How to Play

Panamax

2-4 players 90-120 min 7.3 Board Game Geek Rating

Players manage shipping companies in the Panama Canal's Colón Free Trade Zone, accepting contracts from global markets. Using dice-based action selection, you load cargo and move ships through the canal's bidirectional route with chain-reaction movement mechanics. Victory comes from accumulating the largest personal fortune through strategic company investments and dividend collection.

Published 2014

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Prepare the Action Table

Set aside Executive Action Dice, roll remaining Action Dice and fill table from highest (6) to lowest (1), cascading overflow from right to left then left to right

Place Executive Dice

Roll Executive Action Dice and fill top row following same cascading procedure

Apply Mulligan Rule

For 2-3 players, if after cascading there are 3 or fewer dice on either side of the Action Table, re-roll all dice

Set up Loading Zones

Place one flag matching each icon on the Rail Table above the train platform

Stack remaining flags

Place remaining National Flag tokens on matching icons adjacent to Waiting zones

Place Unique Ships

Position Military and Cruise ships in each Loading zone (US East: USS Iowa + Dice Fest Line; EU: NRP Sagres + Lucky Me Cruises; US West: USS Pegasus + Spiel of the Seas; China: PLAN Yi Yang + San Juan Prospector)

Prepare Passenger Tokens

Stack tokens in descending value order (5,4,4,3,3,2,2,1)

Shuffle Contract Cards

Draw 3-5 cards based on player count and place face up on Action Table

Set up Bonus Cards

Place Captain and Stevedore cards face down in ascending numerical order (1-5, 1 on top), shuffle Financial Advisor cards face down

Place remaining Contract cards

Stack face down on Draw space with top card face up on Inbound Cargo space

Position Managing Director Awards

Place tokens in Round spaces ($3 for Round 1, $5 for Round 2, $7 for Round 3)

Set movement markers

Place waterway and lock movement markers at zero position on Movement track

Assign Companies

Each player chooses a color and receives 1 Clipboard plus all ships of their color

Distribute player dice

Place 4 colored dice in Warehouse and 4 in Dice Pool (from each player) on the board

Position starting ships

Each player places a 1-slot ship with a 3-pip die in the canal according to randomly determined turn order

Set Company funds

Place $18 on each Company Clipboard

Distribute Company shares

Place 4 shares of each Company color on their Clipboard

Give personal assets

Each player receives $6 personal money and 1 share of their own Company

Prepare player ships

Each player has a 2-slot ship available for deployment; 1-slot ($5) and 3-slot ($7) ships remain on Clipboard for purchase

Deal Financial Advisor cards

Give 2 random cards to each player; each keeps one and passes one to player on left

Set Market Table

Place each Company cube at the $6 level

Determine player order

Arrange player discs on Rail Table in chosen order

Select starting contracts

In reverse player order, players choose one starting contract and may immediately load dice onto available ships

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Select an Action Die

Take the bottommost die from one column of the Action Table

Transfer dice option

Pay $5 from Company funds to move a die from one side of the table to an empty Standard Action space on the other side, then take that die immediately

Movement Action (left side)

Must use all indicated lock movements (die pips) and waterway movements (row number)

Load Action (right side)

May take the corresponding contract card and perform up to the indicated number of load actions

Complete Contract

When last cargo die is loaded, receive matching National Flag token and place on leftmost available Clipboard space for that nation

Executive Action (top row)

May only select when it is last remaining die in column

Build Ships

Purchase 1-slot ship ($5) or 3-slot ship ($7) from Clipboard at any time during turn

Use Clipboard Free Actions

Activate when flag tokens cover specific spaces

Passenger benefits

When placing Passenger token, choose one of 3 benefit spots for permanent use

Arriving Cruise Ships

Process in canal exit order; each player with dice receives one Passenger token from stack top; Company receives cash value shown on token

Arriving Cargo Ships

Process in canal exit order; cargo dice owners receive $1 per pip to Company; San Juan Prospector doubles income from ONE die per company

Winning

How to claim victory.

Complete three phases

Game ends after Phase 3 concludes

Resolve Rail Table

Move dice from 1st to 2nd Railcar, rearrange highest to lowest; players with dice choose one National Flag token; dice return to Dice Pool

Pay Cargo Fees

Company pays for each die in transit (Warehouse: $5; Contracts/Loading zones: $4; Locks/waterways: $1-3); player pays from personal funds if Company cannot cover

Take Bailout if needed

If player cannot pay fees, take Bailout token worth -$15 at game end and receive $10 from Bank

Pay Dividends

Each Company pays shareholders from Clipboard based on right side Market track value

Award Managing Director

Player whose Company paid dividends with highest stock position receives Award token; ties broken by most Company money

Calculate final score

Total all personal money (not Company Clipboard money)

Score Financial Advisor cards

Add bonus from up to two Financial Advisor cards

Value shares

Add current Market price (left side) for each share owned