Cartref

Design and art by Chris Scaffidi

Medium-weight, passive-aggressive city-builder

1-3 players / Ages 13+ / 33-53 minutes

Buy a copy (Corvallis only)

Order a copy (Print on Demand)

Buy the PNP on Itch.io

Get the expansion

Now available: Cartref: Places of Prosperity — an expansion with new ways to score, annoy opponents, and win!

You are a goblin land baron and member of the Hut Barons guild–purveyors of magical real estate for weefolk, bigfolk, and everyone in between. Use your wits and magic to amass the greatest wealth in the budding city of Cartref.

If you enjoy building a city as in Suburbia, or displaying and manipulating a tableau of cards as in Magic: The Gathering, then you’ll probably enjoy Cartref, winner of the 2023 BoardGameGeek Two-Player Print-and-Play Contest.

Distinctive Mechanics

Players score Mandates (objective cards) twice–once when initially achieved and again at the game’s end. This creates the tension of a race while also provides a framework for strategic planning through the very last turn.

Invoking a card creates pollution (“bad karma”) that prevents invocation. This creates a need to purify before re-invoking, serving as a “burn down” mechanic to limit spamming. It also indirectly generates wealth, as the guild rewards players for cleaning up pollution.

Places of Prosperity

The guild creates Monuments and Dens that constrain construction and karma, while emissaries of exotic Peoples erect Embassies providing new paths to prosperity. Take advantage of these new opportunities to score points, obstruct your opponents, and win!

This expansion of Cartref has 3 parts: Dens, Embassies and Monuments. Each is optional. For example, you can play with Dens and Monuments but omit Embassies.

Embassies are a new type of building permit to be constructed by you or an opponent.
When a Den is surrounded, all players may gain the reward shown for that Den. Then, flip the Den face-down. This Den will pay even bigger rewards after the game.
Monuments enhance or constrain your abilities, changing the rules of the game each time that you play.

Dens and Monuments are owned by the guild – a new type of player who is not an opponent.

Player Feedback

“It is puzzly, replayable, and makes me feel quite clever at times.”

“It’s a unique, quick, easy-to-learn engine-building game.”

“The game was fun and easily understood by everyone.”

“I really like how the Automa works [solo mode]. It is very smooth. “

“It’s a competitive boardgame without being too mean! It’s easy to pick up, but it takes multiple attempts to develop good strategy.”

“It is an interesting card placement game that works well solo.”

“The cards look Great! They are easy on the eyes and I can quickly identify icons and tokens. The drawings are especially nice. “

“I liked being able to invoke and that it didn’t take up the whole table. Because the game finishes quickly, you feel ready to play again and do better.”

“I liked the synergy between many of the building types, their inhabitants and the mandates. It’s a dynamic game!”

“We liked the fact the rewards are ‘doubled’ and the potential strategy of getting early a mandate that is not so rewarding in the first moment but can prove very valuable when the game ends.”

“You get a real sense of progression with buildings improving future turns as the city forms in front of you.”

“Cartref is a unique mixture of city building, card synergy, and more, all within the landscape of a fast-pace, dynamic board.”

“Like the other games Fervent Workshop has developed, Cartref delivers a well-paced, nicely-balanced game suitable for anything from a relaxed game with friends to a fierce battle between rivals.”

“Individual strategy can vary widely; the routes to victory are limited only by the wit and creativity of the competitors.”

“A player may win handily with a steady, straightforward strategy, but the game provides opportunities for those with devious minds who prefer to lie in wait and win (or lose) it all in a single, risky, long-plotted, game-ending trap. Whatever your preferred play style.”

“Cartref delivers a fun, memorable experience and will make a great addition to any board game collection.”