San Marco
A Venice-themed influence game where splitting the cards fairly matters more than playing them well.
Who it's for
Euro gamers who love clever drafting mechanisms and want a mid-weight classic that rewards careful, fair-minded planning.
Not for you if…
You dislike drafting mechanisms where you might end up stuck with your own bad split, because that risk drives the whole game.
Vibe's take
sharp, elegant, tense, cerebral, satisfying
See how it plays
About this game
San Marco turns a simple deck of action cards into a masterclass in fair division. Two players draw and split cards into groups, then the other players choose which pile they want, which means the splitters have to build piles that are tempting but not too tempting, since whatever is left is theirs. Those cards place and move aristocrats, raise bridges, and score districts across Renaissance Venice, so every choice about what to keep bleeds directly into who controls the canals. Sharp, elegant, and built entirely on the tension of cutting a cake you might have to eat yourself.
Get it
By the numbers
Players
Duration
75 min
Ages 12+
Complexity
2.7 / 5 — MediumBGG Rating
6.6/10
Rank #1,101
4.7k ratings
Published
2001
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