Pirates!
Pirates! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 1 game board with the harbour, 26 Sea spaces and 10 Pirate Lair spaces.
- 6 boat hulls + 6 coloured sails.
- 6 Boat boards matching the colours of the boats.
- 60 figures: 30 cannons and 30 pirates.
- 18 chests representing 1, 2 or 3 treasures (6 of each).
- 10 hexagonal lairs.
- 5 dice.
Atmosphere and Aim of the Game
In the 17th century, pirates rule the Caribbean. They attack not only the fortified, very well defended lairs, but also enemy ships.
As captain of one of these pirate ships, you sail the dangerous waters with your crew and your cannons, trying to seize as many treasures as possible, fighting at sea and on land.
The player who owns the most treasures wins the game and becomes the king or queen of the pirates.
Preparation
Before the first game, carefully detach the hexagonal lairs and the pre-cut Boat boards. Break the chests off their sprues. Fit a coloured sail onto each of the 6 boat hulls.
Before Each Game...
- Place the board in the middle of the table.
- Shuffle the 10 hexagonal pirate lairs, Fortress side up, then place one at random on each Lair space of the board, without turning them over.
- The reserve of pirates, cannons and chests is placed next to the board. Each chest represents 1, 2 or 3 treasures, shown by its size, by the number of straps around it, and by the number engraved under the chest.
- Each player chooses a boat and places it in the harbour. He puts the Boat board of the matching colour in front of him. He then places a cannon or a pirate on each of the 6 numbered slots. The distribution is free, but throughout the game a boat may never carry more than 5 cannons, nor more than 5 pirates, on board. Unused boats and boards stay in the box.
- Keep the 5 dice within reach.
Example of a starting layout with 4 players: (illustration)
Course of the Game
The youngest pirate starts. Play continues clockwise. On his turn, a player performs 2 actions in the following order:
- For his 1st action, he may MOVE or ATTACK.
- For his 2nd action, he may ATTACK or REPAIR.
He may not combine these actions in any other way, nor change their order. He may not, for example, ATTACK first and then MOVE, nor MOVE twice. If a player cannot or does not want to perform an action, it is lost.
MOVE
(possible only for the 1st action)
A boat moves only on Sea spaces. The number of pirates aboard a boat indicates the maximum number of spaces it may move. This number changes during the game. If there are no pirates aboard, the player may still move his boat one space (it is carried by the current).
A Sea space may hold one or several boats. A boat may pass through a space occupied by another one.
The harbour counts as a Sea space. To leave and return to the harbour, a boat must use the passage between the reefs.
Unloading chests
If a player returns to the harbour, he may unload all the chests from his boat. He places them in front of him on the table. They are safe and he can no longer lose them.
ATTACK
(possible for the 1st and/or the 2nd action[s])
A boat may attack:
- either a lair, if it is on an adjacent space;
- or an enemy boat, if it is on the same space.
But in both cases, it may attack only if it has at least one pirate and one cannon.
Note: A boat in the harbour can neither attack nor be attacked.
If a player decides to attack a lair, he turns the hexagon over (if this was not already done during a previous attack). The lair then reveals its strength and its treasures: the player places a pirate or a cannon on each indicated slot, and the chests needed to reach the number of treasures written on the gold coin. The player can no longer change his mind and must attack.
If a boat is between two lairs, the player must choose which one he attacks. Only that hexagon is then turned over.
Shots against a lair or a boat
The attacker rolls as many dice as he has cannons aboard. The result of each die indicates the slot hit on the attacked boat or lair. The cannon or pirate located there is sent back to the reserve.
Note: Cannons on the unnumbered slots of some lairs can never be destroyed.
Return fire
If the attacked boat or lair still has at least 1 pirate and 1 cannon after the shot, it returns fire: the attacked player (or the neighbour seated to the attacker's left, for a lair) then rolls as many dice as he has cannons left. The result of each die indicates the slots of the attacking boat that are hit.
Stealing treasures
If, after an attack or a return fire, only one of the two opponents (attacker or attacked) still has at least 1 pirate and 1 cannon, he seizes all the chests of the other:
- If the winner is a lair, the chests of the defeated boat (if it has any) are all put with the others in the lair;
- If the winner is a boat, he places the treasures won aboard, on slot 6.
He must observe two rules:
a) As long as it carries treasures, the boat loses its slot 6. If this slot is occupied by a figure, the player moves it to another free slot. If they are all occupied, the player must put a figure of his choice back into the reserve.
b) The total number of treasures (not chests) aboard a boat is limited to 6. The winner may therefore be forced to leave a chest in the lair or on the enemy boat, and possibly to "make change" with it or with the reserve.
Note: Chests can never be destroyed during an attack (even if the opponent rolls a 6).
To seize the remaining chests, this player (or another) will have to attack the lair or the boat again.
Once a lair has been looted of all its chests, the hexagon is put back in the box, and any figures remaining go to the reserve.
If, after an attack and a return fire, both opponents still have at least 1 pirate and 1 cannon each, nothing happens. All chests stay where they are. The same applies if both opponents have no cannons or pirates left.
REPAIR
(possible only for the 2nd action)
- When a boat is in the harbour, the player may complete or change all 6 of its slots with cannons and pirates.
- If it is at sea, the player may complete or change 2 slots.
But there must never be more than 5 cannons, nor more than 5 pirates, aboard a boat.
End of the Game
The game stops immediately in either of these two situations:
-
All the chests in the lairs have been stolen. Each player adds up the treasures in front of him and those on his Boat board: the one with the highest total wins the game.
-
A player has the following number of treasures in front of him (those on boats do not count):
- 2 players: 16
- 3 players: 13
- 4 players: 11
- 5 players: 10
- 6 players: 9
This player wins the game.
Two Examples of Moves
Initial situation: White has already seized 3 treasures. He still has 1 pirate and 3 cannons. Blue has 3 pirates and 3 cannons.
Blue's turn: He chooses to use his 1st action to MOVE (1). As he has 3 pirates, he can move up to 3 spaces. He joins the white boat. For his 2nd action, he chooses to ATTACK (2).
He can attack the neighbouring lair or the white boat. He chooses to attack the white boat. As Blue has 3 cannons, he can attack with 3 dice. He rolls the results shown in the illustration (two of them 6, one 1).
White loses the cannon on slot "1" and puts it back in the reserve. White still has 2 cannons and 1 pirate.
He rolls 2 dice (results shown in the illustration): Blue loses his cannon on slot "2" and puts it back in the reserve.
White's turn: He uses his 1st action to ATTACK the lair (it was already attacked on a previous turn but not defeated).
White still has 2 cannons and rolls the results shown in the illustration.
The lair loses the pirate on slot "4". It can no longer defend itself. White seizes the chests. As he already has 3 treasures aboard, he must leave the small chest in the lair. To seize it, one of the players will have to attack the lair again.
White uses his 2nd action to REPAIR his boat. At sea, he can complete or change 2 slots. He takes 1 cannon and 1 pirate from the reserve and puts them on slots "1" and "4".