# Maracaibo Digital — Swashbuckling Board Game

> Digital board game simulating Caribbean exploration, ship upgrades, and card-based combat. (iPhone/iPad app by Spiralburst Studio, LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/maracaibo-digital/id1518834089 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Spiralburst Studio, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1253795262)
- Category: Games, Board, Strategy
- Price: $7.99
- Rating: 3.50/5 from 51 App Store ratings · 66 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 49 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2021-12-19
- Data updated: 2026-08-23
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/maracaibo-digital/id1518834089/reviews.md

## What is Maracaibo Digital?

Play as an adventurer and sail around the Caribbean! Upgrade your ship, complete quests, and engage in combat. Every card you buy will unlock new abilities and bonuses to outwit your opponents.

The board changes every round, and your strategy will have to keep up. Will you play slowly, buying as many cards as you can? Or will you race to the final space to catch your opponents by surprise? 

ABOUT THE GAME
• Ranked in the Top 50 board games of all time
• Easy to start playing, difficult to master
• Strategize around hundreds of unique cards
• Play on a board that changes every game

FEATURES
• Learn the game's rules with an interactive tutorial
• Play solo against the Automa at 5 levels of difficulty
• Pass and play for 2 to 4 players on the same device
• Uncover the story of Maracaibo in Campaign Mode, where your decisions permanently change the board

• Includes all cards from the "La Armada" mini-expansion!

DOES NOT include Online Multiplayer features or AI opponents other than the Automa

## Key features

- Interactive tutorial
- Solo play against Automa
- Pass and play multiplayer
- Campaign Mode with permanent changes
- Includes 'La Armada' expansion cards

## What do users think of Maracaibo Digital?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 👍 Faithful board game adaptation
- 👍 Good tutorial
- 👍 Thematic music
- 👍 Smooth gameplay (when not buggy)
- 👍 Helpful developers (on Discord)
- 👍 Great for learning the game

**Cons**

- 🐛 Unplayable due to bugs
- 🐛 Screen orientation issues
- 🐛 Missing AI opponents
- 🐛 Limited undo functionality
- 🐛 Poorly managed screen real estate
- 🐛 Inconsistent scaling on mobile
- 🐛 No online multiplayer
- 🐛 Automa plays differently than players

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App stuck in portrait/landscape orientation
- Game freezes or locks up
- Screen locked, half the game off-screen
- Cannot scroll down to see the bottom of the board
- Card drawing issues
- Camera at the top of the screen during tutorial
- Game hangs after first automa move
- Display bugs on iPhone 14 Pro Max
- Cannot redraw cards after planning
- Game doesn't scale to screen consistently
- Cannot access buttons on the right side of the screen
- App doesn't work on iPad (portrait/landscape issue)

**Most requested features**

- Add computer AI opponents
- Implement online multiplayer (real-time and asynchronous)
- Add undo/restart turn functionality
- Include a back button in the tutorial
- Improve handling of larger system fonts
- Add content from expansions and promos
- Turn log feature
- Full screen on iPhones
- Option to hide notch/status bar

## Recent user reviews (10 of 66)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/maracaibo-digital/id1518834089/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Only solo

*2026-01-23*

If I had known only solo was available, I’d have never purchased it. I can play solo with the physical copy.

### 1/5 — Irreführung

*2025-11-16*

Das man hier lediglich gegen den Automa des Brettspiels spielt, wird vorm Kauf nicht deutlich kommuniziert. 
Sterbenslangweilig! Ganz schlechtes Kino

### 3/5 — Needs computer AI

*2024-12-21*

While the automa offers a good solo challenge, AI challengers would change this to 4 or 5.

**Developer response:** Thanks very much for the honest review!

### 5/5 — Best Game On the High Seas

*2024-10-18, version 1.1.2*

Never any issues with my iPad. This game is deep and brilliantly brought to life. Misses out on the multiplayer front.

### 3/5 — No CPU opponents, Automa only.

*2024-08-24*

For the most parts this is a really good - if very perfunctory- adaptation of the board game. No more, no less.

There’s basically no animation beyond icons sliding around the screen, sound effects are very basic, and most people will mute the short music loop within the first 5 minutes.

Worse than all of this however is a complete like of computer controlled opponents. The experience is like playing the board game solo, where the single opponent is controlled via a card draw in the exact same way as the tabletop. It can’t plan, it can’t anticipate. It just does its own random thing which may include rushing around the map within 3 turns doing very little, and playing entirely within its own unique rules.

It’s a great replica of the (fantastic) board game, but it’s totally reasonable to expect a little more than that in the move to digital, and it fails to deliver on that.

### 2/5 — Does not have an AI

*2024-08-11*

So you can’t play a multiplayer game. This is a replacement of the physical board game; if you want to play with two players or more, then you need other humans to play with you

### 2/5 — Wird sehr schnell langweilig

*2024-08-08*

Ohne KI Bots oder Online Multiplayer, nur mit dem Automa zu spielen macht einfach keinen Spaß.

### 1/5 — Horrible implementation and horrible dev support

*2024-06-24*

I gave the developers a chance to respond to this before writing this review. 

If I could give 0 stars, then I would. The app doesn’t even work on the iPad.  It is stuck in a portrait orientation but landscape layout, so the game only takes up half of the screen and the other half is the buttons to start the game, etc.  Unplayable.  I wrote to the devs twice trying to get support, but was ignored.  After a six week wait, I’ve decided to write this review to warn others away.

**Developer response:** We have just pushed an update that fixes this portrait orientation issue. I apologize that it has taken us a long time to understand how to solve this issue.

Additionally, I'm really sorry that we missed your support requests. We are working on improving the feedback system on our website so this does not happen again.

If you still have the game, we would appreciate if you give this new version a try. You can also reach us directly at support@spiralburst.com if you still have issues, or if you wanted assistance with a refund.

### 1/5 — Failure

*2024-06-14*

Total unbrauchbar. Keine AI Spieler, und der Atoma-Spieler versagt ständig. Sowas darf man nicht zum Kauf anbieten. Hoffentlich kriege ich noch die Rückerstattung.

### 1/5 — No AI in 2024

*2024-02-20, version 1.1.0*

You play solitaire version, there are no computer opponents, which makes it BORING

## Frequently asked questions about Maracaibo Digital

### What is Maracaibo Digital?

Maracaibo Digital is a digital adaptation of a highly-rated board game where players take on the role of adventurers sailing the Caribbean. You'll upgrade your ship, complete quests, and engage in strategic card-based combat.

### What are the key features of this app?

The app features an interactive tutorial to learn the rules, solo play against an AI opponent with multiple difficulty levels, and pass-and-play for local multiplayer. It also includes a Campaign Mode where player decisions permanently alter the game board.

### How much does Maracaibo Digital cost?

Based on the provided information, this application is a paid app. There are no mentions of in-app purchases or advertisements, suggesting a one-time purchase for the full game.

### Is this app available for online multiplayer?

No, this application does not include online multiplayer features. It supports solo play against the Automa and pass-and-play for local multiplayer on the same device for 2 to 4 players.

### What kind of strategy is involved in this game?

The game involves strategic decision-making around hundreds of unique cards, ship upgrades, and quest completion. The board changes every round, requiring players to adapt their strategy, whether it's a slow card-buying approach or a race to the finish.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.1.2 — 2024-08-26

Bug Fixes:
- App no longer loads incorrectly in portrait mode on certain iPhones and Macbooks
- Hostel Warden card no longer causes a crash when played

Other Changes:
- Localization updated for certain menu items and Automa text

### 1.1.0 — 2023-06-17

- German Translation
- French Translation
- Italian Translation
- Spanish Translation

- Bug fix for locked incorrect screen orientation

- Story cards now appear correctly in all modes
- Various gameplay bug fixes

### 1.0.1 — 2022-01-05

1/4/2021 (v1.0.1)
- Added skip button to fully upgraded Ship Upgrades board
- Fixed visual bugs with Ship Upgrades board
- Fixed bug with cards that require ownership markers to play
- Fixed bug when interacting with legacy cities
- Scaled UI to fit better on smaller tablets

### 1.0.0 — 2021-12-23

12/21/2021 (Hotfix 1)
- Fixed bugs related to RTL layouts
- Fixed bug with Cabimas annex
- Added mobile scaling override to Main Settings
- Fixed bug in tutorial with accessbility settings

### 1.0 — 2021-12-20

No release notes.

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## More apps by Spiralburst Studio, LLC

- [Hexicon - Word Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hexicon-word-game/id1462065373)
- [Honeycomb - Word Puzzle](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/honeycomb-word-puzzle/id6446267827)
- [My City by Reiner Knizia](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-city-by-reiner-knizia/id6475314484)

All apps by Spiralburst Studio, LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/1253795262

## Related topics

[pfister](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/pfister)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-23.*