Pirate Cove
Pirate Cove Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Complete all of the quests before morale reaches zero. Otherwise lose the game.
Setup
- Players set a cube at spot 3 on their ship card (Life Track).
- Place a black cube at spot 10 on the morale card.
- Build player decks (see Build Player Deck below).
- Build quest deck (see Build Quest Deck below).
- Reveal 3 cards from each deck to build quest, crew, and upgrade rows.
- Players draw 5 starting cards and start with 2 gold.
Build Player Deck
Add the following cards to create a starting deck of 10 cards for each player:
- 2 Hull Cards
- 3 Shanty Cards
- 2 Map Cards
- 2 Damage Cards
- 1 Rum Card
Build Quest Deck
Each quest card shows a Quest Level and a Gold Reward.
Shuffle cards into separate piles by level. Then build an 8 card quest deck by adding:
- 2 level 1 cards
- 2 level 2 cards
- 3 level 3 cards
- 1 level 4 card
Then shuffle quest deck.
Decks
Upgrade Deck
Spend gold to buy upgrades and gain new cards.
Play Deck
Players have a main deck and discard pile. Draw cards from the main deck. If main deck runs out, shuffle the discard into main.
Quest Deck
Attempt quests each turn to gain gold and win the game.
Damage Deck
Draw when questing to see how much damage you receive.
Rounds
Each round contains 4 phases.
Planning Phase
Each player will decide if they will attempt a quest or stay at Pirate Cove. Players can join the same quest.
Quest Phase
Play cards to beat a quest. If successful, split gold amongst players that participated in any way the players desire.
Failed quests are placed back in the quest row.
Players that rest at Pirate Cove gain 1 gold and move their cube to spot 3 of the life track. They may optionally discard and draw a card.
Curse Phase
Players may squash rumors by bribing pirates and spending 1 gold per quest in row. Lose 1 morale for each non-bribed quest. If all players stayed at Pirate Cove, lose 1 morale.
Rest Phase
Fill in quest row if able.
Each player may spend gold buying crew and/or ship upgrades (max 3). Cards purchased are added to the discard pile.
Discard down to handsize, if able. Then players may discard 1 card. Put all played cards into your discard pile. Then draw up to your hand size.
Default Handsize=5
Playing Cards
When questing, players must use an action to play a card. Each player only gets 1 action.
- Shanty cards add +2 actions allowing for more cards to be played.
- Map cards that say +2 cards allow you to draw more cards.
- Hull cards grant absorb. Each absorb reduces 1 damage you have to take.
- Damage cards add their value towards some quests.
- Rum does nothing unless you get crew or upgrades.
Questing
Players alternate, in any order, drawing 1 damage card until number of cards shown on the quest card. The sum of cards for each player is the total damage they might take.
Play cards. If the number of cards played for each requirement type is met then the quest is complete. Discard it and gain gold. Use cards from all players that joined in on the quest. Any damage not absorbed with cards is taken. Reduce Life track value.
The quest card shows:
- Gold earned
- Requirements
- Damage cards drawn
Taking Damage
If your life track value ever reaches 0 from taking damage in a quest, you are stranded. Cards played during the quest phase still count, and rewards can still be earned, but lose 2 morale and reset your life track to 3 in the rest phase.
Crew
Cost to buy. Add crew cards to your discard pile when you purchase them. Replace spot in row with new card from crew deck. Crew card abilities are all optional. Playing crew cards counts toward quest requirement.
Ship Upgrades
The ship upgrade card shows:
- Cost
- Cards gained
- Abilities
After purchasing, add cards shown on the top of the card to your discard pile. Replace card in row with new card from ship upgrade deck. Place card next to your ship. Abilities can be used each round.
Any Time Actions
You may spend 1 gold to get a new quest, upgrade, or crew card by replacing a card in its row with the new card.
Winning The Game
If there are no quests at the start of the planning phase, players win the game.
Solo Rules
Setup - (solo mode changes)
When setting up a solo game set the cube at spot 1 on the bot's ship card instead of spot 3. This is the modifier value. Do not add the level-4 card when building quest deck.
Planning
Reveal 3 cards every planning phase. Determine if the bot is joining you on a quest or staying at Pirate Cove. It can't attempt quests solo.
Questing
Revealed cards count towards a quest's requirements that the bot is assisting on. Each card is multiplied by the bot's modifier value when questing. The bot does not take actions, draw cards, or gain upgrades.
Damage Cards
The bot never takes damage. It is still dealt damage cards. You must take the first damage card when alternating cards, if the bot is joining you on a quest.
Curse Phase
You can spend the bot's gold to bribe pirates.
Rest Phase
Bot may spend its gold to buy 1 crew card or increase the modifier value once.
The cost to increase the modifier value is equal to the next modifier value.
- 1st upgrade = 2 gold
- 2nd upgrade = 3 gold
Reference
- Subtract 1 damage requirement from quest.
- Subtract 1 map requirement from quest.
- Subtract 1 hull requirement from quest.
- Subtract 1 shanty requirement from quest.
- Trashing a card removes it from the game.
- When card abilities show damage icon, players can use any damage card (1, 2, or 3).