[Jeremiah]

Tell us about the differences between playing digitally vs the physical game?
1. Tell us about common fleet strategies used on the digital platform? Where there any strategies considered the best or most effective?
2. Did you run online tournaments? Tell us about the tournament environment and experience?
3. Do you think the digital version of the game could be relaunched? What about a steam implementation?

[Jeremiah]

Fantastic, Thanks Woelf, all of that information is interesting to me! I am curious about how tournaments were managed and hosted to see how wizkids standardized gameplay.

[Jeremiah]

Hey everyone,

Do we have copies of the tournament rules and game types Wizkids used to host their tournaments?

If we wanted to host a pirates csg tournament would we be able to replicate how Wizkida refereed the games?

[Jeremiah]

True but the die roll would only minimally increase the die rolling burden. The opponent already has to wait to see what the ram roll outcome is. Both the Evasive maneuver and ram damage roll could occur simultaneously.

I’ll definitely play test it to see if it feels burdensome.

[Jeremiah]

I agree with Woelf about the reloading. It becomes a major obstacles as the size of the game increases.

Personally the last two pirates games I’ve played this summer utilized a return fire mechanism. Basically after a ship was shot at it had the opportunity to shoot back with whatever cannons remained and are in range. So far it adds an extra level of tactics to the fame (crossing the T becomes more important which is thematic and realistic)

We are going to try and play a game where ships can return fire with all of the cannons the ship started with that turn (prior to being shot) making the return fire more deadly.

 

As for turn order I think a simple mechanisms of rotating starting player would be interesting but I have not found it necessary to add.

[Jeremiah]

I rarely use the win condition but I don’t think it is bad.

I think fixing point costs (or offering alternative costs) would be a big benefit. It would help bring more balance between factions like xerecs mentioned. Plus some of the more unique abilities (switchblade, sea monsters, pocession ability, fear,and many more) would become more viable.

There are clunky issues with the rules but I think the benefits of a point cost rebalance elevate the game as a whole more.

[Jeremiah]

I do like the idea of enhancing boarding but I do not like eliminating ram damage. (#1)

 

A custom rule I am planning to play test is called “Evasive maneuver” which is think will help alleviate the ramming weakness of 1 masters.

Basically anytime a ship is about to be rammed the opponent may roll 1 d6. If the die roll is higher than the number of masts their ship starts with (e.g. a 2 master must roll higher than a 2) the ship receives no ram damage and the ramming ship is not pinned but both ships remain touching.

It basically uses the reef terrain rules which favors smaller ships to big ships.

 

Thoughts?

 

[Jeremiah]

My 100 point games don’t have a typical island set up. Since I play primarily with just 1 other person we like to make our maps more eccentric with lots of terrain or island patterns. Probably we often have 8-10 islands and lots of terrain say 4-10.

Our fleets for these games are usually faction pure. The only exception is with generic crew where we will use other factions if we need more captains ect. Mercenaries and minor factions we use as mercenary options so those can be used in faction pure fleets.

[Jeremiah]

I do not play campaign games usually. So my game types are small 100 point games. So when I am designing a fleet it typically revolves around a few key ships I want to use for a given game. On occasion if the game type is unique or my opponent has been using a winning strategy over and over that will also dictate how I design my fleet.

[Jeremiah]

@ Jonathan Bowen: I would agree that the cost is be a low. I costed it at 2 because I figured the lighthouse’s primary purpose would be to be used as a lighthouse alone. The secondary ability is very powerful but incredible difficult to pull off. Not only do you have to find nemo’s plans but also deliver the UT to the island. Additionally you also must be willing to eliminate this useful UT to use the ability. With that in mind I figured the low cost was reasonable because as we so often see in Pirates powerful niche abilities are often overpriced and thus strategically useless in most cases.

@Ben: Good point and example that needs to be clarified. I will add an additional statement that basically says upon the ship being docked to the island the UT can be removed. Other UT’s can remove it (e.g. Jailhouse Dog) so I do not think this fits. Regarding the terrain I will also add a statement because I would like for the player to be able to add terrain under any ship.

 

 

[Jeremiah]

Here are the last of the lighthouses to be posted before I post the finalized version. I think these were the most recent additions.

Keywords

Lighthouse: Building lighthouses follows the conditions for building forts. Gold used to build lighthouses are placed next to the lighthouse and still count towards a player total. Once destroyed the gold remains on the island. The light emitted from the lighthouse has a range of L+L measured from the base of the tower. This is represented by the light yellow plastic placed under the lighthouse. The light emitted from the lighthouse follows the rules for Trade Currents. A single hit is required to eliminate the lighthouse flag. Once a lighthouse loses its flag it is no longer operational. An additional hit destroys the lighthouse and is removed from the island. Lighthouses cannot repair but a ship within it’s radius can give up its turn for that round and conduct a repair action on the lighthouse. Enemy ships may capture a lighthouse by repairing it on their turn. Faction specific abilities and bonuses remain the same and do not benefit it’s owner of another faction. Enemy ships may dock and load treasure from island with lighthouses built on them. Crew held within the lighthouse are protected from capture as long as the lighthouse is operation.

Mortar: This lighthouse gains a rank 3 cannon with a range of L+L. This cannon may only shoot once per turn.

Forward Observer: Each friendly ship within the light radius of the lighthouse gains +1 to their cannon rolls. A ship must be within the radius when the cannon roll is made. This ability does not affect ships that move out of the radius and then conduct a shoot action.

Treacherous Winds: When an enemy ship enters the range of this lighthouse the owner of the lighthouse can roll a d6. 5-6: the owner of the lighthouse may move the enemy ship L in any direction. 4: the enemy ship may not be given a move action the following turn. 1-3: no effect.

Cursed Seas: Upon building this lighthouse choose one of the following abilities. This ability cannot be changed later in the game.

• Cursed Fog: Once per turn you may roll a d6: 1-3: No effect, 4: place one fogbank within the range of the light house. 5: place two fogbanks within the range of the light house, 6: Place three fogbanks within the range of the light house. Cursed ships may ignore these fogbanks but cannot interact with ships within the fog. Enemy ships that enter these cursed fogbanks must eliminate one cargo. Before you may roll again for terrain you must remove the previously placed terrain.
• Cursed Saragossa Sea: Once per turn you may roll a d6: 1-3: No effect, 4: place one Saragossa Sea within the range of the light house. 5: place two Saragossa Sea, 6: Place three Saragossa Sea. Cursed ships may ignore these Saragossa Seas. Enemy ships within these cursed Saragossa Seas are unable to shoot while stuck in the sea. Before you roll for terrain again you must remove the previously placed terrain.

Treacherous Winds: When an enemy ship enters the range of this lighthouse the owner of the lighthouse can roll a d6. 5-6: the owner of the lighthouse may move the enemy ship L in any direction. 4, the enemy ship may not be given a move action the following turn. 1-3: no effect.

 

False Hope

Faction: Cursed

Gold cost: 2

Masts: 1

Cargo: 1

Ability: Lighthouse, Treacherous Winds

Flavor Text:  Few men have seen the women who is the keeper of this tower. It is said the whispers of her victims can be heard in the winds which obey her every command.

 

The Twisted Collar

Faction: Cursed

Gold cost: 3

Masts: 1

Cargo: 1

Ability: Lighthouse, Cursed Seas

Flavor Text: The sudden chill in the air tells every sailor aboard they are not alone in these waters. The crew becomes silent leaving only the flapping sails and creaking ship to fill the air.

 

Broken Tower

Faction: Cursed

Gold cost: 2

Masts: 1

Cargo: 1

Ability: Lighthouse, Enemy ships must roll for Fear when then are within the range of the lighthouse

Flavor Text: When the Spanish destroyed this lighthouse a curse was put on the island. Now even the silhouette of this crumbling lighthouse brings dread to every sailor who fear being spotted in.

 

The Obelisk

Faction: Mercenary

Gold cost: 2

Masts: 1

Cargo: 1

Ability: Lighthouse, When Nemo’s Plans are loaded into this lighthouse the owner of this lighthouse may choose to eliminate Nemo’s Plans from the game. On the turn that player eliminates Nemo’s Plans they may pick any ship in play to sink and eliminate from the game.

Flavor Text: This mysterious structure remains unfinished and the construction of Nemo’s great lighthouse was halted when the blueprints were stolen. Until Nemo’s plans are returned this lighthouse will remain and enigma, it’s purpose known only Captain Nemo.

 

[Jeremiah]

9ofSpades’ Custom Lighthouses

Keywords:

Lighthouse: Building lighthouses follows the conditions for building forts. Gold used to build lighthouses are placed next to the lighthouse and still count towards a player total. Once destroyed the gold remains on the island. The light emitted from the lighthouse has a range of L+L measured from the base of the tower. This is represented by the light yellow plastic placed under the lighthouse. The light emitted from the lighthouse follows the rules for Trade Currents. A single hit is required to eliminate the lighthouse flag. Once a lighthouse loses its flag it is no longer operational. An additional hit destroys the lighthouse and is removed from the island. Lighthouses cannot repair but a ship within it’s radius can give up its turn for that round and conduct a repair action on the lighthouse. Enemy ships may capture a lighthouse by repairing it on their turn. Faction specific abilities and bonuses remain the same and do not benefit it’s owner of another faction. Enemy ships may dock and load treasure from island with lighthouses built on them. Crew held within the lighthouse are protected from capture as long as the lighthouse is operation.

Mortar: This lighthouse gains a rank 3 cannon with a range of L+L. This cannon may only shoot once per turn.

Forward Observer: Each friendly ship within the light radius of the lighthouse gains +1 to their cannon rolls. A ship must be within the radius when the cannon roll is made. This ability does not affect ships that move out of the radius and then conduct a shoot action.

Cursed Faction Keyword

Cursed Seas: Upon building this lighthouse choose one of the following abilities. This ability cannot be changed later in the game.

• Cursed Fog: Once per turn you may roll a d6: 1-3: No effect, 4, place one fogbank within the range of the light house. 5: place two fogbanks within the range of the light house, 6: Place three fogbanks within the range of the light house. Cursed ships may ignore these fogbanks but cannot interact with ships within the fog. Enemy ships that enter these cursed fogbanks must eliminate one cargo. Before you may roll again for terrain you must remove the previously placed terrain. Terrain may be placed under ships within the lighthouse range.
• Cursed Saragossa Sea: Once per turn you may roll a d6: 1-3: No effect, 4: place one Saragossa Sea within the range of the light house. 5: place two Saragossa Sea, 6: Place three Saragossa Sea. Cursed ships may ignore these Saragossa Seas. Enemy ships within these cursed Saragossa Seas are unable to shoot while stuck in the sea. Before you roll for terrain again you must remove the previously placed terrain. Terrain may be placed under ships within the lighthouse range.

Treacherous Winds: When an enemy ship enters the range of this lighthouse the owner of the lighthouse can roll a d6. 5-6, the owner of the lighthouse may move the enemy ship L in any direction. 4, the enemy ship may not be given a move action the following turn. 1-3 no effect.

England Faction Keyword

King’s Shilling: When an enemy ship is within the range of this lighthouse roll a d6. On the result of a 6 the enemy player takes a crew member from their ship and places it on the island with the lighthouse. This crew now belongs to the English nationality and to the owner of the lighthouse.

Archimedes’ Blaze: When an enemy ships is within this lighthouse’s range,  roll a d6, 5 replace one mast with a fire mast, 6 replace two masts.

American Faction Keyword

Tea Party: Once per turn you may roll a d6. On the result of a 5 or 6 choose one enemy ship within range of the lighthouse. That ship loses half of her cargo (rounding up) (i.e Unique Treasure, gold, equipment,crew, or custom resources) into the ocean.

Archimedes’ Torch: When an enemy ships is within this lighthouse’s range,  roll a d6. On a 5 or 6 replace one mast with a fire mast.

Pirate Faction Keyword

Pirates Cove:  When an enemy ship is within the range of this lighthouse that player must roll a d6. 1-3 this ship immediately stops and cannot be given any more move actions. The owner of the lighthouse may initiate a boarding party against this ship (no friendly ship or contact is necessary). The enemy ship may not use boarding bonuses. The lighthouse gets +3 to boarding rolls and is considered to have 1 mast (flag). If the player’s ship wins the boarding roll nothing happens and the ship may move freely the following turn.  4-6 this ship may be given an additional +S move action.

Spain Faction Keyword

Native Militia: Upon building this lighthouse place three Spanish Native Canoes docked on this island. These native canoes are linked to this lighthouse instead of a chieftain and can be given actions only if the lighthouse is operational. These canoes cannot leave the range of the lighthouse. Upon the destruction of the lighthouse these canoes sink. This lighthouse cannot be captured by another faction.

France Faction Keyword

Loi de la Grande Terreur: Once per turn, you may eliminate one of this lighthouse’s crew to give one ship within range an extra action. That ship cannot exceed the two actions limit.

Archimedes’ Torch: When an enemy ships is within this lighthouse’s range,  roll a d6. On a 5 or 6 replace one mast with a fire mast.

Smeatons Tower

Faction: England
Gold cost: 2
Masts: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Archimedes’ Blaze
Flavor Text: Now veiled in secrecy everyone thought the man mad when he proclaimed he could harness the sun’s power… until he ignited a sloops sail ablaze.

Flamborough
Faction: England
Gold cost: 3
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Forward Observer, Mortar
Flavor Text: The destruction of multiple lighthouses forced the British empire to better protect their shipping lanes.

Lizard Lighthouse
Faction: England
Gold cost: 2
Masts: 1
Cargo: 2
Ability: Lighthouse, King’s Shilling
Flavor Text: Not all men who serve under the Union Jack remember the night they joined the navy.

Leasowe Lighthouse
Faction: England
Gold cost: 1
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability:  Lighthouse
Flavor Text:

Cordouan lighthouse
Faction: France
Gold cost: 2
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Archimedes’ Torch
Flavor Text: Traded for vital data and supplies, the design for the American Archimedes’ device was secretly traded. Now in testing, few men know of the construction of such devices along the French coastline.

Loi de la Grande Terreur
Faction: France
Gold cost: 4
Masts: 1
Cargo: 2
Ability: Lighthouse, Once per turn, you may eliminate one of this lighthouse’s crew to give one ship within range an extra action. That ship cannot exceed the two actions limit.
Flavor Text: The fervor of the Great Revolution reaches Frenchman on every corner of the globe. Swift acts of justice ensure political stability and encourage the men of their cause.

Phare de l’île de Batz
Faction: France
Gold cost: 3
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Forward Observer, Mortar
Flavor Text:

St. Mathieu lighthouse
Faction: France
Gold cost:  1
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse
Flavor Text:

Porto Pí
Faction: Spain
Gold cost: 3
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse,Forward Observer, Mortar
Flavor Text:

Málaga
Faction: Spain
Gold cost: 2
Masts: 1
Cargo: 0
Ability: Lighthouse, Native Militia
Flavor Text:  While gold by itself will not gain you good soldiers, good soldiers may readily get you gold.

Cabo Mayor
Faction: Spain
Gold cost: 1
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse
Flavor Text:

Sandy Hook Lighthouse
Faction: America
Gold cost: 2
Masts: 1
Cargo:
Ability: Lighthouse, Tea Party
Flavor Text: While no longer disgruntled by high taxes these american sailors pay homage to their founding countrymen by sneaking aboard enemy vessels and dumping cargo overboard whenever they trespass in American waters.

Seguin Light
Faction: America
Gold cost: 3
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Forward Observer, Mortar
Flavor Text: 

Franklin Island Light
Faction: America
Gold cost:
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Archimedes’ Torch
Flavor Text: Developed from a partial schematic stolen from the British Empire. Despite the inability to properly focus their device the United States hopes to defend her newly founded borders with their own Archimedes weapon.

Plumb Point lighthouse
Faction: Pirate
Gold cost:
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Pirates Cove
Flavor Text: It’s difficult to know who is friend or foe in these waters.

Clare
Faction: Pirate
Gold cost: 3
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Forward Observer, Mortar
Flavor Text: How pirates were able to steal and transport such a massive ottoman cannon is unknown. It is said that sailors can hear the cannon across the Caribbean.

Paradise Island
Faction: Pirate
Gold cost: 1
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse
Flavor Text:

False Hope
Faction: Cursed
Gold cost: 2
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Treacherous Winds
Flavor Text: Few men have seen the women who is the keeper of this tower. It is said the whispers of her victims can be heard in the winds which obey her every command.

The Twisted Collar
Faction: Cursed
Gold cost: 3
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Cursed Seas
Flavor Text: The sudden chill in the air tells every sailor aboard they are not alone in these waters. The crew becomes silent leaving only the flapping sails and creaking ship to fill the air.

Broken Tower
Faction: Cursed
Gold cost: 2
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, Enemy ships must roll for Fear when then are within the range of the lighthouse
Flavor Text: When the Spanish destroyed this lighthouse a curse was put on the island. Now even the silhouette of this crumbling lighthouse brings dread to every sailor who fear being spotted.

The Obelisk
Faction: Mercenary
Gold cost: 3
Masts: 1
Cargo: 1
Ability: Lighthouse, When the owner of this lighthouse docks a ship carrying Nemo’s Plans to the island with this lighthouse, the owner of this lighthouse may choose to eliminate Nemo’s Plans from the game. On the turn that player eliminates Nemo’s Plans they may pick any ship in play to sink and eliminate from the game.
Flavor Text: This mysterious structure remains unfinished and the construction of Nemo’s great lighthouse was halted when the blueprints were stolen. Until Nemo’s plans are returned this lighthouse will remain unfinished and it’s purpose known only Captain Nemo. 

[Jeremiah]

Awesome, I should be free then.

[Jeremiah]

My guess is that discord would be the best option since you could use the pirates community there to pull from. I know lots of people use It to live stream multiplayer games with multiple people chatting at once.

However, I have not used the software so I cannot help you there. I can join the discord and help test out discord and what not if you need.

[Jeremiah]

Thank you for serving Ben, I’m sure they can hold the fort while you are away! Best of luck on your deployment. I assume it will be a 6 month schedule but we will be here regardless of how long you are away.

[Jeremiah]

Questions of the Day
What is your favorite set packaging?

I have always loved the Pack art from Davy Jones’ Curse. The half underwater scene and dark themed cover really resonates with the overall pack theme and art in general. I would probably put the pack in my top 5 overall favorite packs (despite the many flaws it has) but easily #1 in the pack cover.

Piranha: What is your favorite house rule?

While I have not experimented with some of the house rules mentioned on the podcast I have used the shipwreck style of play where ships are left on the board when they sink. That is likely my favorite. As for alternative game modes using gold to purchase ships in a campaign like style is my favorite game mode house rule to play with.

(I will definitely be trying the simultaneous shoot action. I think that alone will drastically change the strategy of naval warfare and force the player to be more tactical in ways that better match what an admiral will do. Crossing the T will be a huge bonus because it could be your 5 cannons against only 2 of their. Longer range cannon means you can actually shoot and be out of range which makes L cannons hugely more important and the sniper ability even more useful. Cannot think of any significant downfalls at the moment but I’m sure it will negatively impact certain Keywords and abilities.)

Ben: What is the most difficult Rules situation you have come across while playing Pirates CSG?

Most of the time the difficulty comes with determining order of effect/play. Which ability applies first or when. So nothing specific just figuring out how to implement various keywords.

 

Podcast Comments:

Overall really enjoyed the various new podcasts. I found myself 3 podcasts behind suddenly and was eager to catch up. I think the podcast with Tony Vigil may be one of my new favorites. There was a lot of excellent gameplay talk and obvious passion in the conversation. Also I learned so many new and exciting ideas for games to play now.

Great Job Ben, keep it up!

[Jeremiah]

Crossing the T is an example of a naval strategy that naturally comes up in a pirates game. Basically maximize your firepower on an enemy ship and minimize the enemies ability to fire back.

For the age of sail and into the modern era (ww1) placing the broadside of your ship perpendicular to the bow of your enemies was a major tactical victory.

It’s impact in a pirates game is for debate but I still see it occur often in games.

[Jeremiah]

Tiffany O’Brien discussed distribution in the podcast. She mentioned working on different ways to distribute the packs from tins to boxes and how the color of the packs were more important than the names at times. Had Wizkids continued making the game I imagine variations on the packs would have been a logical step. I don’t play magic but it is to my understanding that you select the type of packs you buy based upon what you want/need for the deck you are building. So this idea is implemented successfully with other games.

So you could keep the starter packs as the “game in every pack” variant where islands, crew, and random ships are all included but then other packs that are cheaper to produce and do not contain everything could be sold separately. Those could be the single nation, or crew only… ect options available.

The logistical and distribution nightmare that may cause would probably require a larger company than what O’Brien seemed to indicate worked on pirates.

[Jeremiah]

I definitely miss going to stores and looking at the Pirates options that I could buy. Weighing out what each set had and what I needed/wanted. Looking at each SE ship in the little cardboard windows and attempting to read their stats. Then of course bringing home the new packs/box and opening them. Followed with a game of pirates typically involving some of my new ships/crew.

I also enjoyed reading the paper insets of the packs and looking for the ones required for the mail in ships.

Not all of that is lost but buying them online and usually in larger quantities does change the feeling.

[Jeremiah]

I generally like the set though but I definitely agree having only two factions hurts it. Multiple factions and minor factions would have been great and far more true to the movies. My guess is Disney had their hand in making some of those decisions.

I like the introduction of all the movie characters as pieces as well. (perhaps more play testing to fix several of the more broken characters….Jack Sparrow)

[Jeremiah]

I would be up for joining it just depends on the on the topic at hand and date/time of recording.

[Jeremiah]

I hope that the insert wasn’t the first thing they saw otherwise they must have been terribly disappointed.

[Jeremiah]

<strong style=”border: 0px; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’, Helvetica, Arial, ‘Lucida Grande’, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #000000; background-color: #fbfbfb;”>Would you ever trade a non-duplicate to get something you really wanted?

Yes and I have done it before. I don’t recall the specific ships I traded away but I made a trade back in 2018 where I received the USS Mercury (Mysterious Island). I traded 8 ships, several were the SE Davy Jones ships which I did not have duplicates of, and others were generic ships I did have duplicates of. Even though it was a 8-1 trade I was very satisfied as the USS Mercury is often expensive and hard to come by and I was more than willing to give up a few SE Box 4 masted ships.

On a separate note I have also sold ships that I did not have duplicates of. For instance I purchased two Mysterious Island Boxes (I didn’t even know they made those until I found them!) and sold one of the SE ships for $18. As more of a player than a collector I was happy to get most of my money back from selling one of the SE ships.

[Jeremiah]

<p class=”MsoNormal”>The most recent addition to my collection came from buying a random pirates cgs lot. I got more than I had anticipated. The most noteworthy of the additions (but there were a lot of other additions I needed as well, >100 ships) are the following:

Specter ROFT 300
2/3 of Celtic Fury (just traded to get the other 1/3 to finally complete my first 10 master)
Captain Whitebeard and the Sleigh<br style=”mso-special-character: line-break;” /><!– [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]–><br style=”mso-special-character: line-break;” /><!–[endif]–></p>

[Jeremiah]

I like the idea of wind and resources as well. I’ve often enjoyed adding more depth to the game that you see in rule sets like Economy edition.

Wind in my opinion is one of the few mechanics that could have easily been implemented to the game and would not have required large rule reworking. I imagine they could have made a small emblem with numbers on it to act as the wind gauge and still fit it in one pack. I believe the easiest way to implement wind would be to copy the rules for icebergs. Roll a die every round. The wind is then going in the direction according to the die rolls.

Yes that would be somewhat annoying as rolling for icebergs  is but it would be a simple and straightforward way to determine wind direction. The rules for wind is another conversation. I will say that wind could be game breaking( like not being able to return to your home island due to wind) but would offer an interesting new power for the cursed to control and change a lot of strategies for both war and gold collection.

I think resources are beyond the scope of pirates when it was in print and just too much for a game to be contained within one pack. However, the depth it adds is an excelled house rule which I often use.

 

[Jeremiah]

I only have one person I consistently play pirates with just to be clear. (Although I consider myself fortunate since some people don’t have a consistent play group.

We usually play game types of 80+ point totals with a large amount of gold ~20-40 gold pieces with no specific total. (We definitely play a little loose with the Wizkids rules and set up but keep the keywords consistent with the code for the most part. For example islands may be strung together or closer than what Wizkids says it should be. Adding large amounts of terrain ect.)

The other game type we play is a “campaign” like setup where we determine a number of rounds or gold to be gathered and slowly build up fleets by purchasing them with gold corresponding to their point cost. Each time the round ends we move all ships back to HI and reset gold, perhaps change terrain. Then keep going. This keeps the campaign game from going on for days ( so it’s not a real campaign game as we see several veterans here report on) but a multi hour single game with various stages is fun.

Perhaps campaign is a bad adjective but that is what we usual describe it as.

 

That at is usually how we play. We often like large games so we can play around with different strategies both outrageous and strategic. Once I made a sub only fleet which I barely lost with. (Didn’t use Mobilis Ben so that’s why I probably lost)

[Jeremiah]

I’ve never used Kickstarter but I don’t know what would be illegal about attempting to buy it from them. I guess the big issue I see would be that it would make you the owner of the license not some other corporation. (not that you personally are the issue just that once the ball is in your court where do we go from there? Would kickstarter also include money to buy the capital necessary to produce more pirates? How does supporting buying the license further help the return of pirates? I know if means we have the potential to make new ones but I think you would want to sell a broader package than just the license purchasing.)

I would almost see a kickstarter for raising funds to start a new and separate pirates csg company being more likely than just buying the license. That way people who support the Kickstart would/could become shareholders in the new company. Then with the purchase of the license and a small set up for printing you could revive the game and just sell via online purchases or whatnot to people and of course those who helped support the company.

I’ll give this more thought but this is my initial impression.

[Jeremiah]

I would be in support of such a change as it would make the rules more consistent. I can’t see how this would drastically impact the game except make towing flotillas less desirable.

[Jeremiah]

Looks like a good list! Looking forward to the podcast!

Any idea how long the interview will last?

[Jeremiah]

<strong style=”border: 0px; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’, Helvetica, Arial, ‘Lucida Grande’, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>I’d love to hear what other people think are good ways to try and restart the game.

Sounds like a great question for James Ernest!

 

@Robert

Thanks for the input! It would be exciting to see an article be published reviewing the game in 2019. It would seem fitting since the 10 year anniversary of its cancellation just passed.

[Author]

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