2019 · Territory Building
Cartographers
Players act as royal cartographers sent to survey and claim newly reclaimed northern territories for the queen. Each round represents a season; players draw shapes on individual map sheets to record forests, rivers, towns, and other terrain according to the queen’s changing edicts. Scoring tracks reputation stars earned for meeting specific objectives each season while minimizing the influence of rival outposts. Play proceeds through four seasons, and the player with the most reputation at the end of winter wins.
- Players
- 1–100 best 4
- Playing time
- 30–45 min
- Age
- 10+
- Complexity
- 1.9 / 5
About the game
- Design
- Publishers
Expansions
See them in Ludoya
Cartographers: Skills Mini Expansion2019
Cartographers: Map Pack 1 – Nebblis: Plane of Flame2021
Cartographers: Map Pack 2 – Affril: Plane of Knowledge2021
Cartographers: Map Pack 3 – Undercity: Depths of Sabek2021
Cartographers: Ambush Mini Expansion2020
Cartographers: Skills Mini Expansion 22021
Cartographers: Map Pack 4 – Frozen Expanse: Realm of Frost Giants2022
Cartographers: Map Pack 6 – Hornhelm: Wasteland Market2022
Cartographers: Map Pack 5 – Kethra's Steppe: Redtooth & Goldbelly2022
Cartographers: Map Pack Collection2021
Cartographers: New Discoveries2020
Cartographers: Architects Mini Expansion2024
Cartographers: Ambush 2 Mini Expansion2024
Der Kartograph & Die Kartographin: Ferne Expeditionen2022
Cartographers: Map Pack Collection 22024
Cartographers: Packs de parchemins2021
Der Kartograph & Die Kartographin: Unbekannte Lande2021Plays with
See them in Ludoya
Photos from Ludoya tables
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Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 2,504
- Plays logged
- 1,327
- Players
- 30m 53s
- Average play
- 376
- In collections
- 21
- On wishlists
7.2/10
from 168 Ludoya reviews
Vic Granell8.0 Super replayable flip & draw game!! We love it at home
Mestremuten6.0 Rating: 4/5 Production value: 2/4 Is the game in my collection/Love to have?: 0/1
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
Can I rotate or flip the shape on an explore card before I draw it?
Yes — you may rotate and/or flip the chosen shape before drawing it on your map (Rulebook p.6).
Do I have to place the chosen shape touching my existing terrain?
No — the chosen shape does not have to be drawn adjacent to any shapes previously drawn; it just must not overlap filled spaces or the map edge (Rulebook p.6).
When a Ruins card is revealed, which shapes must we use to overlap a ruins space?
If a ruins card is revealed, immediately reveal the next explore card and each player must draw one of the available shapes depicted on that next card so it overlaps a ruins space if possible (Rulebook pp.5, 7).
How does an Ambush work — whose map do we draw on and what terrain do we use?
When an ambush is revealed, pass your map in the arrow's direction, draw the depicted shape on your neighbor’s map and fill it with the monster terrain (or a 1x1 monster if it can’t be legally placed), then return maps to their owners and discard the ambush (Rulebook p.7).
How do I check whether a season has ended — do I add up all revealed cards' time values?
Yes — add together the time values of all currently revealed explore cards in the column and compare the total to the season card’s time threshold; if it meets or exceeds the threshold, the season ends (Rulebook p.8).
Do mountains and wastelands count as filled spaces, and how do I earn coins from mountains?
Mountain, monster, and wasteland spaces count as filled spaces (Rulebook p.9). You earn coins by surrounding a mountain (filling all four orthogonally adjacent spaces) or by choosing a shape that shows a coin symbol, and each filled coin symbol on your coin track is worth one reputation star at season scoring (Rulebook pp.6, 8, 9).
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Cartographers with Ludoya
- Keep it in your collectionTrack your copy and its expansions, lend it to friends, or put it on your wishlist and get told when the price drops.Add it to your collection
- Log every playScores, winners, timers and photos, then your stats: win rate, favourite player count, best score.Log a play
- Settle rules questionsAsk anything about the rules and get an answer from the rulebook, with the page to check it on.Ask the rules assistant
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.