3 players, 60 points
This game was played on 8/2. The game featured a lot of the new islands and terrain I’ve made. They aren’t as pretty as the ones rossinaz makes, but they are interesting and add some needed flavour to the game. Also, there are some pieces that still haven’t seen action yet but will soon. A new ocean fabric was used as well.
The fleets went in the order as follows:
Fleet 1:
Poor Adams + captain, helmsman
Freedom’s Hand + captain
Carcajou + captain, helmsman
San Pedro + explorer
Mercenaries:
Shui Xian + Shap’ng Tsai, helmsman, explorer, oarsman
Matuku + explorer
Devil Ray + helmsman
Fleet 2:
L’epee de L’ange + captain, helmsman, oarsman
Templar + captain, helmsman
HMS Meresman + captain, helmsman
Algiers + explorer
An overhead view of the setup. The Mercs are at the bottom, Fleet 2 is on the left and Fleet 1 is at the top. Three icebergs of varying sizes are floating around. The southern archway is extremely tall, high enough for the Shui Xian to pass under. The upper arch is not as tall, but both have gold on them, which you’ll see in other pictures. There is also a brand new shipwreck of HMS Sultan, the other ship in that defective pack that contained the infamous Duke shipwreck from Economy Edition. To the right, a big temple-esque island strewn with both desert and forests marks the edge of the map.
The Mercs start S from their HI, giving them a jump in the gold race. However, the Shui Xian is the only ship capable of getting the gold back home, which limits her destructive range.
A different view showcasing Fleet 2 and the lower archway’s gold. A large rock provides an obstruction for Fleet 1, which you can see in the next picture.
At the bottom left, the last island is visible. Big and sandy, it’s not one of the prettier ones I made, lol. I do like the big sandbar in the middle though. You can see just how large the biggest iceberg is, as it rivals even the Shui Xian in size. The taller archway completes the collection of huge items in the southern half of the sea, and it appears as though a sea dragon may have flown through it. Was the hole (to the right) caused by Vieil Homme?
The Sultan’s gold lies in wait for anyone brave enough to cross the reef that wrecked her.
The fleets begin sailing, with the Mercs quickly exploring an island and the taller arch.
The Devil Ray speeds away at S+L+S:
Fleet 1 is seen beyond the lower arch:
The Algiers of Fleet 2 can be seen through the taller arch taking gold off the lower arch:
For this game, all icebergs moved every turn, but in the same direction.
The first exchange sees the Matuku leave her gold with the Shui Xian:
The Epee dumps her captain to carry more gold!
The mighty Shui Xian makes her way through the arch:
The Matuku lies in wait, knowing the Freedom’s Hand doesn’t have an explorer.
The Carcajou (of Fleet 1) dumps her captain to pick up a coin! She also discovers Smuggled Goods, so she can take both coins. In the meantime, a small but lengthy iceberg visits the wreck of the Sultan.
The Meresman and Algiers scare the Devil Ray away from one of their islands, forcing the sub to go south.
Tsai wants to fight, but he is hesitant to leave his treasure runners full of gold and unguarded, unable to unload their treasure. The Shui Xian rounds the arch and looks to intercept the Matuku, who has taken gold right out from under the Freedom’s Hand.
Fleet 1’s Poor Adams was the third ship to dump her captain and grab extra gold, and Fleet 1 has quite a bit. However, gold is also piling up on the other HI’s.
In the only shoot action of the game, HMS Meresman takes a chunk off the Devil Ray. However, the second shot missed, allowing the sub to dive and run on the next turn.
In the foreground, the Shui Xian takes gold from the Matuku. In the background, the San Pedro is the last ship to load treasure, taking major damage from the deadly reef that wrecked the Sultan. As a result, Fleet 2 moves to intercept Fleet 1.
The Devil Ray flees as the British gunships of Fleet 2 are almost obscured by the huge iceberg.
The damaged San Pedro makes her getaway, as the Freedom’s Hand moves to block the Epee’s lines of fire. The San Pedro returned home safely on the next turn.
The Devil Ray surfaces once again to give her gold to the Shui Xian, who uses Dories to unload it and end the game!
Fleet 1: 25 gold
Mercenaries: 19
Fleet 2: 16
In the end, a rather tame game that featured a lot of new islands and terrain. The +2 bonus of the San Pedro and Smuggled Goods resulted in a net +5 for Fleet 1, so they would have won with 20 gold anyway even without the bonuses.