Greetings Troops,
I have been looking at this game for some time now. It has been receiving great reviews from numerous blogs and podcasts. So here is a brief summary of the game ...
- Published in 2010
- For 2 to 4 players
- Approximately 2 hours for game play
- 5 different ships types for a total of 26 ship pieces
- 230 game cards
- 16 captain types
The other night I was able to join Steve and his friend Luke to set sail into the Age of Piracy. This was the first time I actually set hands on the game and its board pieces. I was happy to see the pieces were well made, durable and look fabulous !
We all took our seats with our adult beverages (grog, if you wish to pretend) and picked our Captains.To make it interesting we drew our captain cards randomly without looking. Once we had the Captain, we chose one of the two starting ships, a sloop or a flute. Each Captain has a "home" port where you can call home and stash gold during your adventure.
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| Board Setup for 3 Players |
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| Various ship pieces |
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| My first Captain ... |
My first Captain Felipe De Los Reyes was my first random Captain I chose. He had decent stats and being my first Captain I was not sure whether to turn to piracy or trade on the high seas. He would find out how cruel the seas would be soon enough.
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| My first ship, a sloop. In port ... |
As you enter port you are allowed numerous options. The first is buying and/or selling cargo. The tile shown above is "favored" trade of the port, meaning if you sell this cargo you earn more gold than selling other cargo types. This is a major advantage to playing the merchant class but also helps pirates figure out what cargo to keep after capturing ships.
You are also able to upgrade your ship with special items. It could upgrade weapons, crews or other items that add bonus to your ship. Ships can be bought or sold as well in port.
Rumors and Missions can also be picked up at port. These gain your crew a bounty of wealth or glory points if completed. Our games had some of these cards in play. One of which I sent naval ships after Luke for revenge of taking out Captain Los Reyes.
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| The board in action ... |
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| My second ship after the glorious demise of my sloop |
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| My flute in the port of Trinidad |
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| My first Captain, and the cost of his demise ... by the hands of Luke the Pirate |
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| Stat board for your ship |
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| My second Captain of the first game. |
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| Luke and Steve battle in the high seas |
Battles between ships are fast and furious. The rules are not hard to understand and most pick them up with ease after a couple of battles. Luke was the bloodthirsty pirate and had the evil honor of attacking the most player Captains. Not only can player Captains attack but NPC pirate ships and naval ships will actively hunt once on the board.
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| My Captain of the second game ... a merchant favored Captain |
The beauty of randomly picking Captains is the challenge. Stats definitely play a part in the game. For example, my Captain of the second game didn't have the stats to attack at a whim. Although his Spotting stat and Influence helped with other missions. I played him as a merchant, scoring 9 glory points.
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| The board in action of the second game |
The feel and mechanics of this game are on spot. The board and pieces are well made and make the game work. I had a blast. It is definitely a game that should be on any gamers bookshelf. I can't wait to get more games in at the WWPD war room. Thanks again to Steve and Luke for an awesome game night !
5 out of 5 grog barrels !
Be safe ... Keep the Paint flowing and the Dice rolling !!!
Joe ... aka Mezz
