Today I played three more games in which the Pirates faced the Americans. First off, the point limit was increased from 40 to 60 points. The Americans swapped out the USS Mercury submarine for the USS Eagan, a four masted ship with rank-2 guns. They also added the USS Paladin and crewed her with Commodore Peregrine Stern, who has the captain, +1 to boarding rolls, and extra action abilities. The Pirates swapped Christopher Moody (onboard the Minerva) for Crimson Angel (OE version, SAT with world-hater) and a standard captain. They added the Black Mongoose and Jack Hawkins (DJC version, captain and reverse captain).
USS Eagan, courtesy of Riz
The first game started off in favour of the Pirates, with the Minerva quickly dismasting the Frontier and capturing her by using an extra action from Crimson Angel. The Eagan responded by taking out two masts on the Minerva, and the Paladin shot away two masts from the Black Mongoose. The Mongoose then used her reverse captain ability to take one mast off the Paladin, but she was sunk by the Paladin on the next turn.
By this point, the Swift had already gotten home with gold for the Pirates, with the Amity heading back as well. The Eagan sailed for the slow-moving Amity, but another SAT from Crimson Angel aboard the Minerva let her catch the Eagan and block her path, killing her helmsman with the ships ability. The chase was over, and the Pirates had their first victory!
The second game started with an extra action from Stern aboard the Paladin, taking out two masts on the Minerva. The Minerva tried to shoot, ram, and board the Eagan, but she failed at all three, to be sunk by the Eagan on the next turn. Meanwhile, the Frontier was busy exploring the nearest two islands, but she only found 11 gold from the 7 coins she was able to load. The Black Mongoose, instead of helping her comrades aboard the Minerva, sailed straight for the Frontier. Without an escort to support her, the Swift was a sitting duck for the Paladin, and she was dismasted. The Eagan sunk her on the next turn. The gold onboard the Swift gave the Americans 14 total gold, almost enough to win.
The Amity now had to move desperately in order to get her gold home, moving at just L speed. She unsuccessfully rammed the Paladin, and managed to lose a coin worth 4 gold in the boarding process. The Black Mongoose now shot away one of the Eagan’s masts, but it was too late for the Pirates. The Paladin and Eagan teamed up to sink the Amity, giving the Americans 18 gold against the Pirates’ 6.
The third game at 60 points featured a slightly different island setup. The islands were arranged in a circular ring, with open sea in the middle instead of having an island in the center. This game featured many lucky die rolls from Angel and Stern, the double action crew. On the Pirates’ first turn, the Minerva moved twice to catch the Frontier and sink her, eliminating the American gold game. The biggest ship in play, the Eagan angrily responded by sinking the Minerva. A 6 from Stern aboard the Paladin let her shoot twice, taking out two masts each on the Amity and the Black Mongoose. The Mongoose managed to blow away one mast on the Paladin before the Americans responded with another extra action from Stern. The Paladin sunk the Mongoose and dismasted the Amity.
At this point, the Eagan was able to sink the Swift, evening up the gold race at 10 for each nation. Unfortunately for the Pirates, however, this was their last ship, so the Americans were able to tow the Amity home and win, 18-10.
The Americans win 2 out of 3, and are 4-1 overall! They were able to overcome their bad starts with powerful guns and a few well-timed double actions. I think the point limit will be increased once more before I delve into other factions and eventually do some multiplayer action. I’d also like to reintroduce terrain and UT’s into the mix, since these simple games at 60 points can be a little too simple!