Map makers! Your skills are needed once again. Whether you choose to traverse the realm of the frost giants finding scouted spaces throughout the frozen tundra, or you rekindle the Goldbelly and Redtooth beacons, or even explore the fine goods of the wasteland market, you are bound to find an adventure ahead. Let’s get started!

About The Maps

These map packs serve as expansions for Cartographers and/or Cartographers Heroes – a flip and write game about mapping out terrains, and fending off monsters.

Map Pack 4: Frozen Expanse – Realm of Frost Giants adds in “scouted spaces” which restrict which terrain type can be drawn in certain spots. Filling these spots can also earn players additional points at certain times in the game. This map also adds a new hero, which can be drawn on those spots, and 2 new ambush cards, which may destroy spots or allow players to fill in spots once surrounded / destroyed.

Map Pack 5: Kethra’s Steppe – Redtooth & Goldbelly adds a 5th scoring card to the game (1 of 3 varieties) which scores every round. This objective focuses on lighted beacons on a players’ map, and may reward or penalize players based on other empty / filled spaces in the beacon’s range, row, or column.

Finally, Map Pack 6: Hornhelm – Wasteland Market adds a market on the back of the map that players can buy useful tools each season (except the first) which have ongoing effects. The effects earn players journal points, a new way to score, which players will add to their score at the end of the game.

Who Are These For?

  • Ages 10+
  • 1 or more players
  • Fans of Cartographers & Cartographers Heroes looking for new maps
  • Frozen Expanse is good for players who like slightly more restrictive play
  • Kethra’s Steppe and Hornhelm are good for players who want more opportunities for scoring
  • Hornhelm is also good for players who like earning ongoing abilities during the game

PROS

  • More variety in the game
    • Small learning curve for fans of the game; doesn’t introduce anything too difficult or make the game confusing
  • New scoring objectives (more opportunity to score)
  • New mechanisms to keep the game fresh
  • Unique hero / ambush cards for the Frozen Expanse map which play off the scouted spaces
  • Hornhelm market gives you a way to spend coins, which is always interesting instead of just collecting them

CONS

  • On the market spots on the back of the Hornhelm map, the terrain types listed in some of the abilities are printed very darkly, making them hard to see at quick glance
  • On the Frozen Expanse map, once you draw over the scouted spaces, they can be hard to see when it comes to the seasons they score during. I wish there had been an additional track on the map (like the one on Hornhelm for journey points) to track how many of those spaces you filled in

Final Thoughts

I thought I was going to be able to go into my final thoughts telling you which of these was my favorite, but… I really enjoy them all!

I think the scouted spaces in Frozen Expanse add a pinch of difficulty in planning out where to place your shapes each turn, both trying to fill in those spaces for points, and leaving space for other shapes so you can fill in more later.

I think the scoring objectives in Kethra’s Steppe are very interesting because they all cause you to lose points for certain things, so you really have to plan for when you want to light your beacons, to make sure you’re still netting positive points.

Finally, the market in Hornhelm is full of great items, and I love seeing the next market card flip out so I can see which items are available. The abilities are all good, and it’s just a matter of picking what meshes best with your play style in that particular game.

Overall, these map packs are great, and if you already like Cartographers, they are well worth picking up to add more variety to the game!

Additional Information:
My Final Ratings – 8/10 (All Maps)

Designers – Jordy Adan, John Brieger
Artists – Lucas Ribeiro, Diego Sá JJ Ariosa
Publisher – Thunderworks Games
MSRP – $9.95 (Maps 4 & 5), $14.95 (Map 6)
Bundle Price – $35.00 (with Heroes: Champions Mini Expansion – 4 new hero cards)
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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