Concordia is one of those quietly perfect euro games that people keep in their collection for a decade and never quite tire of. So a brand new official map that genuinely rewires how it plays is a big deal for its many fans. Mare Nostrum, credited to Concordia designer Mac Gerdts, takes the action out onto the Mediterranean and rethinks the game's signature movement from the ground up.
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Find events near youOn the classic Imperium map you shuffle colonists along fixed land and sea routes. Mare Nostrum throws that out. The new board is built from ten open regions, and your architects now sail between them by boat, free to build in any city within the region they reach. Land colonists, meanwhile, do not tramp across the map at all. They advance along a resource track tucked into the corner of the board, picking up the likes of brick, wheat, tools, wine and silk (plus the odd coin or bonus card) as they go. You can stride several steps at once or skip ahead, though reaching the final step locks that colonist in place. You even choose your own starting position. The familiar card-driven engine, the part everyone loves, still works exactly as it always has, so it is the same brain in a very different body.
Mare Nostrum is expected sometime in 2026, possibly as early as the summer. For a game this beloved, a reinvention this bold is the rare expansion that could pull lapsed players right back to the table. If it does, there is no better excuse to relearn an old favourite than a map that makes it feel new, so dust off the box and book a game night.
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Start organising for freeSources: BoardGame-News
