2022Gabriele Bubola, Leo Colovini
- Videos
- 23
- Creators
- 20
2 - 4 players45 minLight weight

2000Leo Colovini
Mainly reviews. Cartagena is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 15 reviews, 8 how-to-play guides, 2 recorded sessions, and 1 other video.
From BoardGameGeek
Cartagena takes as its theme the famous 1672 pirate-led jailbreak from the fortress of Cartagena. Each player has a group of six pirates, and you want to be the first to have all six escape through the tortuous underground passage that connects the fortress to the port, where a sloop is waiting for them. To move a pirate, you need to play a card from your hand. Each card bears one of six symbols (dagger, pirate hat, etc.), and when you play a card, you move one of your pirates forward to the next matching symbol in the tunnel, leapfrogging over matching symbols where another pirate already stands. The only way to get more cards, however, is to move backwards; more specifically, you move one of your pirates backwards to the first space that holds one or two pirates, drawing one or two cards after doing so. Each turn, you take 1-3 actions, whether moving forward or backward or both. When you move a pirate to the end of the track, it jumps on the sloop where it must await the other pirates in its crew. With every step toward victory, though, you have fewer and fewer pirates to move each turn, possibly locking you in to actions you don't want, so be sure to plan ahead and not leave yourself empty-handed!
Cartagena has 26 videos from 24 creators: 15 reviews, 8 how-to-play guides, 2 playthroughs and 1 other video. They date from 2010 to February 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Cartagena (NL)" by Nox' Spellenzolder, which runs 5 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Cartagena Review with the Game Boy Geek" by Game Boy Geek. 14 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Dad vs Daughter - Cartagena" by Dad vs Daughter, one of 2 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Old London Bridge, Australis, Clans and Bridges of Shangri-La, also by Leo Colovini.
8 of 24
2022Gabriele Bubola, Leo Colovini
2 - 4 players45 minLight weight
2024Leo Colovini, Alessandro Zucchini
2 - 4 players60 minMedium weight
2002Leo Colovini
2 - 4 players30 minMedium weight
2003Leo Colovini
3 - 4 players60 minMedium weight
From BoardGameGeek:
Cartagena takes as its theme the famous 1672 pirate-led jailbreak from the fortress of Cartagena. Each player has a group of six pirates, and you want to be the first to have all six escape through the tortuous underground passage that connects the fortress to the port, where a sloop is waiting for them. To move a pirate, you need to play a card from your hand. Each card bears one of six symbols (dagger, pirate hat, etc.), and when you play a card, you move one of your pirates forward to the next matching symbol in the tunnel, leapfrogging over matching symbols where another pirate already stands. The only way to get more cards, however, is to move backwards; more specifically, you move one of your pirates backwards to the first space that holds one or two pirates, drawing one or two cards after doing so. Each turn, you take 1-3 actions, whether moving forward or backward or both. When you move a pirate to the end of the track, it jumps on the sloop where it must await the other pirates in its crew. With every step toward victory, though, you have fewer and fewer pirates to move each turn, possibly locking you in to actions you don't want, so be sure to plan ahead and not leave yourself empty-handed!
Designer
Leo Colovini
Artists
Volkan Baga, Christoph Clasen, Didier Guiserix, Martin Hoffmann, Tomasz Larek, Nora Nowatzyk, Claus Stephan
Publisher
Venice Connection
Categories
Mechanics