6/8/2018

El_Cazador and I played a game on VASSAL using Cadet-Captain Mike’s Random Pirates Set-Up Tables.

You can find the game on youtube!

6: Roll on Special Set-Up 2 table; no Limits

4: One free Rare ship; one free Common ship; 15 points

I wanted to max out my points expenditure, so I went with HMS Dreadnought and USS Springfield, basically the two most expensive ships of their rarities.  (some other commons are also 18)

The Tiger’s Eye found a bunch of UT’s at her first island, including Wolves.

Through the custom Fountain of Dreams UT, I was able to get Nemo’s Plans on the Dreadnought and then transfer Neptune’s Trident to the Dreadnought from the Coeur, thus making a powerful ship even more extreme.

El_Cazador conceded the game so I won 15-0.

This was the First Game on VASSAL for MegabyteKnight! You can hear this awesome mix that I just found.

Megabyteknight went first with a mix of factions:
Raven’s Neck + captain, helmsman
HMS Victor + helmsman
Peacock + explorer

I used my new fleet “All Spanish on a Spanish Main“, which exists because of a youtube fleet making tutorial I made.

He set up a tightly packed arrangement of islands, with 3 coins per wild island.

The action got started on the first turn, with the Corazon del Mar knocking a mast off the Victor!

The battle only intensified, with the Raven’s Neck and Aguila trading blows. Inable to perform at his best (I didn’t get the SAT roll XD), Capitan Castro piloted the Aguila the short trip home, knocking a mast off the Raven’s Neck on the way to safety. The Corazon and Victor traded hits before the Corazon moved in for the decisive blow by getting broadside and hitting 2/3!

With the Raven’s Neck gathering gold at an island and the Victor with only 1 mast standing, the Spanish decided it was time to strike with maximum force! The Corazon del Mar sailed over to the Raven’s Neck and improbably hit 3/3 to dismast the ship! This was a devastating blow to their cause, but it only got worse. With no need to capture the Raven’s Neck right away or finish her off, L’Aguila sailed over to the Victor and promptly sunk her! This was a weird and unlikely case where the fleet with the advantage was able to switch targets in a 2v2 setting.

With the Raven’s Neck captured and brought back to Spanish waters, and the Peacock the only ship opposing the Spaniards, the game was all but over. Some coins were unloaded, and the Spanish had won a 10-5 victory!

This was the VASSAL introduction game for captainjohnlock! (JohnLock on VASSAL)

He went first with an English fleet, I followed with the French. We used a 40 point build total with no crew to keep it simple. Flat earth rules, and with 3 coins per island (no UT’s).

Knowing combat would be hampered without any captains to rely on, I purposely chose the SCS version of the Coeur de Lion with her sniping ability. I got a handful of extra long range potshots in early against the Gallowglass and Duke of York, but none of them connected. JohnLock’s method of tagging the deckplates around with the ships is a solid way to keep track of things for beginners. (to which I said: “never woulda thought a that!” )

Many ships picked up gold from the various wild islands in play, while the Coeur mounted a somewhat heroic and effective defense of the French home island. She was able to hit 2/2 with her regular 2L guns once the Englishmen came into range. Again, no captains on gunships meant that the first shot would usually go to the defender.

Eventually the English began hitting their mark, but by the time the Coeur was in trouble, the French “cavalry” was returning home! All three of their other four ships arrived on the scene to turn the tide back in French favor.

In a rare usage of reverse captain, the Duc dismasted the Gallowglass and then docked home her gold, simultaneously blocking the Coeur from the Gallowglass on the previous turn to potentially save the former from sinking. The East Wind captured the Gallowglass, while the Glaive unloaded some loot from the southeast.

The Duke of York did manage to get the better of the Coeur, but she too was dismasted by the Duc of the French fleet. Once again the reverse captain ability proved some measure of worth (usually it doesn’t get used since there aren’t many opportunities for it, and it’s certainly overpriced), as the Duc shot off the Duke’s final mast (getting confused?) and then moved to tow her as well. We both agreed to call this “VASSAL introduction” game a bit early, and the French won 24-21!

More adventures await!

Just taught Anthony how to play and we played his first-ever game of Pirates!!  A New Pirate in Italy!

I went first with my SM English fleet, while he used Woelf’s SM Spanish fleet.

Ironically, all the ships with captains docked at wild islands while the Joya was sailing towards the Dover!

The explorer of the Joya appeared to have a death wish, trying to sink the Dover without the actual captain ability! However, the Dover missed all 3 of her shots in a classic shoot action gone wrong by yours truly!

Even more improbable, the Joya went 3 for 3 on the Spanish turn to cripple the Dover!! O_O

The Dover scurried home to unload coins and repair, handing over combat duties to the more well-equipped HMS Bolingbroke.

It took 3 turns, but the Bolingbroke went 4/9 to finally dismast the pesky Joya del Sol. The Dover and Asesino went back for more gold.

The Bolingbroke captured the Joya del Sol and the last coins were collected.

Final score:
1. English: 23 gold
2. Spanish: 14 gold

This was a good basic introductory game, and we’re planning to play again soon! 

I played a game on Christmas Eve after teaching a new player how to play Pirates! I don’t have the Sleigh or Captain Whitebeard (not that they’re legal of course), but getting them out for a brand-new player would be pretty brutal anyway.

In a strange irony, I actually played inside the same shopping mall where I bought my first packs at a FYE store (since closed) way back in early 2005!!   O_O My Pirates’ Life coming full circle at last! XD

The game was played at a 40 point build total, and I rolled to go first: (all game pieces found in the Master Spreadsheet)

English
HMS Durham + captain
HMS Frolic
HMS Europa + Commander Temple

English Pirates
HMS Victor + captain
Greed’s Hammer + captain, helmsman
Accused + oarsman

3 wild islands with 4 coins each:

The Durham and Greed’s Hammer (GH) head to the same island. The Europa got lucky with extra actions in this game, but couldn’t do much with them. (she was going to combine an EA with Temple’s ability to yank a derelict home, but wasn’t very useful in the meantime)

I let the Europa explore the island with an extra action (no room for gold), while the Durham shot a mast off the GH.

The GH maneuvered to dock at the island while shooting at the Durham, hitting both times to cripple the English flagship.

In the meantime, the Victor, Accused, and Frolic were all busy getting some precious loot:

Without a helmsman to boost her speed, the captain of the Durham decides to not go full speed, electing to keep the mainmast cannon in range to knock another mast off the GH (and thus preventing a possible sinking on the Pirate turn).

This Durham pales in comparison to the original, but she’s not a bad ship overall.

The Durham and Frolic get plenty of gold for the English, while the Pirates gather treasure as well.

In the end the Europa left Temple on the island to pick up the final coin there, while the Frolic and Accused have the last loads of treasure for their fleets.

My English ended up winning 19-9, since I got luckier with the treasure distribution. However, the game was mostly about teaching a new player the basics and having fun, which we did. Thanks for reading!