Macao

About this board game

Macao is a strategy board game for 2–4 players, released in 2009, with an estimated play time of 100 minutes. Set in the late 17th century, it places players in the Portuguese trading post of Macao, where daring adventurers pursue prestige through trade, construction, and carefully chosen actions.

The game lasts twelve rounds. In each round, players select a card from that round’s display, building a personal collection of abilities and opportunities. The 96-card deck includes a wide range of special abilities, with more powerful actions requiring greater resources to put into play.

At the start of a round, one player rolls six differently colored dice. Each player chooses two dice, even when opponents select the same results, then places matching colored cubes on their personalized ship’s wheel. The number on each die determines how many cubes are placed and how far ahead they become available, although players cannot claim more cubes than the number of rounds remaining.

As each round begins, players rotate their ship’s wheels and use the cubes available to them. These resources can activate cards, buy city quarters, collect goods, move a ship around Europe, acquire gold coins, use previously activated card powers, and advance on the turn order track.

• Select cards and develop special abilities.
• Manage colored cubes through the ship’s wheel.
• Build in the city and collect goods.
• Move around Europe to deliver goods and earn points.

Players score by delivering goods, paying gold coins, using card powers, and building in Macao. The player with the most points after twelve rounds wins. With its blend of resource timing, card selection, trading, and long-term planning, Macao rewards players who choose the wisest overall strategy.