Americans vs. Pirates
11/30/2022
I played against a friend in another game heavy on learning and introducing new game mechanics/keywords/etc. We mostly used these house rules, and all the game pieces can be found in the Master Spreadsheet or Tilorfire27’s database.
I rolled to go first with the Americans:
USS Constitution + captain, helmsman, tribal chieftain
Destiny + Wayne Nolan, Brent Rice, captain, chain shot
Hessian + helmsman, shipwright, oarsman
American Native Canoes
UT’s: Weapons, Enemy of the State, Power Cannons, Marines
My opponent fielded the Pirates for the first time:
Raven’s Neck + captain, helmsman
Mystic + captain, helmsman, oarsman
Skipping Stone + captain, helmsman
Bonny Kate
This was the setup!
My goal early on was to keep my canoes at a safe distance so they could get an island’s gold home, likely via round earth.
On turn 2 I sent the Destiny into action for the first time! That’s right, this was my first time using her! However, it was abysmal. Even with the help of Brent Rice and Wayne Nolan motivating the gunners, she went 0/4 (not even at sniping range) – the Skipping Stone didn’t even need to attempt rolls from the Catamaran keyword to ignore any hits!
The “canoe island” held 2 of my 4 UT’s, with Marines doing nothing and the regular coins being a 3 and 2. The Constitution touched the native canoe that loaded Power Cannons, in preparation to explore next turn.
The Skipping Stone slams the Destiny, taking out 2 masts and killing Brent Rice in a boarding party! Raven’s Neck has explored the central island while the Mystic docks in the east. My opponent was spying two coins every round of turns, and thus had a good idea of what coins the Hessian might find soon.
Canceller to the rescue! I redocked the Hessian in order to get within S of the Skipping Stone, cancelling the Catamaran keyword. Then the Destiny reversed her luck, getting consecutive 6’s with her shot and ram to dismast the vessel! She also won the boarding party to eliminate the Stone’s captain. I had also considered just exploring with the Hessian, but with the Raven’s Neck having found Weapons in the center, we both knew Enemy of the State would be on the Hessian’s island. The Destiny likely wouldn’t have done any damage to the Skipping Stone if I hadn’t cancelled Catamaran, so it was better to redock and hope for a reversal of fortune, which I was happy to get.
After another round, the Americans have whittled the Pirate fleet down to 2 ships! The Constitution used Power Cannons to sink the Mystic, while the Destiny captured the Skipping Stone and began towing her towards the newly built American fort, Thompson’s Island! The Hessian finally explored, finding Enemy of the State + 7,4,1, while a single canoe docking a 3 coin at my HI was enough to build the fort. Forts were available to the Pirates this game as well, just not as optimal to build.
The Hessian also dumped her shipwright, but neither oncoming ship would likely need it if they simply repaired at the fort.
I briefly considered dumping the Hessian’s gold in the fort and just protecting it until the Pirates would be eliminated, but then remembered how much I love the special ability of the American native canoes. The Hessian headed for home as the canoes sprung into action, moving the 7 coin all the way to my HI where it was docked by a canoe already headed home! The Skipping Stone was repairing, anticipating a conflict with her old fleetmate the Raven’s Neck.
The Bonny Kate has loaded the coin the Mystic didn’t have room for, but is threatened by the approaching Constitution.
The Hessian couldn’t dock at home due to Enemy of the State, but the canoes solved that issue quickly, yanking her last two coins off to put another 5 gold on my HI. The Raven’s Neck was approaching, while the Bonny Kate and Constitution went west.
The RN rams the Hessian but her captain gets cancelled. The Hessian loses her mast and helmsman in the ensuing chaos, but is able to row away on my next turn as more capable vessels take over the battlefield. One canoe snags the negative UT as a free action while others in range of the RN start blasting away, hitting 1/2. Destiny hits 2/2 (without Brent Rice!) and the Skipping Stone rams to make the RN derelict.
Constitution continues to pressure the Bonny Kate, but can’t quite get in range.
Raven’s Neck is captured but the Bonny Kate gets her coin home. At this point we decided it was practical to call it, because it was extremely unlikely the Bonny Kate would have even gotten a shot in against Thompson’s Island, much less destroy it by herself and get the 3 in it all the way home.
- Americans: 17 gold
- Pirates: 9
A solid game that featured plenty of abilities, UT’s, a few turns of decisive momentum swings and good strategy talk throughout! A few oddities occurred, especially the Destiny shooting far better without Brent Rice aboard. Power Cannons were meant for the Destiny, but the Constitution certainly made perfect use of them, sinking 10 gold from the Mystic. Stay tuned for more adventures!