The Quest for El Dorado

What is The Quest for El Dorado?

The Quest for El Dorado is a deck-building racing game by designer Reiner Knizia, published in Dutch by 999 Games. The game is suitable for 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up, with a playing time of 30 to 60 minutes. The Quest for El Dorado won the title Toy of the Year in 2020 and was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres in 2017.

In The Quest for El Dorado Players are expedition leaders in search of the legendary golden city of El Dorado, somewhere deep in the South American jungle. Whoever reaches the finish line first wins. The game combines two mechanisms that rarely work together so smoothly: a personal deck of cards that is built up and refined along the way, and a modular game board that creates a different path through the jungle with every game.

How does a game proceed?

Each player starts with an identical starting deck of cards. The cards are divided into three color groups: green cards help move through the jungle, blue cards for crossing rivers, and yellow cards for purchasing new cards more efficiently at the market. On each turn, you play cards from your hand to move across the hexagonal tiles of the game board and to buy new cards.

Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. Network and Route Building You choose which route to take through the jungle each turn. The modular game board, made up of individual tiles, offers a different course with various obstacles and detours every game. Via Deck/Engine Building With each purchase, you add new cards to your personal deck that make your expedition more efficient. Whoever best aligns their deck with the course moves fastest towards El Dorado.

Obstacles on the board call for specific card types or combinations: a dense patch of jungle requires more green cards, a wide river more blue. Cards that are no longer useful can be removed from the deck to make it more decisive. For advanced players, the game includes extra rules via cave tokens that add additional challenges. With 2 players, each player guides two expedition members who must both reach El Dorado to win.

Is it difficult to learn?

The Quest for El Dorado It is quickly explained. The basic rule per turn is simple: play cards, move, and buy new cards. The depth lies in weighing which cards to buy and when, and how to adjust your route based on the available card supply. The game rules are available in Dutch. The cards contain minimal text, making the game accessible to players without a Dutch background. Players aged 10 and up can join in effortlessly, and experienced deckbuilding players will also find more than enough challenge here via the variable boards and cave tokens.

Who is The Quest for El Dorado suitable?

The Quest for El Dorado It is ideally suited for families with children aged 10 and up, for beginning deckbuilding players who want to explore the genre, and for experienced players who enjoy an adventurous theme. The game works excellently with 2 players thanks to the double expedition members variant and also shines with 3 or 4 players when the competition for the best route and market cards is most intense. The variable boards ensure high replayability: every game requires a different strategy.

Why this game is worth it

The combination of deckbuilding and a racing game is in The Quest for El Dorado Particularly well-executed. The two mechanisms reinforce each other: whoever builds their deck better can move smarter, and whoever moves smarter benefits sooner from better market cards. The modular game board ensures that the deckbuilding strategy differs from game to game: what works on one board is less effective on another. As a result, every game feels fresh and challenging, even for players who have played the game multiple times.

Comparison with other games

The Quest for El Dorado is situated in a unique segment: a racing game with deckbuilding at its core. The closest point of comparison is Dominion as a pure deckbuilding game, but The Quest for El Dorado is more accessible and visually appealing due to the modular game board. Compared to Ticket to Ride as a racing game on a board, the strategic depth is in The Quest for El Dorado larger due to the deckbuilding layer. Anyone who also likes Clank! as an adventurous deckbuilding game with a spatial element, the setup of The Quest for El Dorado immediately recognizable as related, even though the theme and board layout are different.

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The Quest for El Dorado is an excellent and award-winning deckbuilding racing game that makes every session exciting and different through a modular game board and an evolving card deck. Winner of Toy of the Year 2020. Suitable for 2 to 4 players aged 10 and up, playing time 30 to 60 minutes. Language: Dutch. Order The Quest for El Dorado Now at Boardgameshop.nl.