Guatemala Café

About this board game

Guatemala Café is a coffee-planting and selling board game for 2–4 players, with games lasting about 60 minutes. First released in 2006, it takes players from Guatemalan plantations to markets and onward to Europe.

The game uses two boards, each representing a different part of the coffee business. On the plantation board and the market board, players work toward producing different kinds of coffee and shipping them to Europe.

A central feature of Guatemala Café is the market overseer. This overseer determines where and whether players can buy important elements of their operation, including roads, huts, workers, and ships. The overseer also determines whether scoring takes place, making the timing of these opportunities a key part of the game.

• Plant coffee in Guatemala.
• Produce different kinds of coffee.
• Use roads, huts, workers, and ships when permitted.
• Ship coffee to Europe.
• Respond to the market overseer’s decisions about purchases and scoring.

Scoring is tied to a track that includes a second marker. This marker moves ahead during the game, creating a visible target on the scoring track. The game ends when a player catches up with that marker.

With its linked plantation and market boards, Guatemala Café presents a focused theme about coffee production, selling, and export. Its changing access to purchases and scoring gives the market overseer an important role as players work toward the end of the game.