Overview

In Cartographers, you and the other players are simultaneously drawing shapes of different terrain onto your map—rotating and placing them to score the most points from the Queen’s edicts. At the end of each season, two of the four edicts are scored, and after four seasons, the game ends.

Game Feel

Since all four edicts are known from the start, there are interesting tradeoffs in how you place your shapes. Do you set yourself up to score big in future seasons, or focus on this season before those objectives rotate out?

Each card gives you a choice between two shapes or two terrain types, making every turn a small but meaningful puzzle. Sometimes, you can choose a smaller shape to gain a coin, which scores a point every remaining round. Coins can also be earned by surrounding mountain spaces, adding a secondary goal to weave into your overall strategy.

Occasionally, a monster ambush appears, and another player gets to draw that shape onto your map in an inconvenient spot. Now you’re balancing your scoring plans with the need to contain those monsters—or take penalties each scoring round.

As the game goes on, your map becomes more and more constrained, and you’ll often have to gamble on what shapes might still come out. Each season also has a variable length, ending once the total time value of drawn cards reaches a threshold—so you’re constantly making decisions without knowing exactly how much time you have left.

FAQ

Player Counts - Cartographers is one of those rare games that supports a wide player count and genuinely plays well across all of them. Around 10–12 players is probably the practical limit, since it gets harder to see the cards, but we’ve had great experiences even at higher player counts.

Abstract vs. Thematic - The fantasy map-making theme is a fun backdrop for what is ultimately an abstract, pattern-based puzzle—but creating your own hand-drawn map adds a lot of charm.

Luck vs. Skill - While the card draw can disrupt your plans, there’s plenty of room to play the odds and optimize your placements—so skill still has a big impact on who wins.

Multiplayer Solitaire vs. Highly Interactive - Outside of the occasional ambush, this is mostly a solo puzzle experience alongside other players.

Short Setup vs. Long Setup - Setup is very simple, though some players may get distracted by the optional tasks of naming their cartographer and designing a family crest.

Easy to Teach vs. Hard to Teach - The core gameplay is easy to grasp, but a few elements—like coins, ambushes, and scoring—may need a bit of clarification for new players.

Low Setup Variability vs. High Setup Variability - Each game uses the same small deck of cards, but the variety of scoring conditions keeps things feeling fresh. And expansions add even more maps, scoring cards, and variability.

Things to Like

✅ Compelling Puzzle with a Nice Arc - The combination of scoring conditions, flexible placement, and card choices makes every turn interesting. You can rotate and flip shapes freely, placing them anywhere, which gives you a lot of control—but as the game progresses, your map fills in and options become more limited. That creates a really satisfying arc, with tension steadily increasing toward the end.

✅ Randomized Objectives Keep the Game Fresh - And it is really the variety of scoring conditions that gives the game its excellent replay value. One game you might be trying to place trees on the border of your map and complete full rows of terrain, and another you might be trying to grow two large sections of village terrain while also leaving single-space “holes” across your map. Even the order the scoring conditions are drawn has a big impact. For example, the edict placed in the “B” slot will only score in the first two seasons, whereas the edict in the “A” slot will score once after the first season, but again at the very end of the game. This shakes up your strategy based on the timing of each scoring card.

✅ Simultaneous Play Minimizes Downtime - With everyone playing at the same time, there is no waiting between turns. The game moves at a steady pace, and there’s an almost addictive rhythm as each new card is revealed and you immediately apply it to your map. At higher player counts especially, this is a huge advantage compared to games with traditional turn structure.

✅ Plays Great at a Wide Range of Players - One of the game’s biggest strengths is how well it scales. It works great as a 2-player game, but also handles large groups with ease. If you had to trim your collection down to just a few games, a strong case could be made to keep Cartographers simply because it fits so many situations.

Things to Dislike

❌ Easy to Make Scoring Errors - Each player handles their own scoring, and it’s easy to miscount—especially with more complex objectives. Most of the time, players just have to take each other at their word, which may bother those who realize how common the errors will be, and prefer more precise and verifiable scoring.

❌ Changing Your Mind Can Be Tedious - Since you’re physically drawing your map, changing your mind means erasing and redrawing. That can be a bit cumbersome compared to games where you can just move a piece. You could play with “no take-backs,” but sometimes the “mistakes” are actually illegal placements that need to be corrected—like forgetting to cover a ruins space when required.

❌ Monster Impact Can Be Swingy - Each season, one ambush card is shuffled into the deck—but it may or may not be drawn. I’ve had games with no ambushes at all, and others where all four come out—even three in the same round. I personally don’t mind this, but it can be a downside when introducing to new players, since I have less control over the type of experience they’ll get. The best I can do is set expectations: sometimes monsters have a big impact, and sometimes they barely show up.

Our Ratings

Ryan (10 Plays) - 8.5 Daniel (9 Plays) - 8

🎬 Watch Extended Final Thoughts

Is It For You?

If you don’t enjoy spatial puzzles, want more player interaction, or start sweating at the idea of drawing tiny trees, Cartographers might not be for you. 👎

But if you’re looking for a versatile game that works across a wide range of player counts, enjoy puzzling shapes into a grid, and want something with strong replayability, Cartographers is a great choice. 👍

🛒 Check Out Cartographers on Amazon

Cartographers Review