Review: Cartographers

 Review: Cartographers

The Basics

Each player is a cartographer serving at the pleasure of Queen Gimnax. Each player aims to gain the most reputation stars by drawing on their own maps throughout the seasons of a year, trying to meet the Queen's edicts as efficiently as possible. The game starts with 4 different edicts being randomly selected and presented to the players, indicating how the Queen wants the land drawn and how many points will be rewarded per edict (1 reputation star per forest space bordering the edge of the map, or 3 points for every group of water or farmland spaces that is not adjacent to an edge of the map or to each other). The season dictates which edicts are scored, and each turn sees a new card dealt to the players, featuring a type of terrain as well as the shape. Think of it like Tetris on paper.

The Specs

Player count: 1-100 (It's far more fun to play with other people, but honestly, the solo mode is challenging enough to be interesting)

Playing time: 30-45 minutes (Accurate!)

Age: 10+

The Expansions

There are apparently several on their way: one called Heroes, and 3 others called "Map Packs." I don't know that I play the game frequently enough that I will buy any of the expansions, but if it becomes even a semi-regular feature in the game rotations of any group I game with, then I'll happily invest in them. At some point, I'm sure I'll get bored with the terrain and edict cards in the base game, but I'm not there yet.

Gameplay

Gameplay is pretty simple and there isn't much expansion beyond what I described above. There are three things worth noting - the first is that there are "Ruins" spaces on each map. If a Ruins terrain card is drawn, then whatever terrain card revealed next must be drawn in such a way that it overlaps a Ruins space on each player map. If a player cannot legally draw one of the available shapes so that it overlaps a ruins space or there are no more unfilled ruins spaces left, then the player must instead draw a 1x1 square anywhere on their map and fill it with any terrain type, excluding mountains. The second involves mountain terrain: the mountainous terrain on each map features a coin, and when it has been surrounded (orthogonally, not diagonally - diagonals don't get you anything in this game unless in the case of one specific edict: "The Broken Road"), the player gets that coin. Coins get you reputation points at the end of each round, so the earlier you've obtained the coin, the more dividends it pays, as it carries over from round to round, scoring again and again. There are also some terrain choices on cards that offer players coins if used; these terrain pieces are usually smaller than the alternative. So the timing of these choices as well as the current edicts and map state will dictate when playing the coin option is the right choice, or playing the bigger option is the correct call.

The third and final thing worth noting are Ambushes. These cards feature monsters like goblins, forcing each player to pass their map to another player. That opposing player then draws the ambush tile shape on the map before passing it back. Each empty space adjacent to an ambush space acts as the opposite of a coin: it detracts from a player's score at the end of each round. It's a fun way to ensure that players aren't simply playing their own little games of solitaire to see who gets the highest score. Sometimes, drawing ambush shapes in open space is the way to go, forcing players to go out of their way to surround and isolate that ambush shape. Other times, depending on the edicts, it may make more sense to disrupt what an opponent is doing to score reputation points.

My Thoughts on Gameplay

I don't have a lot of experience with Paper And Pencil games. They mostly haven't sparked any interest from me. I don't know that I would've discovered this one if it weren't for playing it at Cabin Con 2021. I think it's fun! I don't have much to which I can compare it, but I'll say that it feels simple enough, it's got some depth, and I thought it was worth buying. Because the game is so light, there really isn't anything about the gameplay that I find bothersome or odd.

Solo Play

There is a solo play mode, and it's pretty good. Basically, on the bottom right of each edict card is a number next to a silver star. You total all four of those numbers at the end of the game and subtract it from your total score. So you're basically playing for a high score, which usually isn't a solo mode in which I'm interested. But for whatever reason, it's compelling enough in Cartographers that I'm willing to play it solo sometimes. It feels like I'm trying to beat a mark instead of *just* going for an arbitrary high score. I know it's semantics, but it instills enough of a feeling of competition in me that it's worth it. But other than that, it's nothing brilliant.

Components

The components are pretty much what you'd expect from a Paper And Pencil game: you get a couple of little pencils, some map pads, and a couple of decks of cards. Small footprint, which isn't surprising, but still nice. The art is nice enough for what it is, but nothing particularly worth noting. I will say that the one thing I want to buy as an investment in the game are some colored pencils. The thing is that the different terrain types have little symbols as well as matching colors. Players can draw the terrain symbols in their squares, but I honestly find that a little annoying and sometimes a little unclear, depending on the artistic ability of the player. Not a big complaint, but in my mind, enough of one that having sets of colored pencils for each player feels like a worthwhile investment so that players have the choice of how they draw their maps.

Final Thoughts

Now that I've played this one, I've got interest in other Paper And Pencil games, but there are so many of them that I wouldn't really know where to start. Plus, everything I've heard about Roll Player (one of the most popular games this maker, Thunderworks Games, has created) makes me want to avoid it. In that game, "draft dice and purchase skills, traits and equipment to create the perfect RPG hero." Which...cool? But also, the best part of creating an RPG hero is then using that hero. So why would I get amped up to build a character that I'm never going to use? I know there are plenty of people who enjoy this game, but I just can't get past the notion of it. It feels like starting a game I'll never finish. The premise of Cartographers takes me from start to finish of a story, and I like it that way. Overall, I think this is a really enjoyable game and it's worth buying! You can play it with just about anyone, teach it in short order, and the playtime is totally reasonable.