Box check: Maracaibo: The Uprising is an expansion for Alexander Pfister’s original Maracaibo and requires that base game. It is distinct from Pirates of Maracaibo, a standalone game. The Uprising adds project cards, new ship boards and home ports, several modules, standalone scenarios and an optional campaign.

What changes even before you choose a scenario?

The expansion rulebook instructs you to add its new project cards to the base game’s B-cards, replace the quest tiles with the expansion versions that fit the new ship boards, and use the new boards with recesses for combat, resistance and home-port tiles. Follow its component preparation rather than mixing a few new cards into the old setup at random. The publisher also supplies new career, city, Automa and story material.

Home Ports add an individual ability

Each player receives three home-port options and chooses one during setup alongside the project and career choices. Like another ship upgrade, the chosen port begins covered by two discs. Uncovering it grants the printed immediate opportunity and an ongoing effect or income benefit. For example, Nassau can add an extra village action when you stop at a village and choose village actions as your main action; that does not mean every bonus village action elsewhere triggers it. Home ports make familiar card and route plans start differently for each player.

Which play option should you select?

• Campaign: A new story can be started without completing the original campaign. Its starting setup uses Home Ports; later options can bring in additional modules. The rulebook also permits continuing the base campaign.
• Unrest: A competitive scenario centered on freeing Caribbean locations. It uses Home Ports, Freeing the Caribbean and Resistance Tiles. It changes nation scoring, so the base game’s influence-multiplier reference cannot be applied unchanged.
• All Inclusive: A competitive scenario with random Legacy Tiles, Home Ports, Uprising and Resistance Tiles. The expansion rulebook identifies it as a first-game option for the expansion.
• Cooperative in the Caribbean: Players work together against Jacques, freeing locations from the nations. At the end of round four, every ownership marker must be gone and each player must outscore Jacques.
• The Rescue: Another cooperative scenario adds the search for Luysa; the team must free her, clear ownership and outscore Jacques. It has more simultaneous requirements.

These are scenario-defined combinations. The rulebook says the modules are selected by the play option, so do not freely attach every module to any scenario and assume the same setup or scoring applies.

How do rebellion and resistance differ from base combat?

The Uprising module adds a choice to fight against a nation rather than for one. Against a nation, only the new liberation combat actions are available; base Influence, Annex and Displace actions are unavailable for that combat. Liberating a location can let you place the removed ownership marker on your Resistance Tile for a printed reward, subject to its placement rules. A base-game Displace removes the marker from the game instead, so it does not fill your Resistance Tile. The Freeing the Caribbean module and cooperative scenarios have additional setup and scoring rules; consult the selected scenario card.

Who benefits from this expansion?

It suits a group that already knows Maracaibo’s route, income and nation scoring and wants asymmetric starts or a different objective. If you chiefly want another standalone game, The Uprising is the wrong box because it requires Maracaibo. For a first base-game play, learn the original final scoring first; Unrest and cooperative scenarios deliberately change it.

Continue with the Maracaibo hub, base-game rules, strategy and base scoring. Sources: dlp Games’ expansion page and English rulebook and Game’s Up publisher overview, checked October 2, 2026.