Following the successful adaptations of the games Brazil Imperial, Paper Dungeons and Wonders of the World was last Dice placement game Marajoara Marajoara, a game from the Brazilian publisher Glyptodon, was released in Germany by Giant Roc. Advertised as a compact strategy game, it was successfully crowdfunded on Spieleschmiede in mid-2024. Find out if we liked Marajoara in the following review. review.
Simple, creative game principle
Marajoara is the name of the Brazilian indigenous civilization that originated on Marajó Island at the mouth of the Amazon River in pre-Columbian times. The Marajó culture is particularly known for its distinctive pottery. As scholars, we excavate these ceramics, restore them, and display them in our museum. After 14 rounds, the player with the most victory points and the most successful management of their museum wins.
A round follows a simple pattern. We select a die from the game board and jump it over an adjacent die. The selected die increases its value by 1 as a result of the jump, while the jumped die remains unchanged. The collected dice form a resource that allows us to perform any number of actions. The available actions and the significance of their values are determined by the die's color. We can store up to three collected dice of each color (except for the gray die, which triggers an immediate action) on our player board for later rounds, potentially enabling us to perform actions with better dice values.
Restoring and exhibiting vases
There are two actions in total that will earn us points at the end. With the blue dice, we can buy a vase. restoreEach vase shard has a specific requirement that must be fulfilled using the blue dice. The more difficult the requirement, the more points it yields. Additional points are awarded for each shard combined with another shard.
The red dice (vases) can be used in combination with the yellow dice (money) to... to exhibit vases in the museumThe higher the value of the red dice, the more valuable the vase and the more money we have to spend to display it. When we display a vase, we receive victory points double its (dice) value. We also receive victory points for the column on which we display the vase. There are a total of 5 columns, and the more vases a column displays, the more victory points it generates.
Yellow dice, in addition to being used to pay for vases (red dice), can be used to change the value of blue dice or to move dice on the game board one space to prevent an opponent from potentially collecting that die. Neither action actively yields victory points, but they can be used tactically to deny others points or to prepare for one's own restoration action.
Gray dice are used immediately upon receiving one. They allow you to advance along the so-called excavation tracks. The die value indicates how many spaces you may advance on one of three tracks. The space where your tile lands is then activated. You typically receive a nice bonus in the form of dice value improvements, magnifying glass spaces, or victory points. Reaching the end of a track grants victory points for fulfilling certain conditions.
If dice are used, they are placed in the so-called wheelbarrow. If no more dice fit in the wheelbarrow, the two dice at the front fall out and are kept for the end of the round. At the end of the round, we can redistribute the fallen dice on the game board. With a few constraints, the distribution of the dice is entirely up to us. This step also allows us to influence how our opponents might move.
The game ends after the 14th round. At that point, additional points are awarded for the most vases and the most restored shards, in addition to the victory points already earned. The player with the most victory points at the end wins the game.
Information about Marajoara
| Number of players: 1 – 4 Age: from 14 years Playing time: 60 minutes Difficulty: Advanced family game, easy connoisseur game Classification: Insert abstract cube Author: Daniel de Lucca Illustrations: Carmen Ferreira Martinez Publisher: Giant Roc, Glyptodon, MeepleBR Official Website: Link Year of publication: 2025 Language: German Cost: 39,99 € |
Conclusion
Marajoara left me with mixed feelings. Each individual game in Marajoara played out quite smoothly. You don't really have to do much on your turn, and it's easy to keep track of all the possibilities for scoring victory points. The first game was also a lot of fun. It was a nice gaming experience, which felt somewhat familiar, yet still incorporated some new ideas. I choose one die, skip another, and do "things" with the die I skipped. Simple, but interesting enough.
But with each game, the game became less and less interesting. For me, this was simply because I felt like I was just doing the same thing. The number of "things" you actually do with the dice isn't particularly large. This makes for a lot of fun during a game of about 45-60 minutes, but it gets quite tedious after the second or third game at the latest.
Furthermore, Marajoara doesn't really hit the mark thematically. The theme is a nice idea, but mechanically, nothing fits together. I simply don't see what skipping dice has to do with digging up a vase. Also, the yellow dice seem to represent coins scattered all over the excavation area, which we supposedly need to pay for displaying our found vases. It just doesn't make sense.
What really appealed to me, however, was the overall presentation and quality of Marajoara. The box, which also serves as the game board, works perfectly and has a fantastic feel. This is especially true thanks to the double-layered game board and the magnetic closure mechanism. At €40, Marajoara is definitely good value for money.
In summary, I don't remember Marajoara as a bad game, but simply as one that bored me after a few rounds. I'll let a few weeks or months pass before I'm ready for another game. I would definitely play it again sometime if asked. The games were so wonderfully casual and relaxing.
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Brazil: Imperial* | 89,99 EUR |
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