Pax Hispanica (2025)

About this game

You are a Spanish, English, French, Dutch, or Courish lad with a life goal to become a great courtier, emancipator, or pirate of the Caribbean. It’s the 17th century, so the decadent Spanish crown owns everything, the inquisition hears everyone, the black market is everywhere, and nowhere is safe from the pillaging of the buccaneers. You sail annually among the islands to transport, plunder, smuggle, or ambush boatloads of silver, pearls, gems, and priceless relics intended to finance the ambitions of the crown. This is an asymmetrical game of ship battles and treachery. The mechanics are similar to other Pax games, with a Tableau, Market, blind Auction, and 4 different career choices and victories. The future of the Spanish Main will be set by the choices you make. —description from the publisher

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 1 to 5. It has a designed solo mode.
• Rules load. At 4.0/5 this is a heavy game — read the rulebook before people arrive.
• Age. The publisher suggests 14 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.