Played two games on VASSAL with agiantpie.
For his first game in quite some time, we went with a standard setup at 40 points. He went Spanish with the Acorazado and Pescados de Plata, while I fielded a Pirate fleet with the Arabella, Zanzibar, and Fleur de la Mort.
The Arabella and Fleur de la Mort got tangled with the Battleship, whose amazing defenses saved her from terrible dice luck.
After a double shoot action by the Acorazado, the Pirates were in bad shape:
The Arabella took a mast off the Pescado before both her and the Fleur were sunk by the Acorazado. The Zanzibar was chased down and the Spanish won in a shutout, 7-0!
The second game was at 50 points, with two strings of terrain added. A line of reefs and sargasso seas stretched out from the middle island. I completely overhauled my fleet and went with a Crimson Coast Pirates theme, with the Victoire, Raven, and Royal James. agiantpie added the Picador with a captain and cannoneer.
The Raven and Royal James took a nice amount of gold from the center island, while the Victoire headed north. Both Spanish gunships headed straight for the tag team of Pirate schooners.
The Pirates were too quick for the Acorazado, who temporarily retired to the south. The Victoire decided to take the more exciting route (which turned out to be a mistake heh, but at least it was more interesting) and use the Sextant UT to cross the dangerous reefs to attack the Picador, who had sailed north.
The Raven and Royal James wanted to avoid the Acorazado and get more gold, possibly with El Phantasma aboard the Raven.
However, the Acorazado got an SAT from Castro and dismasted the Royal James! The Raven’s escort was smashed, but the RJ managed to effectively block the Acorazado by rowing up to her, allowing the Raven to escape.
The Royal James and Picador were sunk by the respective flagships! This left both fleets with 2 ships left.
The Raven managed to sneak by the Pescado after a brief scuffle, stealing a 4 coin from the Spanish HI! The Victoire prepared to run interference if necessary, and she also carried the Letter of Marque UT if there was a chance to repair at the Spanish HI.
But the Acorazado is too much for mere Pirates! Within two turns the Victoire was sunk and the Acorazado barely damaged.
After a closer chase than El Phantasma anticipated, the Raven docked home her stolen loot.
However, the Pescado had time to run off to the northwestern island, bringing back a 6 and 4! We were running out of time, and concluded that the 3 left in play would be sunk or stolen even if the Raven managed to get it without the Acorazado sinking her first. The Spanish won a fun game by a 21-19 margin! This further proves how amazing the Acorazado is, as if we needed more proof. Even in standard smaller games she can shine as the best gunship in history. Congratulations to agiantpie for 2 victories in his triumphant return to Pirates!
