MACAO

OBJECTIVE OF MACAO: The objective of Macao is to be the player with the most prestige points by moving the furthest along the prestige track. 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 4 Players 

MATERIALS: 1 Game Board, 4 Player Markers, 4 Wind Roses, 24 Goods Tiles, 6 Joker Tiles, 36 Gold Coins, 48 Punish Marker, 300 Action Cubes, 6 Dice, 4 Ships, 10 Discs, 24 Office Cards, 44 Building Cards, 52 Person Cards, and Instructions  

TYPE OF GAME: Drafting Board Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 12 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF MACAO 

In Macao, the port city in southernmost China, players act as adventurers that are trying to become the most prestigious captains, governors, craftsman, or scholars that they can be. Over the course of 12 rounds, players will select cards, building their decks. In order to score points, players must deliver goods, use their cards, pay with coins, and build throughout the city.  

SETUP 

To begin setup, place the board in the center of the playing area. Each player will choose a color to represent them throughout the course of the game. They will then collect all of the following materials in their chosen color: 12 ownership markers, two discs, a ship, a wind rose, and a tableau. They will also collect five gold coins. The tableau is placed in front of the player, and the wind rose, ownership markers, and gold coins are placed beside it.  

The rest of the gold coins are placed beside the board, creating the bank. The action cubes are separated by color and placed beside the board, within reach of all players. All of the goods tiles are placed on the houses in the light city spaces randomly, with the joker tiles being placed on the houses in the dark city spaces. The cards are divided into two stacks, the office cards and the building or person cards. The office cards are separated into sets of two and placed alongside the game board where the markers are, and the other cards are placed beside the board.  

The two brown discs can be placed on the right and left side of the zero on the tribute track on the left of the board. One player will be assigned the role of dice roller. They will then place all of the dice beside the board. Two cards more than the number of players is then drawn from the building and person stack, and then each player will take a card and place it on an empty space on their tableau.  

Beginning with the player whose disk is on the top of the pile of discs and continuing down, the players will take one action cube from the supply. They will place it beside the one die space on their wind rose, and then they will collect two action cubes that match their first one beside their two-die space. The game is then ready to begin.  

GAMEPLAY 

The game is played over the course of 12 rounds, with each round having three phases, the cards phase, the dice phase, and the action phase. The roller will take two office cards, placing them beside the board face up along with the top four building or person cards. All yellow numbers on the cards are tallied, figuring the tribute value, and the brown disc is moved to the corresponding space on the tribute table. The red numbers are also tallied, and the exchange value is determined by the tribute table. The players will discard up to two of the building or person cards depending on the number of players, and each player will choose a card to add to their tableau, beginning with the first player to the wall.  

During phase two, the roller will roll all the dice, arranging them so that the matching die are grouped together. Players, in wall order, will then choose two dice, taking the same number of action cubes from the supply and placing them next to the number that matches their dice on their wind rose. All players will then rotate their wind rose one clockwise space after they have collected their action cubes, causing each action cube to move to a die with one lower number. The action cubes that the arrow points to now becomes their supply, and no other action cubes can be used.  

In the third phase, the players complete actions by using their action cubes, attempting to use all of the ones that they have available. Any unused action supply is returned to the general supply when the third phase ends. Players complete actions by activating them with the correct number of action cubes that the action card requires. Players may score points for various actions. The game continues in this manner for 12 rounds.  

END OF GAME 

The game comes to an end when the 12th round ends. Players must first gather punish markers for each card that they still have on their tableau. They will then settle their accounts by moving their marker along the prestige track. For every punish marker the player has, they must move their disc back three spaces. For every activated card that the players have that have a game end effect, the players will move their disc depending on the card. Finally, for each marker they have in the longest string of ownership, the players will score two prestige points.  

After all points have been tallied, the winner is chosen. The winner is determined by how far the players have moved along the prestige track. The player who has moved the farthest wins the game!  

Ellie Phillips
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