Ben

  • Ben wrote a new post 3 years, 10 months ago

    2×60 on VASSAL
    12/7/2022
    This game was Kyle’s first on the VASSAL module!  We set up for a 2×60 game using our regular Seattle Pirates house rules.  All game pieces can be found in the Master Spreadsheet.  He […]

  • Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2022 Holiday Booty Giveaway Contest!  I have read/watched all the submitted Battle Reports and here are the results in regards to the extra prizes. There were only 6-7 total entrants so everyone will get the standard goodies!
    Entrants

    1. Skelebone 1, Skelebone 2, Skelebone 11/29, Skelebone 12/2…

    [Read more]

  • Ben replied to the topic Game Ideas in the forum Pirates CSG 3 years, 10 months ago

    Just added these to the main post:

    -Maelstrom battle from At World’s End. Ex: big whirlpools that ships can get stuck in as they go around it in a circle on bad rolls. +Big whirlpool “black hole” that sucks all game pieces toward it on a roll of 1 each round? Or, have a circular ocean that is one big whirlpool. There are different “lane…[Read more]

  • December 4th is the last day for submissions!

  • Something I’ve barely thought of before: utilizing the ships you capture to build new nationalities of forts during a game.  Ex: Start with a pure American fleet, but once you capture a French ship, build Paradis.

  • Ben replied to the topic The Fleets Thread in the forum Pirates CSG 3 years, 10 months ago

    60 Point American fleet
    USS Constitution + captain, helmsman, tribal chieftain
    Destiny + Wayne Nolan, Brent Rice, captain, chain shot
    Hessian + helmsman, shipwright, oarsman
    American Native Canoes
    UT’s: Weapons, Enemy of the State, Power Cannons, Marines
    Islands: not too far apart due to max speed of L+S, but want some room to flex Destiny’s max c…[Read more]

  • Ben wrote a new post 3 years, 10 months ago

    Americans vs. Pirates
    11/30/2022
    I played against a friend in another game heavy on learning and introducing new game mechanics/keywords/etc.  We mostly used these house rules, and all the game pieces can be f […]

  • If native canoes find the Message in a Bottle UT upon exploring, is only one transferred to the new location?

  • If the flotilla keyword is cancelled, can it still shoot through itself?

    Asking for a friend: do derelicts block lines of fire?

    On dismasted ships with Oarsman: are there undesirable outcomes that are avoided by not letting these ships ram other ships?  This has come up frequently this year, where a player feels they should be able to ram and…[Read more]

  • Ben wrote a new post 3 years, 10 months ago

    Pair of 3 Player Games
    11/26/2022
    I met up with Witch and Phillip for some 60 point action in Tacoma Washington!  We ended up with a pair of 3 player games, though the second would be short and sweet due to […]

  • Exactly, we both agree she’s not worth banning even in a “Limited” setting.

  • Ben replied to the topic The Fleets Thread in the forum Pirates CSG 3 years, 10 months ago

    70 Point Durable Endeavour build
    HMS Endeavour + RotF HGold, Brother Virgil, DJC Davy Jones, 2 points left for Ralph David + oarsman, or RotF TvTyne (up to 12 masts/turn), or Oarsman + Letter of Marque/Lucky the Parrot/etc.
    HMS Lord Kenyon + Robinson, Thomas Gunn (F&S), Lord Mycron, navigator
    +Oarsman on HI

    Idea is to copy Lord Kenyon’s ability…[Read more]

  • Thanks for the feedback!
    Longshanks is a reasonable candidate for Limited, but I didn’t want to go too far down the rabbit hole of banning treasure runners that are “too good”. Generally stopped at Bloody Jewel. If you ban Longshanks, Bonnie Liz probably gets banned too, and then it opens up Monarca and various others. I know it’s subjective,…[Read more]

  • Ben replied to the topic The Videos Thread in the forum Pirates CSG 3 years, 10 months ago

    My latest unboxing

    Also plenty of game footage up from recent playing!

  • Ben wrote a new post 3 years, 10 months ago

    Game Modes for playing Pirates CSG
    Important to note: None of this is official.

    Through the years many complaints have been lodged by the Pirates CSG community regarding game pieces that are “too good”, […]

    • I think these formats looked to be very well thought out and I like the bans in each. I like that the Semi-Limited format only deals with the most egregious pieces, but still leaves most things untouched and would be far more enthusiastic about potentially playing in more serious events with those rules settings. Personally I feel that “how Wizkids intended” is more that they just had a hands off approach to the game, which has always put me off trying to play the game more competitively.

      I’m actually surprised at how many things you’ve hit in the Limited format, but it definitely includes a lot of the biggest players so it would actually be quite interesting to see what people might come up with in this format as well.

      A few ships that didn’t make your list that I had on a list I’d already made myself were Longshanks, HMS Oxford and La Bonne Chance. The first two are just too cheap for how good they are in my opinion and I think the speed of La Bonne Chance makes it too overbearing against smaller ships. Arguably all these ships are still a step down from a lot of the ships you’ve banned for Limited though so I’m not sure they necessarily need dealing with.

      • Thanks for the feedback!
        Longshanks is a reasonable candidate for Limited, but I didn’t want to go too far down the rabbit hole of banning treasure runners that are “too good”. Generally stopped at Bloody Jewel. If you ban Longshanks, Bonnie Liz probably gets banned too, and then it opens up Monarca and various others. I know it’s subjective, but wanted to not ban a ton of ships simply for being good.

        I don’t think Oxford or Bonne Chance should be considered for Limited. Neither are all that overpowered, and Oxford brings up a similar rabbit hole to Longshanks – if Oxford is banned, then Dover and London probably need it too. Bonne Chance to me is just a simple and good gunship. Other ships are capable of similar damage outputs for the same total cost (Raven, Executioner, etc).

        • Statistically the La Bonne Chance does much more damage than both of those examples when you consider the built-in reroll and she also has an extra mast. I’d argue she’s more like a faster version of the HMS Nautilus. Like I said before though I do still think she’s a step down from the Limited bans you currently have so I wouldn’t really push much for her inclusion.

    • I would amend the section on Shipwrights in Limited to read “Shipwrights gain the text ‘This crew does does not take up cargo space.'” Gets the same point across, but reads more like it gains the ability rather than a simple rule change.

      • Good point, but that originated from the Seattle house rules where the intention was for it to be a rule rather than an ability. Partly so it wouldn’t violate the No-Stacking Rule with Oarsman that also doesn’t take up cargo space. I understand the distinction could be a little confusing. I think I’d prefer to play more games with the house rule before changing anything.

    • Have you considered a draft game mode? I know the logistics would be rather expensive with the packs not being cheap anymore. But I was considering something like players get 3 packs. They open each pack and select 1 ship or crew from each pack. Then the rest go into an open pot. Players roll off for selection once everyone has selected roll off again till the pot is gone? Heck maybe even play a little game of liars dice for it if you want and have time. Lol open to suggestions.

      • Brian,
        Sounds like fun! That seems to be a hybrid of a couple different things I’ve seen done in the past – a sealed pack game (where people build a fleet from the packs they open), and a Draft format. On page 6 of the old tournament rules, there is a section about sealed events. At Miniature Trading we had both a Draft Fleet Challenge and a Sealed Pack Fleet Challenge, but unfortunately most of the threads involving them seem to be lost to the depths.

        I don’t think I’ve heard of the idea of combining both though. I can add that to the Game Ideas page.

        • Cool ya it just so happens that I bought a whole bunch of boxes of packs. Cuse I make smart financial decisions without impulsive actions. And I just wanted to see what you thought.

          • Sealed pack games would be a fun way to break some of them out! Especially if you plan to open all of them soon anyway – might as well get the experience of a sealed format before doing so again requires a further purchase.

  • For Mysterious Island #7, can the new coin be a UT or a 0 coin?

    5-6: After exploring this island, place a treasure coin from your collection with value equal to or less than one you took on the island.

  • Do you skip an eliminated player’s turn with Altar of the Loa if all they have left in play is a fort?

    No.   That player will count toward the endgame condition because they can’t give move actions, but assuming there are enough other players still going to prevent that, the player with the fort still gets their turn in the normal seque…

    [Read more]

  • Ben replied to the topic Battle Reports in the forum Pirates CSG 3 years, 10 months ago

    The Sleigh (proxied by HMS Gallows) went first, as per the Challenge, and moved 6L to the far side of the map, near some thematic Icebergs. My fleet went next, with Jones pinning the Sleigh in place with Whitebeards ability, while the Cygnet and Bazana got underway.

    When Sleigh goes first I think Whitebeard would “hohoho” the Locker into missing…[Read more]

  • Ben started the topic Epic Scale Files in the forum Pirates CSG 3 years, 10 months ago

    Thanks to Captain Redgoat of the amazing PDXYAR (Portland Pirates) group, we have the Epic Scale files available!  😀

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