Daily Archives: July 17, 2019

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points – March 12th, 2016

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3/12/2016

Two games were played: one at 60 points and another at just 20. The first game featured an English fleet taking on a Mixed fleet.

HMS Lord Kettering and HMS Bath set out:

How gorgeous:

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points
2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points
2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

The Dunlap ambushes the Bath, and it’s English civil war!

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

The Lord Kettering takes care of some Pirate scum.

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

The Bath survived the attack, and the English have brought back a bunch of gold.

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

The civil war continues as the Empress takes on the Dunlap!

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

As the 1v1 battle rages, the Pequod loses a mast to the Lord Kettering but gets home with a Homing Beacon.

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

The Lord Kettering sank the Black Mongoose on her way to the Pequod:

HMS Lord Kettering

The Lord Kettering round earthed her way to the west, dismasting the Moulin Rouge. The Empress was victorious against the Dunlap, and the Bath had the final treasure coin.

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

Total carnage! The fleets wage war with ferocity, with masts and spars falling everywhere.

War at sea in Pirates CSG

In the end, the English were victorious 36-22!

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

The second game featured 4 20 point fleets, with each person controlling 2 fleets. The stipulation was that similar to CG1, each person had to play their fleets independently.

5 island setup for Pirates game
Pirate fleet docked at custom island
Spanish ship docked at island
2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

The Selkie started the action, going 1/3 on a sniping run against the Santo Columba.

Selkie sniping ability

The Sea Nymph and Pequod became locked in a fierce engagement, with the captained Pequod predictably getting the better of it.

Ships locked in battle at sea

The Selkie also took damage from the Pequod, who dropped her explorer at the island for more gold. I controlled the Spanish, so it was no surprise that I played them aggressively because of CG1.

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

After some more cannon fire and round earth shenanigans, the Pirates appeared to be the only fleet not in the running.

2 players, 60 points and 4 fleets, 20 points

The Santo Columba used her S-boarding ability to rob the Black Mongoose, and after losing two more masts she was able to get it home. However, the Henry VIII was home with more gold for the English Pirates.

In the end, the Spanish were too shortsighted, going after the Pequod as the biggest threat but not paying enough attention to the English Pirates!

1. English Pirates: 24 gold
2. Spanish: 20
3. Americans: 15
4. Pirates: 0

What a great pair of games! The second one was especially intriguing for me, and the fun of playing tiny games with lots of fleets cannot be understated.

How I Got My 10 Masters

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How I Got My 10 Masters

Most of this post is from 2017, when it was originally posted to Miniature Trading.  Most of these average prices come from the time I wrote the post.

My 10 master story starts at Pojo, where sariouriel (the creator of Century of the Empires no less) linked to some Amazon stuff. From there I found a Plunder Pack for $25 (the original price I believe), which at the time was an absolute steal because the Delusion was going for over $60 a couple times on eBay. That was in February 2012.

Soon after that on eBay:

4/15/12: Shui Xian: $19.00
5/25/12: Baochuan: $26.02

Last December I became the forum moderator and xeriousone teamed up with wantkrakens to give me a very generous gift – the SCS SR’s from xeriousone, and the Celtic Fury from wantkrakens. An example of hard work and dedication paying off unintentionally for some extra unexpected benefit. And thus, my fourth 10 master.

Last week godmason posted an eBay lot on the subreddit, which I snatched almost immediately because I was afraid someone else would buy it first since it looked like such a good deal. Along with 60+ other ships including some very rare stuff, I had a bargain Guichuan. Broken, but already repaired and ready for action. #5!

I think my history of buying 10 masters is possibly the best example of my collecting strategy overall – possibly more patient than anybody and just waiting and waiting for years on eBay until I can strike to get my deals. (hence my large amount of “best memories” on there compared to the quantity of others)

Delusion: $25 but with 10 ships from OE and the Plunder Pack map (all-time average is $29.44 so I saved about $5 but more like $10+ when you factor in the OE megapacks and the higher cost of the Delusion back in 2011/2012)

Shui Xian: $19, saving about $10 off the average of $28.69 but again that all-time high listing of $61 was around that time so realistically I got an even better deal than the all time average suggests.

Baochuan: $26.02, only a little under the average of $27.53

Celtic Fury: free (saving me $30.71)

Guichuan: $49.99 but realistically just about FREE when you consider the value of the 60+ ships in the lot which included the Crypt, Monkey’s Paw, Samedi’s Curse, Soul Crusher, and two DJC SE’s, which combined could possibly sell for $50 by themselves if they were unpunched. Either way, still technically saving me about $15 off the Guichuan’s average of $64.35.

Zeus (acquired 2019): $10; was going to be free as a gift from a fellow community member, but I didn’t want to take it for absolutely nothing and the $10 helped pay for the shipping. (saving me ~$44.39 off average price of $54.39 as of July 2019)

Total 10 master savings (most conservative number): $105.10 (which could buy me another TWO 10 masters!)

Now I have all 6.  3 were acquired in the first half of 2012, followed by a long hiatus of about 4.5 years before getting the CF and Guichuan within the past 9 months.  It probably goes without saying at this point, but getting all 6 has been a high long-term priority.  Check out my 10 master collection in this video:

The Baochuan is my favorite for a variety of reasons. It looks the most realistic (and I actually think it looks very cool), it’s the first one released, and it’s an amazing ship overall. I love the biggest cargo hold in the game and how it combines with the Treasure Ship keyword. The ship also single-handedly makes an entire minor faction better, since the JR’s don’t have a ton of stuff. Just a perfect flagship, and the most historical of them as well.

Shui Xian is probably my second favorite due to the English being my favorite faction and having the potential for quite decent cannons with one of my favorite crew aboard. The Delusion would probably come next since it was my first 10 and glows in the dark, though I haven’t used it in a while. The CF is overrated and the English naturally have a rivalry with the French, while the Guichuan is completely new to me for playing purposes. I do love the Guichuan’s flavor text (and all of them, actually) and how the ship looks, but S speed and Cursed faction aren’t my favorites lol. Zeus is the best for gameplay but I’ve only used it on VASSAL since I still need to get my physical copy. For what it’s worth, I did enjoy playing the Zhanfu and Fortaleza from RtSS in CG2.

Feel free to check out my tutorial on how to build one of these behemoths:

 

And here they are:

All 6 10 masters, 10 masted junk ships of Pirates CSG

Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016

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Another player introduced to Pirates! They were given a few spare OE ships, 1 pack of BC, 1 pack of OE, and of course the MI Convention Pack. Two 40 point games were played.

Game 1

Mixed:
HMS Dunlap + captain, helmsman
Jackal’s Teeth + explorer
Black Mongoose

Pirates:
Sea Fox + captain, helmsman
Proud Tortoise + captain
Barnacle + explorer

The setup featured three wild islands with 6 coins each.

The Jackal’s Teeth reached an island on the first turn, and both fleets split their ships up.

Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016

The Proud Tortoise engages the Black Mongoose! Naturally, she misses with her lone cannon. The Sea Fox knows the Dunlap is hunting the Barnacle, but the Pirates have to get gold somehow!

Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016
Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016

Fighting on both sides of the sea! The Black Mongoose has rammed the Proud Tortoise derelict, while the Sea Fox connected once on the Dunlap. Things aren’t looking good for the Pirates, as the Dunlap has sunk the Barnacle.

Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016

The Dunlap sank the Sea Fox as well! The Mixed fleet seemed content to let the Proud Tortoise get away, though she had some trouble between her slow oar power and a big wave. Her captain was abandoned for a coin, as the Pirates hoped to avoid a total shutout.

Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016

The Mixed fleet played the game out to the end and they got almost all the gold for a whopping 44-3 victory!

Game 2

Franco-Spanish: (This game is in a different universe from CG1)
La Charlemange + captain, helmsman
La Espada de Dios + Bianco’s Haulers, helmsman
(A little taste of my fleet challenge entry!)

(vs. the same Mixed fleet)

The second game featured a much different setup, with the huge 5-beach island in the center. Flat earth rules were once again used, and some terrain was placed to mix things up. The outer beaches had 3 coins each while the middle ones had 4, to incentivize potential conflict. A southern beach could only be accessed through a fog bank.

big Pirates CSG ocean setup
Franco Spanish sailing out

The Jackal’s Teeth is already headed back with gold, while the Espada has to wait to explore.

Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016
Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016
Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016

The Charlemagne grew frustrated trying to dock through the fog, so she came out and went after the Mixed fleet. She caught up with them on the northern side of the island, sending two masts over the side of the Jackal’s Teeth. The Black Mongoose had lost a mast to a whirlpool and also looked like a potential target. In the meantime, Bianco’s Haulers were preparing for a raid.

Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016

The French have sunk the Jackal’s Teeth and dismasted the Black Mongoose, while the Spanish rob their enemies! The Mixed fleet doesn’t have any ships to counter the Espada with, though she can’t be shot at while docked regardless.

The French captain aboard the Charlemagne didn’t want to steal the BM’s gold and sulk away; instead he set full sail towards the Dunlap!

Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016

The Dunlap shot first, but the Franco-Spanish were eventually victorious!

Another Player Introduced to Pirates CSG! March 5th, 2016

The final score was 9-0. Look for another CG1 report soon!