Ben

The first preview for the May Mega Pack!

Gouden Leeuw
Collector’s Number: 072
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 18
Masts: 4
Cargo: 4
Base Move: L
Cannons: 2S-2L-2L-2S
Ability: When this ship hits an enemy ship, also eliminate one crew from that ship. This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against…[Read more]

New month means a new Mega Pack!  Return to South China Seas 2 is now generally available: https://pirateswithben.com/product/return-to-south-china-seas-part-2/

Black Totem v.2

This ship may begin the game as a member of the Cursed nation instead of its own. If it does, change its flag to Cursed during set-up; it is now a member of the Cursed nation (any crew aboard the ship retain their original nationalities). If Cursed, the point limit for cargo on this ship is reduced by 1.

Added this under your…[Read more]

If Calico Cat OE 038 and Captain SM 008 are both aboard Cat’s Claw OE 032 and shoot at a non-Pirate ship, will the ship’s cannon rolls be at +2?

Yes, those stack because the abilities are different

Code page 16:

I am hyped to announce the next Pirates CSG release!

Dutch Golden Age

Featuring a variety of important historical ships and crew from the 1600s, with both warships and exploratory vessels. There are some big names among the crew, including a Dutch legend (not de Ruyter, he might come later) and someone who had a lot of things named after him! …[Read more]

That’s just one example (Bruce Grey + Accused, and Emperor Blackheart + Zeus being other examples) of how the flavor text is not reflected in the rules.

Flavor text has nothing to do with any gameplay elements whatsoever.

From the Complete Game Rules: (might not be in all pack variants)

Flavor text (fiction found on the backs of cards) has no b…

[Read more]

Calico Cat OE038 does not have the “captain keyword” or text form of the ability.  So she is not a “captain” in any way shape or form?  Is that correct?

Yes

Does that also mean that if I wanted to benefit from the Cat’s Claw OE032 ability, I would need to include a 3 point generic Captain instead?

Yes

I haven’t played in 21 years, so this may seem like a silly question… but when is a Captain a Captain?

This one is in The Pirate Code. From page 20:

-If an ability refers to the “Captain keyword” it may be triggered by any crew with the Captain keyword or the text form of the ability. It is not triggered by crew with “Captain” in their name or tit…

[Read more]

The new Grenades equipment!

Grenades

Point Cost: 1

Ability: If this ship has any crew, once during each of your turns you may choose an enemy ship touching this ship. Roll a d6; on a 5-6, the target’s controller replaces one mast with a fire mast and eliminates a crew; if the roll is a 1, eliminate a crew from this ship.

If you just want 36 packs of RV, HWG usually has the lowest prices.

Today marks 8 years since VASSAL Campaign Game 4 started!

I just finished the latest Pirate play turn, and they’ve begun spending gold as usual… launch phase underway….

If multiple copies of Necklace of the Sky are in play, can a faction load and use second/third/etc copies of it after the first has been used, or does the effect apply to all copies in play rather than being tracked individually?

“Load this treasure face down. Give this ship a move action, but do not move her. Instead, reveal this treasure and…[Read more]

Attention Jade Rebellion fans!  Sign up before midnight western time tomorrow to secure your copy of Return to South China Seas Part 2!

Buccaneer’s Booty Box – Mega Pack a Month Subscription Loot Box!

Set sail in huge capacious junks as the Jade Rebellion continues to surge! In this non-collectible Mega Pack, you can sail the South China Seas with a…[Read more]

The Poop Lady
Type: Crew
Nationality: America
Point Cost: 8
Ability: At the beginning of each of your turns, roll a d6. On a 5-6, all crew abilities on this ship and all ships within L of her cannot be used until the beginning of your next turn (except the ability of this crew).

Once per turn when this ship is given a shoot action, one of her…[Read more]

His gold bonus would apply to both the ship he’s on and the target of the trade, yes?

Yes

Suppose the players managed to pull off three trades with Dutch and Japanese ships, does the ship he’s on get a collective +3, or would it be more like three separate +1’s

Technically either way works as it depends on how treasure bonuses are track…[Read more]

A crew from Seas of Japan Part 3!

Jan Joosten
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 3
Ability: Loyal: Japan. Merchant. This crew can use their abilities on Japanese ships. If this crew trades with an enemy Dutch or Japanese ship, one treasure on each ship is worth +1 gold.
Link: De Liefde, William Adams, Jacob Quaeckernaeck, Melchior van…[Read more]