Fourth of July 2021 with Captain Randy

This was the 60 point game that Captain Randy and I played on the Fourth of July 2021!  We drove southeast of his place in Las Vegas to his houseboat on Lake Mead!  The game took place on a nice glass table on the upper deck of the boat, with a nice wavy water effect.  The plant on the table is immoveable, so we decided to base the 3 wild islands around it.  The winner of the game would receive and open a Revolution pack that I had space for in the OE tin I brought on my trip!

Naturally we had to use the English and Americans.  I went first:

English
HMS Goliath (ghostly version) + LE Griffin, captain, helmsman, oarsman
HMS Hyena + captain, helmsman, explorer, firepot specialist
HMS Sea Phoenix + captain, helmsman

Americans
USS Thomas Jefferson + Commodore Peregrine Stern, Wayne Nolan, helmsman, explorer, oarsman
Bonhomme Richard + tribal chieftain, captain, helmsman
Native Canoes

USS Thomas Jefferson was the first non-canoe to get some gold.  I opened the hostilities, but HMS Goliath rolled horribly, leaving her open to a devastating American attack.

Would this pack contain the RV Super Rares?

Full size masts in the background! 😀

The Bonhomme Richard struck hard, eliminating 4 masts from the Goliath!

In the meantime, the rest of the American fleet was running home with gold:

HMS Hyena and the Goliath teamed up to severely damage the Bonhomme Richard:

The Americans might be looking to swap their 5 masters.

Finally a game on water!

In a surprising development, the English press their attack with everything they’ve got!  HMS Goliath takes 2 masts off the TJ, while HMS Hyena sinks the Bonhomme Richard!

Carnage ensues!  What else in a Fourth of July game between the English and Americans?

The Americans continue the war effort, with the TJ sinking the Goliath!

HMS Hyena dismasts USS TJ!

Up until now we had both kind of forgotten that HMS Sea Phoenix was a home island raider!  At this point it had been looking like the Americans would win handily on gold.  However, with both American 5 masters out of the mix, now the English could pick off all but one American canoe and then rob their home island slowly dry over time while extending the game!

But the Americans had a counter – Runes of Odin!  O_O

In one of the weirdest and WORST strokes of luck I’ve ever had in Pirates CSG, I proceeded to roll the exact combination of two d6 rolls (3 and then 6) required to push the new and deadly iceberg straight into my own HMS Sea Phoenix, ending the HI Raider threat and likely dooming my chances at a comeback!!  O_O

A beautiful setting for a beautiful game….

Even though HMS Hyena sunk the TJ, it was as good as over.

The Americans won by quite a margin, giving Captain Randy the revenge he sought after I won our first game!

I’ll let you watch the video to see him open the pack!

Ahoy again!  This was the first of three games I played with Captain Randy in Las Vegas during July 2021.  We were joined by his friend Curren for a 3 player 60 point game.

I played the Americans, Captain Randy played the Spanish, and Curren played the Jade Rebellion.

I used the Zhanfu from Return to Savage Shores (get your own here (affiliate link)) and the Frontier.

Although the Frontier was able to explore early, I would soon regret my positioning….

As Randy’s San Cristobal promptly sank her!

I was able to get some revenge, with the Zhanfu whirling and saccing to dismast the Morning Star:

Who was captured soon afterwards:

Curren flipped Poseidon’s Breath on the Baochuan!  However, the San Cristobal was camped out with Bianco’s Haulers aboard!  The SS version allows the ship to not be shot at while docked.

The San Cristobal returned home, with the Zhanfu about to do the same.

The Americans were struggling to keep up in the gold race, while turtles were found by the Spanish.

It seems that this is how it ended:

The Scores

1. Curren’s Jade Rebels: 35
2. Captain Randy’s Spaniards: 14
3. A7XfanBen’s Americans: 9