I’m gonna use this comment to chronicle the long game I’m playing until my copy of Aruj Barbarossa arrives, with altered rules. I briefly explained how I’m playing it over on the Game Ideas thread, but basically:
– Malta (Spain/England/France) vs Barbary Coast
– Malta has one HI, Barbary Coast has 3.
– 24 turns a day (one per “hour” until Barbarossa arrives. He’s expected between one and two weeks from now.)
– I’ve added a “food” mechanic. Each city has to feed itself. Coins can be spent on food, 2 food per coin. Each HI goes through one food per turn. (Based on how Day 1 went, I think in the future Malta will go through 3 per turn for balance now.)
– 4 wild islands, gold completely random. They replenish at a rate of one coin per turn, with a max of 4 coins per island.
– Malta ships can “blockade” Barbary HIs if they’re within L of it. A blockaded Barbary port that runs out of food becomes captured, and remains under Malta’s control as long as they have a ship within L. Malta wins if all 3 Barbary islands are captured before Aruj Barbarossa arrives to turn the tide. The Corsairs win if at least one island is still under their control when he comes.
Initial fleets:
Malta:
Le Bon Marin, with Khaleed Youssef on board
HMS Algiers, with Sir Watkins Doyle on board
El Duque, with Admiral Alarico Castro and Duque Vaccaro on board
Barbary Pirates:
Tigers Eye, with Jack Hawkins and DJC Skyme the Monkey
Algiers, with an explorer
Whisper
Day 1:
Day 1 started out OK for the Corsairs. Bon Marin ran into the Marines UT, meaning that Youssef was eliminated before he could do any work. However, the Barbary Algiers ran into England’s HMS Algiers, whose effect for an extra action went off twice in a row, allowing it to catch up to and capture its Barbary counterpart right after it loaded up on gold.
Meanwhile, more bad news for the Corsairs: The French enlisted the help of marine Benoit de Marseilles, and placed him at the nearest island to their own islands, really hurting their economy. El Duque sailed over to the island nearest “Tunis,” and established El Castillo Del Infanta. Suddenly, the cash and food strapped Corsairs were down to two wild islands.
However, Jack/Skyme/Tiger’s Eye proved to be a deadly combination. They weren’t able to recover the Algiers, but successfully boarded it and stole all of its gold before Malta could unload it. As the Spanish captured “Tunis,” the Tiger’s Eye was busy eliminating the French marines, freeing up a wild island. Then, thanks to Hawkins’s leadership, it stormed 6S across the sea to board Le Bon Marin and steal all its treasure before it could unload.
The stolen treasure has been enough to keep the other two Barbary HIs afloat, and with El Duque tied up holding down “Tunis,” things are stable for the Barbary Corsair faction. However, Day 2 will be a test. The French have constructed L’Aube, and outfitted her with a superb crew. While the Tiger’s Eye will be able to avoid it, the rest of the fleet is suddenly in big danger. But the recruitment of a Firepot Specialist may be just the sort of trick they need to survive.
Fleets after Day 1:
Malta:
El Duque, Algiers, HMS Algiers, L’Aube, Le Bon Marin
Barbary States:
Whisper, Marrakech, Tiger’s Eye
Fleets after Day 2:
Malta:
Algiers, HMS Algiers, HMS Oxford, Le Bon Marin, L’Aube, Le Favori
Barbary Pirates:
Tiger’s Eye, Queen of Sheba, Marrakech, Terror of Gibraltar, Whisper
El Duque was sunk by Hawkins, Admiral Castro going down with it. England’s assumed control for Malta, with Admiral Blake joining the coalition and nearly taking down the Tiger’s Eye in the process.
Rule Changes: 24 turns is too much. It’ll go to 12 per day, so the ships “go home” once night falls. Day 3 and 4 will be “skipped” as I’ve already played 48 turns. I’ll play Day 5 tomorrow, Day 6 Sunday, then skip Mon-Tues if the game is still going.
