Dead Men Tell No Tales Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Prepare the Skelit's Revenge
  • Prepare Your Pirate
• Playing the Game
• Player Turns
  • Step 1: Search the Ship
  • Step 2: Take Pirate Actions
    • The Actions Explained
  • Step 3: Skelit's Revenge
    • Fire Effects
    • Powder Keg Explosions
    • Room Explosions
    • The Explosion Track
    • Deckhand Effects
    • The Effects of Deckhands on Pirates
    • Skeleton Crew Movement
• Fatigue
  • Effects of Fatigue
  • Worked to Death
  • Taking a Breather
  • Grog
• The Dead Pirate Roberts
• Skeleton Crew, Guards and Battles
  • Skeleton Crew
  • Battling Skeleton Crew
  • Guards
  • Battling Guards
  • Special Rules For Battles
  • The Battle Track
  • Cutlass Tokens
• Looting
• For Glory or Death! (The End of the Game)
  • How to Win
  • How to Lose
• Variants
• Captain Fromm (optional)
• Credits

Components

• 4 Starting Tiles with the Explosion Tracker
• 20 Room Tiles
• 7 Pirate figures
• 5 Player Boards with Fatigue Dial and Battle Track
• 30 Deckhands (wooden skulls)
• 24 Fire Dice (12 red & 12 yellow)
• 1 Battle Die
• 20 Double Sided Tokens (6 Treasure/Guard, 5 Skeleton Crew/Cutlass, 3 Skeleton Crew/Grog, 6 Trapdoor)
• 26 Action Tokens
• 7 Character Battle Tokens
• 1 Explosion Marker
• 39 Cards: 19 Skelit's Revenge Cards, 7 Character Cards, 7 Item Cards, 1 Dinghy, 5 Player Aids
• 1 Captain Fromm Token
• 1 Cloth Bag

Setup

Prepare the Skelit's Revenge

1. Place the four Starting Tiles (marked with ?s) and the Explosion Tracker on the table. It's best to place them slightly off to one side rather than in the middle, as the room tiles will be added to one side of it. Place the Explosion Marker near the left side of the Explosion Track.

2. For each of the four rooms on the Starting Tile, roll one Fire Die that matches the color of the square in the middle of that room and place it on that colored square. If you roll a "6", re-roll the die until a number other than "6" is rolled. Fire Dice show the Fire Level in a room. The higher the number, the stronger the Fire is in that room.

3. Place one Deckhand in the room with the Trapdoor Icon.

4. Place the rest of the Fire Dice, Deckhands, the Dinghy Card, and the Battle Die to one side, within easy reach.

5. Shuffle the Skelit's Revenge Cards and form a face down stack.

6. Shuffle the room tiles and form a face down stack. Count down a number of tiles equal to twice the number of players in the game and rotate them so they are visibly offset from the rest of the stack. For example, in a three-player game, the top six tiles are offset.

7. Put the 20 double-sided tokens into the bag and mix them.

8. The players must now decide together which difficulty level they want to play. This determines what you must do in order to win the game:

	Scurvy Dog	Buccaneer	Admiral
2–3 players	Loot 4 Treasures	Loot 5 Treasures	Loot 6 Treasures
4–5 players	Loot 5 Treasures	Loot 6 Treasures	Loot 6 Treasures and defeat all Skeleton Crew

9. Place any remaining Item Cards face up on the table within view of all players.

10. Place your Pirate figure on the small boat by the entrance to the Skelit's Revenge (on the starting tile), and you're ready to play!

Prepare Your Pirate

Each player takes:

• 1 Player Board (set your Fatigue Dial to 0)
• 1 random Character Card (place it to the left of your Player Board)
• 1 random Item Card (place it to the right of your Player Board)
• The Pirate figure and Battle Token that match the color of your Character: Place your Battle Token on the 0 space of your Battle Track.
• A stack of 5 Action Tokens (6 if your Character is Lydia Lamore)

Playing the Game

Note: These rules describe the "basic game." At the end of these rules, you will find a number of variants if you want to play a more challenging game.

Dead Men Tell No Tales is a cooperative game. The players must work together, and will either all win or all lose the game as a team!

Your goal is to explore the Skelit's Revenge, loot all of the Treasure, and get off the ship before it explodes.

Each player has a Character Card, which gives them special abilities that can be used throughout the game. The different combinations of Characters and Item Cards makes a different game every time—you will need to adjust your strategy based on your Character and Item Card!

The player who has the Character name that comes first alphabetically takes the first turn. Play then passes clockwise around the table.

Player Turns

Your turn is divided into three steps, which you must play in order:

1. Search the Ship
2. Take Pirate Actions
3. Skelit's Revenge

Once you have finished all three steps, your turn is over and the player on your left begins his turn.

Step 1: Search the Ship

First, you must turn over the top Room Tile from the face down stack and add it to the ship. You must place it so all doors on any adjacent Room Tiles match up with doors on the new tile. You cannot place a tile so that a door is matched up with a wall.

Important: On your first turn, you will place two tiles instead of one. The tiles at the top of the stack were offset during setup as a reminder. Always resolve all effects from the placement of your first tile before drawing and placing the second tile.

The new Room Tile will have a red or yellow square in the middle of it, showing a number of die pips (from 0 to 5). Place a matching colored Fire Die on this square with the matching number of pips showing. If the square shows 0 pips, do not place a Fire Die at this time.

Next, draw one Token from the bag and place it on the Room Tile:

• If you draw a Treasure/Guard Token, place it with the Guard side up.
• If you draw a Skeleton Crew/Cutlass or Skeleton Crew/Grog Token, place it with the Skeleton Crew side up.
• If you draw a Trapdoor Token, also add one Deckhand to the room. Do not cover the Trapdoor Token at any time.

Important: The Starting Tile represents one edge of the Skelit's Revenge. You can never place a Room Tile that is "lower" than the Starting Tile.

If you cannot place your Room Tile (because the doors don't match up, for example), then your crew will not be able to search the entire ship for treasure and you lose the game!

When you place the last Room Tile in the stack, check to see if it has an open door that does not connect with any other tile. If it does, you have found a second exit from the ship! Place the Dinghy Card next to this door. You can use it to leave the ship. If the last Room Tile does not have such an "extra" door, then the ship only has one exit—you will have to escape through the Starting Tile.

If the ship has two exits, you can leave the ship from either exit and re-enter through the same exit or the other one. You can also Loot Treasure through either exit.

Step 2: Take Pirate Actions

You have five Action Tokens to use each turn. You may spend them to take any of the actions on this list, in any order you choose. You may even repeat the same action if you wish:

• Walk
• Run
• Fight Fires
• Eliminate a Deckhand
• Pick up a Token
• Rest
• Increase Your Battle Strength
• Swap Your Item Card

Note: The actions you can take while Looting are limited (see "Looting" on page 7).

Each time you take an action, you must spend one of your Action Tokens. Flip the token face down to show that it has been spent. If you don't use all of your Action Tokens, you will pass the left over tokens to the next player, who will be able to take more actions on his turn. If another player passed you tokens, return them to that player as you spend them. You must return tokens that were passed to you whether you used them or not. You cannot pass tokens on that were passed to you from another player.

Remember: You always get all of your Action Tokens at the beginning of each turn, plus any tokens that were passed to you by the player on your right.

Example: Jade has 5 Action Tokens to spend on her turn. She uses 3 of them and passes the 2 remaining tokens to Flynn. Flynn now has 7 Action Tokens to use on his turn.

The Actions Explained

Walk: You can move your Pirate through a door (which all show blue lights on either side of them) into one adjacent room by spending one Action Token. Your Fatigue may be affected (see "Fatigue" on page 5).

Run: You can move your Pirate two room spaces (through doors) by spending one Action Token. You gain two more Fatigue than usual (see "Fatigue" on page 5) and you must check Fatigue for both rooms you move through, not just the room you end up in.

Playing Hint: The Fatigue you get from running is the same as walking through the two rooms plus two Fatigue, but you save an action by running instead of walking twice!

Fight Fires: You can lower the Fire Level of the room your Pirate is in by one for each Action Token you spend: turn the Fire Die down to the next lower number. If the Fire Die is already at 1, remove it from the room.

Eliminate a Deckhand: For each Action Token you spend, you can remove one Deckhand from the room your Pirate is in or from an adjacent room if there is a connecting door.

Note: Deckhands are returned to the supply, not removed from the game.

Pick up a Token: You can pick up one Treasure, Cutlass, or Grog Token from the room your Pirate is in by spending one Action Token. Place the Token on your Player Board. You may only carry one Treasure Token at a time, but you may carry multiple Grog and/or Cutlass tokens at the same time (in addition to Treasure).

You can put down a Token for free at any time during your turn: no Action Token is required.

Playing Hint: While you cannot give a Token to another player, you can drop them in a room for them to pick up later!

Rest: You can lower your Fatigue Level by two by spending one Action Token.

Increase Your Battle Strength: You can move your Battle Marker up one space on your Battle Track by spending one Action Token, up to a maximum of +4 (see "The Battle Track" on page 7).

Swap Your Item Card: You can take one new Item Card by spending one Action Token, either from those face up on the table or from another player of your choice. In either case, place your old Item Card face up on the table and place your new Item Card to the right of your Player Board.

If you took an Item Card from another player, that player may immediately take any one of the Item Cards on the table (but not from another player) without spending any Action Tokens.

Note: Item Cards showing the Action icon in the upper left corner cost an action to activate.

Playing Hint: It is perfectly legal to use the benefits of an Item Card, then spend an action to get a new one, and still use the benefits of your new Item Card on the same turn!

Step 3: Skelit's Revenge

After you have taken all of your Pirate Actions, you must turn over the top Skelit's Revenge Card in the deck. This card will show a combination of Fire Effects, Deckhand Effects and/or Skeleton Crew Movement.

Discard the card once all of its effects have been resolved.

Playing Hint: When dealing with Fire, Deckhand, and Skeleton Crew effects, start in the lower-left-most room, move to the right, then repeat across each row of rooms until you reach the top-right-most room. This will ensure that any "chain reactions" are handled properly.

If you have drawn three Skelit's Revenge cards that show a 5, resolve the card and then shuffle the discard pile back into the draw deck in order to form a new deck (see "Room Explosions" on page 5).

Playing Hint: It is easier to see when the third Explosion card is drawn if you discard them into a separate discard pile. Just remember to shuffle them back in when you reshuffle the deck!

Fire Effects

The Skelit's Revenge Card will show a red die, a yellow die, or both. All dice on the ship that match the color and number of the dice on the Fire Card are increased by one pip.

If the card shows a blank die face, add a matching colored die showing one pip to all rooms that match the color on the Fire Card that do not already have a Fire Die.

Powder Keg Explosions

Some Room Tiles show a Powder Keg with a fireball and a number by one of the doors. These rooms are in danger of a powder keg explosion.

If the Fire Level of the room ever reaches the number on the Powder Keg, it explodes! The explosion shoots through the door with the Powder Keg next to it and raises the Fire Level in the adjacent room by one.

If there is no room adjacent to that door, then the explosion will shoot out of a different door. Move clockwise around the room until you find a door with an adjacent room: this is the direction that the explosion will go.

Each Powder Keg can only explode once. After it explodes, move the Fire Die from the center of the room and place it on the Powder Keg (without changing its value). This will remind you that the Powder Keg cannot explode again.

Room Explosions

A room will explode if its Fire Level ever reaches six. A room explosion works like a powder keg explosion, except it is much larger and goes through every door in the room. The Fire Level of all adjacent rooms (through doors—room explosions do not travel through walls) is increased by one.

If a room explosion goes through a door into an area that does not have a Room Tile, then that fireball passes through that door with no effect.

After the room explodes, flip that Room Tile face down. That room is now impassable. No Pirate may enter that room for the rest of the game.

Any tokens or Deckhands that are in a room when it explodes are removed from the game permanently.

Any Pirate that is in a room when it explodes (not when a Powder Keg explodes), or is in a room that becomes permanently cut off from the rest of the ship as a result of the explosion, is killed! See "The Dead Pirate Roberts" (on page 6) to find out what happens.

The Explosion Track

Each time there is a powder keg or room explosion, move the Explosion Marker forward one space on the Explosion Track. If the Explosion Marker ever reaches the skull and crossbones space, the Skelit's Revenge explodes and you lose the game!

Deckhand Effects

There are two possible Deckhand Effects that may appear on a Skelit's Revenge Card:

Add: Add one Deckhand to every room that has a Trapdoor Icon.

Spread Out: Deckhands will spread out from all rooms with a Trapdoor Icon that currently have Deckhands in them. Deckhands will only spread out through doors into adjacent rooms, and only into a room that has fewer Deckhands in it than the room with the Trapdoor. Also, Deckhands never spread out into a room with a Trapdoor Icon.

When the Deckhands spread out, add one Deckhand to each adjacent room that meets these criteria.

Playing Note: Deckhand Effects always add new Deckhands. Deckhands never move around the board (only Skeleton Crew do, see below).

If you ever need to add a Deckhand to the ship, but there are no Deckhands left, your pirates are overwhelmed by the crew of the Skelit's Revenge and you lose the game!

The Effects of Deckhands on Pirates

The effect of Deckhands on the Pirates depends on the number of Deckhands in the room:

• 1 Deckhand in a room: No effect
• 2 Deckhands in a room: The Pirates cannot pick up any Cutlass, Grog, or Treasure Tokens in this room.
• 3 or more Deckhands in a room: No Pirate can enter this room.

If there are three or more Deckhands in the room your Pirate is in, your next actions must be to either Eliminate a Deckhand or leave the room.

Skeleton Crew Movement

If the Skelit's Revenge Card shows that Skeleton Crew move, all Skeleton Crew Tokens on the game board move into an adjacent room. Skeleton Crew always move towards the nearest Pirate. If there are two or more Pirates an equal distance away, the players decide (by majority vote) which way the Skeleton Crew moves.

Fatigue

As your Pirate moves around the ship, he will get Fatigued. You record your current Fatigue Level on the Fatigue Dial of your Player Board.

If your Pirate moves out of a room into a room with a higher Fire Level, your Fatigue Level goes up the difference between the two Fire Levels. Note: moving onto the ship from the dinghies is considered moving from a room with a zero fire level, so you will take fatigue equal to the room you enter.

Example: Whitebeard moves from a room with Fire Level 2 into a room with Fire Level 4. His Fatigue Level goes up 2 (since 4 - 2 = 2).

If your Pirate is in a room when its Fire Level increases (because of a Fire Effect, Powder Keg explosion, etc.), your Fatigue Level goes up one.

Note: Your Pirate gains Fatigue faster when you are Looting (see "Looting" on page 7).

Effects of Fatigue

As your Pirate becomes Fatigued, he will be unable to enter rooms where the fire has grown too strong. Your Fatigue Dial shows a die next to some of the numbers: If your Fatigue Level reaches one of these dice, your Pirate cannot enter any room that has a Fire Level of that number or higher.

Example: Black Gus moves into a room which increases his Fatigue Level by 1. Now his Fatigue Dial shows the number "9". Until Gus lowers his Fatigue, he cannot enter any room with a Fire Level of 4 or higher.

If your Pirate is in a room that has a Fire Level too high for your Fatigue Level, your next action must be to fight the fire, leave the room, or rest until your Fatigue Level is not too high.

Playing Hint: It is perfectly legal to move into a room even if the Fatigue you gain will raise your Fatigue Level too high. You will have to deal with the Fire Level or your Fatigue right away, but you can move into a room as long as your Fatigue Level is low enough when you enter the room.

Example: Jade's Fatigue Level is 7, and she is in a room at Fire Level 2. She spends 1 Action Token to move into a room at Fire Level 4, so she raises her Fatigue Level to 9. This means that she cannot be in rooms at Fire Level 4 or higher! She spends her next Action Token to fight fires, reducing the room's Fire Level down to 3. Now she can be in the room. She could have left the room or rested instead.

Worked to Death

If your Fatigue Level goes up high enough that it reaches the skull and crossbones space, your Pirate has collapsed from exhaustion! See "The Dead Pirate Roberts" to see what happens.

Taking a Breather

Your Pirate can leave the ship to "take a breather." If you move your Pirate out one of the ship's exits, your turn ends immediately. You must pass your unused Action Tokens to the next player. But, you also lower your Fatigue Level by half (rounded up). Note: You still complete the Skelit's Revenge part of your turn.

Grog

Your Pirate can overcome Fatigue by drinking Grog. If you pick up a Grog Token, you may use it immediately or save it for a later time. When your Pirate drinks the Grog, lower your Fatigue Level by the number shown on the Token and discard it. Using a Grog token never costs an Action Token.

The Dead Pirate Roberts

You may be part of the crew, but you're also Pirates. And if one of you dies… well, the Captain doesn't really care too much. He'll just send someone new in to take your place!

If your Fatigue Level ever reaches the skull and crossbones space, or if you are in a room that reaches Fire Level 6 and explodes, your Pirate dies.

If your Pirate dies, you must do the following:

• Remove your Pirate figure from the game board.
• Discard your Character Card out of the game and draw a new one from the unused cards.
• Discard your Item Card out of the game. Shuffle the items that are face up on the table and draw one at random. Return the others to the table, face up.
• Discard any Cutlass and Grog Tokens you have.
• Reset your Battle Track to 0.
• If your Pirate was carrying any Treasure, it is left in the room where he died if he collapsed from exhaustion, or it is destroyed if he died in a room explosion.
• Place your new Pirate figure at the entrance to the Skelit's Revenge.
• Your turn is now over, but you must still draw a Skelit's Revenge Card.

You will now be playing as a new Pirate. The Item Card your dead Pirate was carrying is lost for the rest of the game!

In the rare case where enough Pirates have died that there are no new Character Cards to choose from, then the players lose the game!

Skeleton Crew, Guards and Battles

You may have started their ship on fire and boarded it to loot their treasure, but that doesn't mean that the crew of the Skelit's Revenge is going down without a fight! There are enemies moving around the ship (called "Skeleton Crew") and standing watch on the rooms with the Treasure (called "Guards"). None of them are very fond of you.

Skeleton Crew

Skeleton Crew are represented by Tokens drawn from the bag during the Search the Ship step of your turn.

Skeleton Crew will move around the ship when the Skelit's Revenge Card indicates (see "Skeleton Crew Movement" on page 5).

Battling Skeleton Crew

If your Pirate is in a room with Skeleton Crew, you must battle that Skeleton Crew before you can do anything else. Battling Skeleton Crew never costs an Action Token, but if you are carrying a Treasure, you must drop it in that room before the battle (this also does not cost an Action Token).

If a Skeleton Crew moves into the same room as your Pirate, even if it is not your turn, you must immediately battle them. If a Skeleton Crew moves into a room with more than one Pirate, the players decide who will fight.

To battle a Skeleton Crew, you must first determine your Battle Strength: roll the Battle Die and add any modifiers from your Item Cards and your Battle Track.

Then, compare your Battle Strength with the Skeleton Crew's Battle Strength, listed on the Skeleton Crew Token:

• If your Battle Strength is greater than or equal to the Skeleton Crew's Battle Strength, you have defeated them! Flip the Skeleton Crew Token over to reveal what he was carrying and return it to the room.
• If your Battle Strength is less than the Skeleton Crew's Battle Strength, you lose the battle! Your Fatigue Level goes up the difference between your Battle Strength and that of the Skeleton Crew. Then, you must roll the Battle Die again and compare your roll to the Battle Reference chart on your Player Aid Card:
  • Roll 1 or 2: The Skeleton Crew retreats into the adjacent room of your choice.
  • Roll 3 or 4: You retreat into the adjacent room of your choice (suffering Fatigue as normal). If there is no legal room to move into due to your fatigue level, re-roll the die until a legal move is possible.
  • Roll 5: You must battle the Skeleton Crew again.
  • Roll 6: Choose a result from this list.

Important: Using your Battle Track modifier is optional. You may choose not to use it when you battle. See "The Battle Track" below to see why.

Guards

Every Treasure on the Skelit's Revenge has a Guard, represented by tokens drawn from the bag during the Search the Ship step of your turn.

Unlike Skeleton Crew, Guards never move. They will guard their Treasures until either they are killed… or you are.

Battling Guards

To battle a Guard, you must follow the same rules as for battling Skeleton Crew (above). But, if you do not defeat the Guard (your Battle Strength is less than his), after your Fatigue Level goes up you must decide to fight the Guard again or retreat to an adjacent room of your choice (don't roll on the Battle Reference chart).

Important: If you decide to battle the Guard again, you can ignore the Fire Level in the room. Your adrenaline is pumping and you're focused on taking the Guard down… no matter how much fire is around you! If there is no legal room for you to retreat to due to your fatigue level, then you must fight again!

Special Rules For Battles

Remember: When you encounter a Skeleton Crew or Guard, you must fight immediately. You cannot spend Action Tokens to add to your Battle Strength, rest, or take any other actions while you are in a room with Skeleton Crew or Guards. You must fight!

If your Pirate is in a room with more than one Skeleton Crew, you must choose which one to fight first, before rolling the Battle Die. If you defeat the first Skeleton Crew, you must immediately choose the next Skeleton Crew to fight, and so on.

If your Pirate is in a room with Skeleton Crew and a Guard, you must fight all of the Skeleton Crew first, before you can fight the Guard.

The Battle Track

At the bottom of your Player Board is your Battle Track, which has five spaces: 0, +1, +2, +3, and +4.

At the beginning of the game, your Battle Track is set to 0. You can raise the value by spending Action Tokens (see "Increase Your Battle Strength" on page 4).

When you battle a Skeleton Crew or Guard, you may add the value on your Battle Track to your Battle Die roll. After you add your Battle Track modifier to your roll in a battle, you must reset your Battle Track to 0. Using your Battle Track modifier is always optional. If you decide to use your Battle Track modifier in a battle, you must use all of it. You cannot "save" some of your Battle Track bonus to use later.

Example: Cobalt Kallen is battling a Guard. He has the Sword Item Card and his Battle Track is at +2. The Guard has a Battle Strength of 7. Kallen rolls the Battle Die and gets a 3. Now he has a choice to make: he can use his Battle Track modifier (resetting it to 0), which will give him a total Battle Strength of 6 (3 for the die roll + 1 for the Sword + 2 for his Battle Track)—he would lose the fight but would only gain 1 Fatigue Level; or, he can save his Battle Track modifier for later, which would leave him with a total Battle Strength of only 4 (3 for the die roll + 1 for the Sword), and he would gain 3 Fatigue Levels.

Cutlass Tokens

There are five Cutlass Tokens that you can pick up during the game. When you pick up a Cutlass Token, place it on the lowest numbered space of your Battle Track that doesn't already have a Cutlass Token on it. From now on, when you have to reset your Battle Track (because you used the modifier in a battle), it only goes down to the lowest empty space on the Track instead of going all the way down to 0.

If you place a Cutlass Token on the same space as your Battle Token, move your Battle Token up one space on the track (this does not cost you an Action Token).

Example: Titian just picked up a Cutlass Token. He already has a Cutlass Token on the 0 space of his Battle Track, so he puts the new one on the +1 space. Since his Battle Token is also on the +1 space, he moves it to the +2 space for free. From now on, when he uses his Battle Track modifier during a fight, he only has to reset his Battle Token to the +2 space.

Looting

The main goal of the game is to get all the Treasure off the Skelit's Revenge. When you spend an Action Token to pick up a Treasure you are "Looting." Place the Treasure Token on your Player Board.

As long as you are Looting, the actions you can choose from are limited and you gain Fatigue faster.

When you are Looting, you can only choose these actions:

• Walk
• Rest (including using a Grog Token)
• Swap Your Item Card

When you are Looting and your Pirate moves into a room, you gain Fatigue equal to the Fire Level of that room. It doesn't matter what the Fire Level was in the room you left.

Example: Jade picks up a Treasure and is now Looting. She's in a room at Fire Level 4. She moves into an adjacent room (a walk action) that is at Fire Level 3. She gains 3 Fatigue.

To successfully Loot a Treasure, you must carry it out one of the exits of the ship. As soon as you do, place the Treasure Token on the Dinghy Card and lower your Fatigue Level by half (rounded up).

Like taking a breather, when you exit the ship (for any reason) your turn immediately ends. Pass any Action Markers you have left to the next player.

Example: Jade uses her third action to leave the ship. She places the Treasure on the Dinghy Card. Her Fatigue Level was 13, so she lowers it to 6. She still has 2 Action Markers, which she hands to Flynn for him to use on his turn.

For Glory or Death! (The End of the Game)

The game ends immediately as soon as the players win or lose.

How to Win

There is only one way to win Dead Men Tell No Tales: You must meet the minimum looting requirements for the difficulty level you chose at the beginning of the game (loot a certain number of Treasure Tokens, etc.) and all the Pirates must make it off the ship. All players continue to take normal turns as long as the game is still going; even if they have made it off the ship.

Important: You do not need to resolve the Skelit's Revenge actions on the turn that the last Pirate leaves the ship!

Note: If all treasure has been recovered and a Pirate dies before making it off the ship, then the players lose the game.

How to Lose

There are several ways to lose Dead Men Tell No Tales:

Explosion: If the Explosion Marker ever reaches the end of the Explosion Track, the Skelit's Revenge explodes and you lose the game.

Overwhelmed: If you need to add Deckhands to the ship, but there aren't any left, your Pirates are overwhelmed by the crew of the Skelit's Revenge and you lose the game.

Trapped: If a Room Tile cannot be legally added to the ship, the Pirates are cut off from the rest of the ship and you lose the game.

Lost Treasure: If enough Treasures have been destroyed that it is impossible to Loot enough to reach your goal, you lose the game. For example, if you are playing a three-player Buccaneer level game, you need to loot at least five Treasures. There are only six Treasures on the ship, so if two of them are destroyed, you lose the game.

Untimely Death: If a Pirate dies after all of the necessary treasure has been looted, then you lose the game.

No More Pirates: If a Pirate dies and there are no more Character Cards to replace him, then you lose the game.

Variants

Pulling the loot out of a burning husk of a pirate ship has gotten too easy for you? Well, here are some ways you can make the game more challenging! You can choose any or all of the options below, but remember: the more you change, the harder your task will be!

• Deckhands: Set aside a number of Deckhands from the supply before the game begins to reduce the number it will take to overwhelm the Pirates.
• Rooms: During setup, rotate more of the Room Tiles. This will cause you to play two tiles per turn longer, which will increase the amount of Deckhands and Fire in the ship faster.
• Explosions: Set the Explosion Marker higher on the Explosion Track at the beginning of the game to reduce the number of explosions that will destroy the ship.
• Dead Pirate: If a player's Character dies, then the game is over and you lose the game.

Captain Fromm (optional)

Captain Fromm is the feared leader of Skelit's Revenge. He is relentless and will do anything to protect his treasure.

The Captain Fromm Token is an optional addition to the game, and should be used only by veteran players. The token is double-sided, and one side is more powerful than the other.

During setup, add the Captain Fromm Token to the bag.

If you draw the Captain Fromm Token from the bag during the Search the Ship part of your turn, flip it in the air like you're flipping a coin. Place the token in the room with whichever side lands face-up. Then, draw another token from the bag and add it to the room like normal.

During the Skelit's Revenge part of your turn, if the card tells you to move the Skeleton Crew, Captain From also moves in the same way.

Captain Fromm is battled just like the Skeleton Crew, with one difference: If you defeat Captain Fromm, return his token to the bag.

The Pirates cannot win the game if Captain Fromm is on the ship. To win, the players must loot the required amount of Treasure, Captain Fromm must be in the bag, and all Pirates must get off the ship alive!

Credits

• Game Design: Kane Klenko
• Producer: James Mathe
• Illustrations: Chris Ostrowski
• Graphic Design and Layout: Jason David Kingsley
• Pirate Meeple/Skull Design: Clay Gardner
• Art Direction: Kane Klenko
• Rules Layout: Topher McCulloch
• Editing: William Niebling

Kane would like to thank: My amazing wife, Carrie, for being the world's best playtester, and also for coming up with the theme of pirates looting a burning ship. I couldn't have done this without you. My boys Carter and Kallen for being great playtesters. Special thanks to Nick Neumann for countless hours working out the kinks in this game and making it what it is today. To all of my playtesters, including: Chad Krizan and game group, Chelssey Klenko, Kyle Klenko, Sandy Klenko, Aaron Hendon, Karlene Hendon, Steve Kukasky, Stacci Barganz, Todd Barganz, Deanna Ratz, Mark Bazata, Brett Myers, Keith Matejka, Eric Jome, Kyle Fromm, Julie Fromm, Matt Loomis, Scott Starkey, Neil Roberts, Kallen Klutzke, Brandon Klutzke.

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