Pirate King!
Pirate King! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Defeat legendary monsters (Monster cards) and obtain ancient treasures (Loot cards) to win crowns. The person with the most crowns at the end of the game will be declared King or Queen of the Pirates.
Contents
- 10 Pirate cards
- 45 Loot cards
- 14 Monster cards
- 5 starting decks (8 starting cards per deck)
- 1 Captain token
The different types of cards can be recognised by the symbols in their bottom left corner.
Setup (for 3 players)
Table layout: the Monster pile and Loot pile are in the centre of the table, with the Monster zone and Loot zone beside them. Each player has a personal play zone, a discard pile and a personal pile. The Captain token is placed near the players.
A. Everyone chooses 1 Pirate card and 1 starting deck, made up of 8 starting cards of the same type. Then shuffle your 9 cards to form your personal pile, placed face down next to your play zone. This is the deck you will start the game with. Put the unused Pirate cards and starting decks back in the game box.
B. Shuffle the 14 Monster cards and place them face down in a reachable draw pile in the centre of the table. This is the Monster pile.
C. Shuffle all the Loot cards and place them face down in a reachable draw pile in the centre of the table. This is the Loot pile.
D. The person who last touched water is the Captain, receives the Captain token and plays first.
Elements of a Card
A. Sword B. Curse C. Gold D. Crown E. Effects (page 7) F. Card type
Course of the Game
A game consists of 7 rounds, each divided into 5 steps.
1. Start
Reveal 2 Monster cards and as many Loot cards as there are players, placing them face up in the centre of the table.
2. Accumulate Swords and Gold
The Captain counts to 3: "1, 2, 3!" ALL players must reveal the top card of their pile and place it face up in their personal play zone.
If a revealed card has an effect, resolve it before anyone reveals another card. Effects are applied immediately and can interact between players. See the effects on page 7.
Continue to reveal cards one by one at the Captain's pace, thus forming in your personal play zone a row going from left to right. Players may continue to reveal cards until they "DECIDE TO STOP" or they "SINK"...
Reveal, reveal, reveal until the moment you...
- DECIDE TO STOP: from then on you reveal no more cards for the current round. The revealed cards stay in your play zone and you keep the visible swords and gold, to use them in the "Battle" and "Sharing the Loot" steps.
- SINK: when you reveal a third Curse. You immediately stop revealing cards. All the cards revealed so far in your play zone are sent to your discard pile, and you lose all the swords and gold revealed for the "Battle" and "Sharing the Loot".
Find the balance between revealing cards to obtain swords and gold, and "deciding to stop" in time to avoid "sinking" and losing everything. But with more swords and gold, you will be able to get better cards for your deck in the following rounds.
3. Battle
ONLY the 1st and 2nd person with the most swords each take 1 Monster card among those revealed for the round, starting with the one who has the most swords. The chosen cards are added to their respective discard piles.
4. Sharing the Loot
Everyone takes 1 Loot card among those revealed for the round, according to each player's gold, starting with the person who has the most gold. The chosen card is added to your discard pile.
The number of swords and gold revealed by each pirate determines the order of selection of the cards in the "Battle" and "Sharing the Loot" steps. The more you have, the earlier you choose.
If a pirate "sinks", they are considered to have -1 sword and -1 gold and will choose after those who have 0 swords and 0 gold.
Ties! In case of a tie, the person who holds the Captain token decides the order of selection. If you have to choose last in each tie, you receive the Captain token as compensation.
5. New Round
Pick up and send to your discard pile all the revealed cards in your personal play zone. Then return to step "1. Start", revealing new Monster and Loot cards to begin the next round.
Your discard pile must always be placed face up to avoid any confusion with your personal pile. When you have no more cards to draw, shuffle your discard pile and use it as your new pile.
For two-player games, see "2-Player Variant" on page 11.
End of the Game
The game ends after 7 rounds, when there are no more Monster cards to reveal. Each pirate counts the crowns accumulated on ALL their cards. The person with the most crowns is declared...
KING OR QUEEN OF THE PIRATES!
The Captain token is worth 1 crown to its holder at the end of the game. The person with the Captain token also decides the winner in case of a tie.
Card Effects
This section presents the different card effects. Warning: fun ahead!
If you see the "other players" icon next to an effect, it means the effect applies to the other players, but not to you. These effects are resolved after all other effects around the table. If, during a turn, several effects apply to other players, they are resolved clockwise, starting with the pirate who holds the Captain token.
Reveal effect: Reveal a card from your pile for each symbol you have revealed. These cards can chain and force you to keep revealing new cards.
Copy effect: This card copies the previously revealed card, including all its symbols and effects.
Look effect: Look at the top cards of your pile, equal to the number of symbols. Then put them back on top in the order of your choice.
Flip effect: Turn face down a card in your personal play zone that contains the symbol indicated in the effect.
When you turn a card face down, it stays in your play zone, but loses ALL its properties: Swords, Gold and Curses. This can be useful to avoid "sinking" too early!
Gain effect: Obtain as many swords and/or gold as the effect indicates for each symbol present in your personal play zone. (Example icons show: a skull symbol = 2 gold; a spiral symbol = 1 sword.)
End-of-game crown effect: At the end of the game, the number of cards with this symbol that you own earns crowns according to the following table:
| Number of cards | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crowns | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 | You won! |
Captain effect: Take the Captain token and place it in front of you. You are now Captain!
Choose effect: Look at the top two cards of your pile: reveal one in your personal play zone and discard the other.
Retrieve effect: Place a card of your choice from your discard pile into your personal play zone. If you have no discard pile, you may reveal the top card of your pile.
Give effect: Place this card in another pirate's play zone until the end of the round. Remember to retrieve it, otherwise it is lost!
Loot effect: Draw the top card of the Loot pile and place it face up in your play zone. If this card has an effect, resolve it immediately. The card belongs to you for the rest of the game.
The symbols marked with a star icon are only present on Pirate cards.
FAQ
1. How do I reveal my cards correctly? You must always reveal cards simultaneously, but the effects that appear can sometimes lead players to reveal a different number of cards. To follow more easily, place the simultaneously revealed cards in a row going from left to right. But when an effect forces you to reveal or place new cards in your personal play zone, integrate them in columns, partially covering the others.
2. Can I reveal more cards once I have decided to stop? And can I reveal cards if all the others have already "decided to stop" or "sunk"? No, if you have "decided to stop", you can no longer reveal other cards until the next round. Yes, you can continue, as long as you have not previously "decided to stop" or "sunk".
3. If I reveal a third Curse that would make me "sink", but an effect lets me flip that same card face down, can I continue or have I "sunk"? You do not "sink" until all the card effects have been resolved. This means you can avoid "sinking", or that someone else can make you "sink" when you seemed to be safe.
4. Can I look at my discard pile and my personal pile? You can only look at your discard pile.
5. What happens if there are several ties in a turn? Each tie is resolved individually, and the Captain token moves following the resolution of each tie.
6. What happens if I forget to retrieve Wilson? Wilson, the coconut, sulks and ends up in the discard pile of the person who had received him. That person will be able to use him when he is revealed in the following rounds from their pile. (And will have to be careful not to forget him!)
2-Player Variant
The rules are the same as for games of 3 or more, with the following changes:
- Each round, during the "1-Start" phase, place 2 Monster cards and 4 Loot cards in the centre of the table.
- Each round, during the "3-Battle" phase, only the person with the most swords chooses 1 Monster card among those revealed in the Monster zone, discarding the other one into the box until the end of the game.
- Each round, during the "4-Sharing the Loot" phase, when you choose a Loot card from the Loot zone, discard another card into the box, until the end of the game.
Pirate Cards
Captain Scarlette, Inquisitor Yellow, Violette the Seer, Cook Rossy, Wilson the Castaway, Gary the Immortal, Shadow Sea Witch, Admiral Navy, Red the Adventurer, Blackbeard.
Player Aid
Reveal effect, Copy effect, Look effect, Flip effect, Gain effect and the end-of-game crown table (see Card Effects above). The effects of the Pirate cards are shown on page 8.