Cartographers
Pen & Paper Track with Paper ScoreDraw your map, score the seasons.
Who goes first?
Settle it before the Cartographers argument starts. Pick how many players, add names if you like, and spin.
Keeping score too? Doodle Score remembers your players and tallies every round.
Game Identity
- Name: Cartographers
- Player Count: 1–100 players. Standard: 2–6.
- Teams: No teams. All players compete individually (or cooperatively in some modes).
- Theme: Commercial flip-and-write map-drawing game by Thunderworks Games. Players draw terrain shapes on their map sheets across 4 seasons, scoring different objectives each season.
Scoring Mechanics
- Scoring Variant: Accumulative — scores grow over 4 seasons. Highest total score wins.
- Target Score: No fixed target — highest score after all 4 seasons wins.
- Unit of Scoring: Reputation points (VP) per season.
- Lower vs. Higher: Higher score wins.
Rules & Validation
Season Structure (4 Seasons)
Each season scores 2 of the 4 scoring cards (A, B, C, D) in a fixed rotation:
- Spring: Scores A + B
- Summer: Scores B + C
- Autumn: Scores C + D
- Winter: Scores D + A
Scoring Categories per Season
- Scoring Cards (A–D): Each card describes a different pattern-matching scoring rule for terrain on the map. Players total their qualifying terrain placements.
- Coins: Each gold coin on the map = 1 VP per season it's present.
- Monsters: At season end, each empty space adjacent to a monster = −1 VP (Ambush penalty).
Per-Season Entry
Players record:
- Scoring Card A value (or applicable pair)
- Scoring Card B value (or applicable pair)
- Coin total
- Monster penalty (negative)
- Season total
Validation Rules
- Season totals can include negatives from monster penalties.
- Coins apply only during the season they are present (or cumulatively — varies by scoring card).
- Monster penalty: count empty spaces orthogonally adjacent to any monster terrain.
Special Actions / Bonuses
- Ambush Cards: Monsters expand on the map and penalize empty adjacent squares.
- Ruins: Specific spaces that score bonus points when covered by certain terrain types.
- Full Row/Column Bonus: Some scoring cards award extra VP for completing rows or columns.
Win Conditions
- Condition: After all 4 seasons, the player with the highest cumulative score wins.
- Tie-Breaker: Most coins on final map. If still tied, fewest empty spaces.
Set Up in Doodle Score
Cartographers doesn't have a dedicated scorecard yet — track it for free using a general scorecard:
- Tap New Scorecard and choose Paper Score (tracks all players each round in a grid)
- Add 4 players (adjust as needed)
- Set Rounds to 4
Score type: Ascending — highest score wins.
Common Cartographers rules questions
The arguments that come up at the table, answered from the official rules. Where house rules differ, we say so.
Do monsters score against you in Cartographers?
Yes. At the end of each season, you lose 1 point for each empty space next to a monster.
What if a shape doesn't fit on your map?
If you can't legally draw it, draw a single 1×1 square of any terrain anywhere instead.
How do coins score?
Each coin you have scores 1 point at the end of every season.
Can you draw over ruins?
Ruins spaces can be filled. A ruins card means your next shape must cover a ruins space if it can.