11/14/2021: A7XfanBen vs. Xerecs

This was the second 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.  We 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). We were using the Points in Play + Gold win condition, with gold values to match.  60 point fleets with 60 gold contributed per player for 240 “total points” available at the start of the game.

A7XfanBen’s Dutch:
Van Der Decken + Captain Berend, Captain Dewitt, captain, helmsman, oarsman
Princes Maria + helmsman
Vers Maan + helmsman, explorer

Xerecs’ English:
HMS Devastator + Captain Armstrong, Oliver Blake, Scholar Episces, cannoneer, helmsman, oarsman
HMS Immortal + helmsman, explorer, oarsman
HMS Hermes’ Sandals

The map was an 8Lx8L square. We each contributed 2 fog banks, whirlpools, reefs and sargasso seas. I rolled to go first. Xerecs chose his home island in the south, while I picked the middle.

The Vers Maan explored the westernmost island, finding Wolves, Rats, a 5 and a 1. The Princes Maria docked at the north island, with HMS Hermes’ Sandals ending up there as well after round earthing. The Van Der Decken (VDD) initiated conflict with HMS Devastator as the two gunships started dueling.

Although the VDD scored 5 hits on the Devastator (one ignored due to Oliver Blake), the English returned fire and dismasted the Dutch flagship. At the northern island the Princes Maria found Rotting Hull and Monkey’s Paw, but also some good coins which she quickly deposited at home.

The Vers Maan continued finding negative UT’s, with Natives slowing her down. It was an all-UT island, with Rum, Manawa no Kowhatu and Homing Beacon also present. Three ships converged on the other eastern island. I debated whether I should try to get rid of the VDD’s oarsman and scuttle her to trigger Eternal, but decided to see if the English would just sink her or try to board her instead.

The Princes Maria found even more negative UT’s that Xerecs had placed, with Fruit taking up her final 2 cargo spaces. I decided to dump her helmsman in favor of a coin, especially since the VDD could pick up the helmsman after the latter’s had been eliminated by the Devastator’s ability. HMS Immortal continued to be behind the curve, always a step behind the Maria’s exploring efforts. The Hermes’ Sandals and Devastator went after the Vers Maan who was still stuck. The Devastator was about to open fire when Manawa no Kowhatu was parleyed away (no Rum bomb which was my intention when using Parley with the Vers Maan) which destroyed the UT and the Vers Maan’s helmsman.

The Princes Maria could not reach home without her helmsman (L+S base move), but was able to reach a fog bank for safety. The Immortal stole a coin from the VDD (the Dutch swapped her captain for a coin), but the VDD grabbed the Maria’s helmsman and rammed the Immortal to try and take the coin back.

The Princes Maria got home with gold while the Vers Maan was finally able to take off for home. However, the Hermes’ Sandals had already stolen her Rum, the only coin worth gold aboard.

Both 1 masters returned home with gold, with Wolves locking up an entire island.

Final Scores:
Dutch: 139 points (55 points in play, 84 gold)
English: 98 (58 points in play, 40 gold)

In the end neither fleet lost many points in play, but the Dutch had a better time collecting gold, between going first and arguably a favorable home island location.

Observations:
HMS Devastator is too slow. Not a competitive ship. L speed without a point increase is probably fine.
The Dutch fleet I made is rather annoying to play against between Eternal, Parley, and can’t be shot at while docked. (not necessarily something to “fix”)
Dutch too good? (very fast and good cargo) – Prinses Maria and Volle Maan would later be made a bit worse

Changes made: HMS Devastator base move changed from S to L. Removed the question marks after the point costs for HMS Hermes’ Sandals and HMS Immortal, though it’s possible they are both overpriced by a point or two. (both would get cheaper later on)

8/29/2021: A7XfanBen vs. Xerecs

This was the first 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.  We 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). We were using the Points in Play + Gold win condition, with gold values to match.  60 point fleets with 60 gold contributed per player for 240 “total points” available at the start of the game.

A7XfanBen’s English
HMS Blue Whale + Scholar Episces, helmsman
HMS Red Death + Captain Armstrong, helmsman, oarsman
HMS Devonshire + Oliver Blake, captain, helmsman, firepot specialist

Xerecs’ Pirates
Black Phoenix + Lord Garhelm, helmsman, cannoneer, oarsman
Golden Rose + helmsman, explorer, oarsman
Knife’s Edge + helmsman, explorer, oarsman

The English went first. We each placed 3 islands along with 2 of each piece of terrain except icebergs. To reach the requirement of each player contributing 8 coins worth 60 total gold, we simply multiplied the face values of regular coins by 4. This keeps the same distribution system as the original Complete Game rules, where each player contributes 8 coins worth 15 gold. In this way the max of 5 UT’s per player was also maintained, since essentially the minimum gold a player could contribute to get 60 was two 7’s and a 1 (28+28+4). The square represents the edges of the map for round earth purposes.

Playtesting starts!!
The Red Death hit the Golden Rose twice (eliminating two of her crew) before the Golden Rose round earthed back towards the Pirate HI. The Devonshire went 0/3 against the Black Phoenix.

The Black Phoenix couldn’t finish off the Devonshire thanks to Oliver Blake’s ability of ignoring the first hit, with the Devonshire then escaping to a fog bank. The Red Death round earthed to follow the Golden Rose and dismasted her.

HMS Blue Whale was about to dock home gold when the Black Phoenix got a timely SAT to zoom over and dismast her including 2 fire hits. With no oarsman, the Blue Whale was doomed to burn to her waterline on the English turn, sinking the ship. The English salvaged the situation somewhat by capturing the Golden Rose and landing a firepot on the Black Phoenix when the Devonshire docked home to repair.

The Knife’s Edge is on her second trip for gold when more fireworks erupted in the center. The Black Phoenix got an SAT to come shooting out of a whirlpool, crushing the Red Death even after the BP lost a mast to the whirlpool. This looked like a death blow to the English, who were already far behind in the gold race.

The Red Death was not able to dock home on the next English turn, with her helmsman+oarsman combo of S+S speed coming up just short before she burned to the waterline.
Turns later and the Devonshire has repaired only to be set alight by the Black Phoenix’s fire hits on 6’s ability. Devoid of hope the English attack the Pirates, inflicting some damage on the BP. The Golden Rose has repaired a mast and plans to use Wine to steal a coin from the Pirate HI.

The BP finishes off the Devonshire, leaving the English with only the captured Golden Rose, who docks home to repair. However the Knife’s Edge unloads the final coin and the game ends!

Xerecs’ Pirates: 241 total points in play (200 from gold)
A7XfanBen’s English: 33 total points in play

Observations:
-English need at least one cheap ship (6 points or less ideally) to help them fill out fleets (modifying HMS Hermes’ Sandals would eventually fulfill this)
-As of now the English don’t have access to any extra actions in the set, whereas the Pirates and Dutch do
-Round earth measuring (when round earthing) is wonky/tough to get perfect. Interesting philosophical discussion was had after the game about the physics of round earth, but the rule is more for gameplay excitement and possibilities than any remote amount of realism.
-Lopsided score (not necessarily an issue, but a stark contrast that occurs often when using Points in Play as a win condition)