Santa Maria

Draft dice to activate rows and columns of buildings in your colony. Pure planning, near-zero luck.

👥 1–4 players⏱ approx. 90 min🪄 Takes some learning12+

🧩 Solo mode★ 7.0 · BGG #542

Who it's for

Euro enthusiasts who enjoy spatial puzzles and engine building without direct confrontation.

Not for you if…

You want player interaction beyond drafting. This is a heads-down optimization game.

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Vibe's take

puzzly, clean, engine-building, spatial optimization, low-conflict

See how it plays

About this game

Build a colonial settlement on a personal grid board where dice activate entire rows or columns of buildings at once. Drafted dice represent migrant workers, and placement order matters enormously: each die blocks the last building it activates, creating a spatial puzzle that rewards careful city planning. Ship goods along trade routes, send conquistadors exploring, and recruit monks as scholars, missionaries, or bishops. Three tight rounds with near-zero luck and no direct conflict make this a clean, satisfying euro.

Dice activate entire rows/columnsNear-zero luckHigh replayability

Get it

Buy on Amazon.com BGG