Overview

Cartagena recreates the legendary 1672 pirate jailbreak from the fortress of Cartagena. Each player controls 6 pirates trying to escape through an underground passage to reach a waiting sloop. Players play cards to advance pirates forward and move pirates backward to draw new cards. The first player to get all 6 of their pirates aboard the sloop wins.

Components

• 8 double-sided board segments (underground passage on one side, island path on the other)
• 102 cards (17 per symbol, 6 symbols; 2 cards per symbol have darker backgrounds for Filibusters variant)
• 2 sloop boards (one in good shape, one half-flooded)
• 1 jail board
• 1 pirate cove board
• 30 pirates in 5 colors (6 per color)
• 8 treasure-chest tiles (for Black Magic Woman variant)

Setup

1. Place 6 of the 8 board segments (underground passage side up) together to form a continuous path of 36 symbol spaces.
2. Place the jail board at one end and the sloop (good shape) at the other end.
3. Each player takes 6 pirates of one color and places them on the jail board.
4. Shuffle the card deck and deal 6 cards face-down to each player. Place the rest face down as a draw pile.

Turn Structure

Choose a starting player. Play proceeds clockwise. On your turn, you take 1 to 3 actions in any combination and order:

Action 1 — Play a card and advance a pirate:

• Play a card from your hand onto the discard pile.
• Select one of your pirates (in the passage or in jail).
• Advance it forward to the first vacant space showing the same symbol as the played card.
• If no vacant matching space exists ahead of the pirate, the pirate jumps aboard the sloop.

Action 2 — Move a pirate backward and draw cards:

• Select one of your pirates and move it backward to the first space occupied by 1 or 2 pirates (yours or opponents’).
• Skip vacant spaces and spaces occupied by 3 pirates (maximum 3 per space).
• If the space has 1 pirate, draw 1 card. If the space has 2 pirates, draw 2 cards.
• You may NOT skip a space with 1 pirate to reach one with 2 pirates.
• Drawn cards can be used in subsequent actions of the same turn.

If you have no cards, you may skip your entire turn and draw 1 card.

Actions

The two action types (advance forward with a card, or retreat backward to draw cards) can be mixed in any combination during your 1 to 3 actions per turn.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The first player to land all 6 of their pirates on the sloop wins immediately. The sloop sails away and the game ends.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• A maximum of 3 pirates may occupy any single space.
• When moving backward, you must stop at the first eligible space (1 or 2 pirates present).
• Shorter/Longer games: Use fewer (4) or more (7-8) board segments instead of 6. You can also play with 4-5 pirates instead of 6.
• Tortuga Island variant: Use the island-path side of the board segments. Pirates move from the flooded sloop to the cove.
• Whole Jailbreak variant: Combine underground passage and island path segments. Pirates go from jail through the passage to the sloop, across by boat to Tortuga, then through the island to the cove. The sloop requires special movement rules:
  • Moving the sloop uses 1 of your 3 actions.
  • The sloop can only move to Tortuga if you have at least 1 pirate aboard.
  • It can only return to Cartagena if you have at least 1 pirate still in the passage.
  • Max 3 pirates of the same color on the sloop at once.
  • Captain rule: If at turn start you have the most (or tied for most) pirates aboard, you are Captain and can move the sloop as a free action before your 3 actions.
• Morgan variant: Instead of moving your own pirate backward to draw cards, move an opponent’s pirate forward to draw. The opponent’s pirate advances to the first space occupied by 1-2 pirates, and you draw 1-2 cards accordingly. Can be combined with the basic recharge method.

Player Reference

Action	Effect
Play card + advance	Move 1 pirate forward to first vacant matching symbol space
Move pirate backward	Move 1 pirate back to first space with 1-2 pirates; draw that many cards
Actions per turn	1 to 3 (any mix)
Win condition	All 6 pirates aboard the sloop
Max per space	3 pirates