Review: Lata

Introduction & Overview

The Portuguese canning industry developed throughout the 20th century, going through periods of great splendor and playing an extraordinarily important role in the social fabric of coastal fishing communities. Following the massive boom driven by the soaring demand during World War II, the industry enjoyed a period of stability marked by product quality consolidation and the opening of foreign markets. Now you have the chance to run a local cannery in the 1950s, producing and selling the country’s famous canned sardines and mackerel.

This is the premise behind Lata, designed by Costa and Rôla (Yinzi, Moesteiro, Café). First published in 2023 by PYTHAGORAS in a trilingual English, German, and Portuguese edition. The artwork is illustrated by Marina Costa (Café, Pessoa, Quinto Império II).

It has been published in Spanish by Maldito Games (the game is language-independent aside from the rulebook). It supports 1 to 4 players, with a recommended minimum age of 8, and plays in approximately 20 to 45 minutes. The MSRP is €20. For this review, we used a copy of the Spanish edition kindly provided by Maldito Games as a review copy.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom) measuring 17.9 × 12 × 5.8 cm (a compact rectangular box similar to the Tiny Epic series, though slightly deeper), we find the following components:

• 4 Player Boards (cardstock)
• 4 Turn Order Tokens (cardboard)
• 4 Player Screens (cardstock)
• 4 Action Point Discs (wooden)
• 128 Cards (50 × 75 mm):
  • 42 Production Cards
  • 4 Starting Production Cards
  • 39 Market Cards
  • 35 Scoring Cards
  • 4 Starting Scoring Cards
  • 4 Solo Mode Starting Scoring Cards
• 28 Coins (cardboard):
  • 22 Value 1 Coins
  • 6 Value 3 Coins
• 45 Canned Goods Cubes (wooden):
  • 20 Sardine Cubes
  • 15 Mackerel in Oil Cubes
  • 10 Sardines in Tomato Sauce Cubes
• Rulebook

How to Play

Lata is a game in which each player takes charge of a canning company in Portugal. The game plays over six rounds, each divided into four phases. In the first phase, sets of production cards are revealed and players bid with action points to determine turn order for the entire round. In that order, they draft production cards to add to their factory, which features five slots (the last three come at a coin cost). Next, players activate their factory cards from left to right, spending one action point per card. Each good can draw on ingredients from cards further to the right without depleting them. Afterwards, players move to the sales phase, spending the action points indicated on market cards to deliver goods and earn coins (plus claiming the card itself if they deliver the final cube). Finally, players can purchase objective cards, which yield end-game victory points alongside their starting scoring card.

Key Concepts

Let’s begin with the Player Board. The top and side edges display five production slots where cards are placed (the last three require paying a coin cost). Below these spaces sits the action point track, numbered from 0 to 9. Just above the higher end of the track is the storage area for plain canned sardines.

Each player receives a Player Screen that doubles as a handy reference aid and is used to secretly hide their action point marker when bidding for turn order.

This blind bidding determines turn priority, awarding Turn Order Tokens based on how few action points each player chooses to retain for the remainder of the round.

During one of the phases, players draft new Production Cards to expand their factory floor. There are four types of cards: raw materials (blue, showing one or two fish), seasonings (brown, displaying oil or tomato sauce), mixed cards (yellow, featuring both a fish and a seasoning), and special effect cards (green). Whenever a player gains a card, they must place it into one of their production slots; covering an earlier card immediately deactivates it.

Later in the round, players activate these production cards to place Canned Goods Cubes on them. There are three types of cubes: silver for sardines, red for sardines in tomato sauce, and yellow for mackerel in oil. Producing a silver sardine cube requires only a sardine icon, but producing seasoned varieties requires matching both required symbols. One must be on the card currently being activated, while the complementary ingredient can be on the same card or any card to its right on the player board. A single resource can be reused multiple times as long as it does not have a cube sitting on it. Keep in mind that only basic sardine cubes can be carried over from one round to the next in your warehouse.

Once canned, players bring their goods to the Market, represented by Market Cards that display one or two national flags, a specific demand of canned goods, coin payouts per cube delivered, and an action point cost required to ship cubes to that market. The player who places the final cube on a card claims it for end-game scoring. Cubes placed on incomplete cards remain there between rounds.

The Coins earned from market deliveries are essential for paying the placement costs on higher factory slots and, above all, for purchasing scoring cards.

These Scoring Cards cost two or three coins and feature specific scoring criteria evaluated at game end. Each player may purchase one such card per round, accumulating up to six across the game.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

1. Form a general supply with the canned goods cubes and coins.
2. Separate each deck by type (in a two-player game, remove the specified production and scoring cards), shuffle them, and place each face down in the center of the table.
3. Each player chooses a color and receives: a player board, an action point marker (placed on the track of their board), a starting production card (placed in the first production slot), a starting scoring card (matching their color, placed below their board), a player screen, and 4 coins (one of value 1 and one of value 3).
4. Distribute turn order tokens randomly among the players.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Lata is played over six rounds, each consisting of four phases.

Phase I: Setup and Turn Order

First, reveal cards from each deck:

• Production Cards: Reveal cards and group them according to player count:
  • 4 Players: 2 pairs of cards and 3 single cards.
  • 3 Players: 2 pairs of cards and 2 single cards.
  • 2 Players: 1 pair of cards and 2 single cards.
• Market Cards: Reveal cards until there are as many as the player count plus one. Uncompleted cards from the previous round remain in the display. If the number of existing face-up cards meets or exceeds this threshold, no new cards are drawn.
• Scoring Cards: Reveal cards until there are as many as the player count plus one. Unclaimed cards from the previous round remain in the display. If the count already meets or exceeds this threshold, no new cards are drawn.

During this phase, players secretly and simultaneously decide behind their screens how many action points (from 0 to 9) they want to keep for the rest of the round, setting their marker on the chosen space. Once all players have decided, they lift their screens, and turn order tokens are reassigned: the player who retained the fewest action points receives the #1 token, the second fewest gets #2, and so forth. In case of a tie, the tied players swap their relative positions based on their previous turn order.

Phase II: Factory

In this phase, starting with the first player and following turn order, each player drafts either a pair of production cards or a single card and adds them to their factory. Remember that each card must go into a different production slot, paying the coin cost indicated on the slot if applicable.

Once everyone has picked, any remaining production cards are sent to the discard pile.

Phase III: Production and Sales

Starting with the first player and following turn order, each player activates the production cards in their factory from left to right. Activating a card costs one action point (unless the card specifies zero cost). Upon activating a card, goods cubes can be placed on it provided that the active card and the cards to its right supply the required raw materials without having cubes sitting on top of them.

Next, the player proceeds to sales, paying the action points indicated on each market card where they place at least one cube. For every delivered cube, the player takes the corresponding coins from the supply. If a player places the final cube on a market card, they return all cubes on it to the supply and tuck the completed card under their factory board.

Lastly, basic canned sardine cubes move to the player’s personal warehouse, whereas tomato sardine and mackerel in oil cubes must be returned to the general supply.

Play then passes to the next player in turn order.

If only one market card remains available at the start of a player’s turn, a new card is drawn from the deck. In addition, the active player may spend one action point during their turn to draw a single market card; if left uncompleted, it remains available for downstream players in the current round.

The phase concludes once all players have completed their production and sales turns.

Phase IV: Scoring Card

Beginning with the first player and following turn order, each player may buy one available scoring card by returning the required coins to the supply. After that, the turn passes to the next player.

Before buying, the active player may pay one coin to the general supply to reveal an additional scoring card. If not purchased, this card remains available for the players whose turn has not yet arrived.

Once all players have taken their purchase turn, a new round begins.

Game End

The game ends at the close of the sixth round. Each player evaluates their acquired scoring cards along with their starting card. The player with the most victory points claims victory.

Variants

Turn Order Variant. Turn order is resolved via an open round-robin auction rather than a blind bid. Players start their action point markers at the maximum value. Starting with the first player and going in current turn order, each player can spend one action point to raise or pass. When passing, a player takes the highest-numbered turn order token still available and drops out of the bidding. This continues until everyone has passed.

Solo Mode. The player selects one of the four factory boards and plays on its reverse side, using its dedicated starting scoring card. The turn order phase is skipped. In the factory phase, reveal a number of production cards equal to the action points spent plus two, then draft two of them. In the sales phase, the player can spend 1 action point to discard and replenish a market card. In the scoring card phase, the player can pay 1 coin to discard and replace a scoring card. The rest of the game follows standard rules.

Personal Opinion

A few years ago, the most prolific Portuguese design duo of recent times released a small-box title centered around coffee production. Featuring an ingenious card-overlapping mechanism, it was previously covered on this blog (read the Café tocho-review here). Given its success, the designers decided to expand this line into a thematic series exploring their country’s staple industries. Today we turn our attention to Lata, but before diving in, we would like to thank Maldito Games for providing the review copy that makes this lengthy write-up possible.

In Lata, players manage a Portuguese cannery striving to thrive by producing high-quality canned delicacies for international export. To succeed, factory managers must secure steady supplies of raw materials—specifically sardines and mackerel—alongside the necessary seasonings to pack their fish properly.

Action point allowance serves as the game’s core mechanical engine. At the start of each of the six rounds, players receive nine points, primarily spent on activating production cards and shipping goods to market cards.

Yet here lies one of the game’s cleverest twists: these action points also serve as currency to bid for turn order, which is almost always crucial. In the first phase of every round, players secretly decide how many action points to sacrifice just to jockey for position. The player who bids the most—and therefore leaves themselves with fewer points for subsequent actions—becomes the first player for the remainder of the round.

Across three subsequent phases, the active player drafts one or two production cards from a shared pool to add to their factory (which has five slots, some carrying coin placement fees), activates those cards from left to right (a sequence that can feel tricky at first, since gourmet cans require two ingredients: one on the active card and the other on the same card or any card to its right), sells to various markets to earn coins (paying an action point cost per destination), and finally has the option to buy an end-game scoring card.

Through these steps, Rôla and Costa introduce several compelling dilemmas. The first and most decisive centers on market deliveries. Selling more cans yields precious coins, but players also compete fiercely to be the one who delivers the final cube on a contract. The starting objective card rewards players based on the variety of flags shown on their claimed market cards.

Naturally, fulfilling market demand requires canning the right products, which hinges entirely on the cards built into your factory line. To round out the turn, players can purchase scoring cards featuring varied criteria, guiding their strategic priorities for the remainder of the game.

I particularly enjoy the blind bid for turn order, which forces everyone to forecast their entire round in advance. That is no small feat. You must calculate how many production cards you intend to activate and, based on the output, factor in the action points needed to fulfill market contracts.

Only when holding the first-player marker do you have the peace of mind that your grand design will execute smoothly. If an opponent slips ahead of you, your plans can quickly unravel: they might draft the exact factory card you needed, claim the remaining spots in a lucrative market, or snatch the scoring card that aligned best with your engine.

Interestingly, there are rounds where acting first works against you. Most market orders require four or five cubes—frequently demanding mixed varieties—making it nearly impossible to fill an entire card in a single push. Acting early often leaves a contract primed for the next player to swoop in, finish it off, and walk away with the card. Flag bonuses regularly prove decisive in end-game tallies.

It belongs to that category of games where playing well feels challenging; it demands both tight planning and a bit of luck for the pieces to fall into place. The card draw carries genuine weight, as the order in which production cards emerge dictates how much room to maneuver players have. If raw fish cards take too long to appear, moving merchandise during the first half of the game becomes an uphill struggle, which in turn stifles the funds needed to secure scoring cards.

The scoring cards themselves represent the game’s most noticeable flaw, as they occasionally feel uneven. Certain cards offer rewards that are trivial to fulfill or practically pre-scored (such as one handing out a flat 7 victory points), whereas others demand substantial effort just to yield a modest payout.

Even so, these cards sit in plain sight at the start of the round, leaving it up to players to spend the necessary action points to grab them first. Sacrificing a market sale or skipping a production card can be well worth the cost if it secures the priority needed to snatch a lucrative card in phase four (provided your treasury can afford it). In that light, this imbalance feels deliberate.

Regarding player counts, the game scales well across the board, though at four players it naturally delivers the greatest tension, as reading opponent intentions and managing the turn order scramble becomes much harder. At two players, the tighter scope makes it easier to anticipate your opponent’s moves based on who holds initiative. While that slightly shifts the play dynamics, it by no means diminishes the experience—in fact, players who prefer tighter tactical control may actually favor the two-player duel.

In terms of replay value, generous decks for both markets and scoring objectives ensure varied setups even though starting conditions remain constant. As mentioned earlier, the sequencing of the production deck alone—even with all cards cycling through—creates distinct tactical hurdles every match. Paired with a brisk playing time that wraps up in roughly 40 minutes at four players, it hits the table with ease.

For comparison, it brings to mind games like Furnace (read its tocho-review here) thanks to its blend of production chain assembly and player interaction via bidding, even if the auction here is simultaneous and hidden. Considering their weight and mechanics, both stand up well to direct comparison, and in my view, Lata comes out ahead.

Looking at component quality, the production standard is remarkably high. The cards stand out with heavy stock, a pleasant linen finish, and resilient snap, even if their compact dimensions make shuffling a bit fiddly. Cardboard tokens feature an attractive metallic-style finish that looks great on the table. The wooden cubes are on the smaller side, yet they serve their purpose well. As for the rulebook, it is clearly laid out, if perhaps slightly denser than the game’s actual complexity demands due to its comprehensive examples.

Visually, the graphic design is clean and functional. The cover art might not look dazzling at first glance, but it possesses a nostalgic charm in how it pairs vintage tin cans with thematic trade symbols. In-game iconography is practical and straightforward without unnecessary clutter—a solid, competent effort.

And let’s wrap this up. Lata is a compact game that packs far more punch than its footprint suggests. Its clever action point system pulls double duty, setting up a tense blind bid at the start of each round that forces players to plan their entire strategy in advance. Some might raise an eyebrow at the apparent disparity between certain scoring cards, with some offering straightforward points while others require intricate setups. Still, this feels like an intentional design choice intended to intensify the battle for turn priority. It is noticeably more demanding than it appears on the surface, offering a satisfying decision space crammed into a remarkably brisk playtime. Taking all this into account, I give it a…