Aldabas: Doors of Cartegena Card Game Review

 I love a game with a good backstory!  And if that back story is educational, then all the better!  Games that have some sort of historical backstory really float my boat!  So I was thrilled at the opportunity to review Aldabas: Doors of Cartegena, by Grand Gamers Guild!

If you don't know what "aldabas" means, don't worry.  Neither did I.  But apparently aldaba is a Spanish word for door knocker.  And the city of Cartegena, Colombia is particularly known for them. The door knockers date all the way back to colonial times and these ornate door knockers were often used to display the homeowner's wealth and status. In fact, a popular Spanish saying at the time was, "a tal casa tal adaba," which means, "to each house its door knocker." In other words, we can tell what type of person lives in this house based on the aldaba on the door.  These kinds of cultural facts are always fascinating to me! So a game based on these lovely, ornate door knockers seems like a grand idea!

Let's take a look!

Aldabas plays 1 to 4 players and takes approximately 30 minutes.

Aldabas is a tableau building card game where you're trying to fill your neighborhood with the most influential neighbors. 

Things I love about the game:

1.) The player count! - Although I wish it played up to 5 players (since I have a family of 5), I do love that it can be played 2-player.  And I love that there's also a solo mode! (You know. For when nobody will play with me. Haha!)

2.) Card design! - These cards are really beautiful! The design of the cards really elevates the game.

3.) The simplicity! - While it contains some strategy and decision-making, its simple enough for my kids to play.

4.) The educational value! - This game leads to lots of great discussions - from Spanish language discusion, to Colombian culture to the colonial period. But there's also lots of great mental math in figuring out the final scores. And don't forget about the strategy practice and decision-making!

If you love engaging card games, educational play, or culturally relevant games, this may be the game for you!

If you're interested in learning more about aldabas, here's an article that explains a little more. 

I received this game, free of charge from Grand Gamers Guild, in exchange for my honest review.