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Rating: 7/10 after 4 plays
by Jens-Peter Schliemann & Michael Antonow
art Frank Czarnetzki
published 2004 by Winning Moves Germany / Rio Grande
players: 2-4
duration: 30 mins.
type: light board game
PACE: MEDIUM. The game does not take a lot of time to play, but the turns take a couple of minutes each because players need to really consider where to invest their big numbers; once the ships start moving, trying to make sure the ships does all it can for you can take a little bit of consideration as well.
COMPLEXITY: LIGHT. The rules are ultra-simple and quite intuitive. Arrange your pirate bribes on your bribe holder, then reveal the "A" and move it, the "B" and move it, etc. Pick up and deliver games tend to be easy to understand since the mechanic is such a real-life type of mechanic, so even young children should be able to grasp on to this game.
LUCK: HIGH. The first phase of the game is a guessing-game, not unlike the classic card-game war except that everyone choose which of their 7 cards they will play. Players have an idea of which ships will benefit which players, but nothing is certain, and many key deliveries may come down to a "War"-style blind luck of the pick. Still, the movement phase allows for some tricky tactics and maneuvering which help make up for the rather lucky bidding process.
TENSION: HIGH. For such a light simple game, there is a remarkable amount of tension as players plot their bids, and then try and make the ship movement in their own best interests. The turn order of the boats is key, as is the stealing and passing of treasure from ship to ship.
CONFRONTATION: LOW. All confrontation in this game is mostly incidental. Occassionally it is very obvious what your opponent will pick, but that may be exactly why he decides to do something else. Some blocking may happen, but that is not a tactic often applied. The game does not feel "mean", and should be a good fit for a lighter game, or a family game.
INTERACTION: MEDIUM. Mostly indirect, as players pick their bribes and then reveal simultaneously. Still the game is about delivering treasure, and the players compete to move the common boat supply, so interaction is a little different from classic methods, and yet present.
VISUALS: EXCELLENT. Big, gorgeous map of the Caribbean (and it will certainly help you learn the geography of the area as you look to place the treasures between rounds!) The tile holders are functional but probably would have been better made of sturdy plastic. The best part of the game, by far, is the cardboard pirate ships that are made of three pieces of cardboard and have a little holding area for the treasure chit they are carrying. Awesome visual presentation.
THEME: HIGH. Great theme match as players bribe the pirates with rum and try and get the treasure to their safe havens. This game should sell well to families and even moreso in light of the current pirate popularity.
PLAYER SCALING: GOOD. I've played with 2 and 3 players thus far, and the only downside is that there can be turns where one player gets to move one or even zero ships, simply because of unfortunate bids. But the flavor of the game remains scales well.
GAMER APPEAL: MAYBE. As a lighter filler board game, this game should get some play time, but the frustration of some unlucky bids in a row could definitely sour gamers on this one.
CASUAL GAMER APPEAL: YES. The graphics, the theme, the easy ruleset and lightly tactical gameplay make this a good choice for a light family board game.
REPLAY: MEDIUM. The well-matched theme and short gameplay work well with the interesting tactics, and make for a enjoyable light game.
RATING: 7/10 after 2 PLAYS
- Pirates are raiding the islands of the Caribbean, and you want in on the profits! 6 ships are sailing the Caribbean, and players offer bribes of rum to the different ships. Bids are arranged secretly, all at once, then revealed one ship at a time. The player who offers the highest bid for a ship gets to move the ships a number of spaces equal to the number on the bid. By maneuvering the ship to a port, players raid the port and put the booty on the ship, receiving some gold for their efforts. But the big money is in getting the treasures back to one of your 3 havens. The problem is that pirates have no loyalty to each other, so you may load the treasure on to Diabolo, only to have another player come and snatch it away with the Fuego, and take to their haven.
My 2 cents: Initially, I was very enthused with this game as a great non-gamer game. It's easy to teach, easy to learn, lightly tactical, but nothing too serious. But the more I play the more I've seen how easy one player can get brutalized by unfortunate bids on the ships. It is still a fun game though. As always, the Winning Moves Germany games offer incredible value for the dollar (think TransAmerca, Cartagena) and the game is still a fun one. They packed a good game into this small, square box. Well done!