Two games have been played. The first was 40 points, and the second was 60.
Game 1
The fleets went in this order:
Spanish:
La Catedral del Mar + captain, helmsman, shipwright
Sea Lion + helmsman
Bazana + explorer
Franco-Cursed:
La Bonne Chance + captain
La Richelieu + helmsman, explorer
Sea Rat + helmsman, explorer, oarsman
Some stringed terrain was featured:
The Sea Lion was the first to reach the island:
On the next turn, the Spanish ships took all the gold from the beach:
The Catedral hid in a fog bank, waiting to ambush the French:
However, she only hit once against the Bonne Chance, as the gold runners sailed straight for the other two beaches.
The Bonne Chance returned fire for two hits on the Catedral!
However, the Spanish know that gold is the real prize, and eagerly get away.
The Chance won the battle, but at a cost. This allowed the Sea Rat and Richelieu to run home.
The Spanish considered using the Sea Lions ability, but thought better of it.
The Catedral revealed her shipwright, but the Chance would be able to continually knock it back down. As the Sea Lion prepares to explore again, the Bazana goes on the other side of the terrain.
The Sea Rat’s return allows for the capture of the Catedral, but she distracted the French long enough for the Sea Lion to explore.
At this point, the Sea Lion was able to run home. The Sea Rat ditched the Catedral to pick up the final coin from the other beach, and the gold was counted up.
French: 22 gold
Spanish: 19
Game 2
The second game featured a higher build total of 60 points, along with a different setup that I ended up liking a lot.
The fleets went in this order:
Barbary Corsairs:
Terror of Gibraltar + Crimson Angel, captain, helmsman
Silent Death + Kheir-ed-din, helmsman
Golden Peacock + explorer
Tripoli
Franco-Cursed:
Mostly the same as above, with one new ship:
La Bonne Chance + captain
La Richelieu + helmsman, explorer
Sea Rat + helmsman, explorer, oarsman
Le Duc d’Enghien + captain, helmsman, oarsman
The home islands were again at opposite ends, but three wild islands with four coins each were in the middle. Terrain was placed throughout, including an iceberg and a fog/reef combo.
The Corsairs are off! However, they can’t row in between the dangerous rocks.
The French set sail as well, but the Golden Peacock and Tripoli quickly reached a sandy island. Between the two ships all the gold disappeared! At the far side of the picture, the Terror of Gibraltar has received an SAT from Crimson Angel, allowing her to terrorize the Bonne Chance and dismast her! Crimson Angel’s cannon bonus really helped in this early battle.
An excellent shot – you can also see the Sea Rat in the distance.
The Silent Death preferred the fog to a reef, but it looks like the Sea Rat will reach the island first. However, the Bonne Chance won’t be able to protect the Rat from whatever comes next…
With one island out, the French then focused on the middle island with their two remaining 3 masters. The Duc shot 1/3 to hit the Golden Peacock, while the Richelieu sailed around to the sandy beach of the center island.
An overhead view of the game. The Terror of Gibraltar captured the Bonne Chance, but decided the game would still be too short to tow her back and use her effectively. Crimson Angel wanted another battle. In the meantime, Kheir on the Silent Death revealed his own plan, coming out of the fog onto the reef to S-board the Sea Rat and steal a coin! On this turn, Kheir’s roll was successful, allowing the Tripoli to return home early.
With a coin still on the island, the Sea Rat’s crew got greedy even in the face of the relatively dangerous Silent Death.
The Terror of Gibraltar. I love how you can actually see her masts through the sails because of the light. This is one of the more realistic pictures I’ve taken.
The game is lit up, and you can again make out the Terror’s beauty as the light shines through her sails.
The Duc strikes again! Unfortunately, she only hits 1/3 this time too.
The Golden Peacock survives the onslaught to dock home more gold for the BC’s. The Silent Death has cornered the Sea Rat in hopes of taking another coin to fill up her cargo hold, but somehow both ships roll a 6 to tie at 8! In the meantime, the Terror of Gibraltar has moved twice to hit the Richelieu twice, knocking her down to one mast.
What a beautiful setting for a game!
Another view of the excitement, as three separate actions have gone down in just the span of one turn!
The Silent Death again tried to steal a coin from the Sea Rat, but finally lost a boarding party! This killed her helmsman, but gave her an extra cargo space to work with. The Richelieu is happy to run from the Terror of Gibraltar, who’s been blocked completely by the Duc. The Duc took out a mast on the Terror with her first shoot action, but the Terror has responded with two hits of her own. The Corsairs had luck with them on this day, getting some SAT’s from Crimson Angel, two 6’s from Kheir, and some good luck with terrible rank-5 cannons boosted by Crimson Angel. In the meantime, the Tripoli and Golden Peacock eye the final two coins left on the middle island.
The French breathe a sigh of relief as the Richelieu and Sea Rat dock home their gold, with both having been harassed by the numerous fast galleys still flying over the waves. The guns of the Duc and Terror are booming, with the Terror’s mizzenmast about to fall over the side.
The Duc decided the battle wasn’t going to end up in her favor, and decided to take advantage of the reverse captain option to run away. However, the Terror caught her with an SAT from Crimson Angel, knocking out her final mast. The Duc had brought an oarsman along, and so was spared by just barely being able to row back to her home island. The Silent Death is slowed by the loss of her helmsman, but she still manages to reach the center island before her comrades, who are struggling with the fog.
The battered French mock the nearby Crimson Angel, who waits patiently for her next opponent.
The Silent Death takes the final two coins! The Terror again receives the SAT, but only manages to sink the Richelieu. The Sea Rat continues sailing. Carnage is strewn over the battlefield.
The Silent Death and Terror of Gibraltar go one way, while the Golden Peacock and Tripoli shadow the Sea Rat, who is now immune in the fog. The Duc repairs a mast at her home island.
A view from the Corsairs’ home island, with the Sea Rat approaching:
As the Silent Death fell just short of her home island, the Golden Peacock tried to block the Sea Rat. The Tripoli rounded off her larboard bow, forcing the Rat to dock right in the middle.
The Duc has come back for more! The rivalry between her and the Terror continues, with the Duc able to catch up at S+L+S. She missed her one shot, however, giving the Terror the upper hand once again.
The Silent Death and Sea Rat docked, with the Rat stealing gold!
At the bottom of the picture, the Terror has finally defeated the Duc for good. The Golden Peacock rams the Sea Rat in an attempt to reclaim the gold.
The Sea Rat rammed the Golden Peacock and dismasted her to take back the coin, but the Corsairs finally put an end to the shenanigans. The Silent Death fired and found her mark, and the Tripoli captured the Sea Rat and towed her home to end the game.
The gold was counted up!
Barbary Corsairs: 23 gold
French: 18
The coin the Sea Rat stole was a 5! If only the Sea Rat would have made it back to her home island, the scores would be reversed! Alas, the Corsairs’ fine gunnery combined with their superior numbers advantage (after the Bonne Chance was taken out early) won them the game.
This was a great game that featured some fun crew and ship abilities, as well as a setup that I really enjoyed quite a lot.