Jamaica

Sometimes a game gets so caught up in a wacky theme and great looking art that it loses sight of what’s really important; a fun gaming experience. MWAHAHAHA! comes to mind as a perfect example of this, a game that looks good but turns out to be mundane and boring. Jamaica on the other hand is a prime example of gorgeous production values encasing a simply but very fun game.

In Jamaica, players take the role of buccaneer captains racing around the eponymous island. As a race game, it has its own way of determining how a player moves around the board, and let’s just say that Jamaica’s technique is both random and fun. Essentially, you know in what direction you’re going to move and in what order you’re going to do it, but you don’t know to what degree until someone rolls a pair of dice. As a result of landing, you are required to fight other ships, pay a harbor fee, or dig up treasure. Most of the time, you’ll be exhausting one of the resources that you can gain via the same cards that you move with. It all works very well and makes for a quick and smooth little racing gem.

As I mentioned before, the art of the game is surprisingly good. Every detail on the box, board, and bits reflects the humor and irreverence of the game. If you’re a fan of pirates, this is almost a must-buy.

The game is not deep, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s very entertaining, very pretty to look at, and plays rather quickly even for beginners. 8/10.