4 Player 60 Point game in LA using Points in Play!
January 30th, 2022
Ahoy again! Just one day after meeting up with 3 other players in Los Angeles for a pair of games, I picked up Xerecs and Gingerninja for a game at Gazerbeam’s house!
We sat down for a 60 point game using the points in play house rule where total points in play would be added to gold for a total score.
Here in LA there be pirates!! XD
I went with a similar fleet from the day before, with the Wicked Wench, Star of Siam, and Philadelphia reprising their roles while the Longshanks replaced HMS Hound for a more optimal crew setup on the Wicked Wench. (no English in my fleet meant I could use F&S Hammersmith on the WW) Gingerninja opted for the Fetu from RtSS, the White Rose, and two smaller ships. The 025 Black Pearl (Gazerbeam) and RV Neptune’s Hoard (Xerecs) were also present. Crazy enough, I was the only player not using the Bloody Jewel in this game!
My Star of Siam and Longshanks worked on draining an island, but the Black Pearl approaches. At the upper right, Xerecs starts a UPS combo with the Neptune’s Hoard carrying the common version of Captain Jack Sparrow.
With my fleet speeding home to unload, the Black Pearl finds a new target in the Neptune’s Hoard. The latter is sunk! Some ships make moves on gold in the southeast, while at the upper left you can see the Fetu busy hoisting treasure aboard.
I built a fort on said southeastern island, but it was quickly smashed up and made abandoned! However, my fleet descended on the scene, with the Wicked Wench and Philadelphia looking to team up and capture a Longshanks.
Gingerninja was in the middle of some gold running for the ages when the Black Pearl suddenly got involved! However, luckily for him the Fetu survived the broadside with a mast standing!
The Fetu may have escaped for now, but the White Rose is slammed on her way home:
The Philadelphia warps home the second Longshanks of my fleet, with a pair of Bloody Jewels docked at the top of the picture.
From left to right: Gingerninja’s Bloody Jewel takes the White Rose under tow; the Black Pearl flees into fog after losing a second mast; the Philadelphia docks at the same island Le Pique is at; (top of frame) my original Longshanks round earths to dismast a target gold runner.
Just had to admire the Star of Siam a bit – it was great to use the physical ship after so many years of wanting her!
Gingerninja gets the White Rose home, with a fat stack of gold piling up….
After what I think was a ram and then an explore action on the next turn, the Philadelphia has robbed Gingerninja of his Le Pique! This was another frustrating time for me with dice rolling, as the Wicked Wench couldn’t get the roll needed to whirl-steal from Gingerninja’s home island in one turn. Even if I got lucky it would be risky. At the top of the frame, the Longshanks needs to eliminate the one master’s oarsman to capture her, but help is on the way in the form of a Bloody Jewel and the Black Pearl….
Repairs occur as the Wicked Wench basically waits for a good roll that will allow her to move and HI hoard coming out of a whirlpool.
The Longshanks and Star of Siam return to home waters as I consolidate my fleet:
Or not! They round earth to the northwest, where the Wicked Wench has finally arrived! However, in a very smart move, Gingerninja has positioned the Fetu and Bloody Jewel perfectly so that the WW cannot move out of the whirlpool and dock at his home island to steal gold. Frustrated, I move the Wicked Wench into the fog bank nearby. Gazerbeam has retained his one masted French ship and repairs the Black Pearl.
At this point the players voted to call the game, although there was still gold in my abandoned fort.
Scores:
- A7XfanBen: 100 combined points+gold
- Gingerninja: 94
- Gazerbeam543: 66
- Xerecs: 39
I was happy to finally win a game, though it comes with the asterisk of not knowing exactly how a true endgame would have played out with the fort gold. In the end my capture of Gingerninja’s Pique made the difference, as he would have won 99-95 if he had retained it. The Black Pearl wrecked Xerecs’ plans very early, putting him in a hole that was too hard to climb out of. Gingerninja and Gazerbeam played good games and overall it was another successful day of pirating!
