11/14/2021: A7XfanBen vs. Xerecs
This was the second in a series of playtesting games for the new set, Pirates of the Golden Seas. Some game pieces back then were different, and have undergone revisions since then. We also used the Restarting Rules, though they were also in a somewhat different form back then – the earliest form of that alternate ruleset was finished in July 2021, but the “final” version released with the set in August 2024 more closely resembles the original rules (various rule changes were taken back out, such as the elimination of ram damage). We were using the Points in Play + Gold win condition, with gold values to match. 60 point fleets with 60 gold contributed per player for 240 “total points” available at the start of the game.
A7XfanBen’s Dutch:
Van Der Decken + Captain Berend, Captain Dewitt, captain, helmsman, oarsman
Princes Maria + helmsman
Vers Maan + helmsman, explorer
Xerecs’ English:
HMS Devastator + Captain Armstrong, Oliver Blake, Scholar Episces, cannoneer, helmsman, oarsman
HMS Immortal + helmsman, explorer, oarsman
HMS Hermes’ Sandals
The map was an 8Lx8L square. We each contributed 2 fog banks, whirlpools, reefs and sargasso seas. I rolled to go first. Xerecs chose his home island in the south, while I picked the middle.
The Vers Maan explored the westernmost island, finding Wolves, Rats, a 5 and a 1. The Princes Maria docked at the north island, with HMS Hermes’ Sandals ending up there as well after round earthing. The Van Der Decken (VDD) initiated conflict with HMS Devastator as the two gunships started dueling.
Although the VDD scored 5 hits on the Devastator (one ignored due to Oliver Blake), the English returned fire and dismasted the Dutch flagship. At the northern island the Princes Maria found Rotting Hull and Monkey’s Paw, but also some good coins which she quickly deposited at home.
The Vers Maan continued finding negative UT’s, with Natives slowing her down. It was an all-UT island, with Rum, Manawa no Kowhatu and Homing Beacon also present. Three ships converged on the other eastern island. I debated whether I should try to get rid of the VDD’s oarsman and scuttle her to trigger Eternal, but decided to see if the English would just sink her or try to board her instead.
The Princes Maria found even more negative UT’s that Xerecs had placed, with Fruit taking up her final 2 cargo spaces. I decided to dump her helmsman in favor of a coin, especially since the VDD could pick up the helmsman after the latter’s had been eliminated by the Devastator’s ability. HMS Immortal continued to be behind the curve, always a step behind the Maria’s exploring efforts. The Hermes’ Sandals and Devastator went after the Vers Maan who was still stuck. The Devastator was about to open fire when Manawa no Kowhatu was parleyed away (no Rum bomb which was my intention when using Parley with the Vers Maan) which destroyed the UT and the Vers Maan’s helmsman.
The Princes Maria could not reach home without her helmsman (L+S base move), but was able to reach a fog bank for safety. The Immortal stole a coin from the VDD (the Dutch swapped her captain for a coin), but the VDD grabbed the Maria’s helmsman and rammed the Immortal to try and take the coin back.
The Princes Maria got home with gold while the Vers Maan was finally able to take off for home. However, the Hermes’ Sandals had already stolen her Rum, the only coin worth gold aboard.
Both 1 masters returned home with gold, with Wolves locking up an entire island.
Final Scores:
Dutch: 139 points (55 points in play, 84 gold)
English: 98 (58 points in play, 40 gold)
In the end neither fleet lost many points in play, but the Dutch had a better time collecting gold, between going first and arguably a favorable home island location.
Observations:
HMS Devastator is too slow. Not a competitive ship. L speed without a point increase is probably fine.
The Dutch fleet I made is rather annoying to play against between Eternal, Parley, and can’t be shot at while docked. (not necessarily something to “fix”)
Dutch too good? (very fast and good cargo) – Prinses Maria and Volle Maan would later be made a bit worse
Changes made: HMS Devastator base move changed from S to L. Removed the question marks after the point costs for HMS Hermes’ Sandals and HMS Immortal, though it’s possible they are both overpriced by a point or two. (both would get cheaper later on)