points. Final Score includes the white number on the space where the player’s ship is plus any doubloons in his holds plus any treasures minus any cursed treasures. The winner is the player with the highest number of points. Players with equal points share the victory.

If it’s needed, you can follow this link to check out the full list of instruction to learn how to play this game. Also, you will find the PDF manual on our website boardgameking.com!

Jamaica - Ships

2 player mode

The black ship starts at Port Royale and it’s a Ghost Ship. The Ghost Ship takes treasure from pirate lair spaces. The treasure stays facedown (the players may not see it) and has to be placed next to its holds. Battles are carried out in normal way with the opposing player who rolls the combat die for the Ghost Ship and taking any required decisions. If it wins, it can steal whatever it wants. Doubloons are in the holds according to the normal loading rules. It can also steal treasure cards, but never gives any of them away. A player who defeats a Ghost Ship may take the contents of a hold, steal a treasure card (except the Lady Beth) or give it a treasure card.

Expansions

This is free expansion for Jamaica which includes three new treasures! These treasures are:

  • Rum: +1 token of the same type when loading
  • Sextant: Gives the player the possibility to move one additional space
  • Anchor: Gives the player the possibility to move one less space

Errata

We couldn’t find any misprints or erratas in this game but if you have something to add about this point please let us know about it!

Similar Games

We would like to present some games which will also fit for Jamaica fans!

Jamaica vs Survive

Survive: Escape from Atlantis

Survive is an awesome game where players seek to evacuate their stuff from an island that is collapsing!

An island is made of 40 hex-tiles and it’s slowly sinking into the ocean (as the tiles removed from the board). Players can either swim or use boats to travel but must beware sea serpents, whales and sharks.


Jamaica vs Pack & Stack

Pack and Stack

In Pack & Stack the players try to load their trucks as good as possible.

Players start each round with a selection with goods of different size. Then each player takes one or two trucks. Players lay the goods in the space of their selected truck defined by the boundaries of the truck-bed and the height restriction shown on the truck.

Jamaica vs Saboteur

Saboteur

In Saboteur, each player takes becomes a gold-digging dwarf or a saboteur who wants to stop the exploration of the gold mines. Each player knows only his own role, so the digging can be messed up! Or not, who knows…


Jamaica vs Kragmortha

Kragmortha

Kragmortha is a party game for 2-8 players and it has some very cruel penances! No one will resist the game’s humor!

Oh clever goblins, will you be able to avoid the wrath of the Dark Lord (Rigor Mortis, the Master of all Evils) while he wanders in his study? Terrible spells will be cast upon those who are hit by the glances of the Dark Lord!

BEWARE! This game produces physical penances and is nocive (definition of nocive is : Hurtful or injurious) to the health!


iOS and android

We don’t have any information at the moment about any transitions of Jamaica to the digital platform (iOS and android). We will let you know about it as soon as possible if there is any news.

Jamaica - early battle

FAQ

Q: If you are in Port Royal at the beginning of the game, and you only have cards with red “back” arrows, do you still move backwards or stay where you are?

A: You will have to stay where you are.

Q: When you win a battle, there is an option to steal another player’s Treasure Card. The rules say that when you get an action card, you keep it face up, but when you get a (+ or -) point card, you keep turned down. In some games I’ve played, the players kept all their cards hidden (until used) and then shuffled their Treasure Card deck and let the other player choose blind. Can they choose and action card OR a point card? Are they all shuffled together, or are just the point cards shuffled?

A: Players can keep object cards hidden (which they can be blindly taken as plunder) but it’s really better to reveal and use the extra hold and map, and you would want to reveal the sword and cannon to prevent losing the battle.

Q: When the first player reaches Port Royal at the end of the game, I thought the game immediately ended and everybody added up their points. Does everybody still take one more turn to finish the round?

A: When someone makes Port Royale, you finish the current round.

YouTube

Conclusion

If you ever had a dream of being a pirate this game is definitely for you! It has a simple rules and mechanics, so when you will gather around the table with your family or friends you will get the most exciting experience! Buy it on Amazon right now!

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