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Colorado box art
2023 Ranked #6,610

Colorado

This map-exploration game has players request cards, use their effects, and mark regions and railroads to claim medals. Asking for a card can help an opponent decide what to give, creating a negotiation puzzle around every request.

Adventure Card Game Race Mechanism: Flip-and-Write

Players

2-4

Play time

25-50 min

Age

12+

Complexity

1.83/5

Rating

7.03

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.3/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 3.9/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.8/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.0/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

To explore Colorado, you will be armed with a marker and your map. Each player has a personal map, and they start in one of two locations, opening that region for future exploration.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

To explore Colorado, you will be armed with a marker and your map. Each player has a personal map, and they start in one of two locations, opening that region for future exploration. Each player also has a hand of cards, and the cards in the deck come in six colors, with each color having cards numbered 1-3. On a turn, you ask another player to give you a card, e.g., a red 3. If they have one in hand, they must give it to you. If not, they must give you either a red card or a 3 — their choice. If they have no reds or 3s, they give you a card of their choice. If you already have the card you received in your play area, discard it and take a gold nugget; if not, place it in your play area. All players then take one of the two actions listed on this card: Red and green cards either give you a nugget or let you pay 1-3 nuggets to play a card of value 1-3 from your hand; when you play a card from your hand, it can't already be in your play area, and you immediately take one of the two actions listed. Gray and purple cards either let you draw three cards from the deck or discard two cards of the same suit to play a card from your hand into your play area. Blue and orange cards either let you check off a space on your map in a region you've already opened or check off the next space on your railroad; if the space you checked has a reward, gain it immediately. At the end of your turn, if you have all three cards of a color in your play area, discard them, then check the flag on a map region that is adjacent to a region that you have already opened. Finally, if you have fewer than three cards in hand, draw until you have three cards. The purpose for all of this activity is to claim medals, which earn you points. You earn points for each region you open, and if you're the first player to open all regions of a color, you gain a medal worth bonus points. If you check all the spaces in a region, you earn a medal. If your railroad reaches the end of the line, you earn a medal. If you check all spaces with a certain symbol on your map, you earn a medal. Once a player has collected, the game ends at the end of that turn, then you tally all points to see who wins. Use shrewdness and discernment when calling or giving cards that you can take advantage of without helping your opponents too much. Ideally, you will be able to earn the points of the many medals scattered on your individual sheet route, as well as on the common bounty board.

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Editions

Language and publisher variants currently recorded in the catalog.

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
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Player resources

Rulebooks, player aids, FAQs, and solo resources.

No files imported yet.

Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2–4
Best with
2–4
Play time
25–50 min
Age
12+
Complexity
1.8/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

1
Joachim Thôme

Artists

1
Emir Durmiševi?

Publishers

1
Sylex

Linked items

No published linked games yet.