Maracaibo was a bit of a surprise to me as far as complexity. Given that it’s so similar to Great Western Trail by the same designer, I expected it to be a step even higher – quite scary, considering Great Western Trail is heavy, not necessarily in terms of gameplay, but in terms of strategy.
It turned out to actually be a much less harsh and less heavy game than I expected, judging from my limited plays so far. I think there is some significant luck from several sources in the game, and I personally dislike the “shares” system very much. Nevertheless, it somehow manages to be a relatively pleasant experience, and one of the few decent pirate-themed Euro games out there. I didn’t care about the beginning of the campaign, which to me also feels odd in this kind of game, but maybe it will ramp up, along with my appreciation for it?
I’m interested in continuing to play, but I question the significant hype around the game.
