• Players: 3-5
• Ages: 8+
• Time: 60-90 minutes
• Company: Days of Wonder

Overview

In Pirate’s Cove, you struggle to become the most famous and fearsome pirate on the high seas. To do this you must acquire treasure (then bury it), upgrade your ship so you can defeat your opponents, take on the legendary pirates, like Blackbeard, as well as the Royal Navy, and then of course brag about your exploits at the local tavern. All the while you must avoid having your ship crippled and your crew mutiny. There are seven different islands to explore and hide out on, each with its own benefits. You have only twelve months (turns) in which to make your mark, so there’s no time to waste. Whoever has the most Fame at the end of this period wins the game.

Components 

The box does an excellent job of attracting your attention. The graphic design is wonderful, with the art being decent, geared perhaps towards a younger audience. The real kicker though is that every piece of the game is not only listed but displayed in vivid color on the back of the box. Once you tear into this baby, you will find that the fold-out play board is sturdy and beautifully illustrated with lots of character. There are five colorful plastic ship pieces, plus 2 black ships for the Legendary Pirates. Each player also gets a Ship playmat, to keep track of your ship’s capabilities, and a Navigation wheel to determine which island you sail to. Over 100 Treasure, Pirate and Tavern cards are also included, the Tavern cards being the most random and interesting. They even give you 75 wooden markers and cubes (representing treasure chests) and 6 wooden dice, which are both nice touches. A rulebook and reference sheet round out the parts and there are plenty of plastic baggies to store the parts later. The box itself leaves ample room to hold this plethora of goodies.

Rules

Probably the game’s greatest detraction is its vague rules. Having some very interesting and different mechanics from most other games, they really should have taken the time to explain themselves more fully. But what the rules lack in clarity, they make up for in completeness and background information. They go into each individual card in the game as well as each island on the map. Regardless, one is able to start the game up even while reading the rules for the first time.

Gameplay 

Treasure be the name of the game, for when these cards run out, the game is over. Each island has 12 of them and 1 is revealed each turn, making you race around to different islands chasing after fame and fortune. Should you be able to plunder your chosen isle, these cards will inform you of how much fame, gold, treasure (chests) and Tavern cards you receive. Movement is handled in a very simple but novel fashion. Each player secretly moves the pointer on their Navigation wheel to the island you desire to occupy. There are no movement points or dice rolling; you simply go there. Knowing the location of the Legendary Pirates, you are thus able to avoid encountering them unless you choose to. However, player encounters are frequent, especially with more players. You then must duke it out to see who gets the plundering rights for the islands and who is forced to flee to Pirate’s Cove to make repairs. You can of course hunt down a Legendary Pirate in an attempt to defeat him, but the only prize is Fame points, which is generally higher than any other Fame rewards in the game. Warning: THESE GUYS ARE TOUGH!

If you have sailed to the central island, you can bury any treasure or gold you wish, gaining Fame points. Gold can also be saved for ship Upgrades (see below) and to buy Tavern cards, which help you in combat and other areas of the game.

Upgrading is important, but can only be done on certain islands. Each ship has ratings for Sail, Crew, Cannon, and Hull. Each island corresponds to one of these areas. For example, you can only upgrade your Crew on island #5. Generally, available treasure determines which island you will visit, but don’t fall behind on your ship upgrades or you won’t survive long enough to do any plundering.

Combat 

Though a ship has ratings for both Crew and Cannon, your lowest rating will determine how many dice are rolled. The ship with the highest Sail rating rolls and inflicts damage first, so it is possible not to get a hit in if your ship is too weak and too slow, especially since players can target which area of the ship they wish to hit. Tavern cards may affect the combat, but in general a 5 or 6 (on a d6) is a hit. When attacking a Legendary Pirate, you must aim for the Hull as they will aim for yours, unless otherwise specified. You can of course flee a battle, but you run the risk of crew Mutiny. Since treasure can’t be stolen, this is rarely done, for if they do mutiny (1 in 6) you lose all treasure and 2 Fame.

Value 

These days, it’s hard to find a decent board game for under $30. With an MSRP of $45, over 200 cards and wooden pieces, you definitely get your money’s worth on this one. The art is appealing and the game components will surely hold up after years of constant playing.

Overall 

There are a few negative points to Pirate’s Cove. On top of the aforementioned fuzzy rules, it requires a minimum of 3 players, which actually shouldn’t be a problem for a decent sized game group. Plus, the Crew/Cannon ratings almost need to be upgraded simultaneously to make it worthwhile. In a 12-turn game, that can be tricky, especially since each can only be upgraded on a specific island. The positive elements easily outweigh these factors, however. The mechanics are innovative yet simple, allowing for a “fast-and-loose” play style. The rules and card sizes make it easy for youngsters to play. The set number of game turns makes it easy to play in a short amount of time. The randomness of the treasures, Tavern cards and Legendary Pirates make it infinitely re-playable and different every time. The ability to rig your ship lets you approach the game with different tactics each time. Since it is impossible to be completely destroyed, no one is knocked out of the game prematurely. The website has variants and optional rules. The list goes on, which is why I would recommend this game to any board game or pirate fan out there. Oh, and you can get parrots…