Francis Drake / Similar games

18 games like Francis Drake

The best games like Francis Drake are Age of Empires III The Age of Discovery, Empires Age of Discovery and Endeavor Age of Sail — the closest of 18 ranked alternatives, scored by shared mechanics and category. Age of Empires III The Age of Discovery shares exploration, renaissance, set collection with Francis Drake.

Every alternative below links to its own Francis Drake-style fact page, drawn from MeeplePick’s bluffing / exploration shelf.

Ranked by shared category (3 pts) and mechanics (2 pts), bonus within 0.7 of Francis Drake’s 2.9 weight, then BoardGameGeek’s Bayesian rating — one entry per series, 18 shown.

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1. 1. Age of Empires III The Age of Discovery (2007)
   2–5 players · 90–120 min · ★ 7.5 · Medium
   Shares with Francis Drake: Exploration, Renaissance, Set Collection, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 3 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (50%)
   vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–5 players · goes down to 2 · about the same length · +0.2 heavier
   View Age of Empires III The Age of Discovery on Amazon →
2. 2. Empires Age of Discovery (2015)
   2–6 players · 50–150 min · ★ 7.9 · Medium
   Shares with Francis Drake: Exploration, Renaissance, Set Collection, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 3 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (50%)
   vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–5 players · goes down to 2 · scales to 6 · about the same length · +0.4 heavier
   View Empires Age of Discovery on Amazon →
3. 3. Endeavor Age of Sail (2018)
   2–5 players · 60–90 min · ★ 8.0 · Medium
   Shares with Francis Drake: Exploration, Nautical, Renaissance, Set Collection · 1 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (17%)
   vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–5 players · goes down to 2 · ~30 min shorter · same complexity
   View Endeavor Age of Sail on Amazon →
4. 4. Nemo's War (Second Edition) (2017)
   1–4 players · 60–120 min · ★ 8.0 · Medium
   Shares with Francis Drake: Exploration, Nautical, Dice Rolling, Push Your Luck · 2 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (33%)
   vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · plays solo · ~15 min shorter · +0.2 heavier
5. 5. Raiders of the North Sea (2015)
   2–4 players · 60–80 min · ★ 7.8 · Medium
   Shares with Francis Drake: Nautical, Dice Rolling, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 3 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (50%)
   vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · goes down to 2 · ~35 min shorter · 0.4 lighter
6. 6. Treasure Island (2018)
   2–5 players · 45 min · ★ 7.3 · Medium-light
   Shares with Francis Drake: Bluffing, Exploration, Pirates, Secret Unit Deployment · 1 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (17%)
   vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–5 players · goes down to 2 · ~60 min shorter · 0.7 lighter
7. 7. Vasco da Gama (2009)
   2–4 players · 60–120 min · ★ 7.2 · Medium
   Shares with Francis Drake: Nautical, Renaissance, Push Your Luck, Worker Placement · 2 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (33%)
   vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · goes down to 2 · ~15 min shorter · +0.3 heavier
8. 8. Dead Men Tell No Tales (2015)
   2–5 players · 60–75 min · ★ 7.1 · Medium
   Shares with Francis Drake: Exploration, Nautical, Pirates, Dice Rolling · 1 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (17%)
   vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–5 players · goes down to 2 · ~37 min shorter · 0.4 lighter
9. 9. Sleeping Gods (2021)
   1–4 players · 60–1200 min · ★ 8.7 · Medium
   Shares with Francis Drake: Exploration, Nautical, Push Your Luck · 1 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (17%)
   vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · plays solo · ~525 min longer · same complexity
10. 10. Goa A New Expedition (2004)
    2–4 players · 90 min · ★ 7.6 · Medium
    Shares with Francis Drake: Nautical, Renaissance, Push Your Luck · 1 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (17%)
    vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · goes down to 2 · ~15 min shorter · +0.4 heavier
11. 11. Lorenzo il Magnifico (2016)
    2–4 players · 60–120 min · ★ 7.9 · Medium
    Shares with Francis Drake: Renaissance, Dice Rolling, Worker Placement · 2 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (33%)
    vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · goes down to 2 · ~15 min shorter · +0.3 heavier
12. 12. Oltremare Merchants of Venice (2004)
    2–5 players · 60 min · ★ 6.7 · Medium
    Shares with Francis Drake: Bluffing, Nautical, Pirates, Set Collection · 1 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (17%)
    vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–5 players · goes down to 2 · ~45 min shorter · 0.4 lighter
13. 13. Merchants & Marauders (2010)
    2–4 players · 180 min · ★ 7.4 · Medium
    Shares with Francis Drake: Nautical, Pirates, Dice Rolling · 1 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (17%)
    vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · goes down to 2 · ~75 min longer · +0.3 heavier
14. 14. Conquest of Paradise (2007)
    1–4 players · 90 min · ★ 6.9 · Medium-light
    Shares with Francis Drake: Exploration, Nautical, Dice Rolling, Secret Unit Deployment · 2 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (33%)
    vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · plays solo · ~15 min shorter · 0.5 lighter
15. 15. Signorie (2015)
    2–4 players · 90–120 min · ★ 7.4 · Medium-heavy
    Shares with Francis Drake: Renaissance, Dice Rolling, Set Collection, Worker Placement · 3 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (50%)
    vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · goes down to 2 · about the same length · +0.6 heavier
16. 16. Imperial Settlers Empires of the North (2019)
    1–4 players · 45–90 min · ★ 7.6 · Medium
    Shares with Francis Drake: Exploration, Nautical, Worker Placement · 1 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (17%)
    vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · plays solo · ~37 min shorter · same complexity
17. 17. Near and Far (2017)
    2–4 players · 90–120 min · ★ 7.8 · Medium
    Shares with Francis Drake: Exploration, Dice Rolling, Set Collection · 2 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (33%)
    vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · goes down to 2 · about the same length · same complexity
18. 18. Coimbra (2018)
    2–4 players · 60–90 min · ★ 7.7 · Medium
    Shares with Francis Drake: Renaissance, Dice Rolling, Set Collection · 2 of Francis Drake’s 6 mechanics (33%)
    vs Francis Drake: overlaps at 3–4 players · goes down to 2 · ~30 min shorter · +0.3 heavier

Looking for the original? See the full Francis Drake fact page — players, play time, age and complexity.