Pirates! Stratego

Pirates! Stratego Rulebook

Table of Contents

Box Contents

2 Half-hulls of the ship
2 Masts with yardarms
2 Bowsprits
2 Sails
2 Ship decks
2 Gangplanks
1 Cannon with cannonball
1 Gold coin
10 Double-sided action cards
20 Pirates (10x red and 10x blue)
20 Plastic base pieces for the pirates
6 Flag cards (2x flags, 2x powder kegs and 2x monkeys)
2 Base pieces for the ship
2 Extra elastic bands

Aim of the Game

Conquer the flag by boarding your enemy's ship. By cunningly flipping the action cards, you can influence whether you get to board, fire the cannon, fight or feed one of your opponents to the sharks. Will you be the first to capture your opponent's flag? If so, you win the game!

Before You Start

Empty out the contents of the box. Carefully press the cardboard parts out of their frames. Slide the 10 red and 10 blue pirates into their plastic base pieces. Be careful so as not to damage them. Then put both parts of the pirate ship together piece by piece:

Take one of the hull parts and slide the cardboard deck into place. Carefully check to see which deck fits into this part of the ship. Make sure you position the deck properly in the openings of the hull.
Put the two parts of the mast together and attach one sail to the yardarms.
Carefully attach the mast to the ship. NB! This differs for both hull parts. Beneath one of the openings of the deck, you will find two small openings in the hull. On one half, the mast is positioned at the front of the deck and the second further towards the stern. Insert the mast into the opening on the deck and click it into the hull.
Attach a bowsprit to the bow (the front of the ship).
Slide one of the gangplanks into the designated groove on the outside of the hull.
Attach the ship to the base. The point of the base slides into the mast.
Press the latch above the skull downwards. Check that the elastic bands under the latch are positioned properly. If one of them is missing or broken, you can stretch a spare elastic band between the small pins.

Put the second part of the ship together now.

Setup

One player is the Captain of the ship with the red sail, and the other of the ship with the blue sail. Position the ships between you with the outsides facing each other. The distance between them should be around 30 cm (roughly from your elbow to your fingertips). The player with the red sail takes the red pieces and the other player the blue.

Position the 10 pirates in a row next to your ship in such a way that you can see the images while your opponent can't.
Load the cannon and place it ready for action.
Place the coin within reach.
Shuffle the 10 action cards and place them in two rows of five cards within easy reach of both players. It does not matter which side faces upwards.
Now for something very important. You get these three flag cards in your colour: Monkey, Flag and Powder Barrel.

Your opponent must try to capture your flag. He/she must not know where you've hidden it. On the edge of the ship, you will see three openings for the cards. You can slide the three cards into these openings in such a way that your opponent does not see which card goes where. In other words, with the image (Monkey, Flag, Powder barrel) facing you and you can determine the sequence.

Now choose three of your pirates and position them on the deck of your ship.

These Are Your Pirates

Each player has the following ten pirates. The number on each pirate's card is its rank.

Pirate	Rank	Quantity per player
Captain Rodrick Redbeard	7	1
Sally Swashbuckler	6	1
Walter Whip	5	1
Ivan Incisor	4	2
Eddy Earring	3	2
Boris Bomb-catcher	2	1
Aden Adder	1	1
Bomb	(none)	1

The Battle Erupts

Flip the gold coin to see who starts. One player takes the coin and tosses it in the air. The other calls: 'shark' or 'pirate'. The player who gets it right starts the game.

Each turn, you turn over one of the action cards. You do what the turned card instructs and leave it facing upwards on the table. The turn then goes to the next player.

NB: You may not turn the same card that your opponent just turned! You can only do so during your next turn.

Action Cards

The cards have the following meaning:

Shoot Through the Hole in the Sail

You must use the cannon to shoot through the hole in the sail of the enemy ship. You can only shoot once. If you succeed, your opponent must remove one of his pirates from his own deck or from the enemy's. Your opponent can choose. In order to aim better, you can move your cannon, although you cannot move your cannon further forward than your ship. You may tilt the cannon as long as it stays in contact with the ground or surface of the table.

Shoot at Skull

Without looking at the picture side, you may choose one of your opponent's pirates from either ship and place it on top of the hatch above the skull of the enemy ship. The hatch must be pressed downwards. You have to aim the cannon at the enemy's yellow skull. You can only shoot once. If you're a good shot, the piece will jump into the air and the pirate must be taken out of play; if you miss, the piece must be returned to its original position. In order to aim better, you can move your cannon. Your cannon may not go further forward than your ship. You may tilt the cannon as long as it stays in contact with the ground or surface of the table.

New Pirate

From your extras, you may choose a new, brave pirate to position on your ship.

Swing Onto the Other Ship

You may take one of your pirates from your ship and position it on board the enemy ship. You'll need lots of courage to do so, but it's necessary in order to win. You can take one of your pirates back from the enemy ship to your own ship if necessary. This takes far less courage, but is a more sensible move in some cases.

Sleeping Pirates

Well shiver me timbers! Your pirates have fallen asleep; you can't do anything during this turn.

The Plank

Oh dear! Your opponent may place one of your pirates, standing on either ship, onto the plank. Luckily, you can still save your pirate. You toss the coin and see which side lands face up:

Shark: The pirate is taken out of play.
Cheerful pirate: You can return your pirate to its original position.

Attack!

You get to attack an enemy pirate. Choose an enemy pirate standing on the same deck as the pirate you plan to use for the attack. You can therefore launch an attack on the enemy ship or your own ship. The players may check which pirates are already out of play. You indicate clearly which two pieces are involved. The players show these pirates to each other. The highest rank wins and must be put back in its original position. Captain Rodrick Redbeard (7) beats all the other ranks and Sally Swashbuckler (6) beats almost all the other ranks, etc. The beaten pirate is taken out of play. If it's a draw, both pirates are taken out of play. If you do not have a pirate on one of the ships you skip a turn.

WARNING! Do not aim the cannon at head, face or eyes!

Special Pieces

There are a number of pirates or pieces with special powers:

Aden Adder (1)

Aden is always the loser. But he has special powers to beat the brave Captain Rodrick Redbeard (7). Therefore, whether Aden attacks the Captain or the Captain attacks Aden, Rodrick always loses.

The Bomb

The bomb cannot be moved to the enemy deck. The bomb cannot attack, but can be attacked. All pieces are beaten by the bomb, except Boris Bomb-catcher (2). Boris beats the bomb. The bomb can, just like the other pirates, be destroyed by shooting through the sail with the cannon or by hitting the skull. And the bomb can also be placed on the plank.

Who Wins?

You can win the game by capturing your opponent's flag. You can try to capture the enemy flag in two situations:

You have a pirate on the enemy's deck while there are no defending pirates on the deck and you turn the 'attack' card.

OR:

You hit the skull with your cannon or shoot through the hole in the sail and your enemy does not have a pirate on either of the decks.

In both of these situations, you may turn around one of the three flag cards. And then the following happens:

Monkey: Hrmmm, neither good nor bad. The 'monkey' gets returned to its position and you can try again during your next turn if you satisfy the requirements.
Powder Barrel: Bad luck! Your pirate dies if you have used it to attack. Nothing happens if you've fired the cannon. The 'powder barrel' gets returned to its position.
Flag: Victory!! You've conquered the enemy and taken control of his ship.

The game ends as soon as either player captures the opponent's flag. This player is the winning pirate, gains control of the enemy ship and gets to rule the seven seas.

Extra Line for Advanced Players

During your turn, you turn one of the action cards. You carry out the instructions and set the card down in front of you without turning it again. This card is now temporarily out of play. The next player does the same. During your next turn, you turn a new card, carry out the instructions and swap it for the action card in front of you from your previous turn. This card is then taken back into play. And so the game continues.

In Conclusion

You can click the two halves of the ship together to make a single ship. You can then play with it or leave it standing with all the playing pieces on the deck. You could also put the playing pieces in the enclosed bag and store them in the ship.

Enjoy the game; shiver me timbers!