8/20/2022: English vs. Pirates
This was the third 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. It 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). I was using the Points in Play + Gold win condition, with gold values to match (all coin values multiplied by 4). 60 point fleets with 60 gold contributed per player for 240 “total points” available at the start of the game. This was also using early draft versions of the ships laser cut by Gigi, so some of the ships have changed in appearance since this game as well.
English:
HMS Devonshire + RotF HGold, firepot specialist, stinkpot specialist, oarsman
HMS Blue Whale + Scholar Episces, helmsman, oarsman
HMS Immortal
HMS Hermes’ Sandals + explorer
Pirates:
Harbinger + Fists of Fate, F&S Hammersmith, “Cannonball” Gallows (RotF), oarsman
Cyclone + helmsman, oarsman
Knife’s Edge + helmsman
Baroness
Normal amount of islands and gold: 6 islands, with 4 coins on each wild island. Each fleet got to place 4 total terrain of any type they wanted. English opted for reefs and fog, Pirates placed the whirlpools. Each fleet also contributed 2 UT’s they thought could help them out.
HMS Blue Whale is gorgeous!
The Shadow was proxied for the Cyclone.
The Hermes’ Sandals (HS) explores a nearby island so the Blue Whale can snag the coins from it. The HS comes into possession of the PotC Letter of Marque UT. The Devonshire and Immortal hide in fog, with HGold daring the Harbinger to attack the Blue Whale and suffer in return.
The Pirates completely split up. The Baroness and Cyclone dock at nearby islands, while the Knife’s Edge prepares to round earth to the south towards a third wild island, the Pirates trying to get the best few coins from 3 of the 4 islands. The Harbinger doesn’t get EA from Gallows and so ducks into the same fog the English are hiding in.
The English do a nice job foiling Pirate plans, with the HS round earthing at S+S+S+L speed to explore the southeastern WI (wild island) for the English. She finds Wine and now has two UT’s that allow her to dock at an enemy HI. Devonshire and Immortal both emerge from the fog, with the Devonshire taking 2 coins and the Immortal taking the last one from the island. Blue Whale docks home her 3 coins.
The Harbinger emerges but without an EA, only able to dismast the Devonshire. Her final two cannons both miss the Immortal, leaving her unscathed. The Baroness finds the Whirlpool UT at her island, forcing her into an unfavorable position in the busy southeast. The Knife’s Edge will grab the coins she wanted. The Cyclone has loaded 3 coins; Homing Beacon is face up to show she found that as well (English don’t know, though they’ve been spying some stuff with Scholar Episces; they figure the Homing Beacon is a 1 since the Cyclone left it there). This brings up an interesting point where the Pirates may try to leave or keep the value-less Beacon a secret as a way to artificially extend the game later on if needed (duping the English).
The English think about their options for a while. Using the free transfer rules, the Immortal takes on most of the Devonshire’s crew, with the final crew (FPS) being left on the island to be “housed” shortly afterwards. The Devonshire also explores to dump both of her coins back on the island…. The Immortal then breaks for home with a nice crew complement and a 2 coin aboard, but both shots (one stinkpot and one regular) narrowly miss the Harbinger! The Blue Whale redocks so the HS can touch both her and the wild island, with the intention of giving the far more durable Blue Whale the Wine UT next turn. English end their turn by building Ramsgate, making it obvious why they dumped so much cargo on the island. Especially with the Harbinger’s EA + ship stealer potential, no need for the crippled Devonshire to be worth any more points overall than she needs to be (now she only represents 12 (her point cost) as opposed to 46 when she had all her crew and 24 gold aboard!).
The Harbinger decides to leave the Immortal, capturing the Devonshire and knocking out 4 of Ramsgate’s 5 cannons. The Cyclone is nearly home, and the Knife’s Edge has dropped her helmsman to pick up all three coins in the northwest. The Baroness has no clear job to do and simply touches the Harbinger to allow for more flexibility on the next Pirate turn.
The English are now on the defensive a bit, but HMS Blue Whale looms large as a capacious gold runner with Wine threatening the Pirate HI. The Immortal gets her 8 coin home as Ramsgate dismasts the Baroness.
The Pirates have a HUGE homecoming party, with their runners depositing 6 total coins as the Harbinger warps home the Devonshire! The latter only happened after Gallows’ EA allowed the Harbinger to destroy Ramsgate with the ship’s first action!
The English decide to keep their fleet together, given that each component is relatively weak. The HS captures the Baroness, as the English are desperate for points. The Blue Whale is almost forced to break for the 28 total gold on the southeastern island, with the Immortal following both for protection and so she can pick up the FPS for a better armament. On the Pirate turn, their big ships position in the fog. The Cyclone is ready to raid the English HI. The Knife’s Edge has gotten her helmsman back.
The English figured their best play was to rebuild Ramsgate to get some guns/protection in the area as the Blue Whale re-explored the island to take its 3 coins as the Immortal maxed out her crew complement (becoming the “new Devonshire”).
Devastation! Gallows finally gets perfect luck with EA, and this is the turning point in the game. The Harbinger sinks the Blue Whale (with 28 gold and Wine aboard!!) and dismasts the Immortal, all while staying mostly out of range of the fort. Making matters even more horrid for the English, the Cyclone raids their home island for one of the only two coins they have there.
The English were able to repair the Immortal and Baroness as the HS returned home (partly for safety and to preserve at least some points in play). Ramsgate’s L+L cannon took a mast off the Harbinger (finally). The Pirates were ruthless, the Harbinger finally revealing the Fists of Fate brothers to punch all 4 of the Immortal’s crew out of the living world, making her ripe for capture. The Harbinger also shot off two of Ramsgate’s flags. The Cyclone redocks at the English HI to take their last coin.
In a pitiful display, English gunners at Ramsgate go 0/3 against the Harbinger. The Baroness tows the Immortal to make Hammersmith’s job on the Harbinger more difficult (who to capture and when). In the background, the HS has desperately rammed the Cyclone in an attempt to steal back one of the 12’s, but instead loses the Letter of Marque and consequently her +L bonus from having a cargo aboard.
I realized the game could be called here but I like when things are played out. The Harbinger crushes Ramsgate for the second time this game, with unnecessary help on the way in the form of the Knife’s Edge and captured Devonshire. The Cyclone is eager to be rid of annoying English pests, and so takes the whirlpool for the fastest route home, her crew scoffing at the silly Letter of Marque as it is throw overboard during the transit.
Ramsgate is destroyed and the Baroness and Immortal are dismasted again (Immortal having repaired at the fort after the Baroness docked her there). The Cyclone has deposited both English 12’s on the Pirate HI, and with Wine in the locker there is little hope for the English to get them back.
The English spent the last round docked at home, after the Pirates captured their remaining two ships, preferring to avoid a shutout as the Pirates brought the final coins home. One of the most lopsided drubbings I’ve ever seen in a game!
Pirates: 174 total points in play (82 points, 92 gold)
English: 9
Observations:
-With no ram damage, ships ramming enemy ships docked at their home islands will ALWAYS be pinned.
-Should all fort costs be multiplied by 4? (due to coin values changing so much; a single 1 could build almost all forts) Various implications to this (or to doing nothing about it). As-is it’s easy to build a fort, but you’re also throwing out 4x the normal cost (or likely more depending on HI coin availability) back to a wild island where it’s usually less safe than at home.
-English again suffered a bit because of no double action crew, but I could have included one. They got walloped. Some Wizkids pieces played a large role, but this is the second time they’ve been crushed in as many games of Golden Seas playtesting. Nothing to panic about but a little concerning.
-Might decrease costs on the Immortal and Hermes’ Sandals. Cyclone feels too good at 11 points when you can zoom into an enemy HI at L+S+S with a 4 master. Upping her cost to 12 from 11.
In hindsight: Ram damage reinstated; Points in Play house rule went from a key rule to completely optional; Immortal and Hermes’ Sandals both got cheaper later on in the process, with HS getting extensive edits.