Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Santa Cruz is played in two independent rounds in which players build homes, churches and lighthouses on the island while also developing valuable resources. Players each start with a hand of cards, comprising traveling cards and scoring cards.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Connections
Create meaningful links between locations, pieces, or concepts.
End Game Bonuses
Earn additional points for meeting conditions evaluated when the game ends.
Point-to-Point Movement
Move along explicit connections between named locations or nodes.
Score-and-Reset Game
Score repeated rounds or hands, then reset the play state and continue.
Read the full game description
Santa Cruz is played in two independent rounds in which players build homes, churches and lighthouses on the island while also developing valuable resources. Players each start with a hand of cards, comprising traveling cards and scoring cards. They then explore a board showing three islands, which have tiles laid face-down representing buildings and places, such as churches and lighthouses. On a turn, players must play either a traveling card to explore and place buildings in their color or play a scoring card to score a particular type of building, resource, or other game condition for all players. Spaces near the central volcano are more valuable, but are vulnerable to a negative eruption scoring card. If that volcano does erupt, the magma might clear away the buildings already constructed. Bad luck? Well, use your experience from the first round to build better in the second. You won't make the same mistakes a second time, will you? Concentrate on the further colonization of Santa Cruz and score while you can!