How to Play Luxor

Like I said above, Luxor is an archeologist movement game where you are trying to to collect sets and other scoring tiles. You start with two archeologists, and then you play a card to move one of them. That determines how far they move which will determine what tile they land on.

Gaining Tiles

The tiles are where the set collection and scoring come in. Some of the tiles require a certain number of archeologists to get them. If you are the one to get it, you add it to your collection of artifacts. Each artifact has an in game scoring point total, higher points require more archologists, and can be part of a set at the end of the game. Tiles also give you other things like a key, scarab, a wild token, or a better card to add to your hand.

Hand Management

Now, there are some special rules for playing and getting cards. When you play out a card you must pick it from either end and you can’t rearrange your hand. And when you get a new card it must go in the middle. So as you take turns the cards will get pushed from the middle to the outside of your hand.

Archologists

Also as you move further into the pyramid, you unlock more archeologists. Those archeologists get moved from their unlock spot to the starting location.

End Game

The game is going to end when two archeologists reach the final chamber. To move into the final chamber you need the exact number and a key. Now keys can be worth a point at the end of the game as well, but generally you get it to try and make it into that final chamber. There you grab a sarcophagus which is going to give you more points. And once two archeologists are in the final chamber, they can both be from the same player, the game end is trigger. And game end scoring occurs for sets and other hidden scoring.

What Doesn’t Work

This is a game that says it’s for 2-4 players, and I think it’s like a lot of more puzzle and planning games interaction changes at different player counts. At two or three I can plan out my moves a bit more because I know generally what range my opponents can move and where I stand with them. At four players the game is going to feel a lot more random in what you do because there is so much that can change. Sure you might plan some, but it’ll be less.

To add to that, at higher player counts it eats into your scoring as well. The number of tiles in the game doesn’t change. And I think that additional randomness and lower scoring make it feel a little bit less fun. Now it’s more adaptive and gives you more reactionary planning and the player who is best at that will win, but it’s not as streamlined into good strategy and setting up turns.

What Works

Decision Space

Firstly, I really like the card system. It makes the game really simple to play. As a player I can play one of two cards. I decide which one to play and then I look at my workers and see which one to move. So, let’s say I unlock all my archeologists at the end of the game, I am limited to 10 total choices. Two cards and five archeologists. It’s never too much, and you know that some are just not worth moving no matter what.

It is also interesting in a good way with how you add cards into your hand and how cards flow through. Sure, I talked about the simplicity of knowing what moves you have, but you see your upcoming moves. You know next two the two cards that you’ll have. So there is more strategy there, and that is why I called out the added randomness at four players. To me, this is probably ideal at two or three players, probably three, for that bit of randomness and more interaction of racing for spots, but not too much. Because I like to plan with my cards.

Game Speed

The game is also a quick game. I talked about how there is limited decision making on the turns, so it means you take your turn quickly. And while you might bog down once or twice during a game, that is going to be mainly limited. That means for a game with a number of moving pieces, it moves along quite quickly.

Scoring

I also like the scoring in the game as a final thing. There is a good amount of open knowledge for scoring, and there is hidden scoring too. That is a nice balance for me because I like to know where I’m at, but not how it’s going to end. So if I fall behind, I know when to push, if I’m ahead, I might push for the end game. Or I might push for more hidden scoring to keep people guessing. But it is also nice because that means end game scoring doesn’t take too long.

Who Is Luxor For?

For me, this is a game for people who like games with some strategy. It isn’t going to be heavy strategy, but enough strategy that as you play it, you feel like your brain is working. It’s almost an introduction to strategy games with just a little bit on top with the card system. But generally it is going to be something a lot of players can enjoy and share with others.

Final Thoughts on Luxor

I enjoy this game a lot. It’s that light plus weight strategy game for me. And I think it works well for me because I don’t feel like I’m overwhelmed with anything in playing it. I know my decision space at the end of each turn, and I work with it from there. Yes, you might mess up a plan, but then it’s a pretty quick pivot for the game.

I do think it does suffer a bit more at four players. While four players isn’t bad, it does feel like you can plan less. And with the hand system that it uses, I want to be able to plan. I want to feel clever for what is in my hand, and while it’s almost always an obvious move, it’s still nice to pull that off.

My Grade: B+
Strategy Grade: B+
Luck Grade: C-

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How to Play The Pirates of Maracaibo

Firstly, this isn’t going to be an 100% overview of everything. There are some solid videos on that. And I’ll link one of those down below because there is a lot going on in this game. The basics of the game are pretty simple. Collect the most points and you win the game after three times sailing in to Maracaibo.

Movement

To do that, your general turn action is going to be pretty standard in everything that you do. You move your ship from left to right, and you always need to move at least one column right towards Maracaibo. You can move it up to three spaces, but, like I said, one needs to be to the right and it can be up and down in the columns as well.

Then you end on a spot. The spots offer various different things. There are upgrades of three types, goods, ship, and crew that you can add to your ship. Those will give you either an immediate action or an ongoing bonus. If you buy that card, you add it to your tableau and a new card replaces it.

Or the spot might be an adventure spot, I guess I’ll call it. This allows you to place an upgrade cube on your ship and then you take an action or grab some money, depending on what the options are. This card, however, doesn’t leave it’s spot. And we’ll talk about what those actions can be in a second.

Or you might land a spot that is a residence of sorts. These have a cost associated with them, but they will give you a scoring bonus if you take certain actions in the game.

Location Actions

There are a number of location actions, but generally, they are limited to a few things. So we’ll cover the most common ones here.

You can explore. There is an exploration track that all players move on. When you explore you explore a given distance, based off the card you are activating. It might be the spot you are on, or it might allow you to move a maximum number of spaces. This can be modified by any upgrades that you have. And you don’t need to move the whole distance, so you determine the spot you end on, and that gives you a bonus.

Next you can combat. The combat is not combat against other players. It is how you get treasure in the game. So you roll three dice, one yellow, one green, and one white. They each represent a different treasure type. You select one of those rolls and you spend the pips on the dice, and any bonus you might add to it, to gain gems, points, and coins, and possibly more.

I am going to stop here. There are definitely more spots where you can go and do different things. But generally, these are going to be the ones that standout as some of your bigger options.

Scoring Points

You score points in a lot of different ways in the game. At the end of the game you get points for the treasure you have and you have buried. Burying gives you a fixed number of points per treasure. The treasure in general though, each one has a “market” that goes with it and that is going to score you points.

You also score points at the end of each round for upgrades you have. Some upgrades are going to give you money, some give you points. And each round ends when someone reaches Maracaibo.

Another way to get points is by completing quests. Quests have two different scoring options. There is a easier option and a more difficult option. The more difficult option, generally just getting more of or going further on a track than the easier option. And these are scored at the end of the game.

If you want to know more, watch the video above. But that is some of the basics as to how this game works.

What Doesn’t Work

It’s not a negative so much as a beware for the game. There is a lot going on in the game. And the strategies can very greatly. So there is a lot to keep track of and think about as you play. I’ve played quite a number of games and I’m still finding strategies and realizing things that I should or could be doing in the game. And I try different strategies often in games. But it is going to feel overwhelming at the beginning and it is going to not be for some people because of that.

The game also has potential turns where you don’t do much. Now, you generally don’t do much because you ran out of money. And the game gives you money when you can’t do anything. But it doesn’t feel as good as when you can do something, obviously. So it might feel like you waste turns, and it kind of is, if you are just grabbing money and putting yourself behind the eight ball so to speak.

What Works

All the choices work in the game. I know I just said there is a lot going on in the game. But that’s more in terms of, this might look like a pirate game that you want to play, but it might not work for some gamers. We’ll talk about that more later. But the choices are fun and all of the choices, unless you get stuck gathering coins, can help progress a strategy. And you decide which way you want to go and how deep you want to go into all of them as you play.

That said, there are a lot of choices but the game is not too complex. I appreciate how straightforward a turn is. You move your ship and you do that action whether it’s explore, purchase a card, gain treasure, whatever it might be. You need to strategize in the game, but it isn’t so overwhelming that it bogs the game down because the turns are so straightforward.

The game also is a nice length. This is something that I think could get lost in it. It says it’s about 25 minutes per player, and that seems about right. So a four player game is going to take a while, but with the number of turns that happen in the game, it isn’t going to be excessive downtime, just a bunch of turns. And for a game with this much going on, there is a chance that you could end up with a lot of downtime if you aren’t careful.

Who is Pirates of Maracaibo For?

I think this is a game for people who enjoy a good thinky game. It reminds me of the weight in some ways of Lost Ruins of Arnak. And I think I think of it some because of the theme in the game. But also I think of it because that one has a bunch going on in the game, and you need to know what they are, but generally a single turn isn’t highly complicated. If you like Lost Ruins of Arnak, I think that Pirates of Maracaibo is going to be a good game for you.

Final Thoughts on Pirates of Maracaibo

So finally, let’s talk about it, is this game for me? This is one of a few games that I’ve gotten because I’ve played them on BGA. The other three being River of Gold, Cacao and Pyramido. I very much enjoy this game and I think it’s that sweet spot for me. Now, I love Lost Ruins of Arnak. I don’t know that I love Pirates of Maracaibo that much, but it’s still an amazing game.

For me it’s that depth of strategy in the Pirates of Maracaibo. And while you start out all being the same, you quickly become different as you gain cards and upgrade your ship. That is another really nice thing. I don’t feel like I’m always fighting over the same thing as another player. Sure in four players you might, so I might prefer it as a two or three player game (and you can play solo) but at three, which I’ve played a handful of times, you don’t get in the way too much. Sometimes enough that you might need to pivot on a planned turn, but never to the point where you are locked into luck in the game.

My Grade: A
Strategy: A
Luck: D

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