Corto (pré-joué) (ML)

The games in the L'As des jeux Bazar are pre-played games. They have been inspected by one of our game experts and are certified "Complete." You may find some minor imperfections, such as light wear on the box or on certain game components.

Corto is a strategy game that drops you into the sepia-toned, salt-sprayed world of the legendary sailor dreamed up by Hugo Pratt. Four storylines unfold side by side around the table: pick four story boards out of six, line them up like pages torn from a travel journal, and each becomes the stage for a quiet struggle over influence. Character cards mix with objects and advantages, and every card you play tips the balance of control over a neighborhood, a village, or an entire crew. Two oversized figures, Corto himself, a friend to the underdog, and his ruthless rival Rasputin, roam across the boards and upend even the best-laid plans: one triggers an instant scoring among his allies, the other wipes out a rival character without mercy. This card placement game rewards reading the board, anticipating chains of adjacent characters, and tightly managing a hand that never grows past four cards. Every adventure, from the wreck of the Fortune Royale to the Siberian gold mines, layers on its own bonus mechanic: an advancing train, a sailing ship, loot to be the first to claim, so no two games ever play out the same way. In the end, the gold collected and the groups of controlled characters decide who navigated this world of bandits, smugglers, and dreamers best.

You'll love Corto if you enjoy board games where every card played shifts the balance of power, where reading several turns ahead matters, and where atmosphere counts as much as mechanics. Fans of adventure comics and area-majority games alike will find a unique playground here, built for evenings with two to four players who like to negotiate, bluff, and flip a situation with a single well-placed card.

Corto came from a rare kind of collaboration: the studio secured the rights to use Hugo Pratt's original artwork directly on the cards, boards, and figures, making it one of the few board games to carry the full visual seal of a cult comic instead of a simple licensed skin. The two figures of Corto and Rasputin, nearly as tall as the box itself, are not just decoration; they actually move across the boards and trigger actions that can flip a game in an instant. The game also offers six independent adventures, each with its own bonus mechanic, multiplying the possible combinations from one game to the next.

Corto was designed by Laurent Escoffier and Sébastien Pauchon, a duo well known in the board game world. Pauchon is also behind Yspahan and Jaipur, both recognized at the Spiel des Jahres awards, as well as Jamaica, a classic pirate racing game, and he co-designed the wildly popular Splendor. Every card and board is illustrated with original art by Hugo Pratt, the creator of the Corto Maltese character himself.

BOX CONTENTS
6 double-sided story boards
6 decks of 20 character, object, and advantage cards
2 figures (Corto and Rasputin)
4 sets of 13 control tokens
4 seal tiles
Quest tiles
1 discard mini-board
1 rulebook
1 adventure booklet

Number of players: 2 to 4
Duration: 20 to 40 minutes
Age: 10 years and up