Dutch Golden Age

Pirates CSG Mega Pack for May 2026

Here are the game pieces for the Dutch Golden Age (DGA) Mega Pack, released starting in May 2026 for subscribers of my Buccaneer’s Booty Box!

Gouden Leeuw
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 072
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 18
Masts: 4
Cargo: 4
Base Move: L
Cannons: 2S-2L-2L-2S
Ability: When this ship hits an enemy ship, also eliminate one crew from that ship. This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against English ships.
Link: Cornelis Tromp

Flavor text: The flagship of Cornelis Tromp is one of the largest ships in service to the Netherlands. She has excelled in battles against the English across multiple Anglo-Dutch wars, from Schooneveld to Texel. Armed with 82 guns, she is a match for all but the largest English three deckers.

I am excited to return to the European theater! Here we see one of the most iconic Dutch ships of all time, come to life on the new D4M (Dutch 4 Master) ship shape made by Gigi. Having read about this ship and her captain/admiral many times earlier in life, it felt like something coming full circle. The late 1600s were an explosive time for naval warfare – three Anglo-Dutch Wars were fought between 1652 and 1674. These wars were unique in that they were almost exclusively fought at sea. The battles and paintings from that time period are legendary.

Although the English are my favorite faction in our game, I have to give major credit to the Dutch for being an absolute powerhouse throughout the 17th century. This 82-gun ship comes ready to brawl. A veteran of important battles against the English, she has artwork to match, with various holes in her sails from round shot and musket balls. It was tricky fitting all the cannons on the hull, but I noticed that they also look tightly packed on the various paintings I studied.

As usual for when I make historical ships with existing painting or replica references available, as many parts of the ship as possible are color-matched to the actual ship (in this case from really gorgeous paintings). The stern and prow details are taken directly from public domain source artwork, with the golden lion (ship’s namesake) visible on the stern hull detail. I couldn’t find any true broadside-angle depictions of her, so the stern gallery might look a little weird because it’s mostly a stern/quarter angle view. However, between the tiny scale of the ships of the game and the print quality, I think it will turn out okay. Lighted lanterns are added to the quarterdeck, as these 17th century warships often got rather fancy and ornate.

The cropped flags are also a fun detail to add, straight from source paintings that were often finished within a decade or so of the actual battles of the time. Having grown up reading books that featured paintings by Willem van de Velde (the Younger, and the Elder), it felt really fitting to pay homage to them by bringing their artwork into the game. The book War at Sea in the Age of Sail (by Andrew Lambert; affiliate link) introduced me to their work and that book was also a major factor in me getting into Pirates CSG in the first place (and playing huge games as a result of reading about the massive battles that took place centuries ago). The flags are all blowing to starboard/forward, a detail I like being really consistent with as often as possible with my designs.

Zeelandia
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 073
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 12
Masts: 3
Cargo: 4
Base Move: S+S
Cannons: 3L-3L-3L
Ability: You may double the range of any of this ship’s cannons each action, but if you do, that cannon must roll a 6 to hit.
Link: Joris van der Zaen, Jacob Huyrluyt, Nicolaes Marrevelt, Daniel Elsevier

Flavor text: A veteran of all three Anglo-Dutch Wars, this vessel of 34 guns has served many captains. She now heads to the Caribbean, for rumors abound that the French will try to recapture Tobago.

For this one, I wanted to keep some elements of the 3-tone hull design from the Golden Seas D3M’s. Her armament is mostly based on her 1665 armament; perhaps the 3-pounders aren’t included in the “nominal guns” count so I didn’t add them to the deck art, but she’s also listed at 34 guns for the Battle of Texel, fought during the third Anglo-Dutch War.

None of her linked crew are in this release, but there’s always a chance they’ll show up in the future. I wanted to give the Dutch a ship with the “new sniping” ability that can be mixed and matched on a per-cannon basis (unlike the old sniping ability, where you have to snipe with all cannons or none for a shoot action). Perhaps a jack of all trades warship that can bring some life and fun to their fleets.

The ship still has some battle damage from surviving 8 battles with the English, but a lot of her holes have been patched up for her journey to the Caribbean. She’s flying a West India Company flag from her main topsail, given that the flavor text implies her journey to Tobago, where she would be sunk by the French. The orange on the flag fits well with the orange details on her hull and gunport lids.

Halve Maen
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 074
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 10
Masts: 3
Cargo: 4
Base Move: S+L
Cannons: 4S-4L-4S
Ability: Once per turn, if this ship is within S of a wild island, you can mark it as explored without docking at it. The island becomes unexplored in regards to all other players.
Link: Henry Hudson

Flavor text: Tasked by the Dutch East India Company with a covert mission to find a northern passage to Asia, Henry Hudson captains this ship to new waterways.

This was originally an existing custom I made some years ago as a 2 masted square rigged ship – long before I even considered making my own ship types. However, given how similar her “jacht” design is to a carrack, this was a great opportunity to use the new carrack design in this Dutch release. The faction flag is intentionally orange on top rather than red, because I saw that they used the “Prince’s Flag” around the time she made her main voyage (1609).

I’m originally from New York State and I’ve seen the Hudson River, so this one was a little bit like a homecoming in certain ways. Henry Hudson is not in the release but might be made in the future. Pretty crazy how much bears his name beyond just the river: Hudson Bay, Hudson’s Bay Company (the oldest corporation in North America and just liquidated in 2025), etc. Since she was an exploratory vessel rather than one of the big Portuguese carracks meant for maximum cargo (and technically of a different design historically), I gave her a fast base move along with the S-Explorer ability.

One of the best things about making this one is that a replica exists, with tons of modern pictures to use for reference. From that I was able to recreate the various hull details and especially the color scheme, which is quite unique compared to most other ships in PCSG. I think she’ll make a fine historical addition to the Dutch quest for riches in the  game!

Castel del Rey
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 075
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 9
Masts: 2
Cargo: 5
Base Move: S+S
Cannons: 3S-2L
Ability: Pirate crew can use their abilities on this ship.
Link: Adrian Claver, Otto van Tuyl

Flavor text: The Dutch privateer Adrian Claver uses this well-armed vessel to pillage Spanish holdings. Some consider his friends such as Captain Gincks to be pirates.

With the return of the “1700s” version of my 2 masted brig, we see an 18-gun historical ship with a mixed allegiance. Claver (also part of this release) was a Dutch privateer in league with some pirates, so this vessel will open up the Dutch faction to some interesting potential combinations.

For the art, I wanted a damaged ship to represent how much action she got into (especially with the Spanish). I tried playing around with drop shadows from the masts to accentuate a lighting effect. In this case the sun is coming from the port quarter, with the lighter shade of each mast gradient on the left and the drop shadows to the right (and forward on the jib). She might look more like a pirate ship than anything else, but the orange highlights serve to distinguish her as a privateer of the Netherlands. (orange being the national color of the Netherlands)

I could see her playing multiple roles in a fleet – likely an armed merchant, with possible starting crew setup looking like captain-helmsman-explorer (CHE).

Postillon
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 076
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 4
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Base Move: S+S
Cannons: 5L
Ability: This ship gets +S to her base move if she begins that move action within S of an island.
Flavor text: This pinnace from De Hoop is serving under Simon de Cordes after Jacques Mahu’s untimely end off the African coast. She was assembled in the Strait of Magellan. Other ships in the squadron include Trouwe and De Liefde.

Here’s a sloop that was apparently stored in the hold of a ship on the expedition that eventually took William Adams to Japan. If the artwork looks somewhat janky/rushed, it’s because that was done on purpose to reflect the fact she was assembled en route. Almost like a jury rigged ship. I don’t normally do monochrome sails anymore, but this felt like the right time to try that – an otherwise fresh white sail that hadn’t been exposed to the sun/weathering much, but was creased and slightly worn out from being in storage on the Hoop.

The Postillon went missing in the vast Southern Ocean (Pacific Ocean) and likely perished.

Because she didn’t last long, this ship was a good opportunity to make the cheapest Dutch ship yet, at under 5 points. It is worded as “that move action” rather than “her move action” to prevent any confusion about the bonus being cumulative (as it’s not).

Credit to my friend Gigi for the original ship design from Golden Seas – I was really happy to use 3 of those 4 in this release. All 5 ship types in DGA are new “relaunch” ship types, which I was stoked to do. (definitely want to get as much mileage out of them as possible, given the design and testing time that goes into each model)

Cornelis Tromp
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 077
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 8
Ability: Hostile: England. Captain. Once per turn, you may eliminate one of this ship’s masts to give her an extra action. If this ship does not have all of her masts, she gets +1 to her cannon rolls. This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against French forts.
Link: Gouden Leeuw, Thomas Tobias

Flavor text: The controversial son of Admiral Maarten Tromp has risen through the ranks of Dutch naval officers. He gained experience at the battles of Elba, Leghorn, Lowestoft, and the Four Days’ Battle. Those conflicts helped him lead his squadrons to victory at Schooneveld and Texel, where he finally vanquished his rival Edward Spragge. He is still jealous of de Ruyter but has earned his place as a Dutch naval hero.

The unique new “mast sac” ability is based on his aggressive battling strategy, throwing caution to the wind to get the initiative. He was quite successful in spite of it, leading to his cannon bonus ability which pairs well with losing masts.

Tromp was a very aggressive squadron commander who personally relished the fight, preferring the direct attack having the weather gage over line-of-battle tactics. As a result, he had to change ships often: four times at the Four Days’ Battle, three times at Schooneveld and two times at Texel. He was popular with his crews, despite the danger he put them in….

Piet Hein
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 078
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 10
Ability: Captain. This ship gets +1 to her d6 rolls against Spanish ships. When touching a Spanish ship, this ship can load as much of that ship’s treasure as she can carry. When this ship unloads treasure at your home island, any coin printed with a silver number is worth +2 gold.

Flavor text: Captured by the Spanish and forced into being a galley slave, this Dutch hero later found revenge as an admiral in the Dutch West India Company. His capture of the Spanish silver fleet funded the Dutch army for months and crushed the Spanish economy.

Piet Hein is a crew I’ve wanted to see in Pirates CSG for many years. Arguably he should almost be a “god crew” similar to Nelson/etc. He is quite expensive but should be well worth the points, especially in any games against the Spanish. At first glance he might seem overpriced, but it’s always tricky to price crew with very situational abilities, and his abilities could be game-changing at the opportune moment. Since he completely owned the Spanish, his ship will get +1 to all of her d6 rolls against their ships – cannons, ramming, boarding, etc. His epic silver ability will apply to all silver coins the ship unloads (not just one per unload/docking), potentially making him a staple of Dutch hybrid silver fleets even when no Spaniards are on the horizon.

Overall it was great to make new crew for two of the most accomplished Dutchmen in naval history!

Abel Tasman
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 079
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 4
Ability: Explorer. Born Leader.
Link: Heemskerck (ship), Frans Visscher

Flavor text: One of the most well-traveled Dutchmen in recent history. Stops in Formosa and the Japanese trading port of Dejima have provided education on foreign relations. Now he sails from Batavia in search of the legendary Terra Australis….

Tasmania (and by extension, Tasmanian Devil) and many other things are named after him. Wanted to do him justice. It’s been interesting to try to use old place names (such as Formosa and Batavia) as I generally prefer to keep the flavor text close to “present tense” in order to keep gameplay immersion.

Adrian Claver
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 080
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 3
Ability: Hostile: Spain. Filching Gold. If this ship wins a boarding party, she may capture the crew with the lowest point cost instead of eliminating it. A captured crew becomes cargo worth its point cost in gold when unloaded at your home island.

Flavor text: Claver is a constant thorn in Spanish sides. He has teamed with pirates to raid Spanish shipping off Havana and Caracas. Although he failed to capture the Frenchman named “Captain Davy” while based out of New York, he has taken many prize ships and crew for ransom.

A well-connected privateer with a new twist on the Gold Capture ability.

That concludes the previews for Dutch Golden Age! 5 ships (all new models that have been introduced this decade), 4 named crew. Very rich in history. Was really nice to make and I like how it turned out.