# Santa Maria

Santa Maria is a board game for 1–4 players. It plays in 45–90 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 3. It is rated 7.2 out of 10 by 50 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $57.39 (United States).

- **Players:** 1–4 (best with 3)
- **Playing time:** 45–90 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 3 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2017
- **Categories:** Civilization, Farming
- **Mechanics:** Network and Route Building, Tile Placement, Set Collection, Open Drafting, Dice Rolling, Variable Player Powers
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.2 out of 10, from 50 reviews
- **Owned by:** 79 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 231
- **Unique players:** 245

**Designers:** Eilif Svensson, Kristian Amundsen Østby

**Artists:** Gjermund Bohne

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hyggeonkel | 194.95 kr | https://www.hyggeonkel.dk/produkt/santa-maria |
| Spelexperten | 299 kr | https://www.spelexperten.com/sallskapsspel/strategispel/santa-maria.html |
| Alphaspel | 385 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/78241-santa-maria |
| World of Board Games | 385 kr | https://www.worldofboardgames.com/santa-maria |

## Expansions

- [Santa Maria: American Kingdoms](https://www.ludoya.com/games/santa-maria-american-kingdoms)
- [Santa Maria: Exploration Deck](https://www.ludoya.com/games/santa-maria-exploration-deck)
- [Super Power](https://www.ludoya.com/games/super-power)

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## Rules questions

### Do I have to use the exact die value to activate a row/column, or can I change the die first?

You may pay 1 coin per pip to increase or decrease the chosen die’s value (no wrap‑around) and then activate the matching column (white die) or row (blue die); the buildings are activated in order and the die is placed on the last vacant building (pages 3, 5).

### If a building already has coins on it (or a die), is it activated when I use a row/column or single‑building action?

No — only vacant buildings are activated; buildings covered with a die or coins are skipped (page 5).

### Can I hold more than three of the same resource in storage, or do I lose extras?

Your storage can never hold more than 3 identical resources; any excess resources are converted to coins at the selling price (1 coin for a basic resource, 2 coins for an advanced resource) (page 4).

### When I place a monk on a common space, do I always have to pay other players 2 coins?

If you are the first to place a monk on that specific space it’s free; otherwise you must pay 2 coins to each player who already has a monk on that space (and you may not place a monk where you already have one) (page 5).

### If I retire, can I still use free actions that turn, and can I use a blue die I just unlocked?

You may use free actions (and scholar abilities) on the turn you retire, but any blue die you unlock during the year (for example by passing monk symbols) cannot be used until the next year (pages 5–6).

### How do shipment tiles get refilled and when do I get their income/points?

When you take a shipment tile from a dock you immediately pay its cost, place it face down in your harbour, and draw a replacement from the stack to refill that dock; shipment tiles give income when you retire (applied top to bottom) and their printed points are scored at game end (pages 4, 6).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/santa-maria)
- [Santa Maria in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/santa-maria)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/229220)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._