2022 BGG rank #8772

Pátzcuaro

2–4 players 20–45 min Ages 10+ 1.5/5 complexity 5.6/10 rating

About this game

Every November 2nd in a magical land called Mexico, families build wonderful monoliths decorated with stories and tradition. With their memories, meals and favorite objects altars are decorated in honor of the memory of their loved ones who rest in peace. Today we will build the best of those altars in the city that lives this holiday like no other: Pátzcuaro. In Pátzcuaro players are responsible for going to a cultural market to get the letters of objects that make up their altars and build them. From 2 to 4 players, 20 minutes in duration, for 10 years and over, with hand management through cards. —description from the designer

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Set Collection Rondel Hand Management Card Game

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Setup

1. Place the Pátzcuaro tile upright in the playing area. 2. Shuffle the 4 Shop tiles (choosing a random side and orientation for each tile) and place them in a line to the right of the Pátzcuaro tile, forming the full rondel. In a 2-player game, return the last Shop tile to the box — it will not be used. 3. Shuffle the Altar cards and deal 6 to each player as their starting hand. 4. Place 1 Altar card face up above and below each Shop tile. Form a draw deck with the remaining Altar cards, accessible to all players. 5. Deal 1 Player card (altar side face up) to each player and give them the Player token of the matching color. 6. Give the First Player card to the most festive person — they go first. 7. In turn order, each player places their Player token on the top action space of the Pátzcuaro tile. 8. Separate the Objective cards by petal count (1, 2, and 3 petals). Shuffle each group separately, reveal 1 card from each group, and place all three near the central play area. Return all remaining Objective cards to the box.

Turn flow

Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player takes a turn. On your turn: 1. MOVE: Move your Player token 1, 2, or 3 spaces clockwise along the rondel path. Spaces occupied by other Player tokens are ignored and do not count against your movement. You cannot end your movement on a space occupied by another Player token. 2. ACT: Take all the action(s) of the space you landed on, in the order indicated (if numbered). Actions include trading cards at Shop spaces, placing a card into your altar, drawing a card from the deck, or revealing a card from the deck onto a Shop space. SPECIAL — Flip Your Player Card (once per game): If you cannot or do not want to take all the actions of the space you landed on, you may flip your Player card, draw 2 cards from the deck, and end your turn. This option is available only once per game. If you have already flipped your Player card and cannot take all actions of your current space, you must move to one of the other 2 action spaces where you can take all actions. If that is also impossible, you may move to any of the 3 action spaces and draw 1 card. Play continues until the end-game condition is triggered.

Scoring and victory

Players tally points from all altar levels, objective cards, and penalties, then sum them. The player with the highest total score wins. Scoring sources: Level 1 altar scoring: 1 point per item of 3 chosen item types, Level 2 altar scoring: 2 points per item of 2 chosen item types, Level 3 altar scoring: 3 points per item of 1 chosen item type, 1-Petal Objective: 5 points per matching item set in altar, 2-Petal Objective (A): Points per card set shown, 2-Petal Objective (B): -3 points per yellow card in altar, 2-Petal Objective (C): +8 points if altar has no yellow cards, 3-Petal Objective: 4/7/12 points for fulfilling 1/2/3 altar levels, Player Card flip penalty: -5 points

Source: Rulebook

Rules to know

The most useful rules for getting a first game right.

Setup

The action spaces on all tiles form a circular rondel path.

Each tile (Pátzcuaro tile and Shop tiles) has one action space on its top edge and one on its bottom edge. Together, all these spaces form a circular rondel path that Player tokens travel along clockwise. Action spaces on the same edge of adjacent tiles (i.e., the leftmost or rightmost edges of the tile line) are considered adjacent to each other, connecting the top and bottom paths into a loop.

Movement

On your turn, move your token 1, 2, or 3 spaces clockwise along the rondel.

On your turn, you must move your Player token exactly 1, 2, or 3 spaces clockwise along the rondel path. You cannot choose not to move. After moving, you take the action(s) of the space you land on.

Movement

Skip over spaces occupied by other Player tokens; skipped spaces do not count against your movement.

When moving clockwise, any space that currently contains another Player token is ignored and skipped. Skipping such a space does not consume any of your 1–3 movement steps. You must count only unoccupied spaces. You cannot end your movement on a space that is already occupied by another Player token.

Turn structure

You must take ALL actions of the space you land on.

After landing on a space, you are required to take all of the actions listed on that space, in the numbered order if applicable. If you cannot or do not want to complete all actions, your only relief options are: (1) use your once-per-game Player card flip, or (2) if already flipped, move to another valid space or draw 1 card as a fallback.

Special

Once per game, flip your Player card to skip a space's actions, draw 2 cards, and end your turn. Costs 5 points at end of game.

Once per game, if you cannot or do not want to take all the actions of the space you landed on, you may flip your Player card (from altar side to the other side). When you do, draw 2 Altar cards from the deck into your hand and immediately end your turn — you do not take the space's actions. This option can only be used once per game per player. At end of game, if your Player card has been flipped, you lose 5 points.

Turn structure

If your Player card is already flipped and you cannot take all actions of your space, move to another space where you can; if none exist, move to any space and draw 1 card.

If your Player card has already been flipped (used) and you land on a space where you cannot take all the actions, you must move your token to one of the other 2 action spaces on the rondel where you are able to take all actions. If no such space exists, you may move your token to any of the 3 remaining action spaces and draw 1 Altar card from the deck.

Trading

Reveal card(s) from your hand that meet the space's requirement, place them on the space, and take all cards that were already there.

To take a Trading action: (1) Reveal 1 or more Altar cards from your hand that fulfill the specific requirement shown on the space (e.g., a card of a specific color, a card with a certain number of items, a card with/without a specific item, a card of a different color than the top card, etc.) and place them onto the space. (2) Take all of the other Altar cards that were already on the space into your hand. Each Shop tile space always has at least 1 Altar card on it during the game.

Restriction

Each Shop tile space always has at least 1 Altar card on it during the game.

Throughout the game, each of the action spaces on the Shop tiles must always have at least 1 Altar card present. This is maintained through the Trading action (players place cards before taking) and the Reveal Card action.

Strategy briefing

Prioritize Item Density on Higher Levels

Because level 3 scores 3 points per item and level 2 scores 2 points per item, packing high-item-count cards into those levels is far more valuable than filling the base. When trading at shops, prioritize acquiring cards with multiple copies of a single item type for your upper levels.

Build the Base Quickly to Unlock Upper Levels

You cannot place any card on level 2 until at least 2 cards are in level 1. Getting 2 base cards down early unlocks level 2 placement, and getting 4 base cards enables full level 2 and level 3 access. Prioritize the Altar action in early turns.

Avoid Yellow Cards if the 2-Petal Objective Penalizes Them

The 2-Petal Objective loses you 3 points per yellow card but rewards 8 points for having zero yellow cards. Unless condition A of the same objective rewards yellow card sets enough to offset the per-card penalty, avoiding yellow cards entirely for the flat 8-point bonus is often the stronger play.

Use the Player Card Flip Strategically, Not Desperately

The Player card flip draws 2 cards for free but costs 5 points at end of game. It is most valuable early-to-mid game when those 2 specific cards can steer your altar toward a high-scoring item focus, and least valuable late in the game when the point penalty outweighs the benefit.

Control Movement to Hit Ideal Shop Spaces

Since you must move exactly 1–3 spaces and skip occupied spaces for free, the presence of other players' tokens can actually help by collapsing the effective distance to a desired space. Plan your position each turn so your next 1–3 move options include your target shop.

Focus Item Types Across All Levels

You choose up to 6 distinct item types across all three levels (3+2+1). Consolidating your card acquisitions around 3–4 item types total lets you score the same items at multiple levels, maximizing points. Spreading across too many item types dilutes scoring across all levels.

Monitor the Deck Size to Anticipate End Game

The game ends when the deck runs out. When the deck is low, non-triggering players get one free final card placement. If you are close to completing your altar, racing to trigger the end condition yourself (by placing your 9th card) denies opponents that free final placement.

Common questions and edge cases

A player wants to trade at a shop space. They place their required card(s) on the space — but what if the space currently has only 1 card? Do they still take it after placing?

Yes. The rule states the player places their card(s) first, then takes all the OTHER cards that were already on the space. The shop space always has at least 1 card, so there will always be at least 1 card to take. The card(s) just placed are not taken back.

The Altar deck runs out during another player's turn. Can all remaining players still place a card?

Yes. When the end-game is triggered (by deck running out OR altar completion), all players EXCEPT the triggering player may each place 1 Altar card from their hand onto their altar before scoring. This final placement does not require the deck to have cards — it comes from the players' hands.

If multiple spaces in a row are occupied by other tokens, how does movement counting work?

Occupied spaces are completely ignored when counting movement. You count only unoccupied spaces. If 3 consecutive spaces are occupied by other tokens, moving '1 space' would land you on the first unoccupied space after all three occupied ones.

A player has already flipped their Player card and cannot take all actions on their current space. There are no other spaces where they can take all actions either. What happens?

If no space on the rondel allows the player to take all required actions, they may move their token to any of the 3 remaining action spaces (their choice) and draw 1 card from the Altar deck. They do not take the space's actions.

The 3-Petal Objective requires both an item type and a color on each level. Can a single card satisfy both requirements?

Yes. The rulebook explicitly states that a single card may fulfill both an item requirement and a color requirement simultaneously for the 3-Petal Objective.

For the 2-Petal Objective, does a player apply both condition B (lose 3 pts per yellow card) AND condition C (gain 8 pts for no yellow cards), or just one?

All three conditions (A, B, and C) are evaluated for every player. However, conditions B and C are mutually exclusive in practice: if you have yellow cards, B applies (losing 3 pts each) and C does not (since your altar is not free of yellow cards). If you have no yellow cards, B grants no penalty and C grants you 8 points.

Can a player place the first card on the second level if the base only has 1 card?

No. Each card placed on the second or third level must have exactly 2 Altar cards directly supporting it from the level below. With only 1 card in the base, there is no valid 2-card support, so no card can be placed on the second level yet.

When scoring altar levels, can a player choose which item types to count after seeing all their cards?

Yes. Scoring is done at the end of the game after the altar is fully built. Players choose their 3 item types (level 1), 2 item types (level 2), and 1 item type (level 3) at scoring time, optimizing for whatever gives the most points. Items not chosen score nothing.