Esek Hopkins
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War (RevWar) (June 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 087
Nationality: American
Point Cost: 7
Ability: Captain. This ship can dock at an enemy home island or fort and load one random treasure; if able, she must leave on your next turn.
Link: USS Alfred
Flavor text: As the Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy, he sailed a fleet to the Bahamas to raid the British colony at Nassau. This has made Royal Navy leadership worried about losing parts of their West Indies holdings. However, he now faces political attacks based on his prior inability or unwillingness to defend Chesapeake Bay, despite the larger British presence there.
Although a controversial figure, it is hard to tell the story of the US Navy’s founding and its role in the Revolutionary War without Hopkins. He should pair well with Alfred, with 3 points still available in the cap space to add a helmsman and oarsman/etc. His second ability is a twist on HI Raider – he can steal from forts too, and the coin is specifically random rather than unspecified (which defaults to the loser’s choice in the original rules). With HI Raiding, I generally like the house rule of having the coin(s) be random rather than loser’s choice, both to make the ability more worth its cost (usually 3+ even without this upgrade) and in the spirit of piracy as the game’s namesake. The fort addition was of course based on his Nassau raid. With the upgrades to HI Raider, 4 points seems appropriate for this variant.
Abraham Whipple
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War (RevWar) (June 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 088
Nationality: American
Point Cost: 6
Ability: Captain. Merchant. When touching an English ship, this ship can load as much of that ship’s treasure as she can carry.
Link: USS Providence, USS Columbus
Flavor text: Having gained experience as a privateer during the Seven Years’ War, Whipple was a prime candidate to lead one of the first ships of the Continental Navy. His command of Providence (then named Katy) led to the first cannon fire against the Royal Navy during the American Revolution. “Always catch a man before you hang him.”
Merchant: Once per turn if this crew or ship is within S of any ships, home islands, or forts, the controllers of each game piece may agree to trade any number of cargo between the game pieces as a free action (if applicable, up to their available cargo space). If the trade is between friendly game pieces, all friendly game pieces involved must unload at least one non-identical cargo; you cannot trade between friendly ships and your own home island.
There was certainly some competition for this final American crew slot in such an iconic release idea, but Whipple played a big role in the early days and is fascinating to read about. He also brings a somewhat lacking mercantile focus to the ranks of American named crew.