1. Paradis de la Mer
2. Fortaleza Dorada
I find that S range guns on forts are quite frustrating, as you cannot even control the area around the island all that well. Plus, the fort’s cannons have to shoot over at least some land area, which effectively makes the range even worse.
3. Devil’s Maw
4. Dead Man’s Point
5. Ramsgate
REALLY love this one and think it probably deserves better, but I’m trying to be objective about the others haha. Great for area/zone control/denial.
6. Fort Brompton
7. Thompson’s Island
I’ll take the bonus on all 5 cannons than a reroll (on Castillo) for a cannon that’s not likely to hit anyway. Easy to station some cheap stuff here, or better yet, have a canoe always docked here after it uses its ability to take something from a gold runner and then simply redocks to unload it at the fort.
8. Castillo del Infanta
9. St. Pierre
Have you used this ability in a game? Despite it being my first fort, I still haven’t. I suppose there is some value in a “chain” type system where this fort is the middleman between a wild island and home, but I’m still not sure how useful it would really be. I do consider small games for these rankings too, and for those this thing is puzzling. You’d much rather have the gold on your home island, so leaving it in the fort to get another action (outside of a hybrid running off to attack) seems counterproductive.
10. El Puerto Blanco
I still don’t think I’ve used this ability in a game, and even in larger games there are a lot of things to consider. A spy can do similar work, and a lot of times the reveals will be fruitless. Also, even if you spot a 7 or a great UT, there might be better stuff on another island that you haven’t seen yet. The island in question might be deep in enemy territory and not worth trying for. Also (CG1 spoiler alert!) the Spanish won CG1 without ever using this ability (not that it wouldn’t have helped, but they certainly didn’t need it). Armament still matters, and this thing is incredibly weak. Protecting gold and holding territory is more important than snooping around islands you can’t get to in the near future.
Original thread on Miniature Trading