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Cartaventura is the name of a series of pocket-sized adventure games where the choices of the players determine the fate of the hero. The adventure is managed through a deck of large square tiles detailing either a map or a piece of the story or an item. Some of these cards will offer different options or encounters that can lead to different ending. Each game of the series offers in fact four endings depending on the choices the players will take. Some endings may also unlock some cards that can alter or add additional ending to the story.
One very interesting aspect is that the story is designed to be historically accurate and this is enhanced by a small leaflet detailing the background and providing a lot of interesting facts to support the narrative. This aspect and the overall design of the series definitely tickled my interest when I first heard of Cartaventura thus I decided to bring one of these games on holiday with me to give it a try. I immediately felt pleased about my choice as the very compact box was extremely handy and easy to be packed away in my suitcase. I then had the pleasure to play with it and I have a few thoughts I would like to share on it. I will try to minimize any spoilers about the story or the overall game but please be aware I will need to leak some very minor ones to be able to discuss the gameplay.
Background
As you may imagine, Cartaventura D-Day is set in Normandy during the Nazi occupation. The games focuses on the role the French resistance played in preparing and planning for the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. This mission, originally codenamed Operation Neptune and usually referred as “D-Day”, was the largest seaborne invasion in history and began the liberation of not only France, but also the rest of Western Europe, leading ultimately to the Allied victory on the Western Front.
While the main historical events were unfolding, the story in the game take place in July 1943. Players take the role of Adele, a 17 years French teenager leaving in a farm with her grandparents. Adele life is marked by the early loss of her mother due to tuberculosis and by the absence of his father that has been kept prisoner in a camp in Germany since 1940. However, there is also friendship and romance in her life and the optimism that the future will be brighter.
Contents and Gameplay
After opening the box, the players will find a nicely packed deck of square cards. That's it, the game is self contained in the provided cards and you will not need anything else in order to play. The other interesting aspect is that the first few cards will act as a tutorial explaining how to play the game and the type of actions players can take. The game can be played solo or by multiple players taking the decisions as a group.
There are two key rules in Cartaventura: first, the deck should not be shuffled at any time and, second, players can only draw or turn the cards if the game instructs them to do so. When a new card is drawn, it can either be a location or a type of action. In the first case, the new location tile is added to the other ones on the table to build an overall map. Some of these locations may detail other cards to be turned and added to the map in the detailed position.
The other type of cards require the players to take different type of actions, The first type (identified by a gear icon) provides the players with a small piece of the story and offers players with two or more alternatives. If the icon on the card is a lightning bolt, the action is called “Urgent” and players have to read the instruction and eventually make their choice immediately even if they were still drawing cards from a previous action. In both cases, other cards may be drawn or turned depending on the choices made by the players.
The last type of card is marked with a hand and called “object”. Objects always have a role in the main story thus they should be kept visible on the table. Some of them have an additional key icon and they can be “unlocked” only progressing with the story. Interestingly, some of them can be unlocked only for future games leading to alternative endings. As mentioned initially, there are four different endings to the story although players should also be aware that their character can die at any time during the adventure.
Final thoughts
Cartaventura D-Day comes with a blurb about the historical period and a couple of background cards about the main character and her family. I quite liked the effort in making the game more “real” and immersive. Adventure games always rely more on the story than on the game mechanism and I felt this game did a good job in evoking a good sense of adventure and mystery. I loved in particular a couple of turns I took where I really felt the tension of the situation and only realized after a couple of cards what really happened. The game also feels very historically accurate and I think this added a lot to the experience in particular if you have seen other movies or read books about these period of European history. My only minor disappointment on these aspects is related to the secondary characters as I think the designers could have put a bit more effort in rendering them a bit more realistic. As the background of the story is so well structured and detailed, I was likely expecting a bit more details on the characters although this does not make the story less enjoyable.
In terms of gameplay, learning and playing Cartaventura could not be more easy. Players just start the game turning one card at a time following the instruction and making their choices. Interestingly, every decision will have some sort of consequences. The order in which players take the actions can also sometime impact the game thus is important to think carefully what to do and when. This mechanics provides the feeling of time passing and also leads the players toward the end of the story.
I must admit that initially, the story felt a bit linear due to the first few cards being focused on introducing the story and the rules of the game. However, after the first main story node, the story took a lot of turns and the tension of taking the “right” choice kept growing one cards after the other. I must admit I lost my first game but I am quite happy I then managed to find all four endings with a bit of effort. There are a couple of pivotal events in the game that lead to completely divergent endings and I quite appreciated how my choices influenced the overall story.
Unfortunately, even with multiple endings, the choices offered by the game are not endless. The replayability of this adventure game is therefore quite limited but this was overall quite expected. To be fair, Cartaventura D-Day offered a good hour of fun that was still a good value considering the very portable box, the affordable cost and the immersive story. I am thinking of passing the game over to some friends and I would be interested in trying other games of this series to see other stories and experience more adventures.
That concludes our thoughts on Cartaventura D-Day. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts and tag us on social media @zatugames. To buy Cartaventura D-Day today click here!