- BGG rank
- BGG #26,746
- BGG rating
- 5.5
Le Loto Des Odeurs
- 1–5 players
- 15 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 1988
- BGG rank
- BGG #25,615
- BGG rating
- 5.7
Spice Navigator
1999
Rules assistance for Spice Navigator
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 90 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.3/5
Rules assistant for Spice Navigator
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Spice Navigator is a board game released in 1999 for 2–5 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Victor Lucas and Véronique Debroise and its main mechanics are Deduction and Commodity Speculation.
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About the game
Each player captains a European merchant ship out to trade for the spices of Africa and Asia. The board simulates an old map and is divided into four trading regions, each with multiple ports. Each region sells a different spice and the market price is controlled by card play. However, an "expert price" can be obtained by guessing the identity of a mystery spice. The game actually comes with around twenty small containers of real spices that get thrown into a bag. If a player is trying to get an expert price, he picks one container at random, opens it, sniffs it, and guesses what it is from a list of common and not so common spices. This is not the main aspect of gameplay, but it does spice it up, so to speak. It is mostly a commodity speculation game; not only do the players need to get good prices on the spices that they are bringing back to Europe, they also need to lay in supplies in order to keep their ship on the move. Obtaining the money to buy supplies requires selling spices to regions other than the spice's region of origin; and in this case, a player wants the spice price to be high. Event cards add a random aspect to the game and there are pirates prowling the waters who are out to ruin a captain's best laid plans. Title translates to "The Spice Route".
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Sentosphère
- Sensalot
Questions and answers
Spice Navigator supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Spice Navigator is 90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Spice Navigator for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Spice Navigator has a complexity rating of 1.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Spice Navigator belongs to these categories: Economic and Nautical. Its main mechanics are Deduction and Commodity Speculation. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Spice Navigator are: Victor Lucas and Véronique Debroise. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Spice Navigator as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.