Pirates of Maracaibo

Three voyages around the Caribbean, three chances to retire rich. You are a buccaneer with a half-stocked ship, a hand of cards that could be crew or contracts depending on how you spend them, and a mental list of harbors where you can stash treasure before the next squall. Every die roll, every card play, every harbor visit is a step toward retirement on a beach you are picking out before anyone else does.

Pirates of Maracaibo is a stand-alone game in the Maracaibo franchise from designer Alexander Pfister and team. It is the lighter, more accessible sibling of the 2019 hit. Each game runs three rounds of Caribbean sailing where you hire crew, ally with other ships, explore the shore, amass treasure, and try to be the most decorated buccaneer when the third voyage ends.

What makes this version stand out is the multi-use card system. Cards can become crew, contracts, equipment, or fuel for other actions, depending on when you play them. That single design decision is what gives a game with dice rolling its real depth: the dice tell you what is possible, but the cards decide what you actually do.

This is for groups that liked the original Maracaibo but want something they can finish in two hours instead of three, or for Pfister fans curious about a new design with less rules overhead. Plays 1 to 4 with a solid solo variant, runs 40 to 100 minutes, and won the 2025 Gra Roku Advanced Game of the Year award.

Recommended sleeve: this one comes up against a lot of card shuffling, and the publisher flags Card Sleeves M (Mini-Euro) as the right fit if you want the deck to last.