Golden Seas Playtest Game #10
2/15/2024: 4 Faction Free for All
-Test for the Points in Play rule
-Minimum of 3 Golden Seas pieces per fleet
This was the tenth and final playtest game for the new set, Pirates of the Golden Seas. Some game pieces back then were different, and have undergone revisions since then. We also used the Restarting Rules, though they were also in a somewhat different form back then – the earliest form of that alternate ruleset was finished in July 2021, but the “final” version released with the set in August 2024 more closely resembles the original rules (various rule changes were taken back out, such as the elimination of ram damage). We used the Points in Play + Gold win condition, with gold values to match (all coin values multiplied by 4). 60 point fleets with 60 gold contributed per player for 480 “total points” available at the start of the game.
Spanish: (Xerecs)
El Leon + Luis Zuan (RotF), Capitan Alarico Castro, Duque Marcus Vaccaro, helmsman
Oro del Oeste + helmsman, explorer
La Joya del Sol + Antonio de Boliveres, Dominic Freda, helmsman
El Antiguo + navigator
English: (A7XfanBen)
HMS Devastator + Captain Armstrong, CC Bratley, helmsman, oarsman
HMS Blue Whale + Commander Temple, Charlotte Godspry, explorer, oarsman
HMS Hermes’ Sandals + oarsman
+5 selection: sloop
Islands: as close as possible (2L)
Terrain: Vote for 4 placed per player (sargassos and fog banks)
Coins: Abandoned Musketeer x2, Wolves, Castaway, Missionary, 7,7,1
Pirates: (Xerecs)
Harbinger + Hammersmith (F&S), Crimson Angel (OE), Fists of Fate, oarsman, grapple shot
Golden Rose + Genny Gallows, helmsman
Baroness
Dutch: (A7XfanBen)
Van Der Decken + Captain Berend, captain, oarsman
Friesland + captain, helmsman
Amsterdam + captain
Vers Maan + explorer
Islands: 3L-4L
Terrain: Vote for 6 placed per player (variety)
Coins: Neptune’s Figurehead, Poseidon’s Breath, English Letter of Marque, 5 3’s
Setup:
Full game:
Scores:
English: 131 (86 points in play, 45 gold)
Pirates: 104 (64 points in play, 40 gold)
Dutch: 103 (27 points in play, 76 gold)
Spanish: 76 (44 points in play, 33 gold)
Cons of using Points in Play + Gold rule (w/modified Eternal):
-More confusing endgame counts (multiplying values, or just having to do more math to total up scores)
-Bigger score differentials (feels less exciting/not down to the wire as much)
-The rule is designed to incentivize combat, but can also do the opposite because players are too scared to risk their ships and crew for fear of capture.
-Coin compatibility issues – if new coins with x4 (or x5/x6/etc) values are created, how can you make them truly identical to original coins on a table? (very hard to get indistinguishable due to color, sheen, edge texture of white styrene vs. 3D printed PLA, etc.) If no new coins are created and we just multiply by 4, it makes the endgame count more confusing. It also adds new issues – should any non-standard treasure get multiplied by 4? (gold bonuses vs. UT’s that produce a gold value, etc.)
-Less late-game shenanigans and piracy. Easy to just conserve your score and wait for the game to end. Beauty of fighting over scraps at the end is that it encourages players to take wild risks and engage in more thematic tomfoolery because the loss of a ship might not impact their chances of winning.
-Change to Eternal keyword is a big nerf (maybe not necessary?)
-Makes backwards compatibility more difficult – certain abilities such as Captain, Commander Temple (steal a derelict) and combat abilities should probably get more expensive.
-Alternatives to 60 gold and 60 points in play could get ugly. If more coins to make gold “king” again, games take longer to finish. If multiplying the values even higher, you start to end up with most coins being worth more than almost any ship.
-Might be too easy to gamify adding extra points in play – Abandoned Crew, Castaway UT, MI’s that yank in crew or events (yanking in a 10 gold False Treasure event at the end of the game just to not use it is ugly).
The above and other reasons are why the Points in Play rule is simply an optional alternate endgame rule for the Restarting Rules, rather than a requirement of the ruleset (or for Golden Seas).