Sea of Plunder

Sea of Plunder Rulebook

Table of Contents

Set-up

Each player chooses a ship color and places their ship on the corresponding island location.
Separate the Goods cards into stacks of their different types and place them beside the board.
Give each player a random Player Power card, a Magical Compass token, one Goods card that corresponds to the island that they are starting on (this Goods card will go into their hand of cards), and a Player-Aid card that matches the color of their ship.
Place one pirate ship (black) on each of the locations noted on the board by a slightly thicker outlined square. (D4, J4, D10, J10)
Place a single Treasure Island token in the center of the board. (G7)
Place ALL remaining tokens (Treasure, Debt, Treasure Island, and Magical Compass tokens) in separate piles next to the board.
Create each player's starting hand of cards: a) Shuffle all the cards with the matching blue wave backs and deal out 5 cards to each player. If a player is dealt an Event card(s) (cards with a red header) or a Port Island card(s) (Rabakin, Grayseo, Izarea, and Morrosa), set these aside and continue dealing until each player has only Action and Map cards. These 5 cards plus their 1 Goods card is their starting hand. b) Place one random Map card from the deck face up onto the play/discard pile location found on the board. c) Take the cards that were set aside and shuffle them back into the deck. Place the deck face down on the board in the designated deck location.

Example pile: The Tales of More Treasure card and the Rabakin card would both be removed and replaced by new cards.

Choosing the Starting Player

The player with the best pirate impersonation goes first, then play proceeds in clockwise order.

Game Turn

Each player's turn has three phases (Draw, Play, and Discard phase). After the active player completes these three phases, the next player in clockwise motion becomes the active player.

1) Draw phase

Draw 2 cards. You may either draw both cards from the deck, or draw 1 card from the play/discard pile and 1 from the deck. You may never draw two cards from the play/discard pile. Event cards do not count towards your drawing total. Place any drawn Event cards aside and resolve them at the end of this phase (See Event Cards).

2) Play phase

Choose one card to "play" and lay it on top of the discard pile. There are 3 different types of cards that can be played during this phase. Note: You may not play a Goods card.

Map cards: If you play a Map card, move your ship according to that card's map.
Port Island cards: If you play a Port Island card, move your ship directly to the island mentioned on the card and collect its Good. (You do not come into contact with anything on the way).
Action cards: If you play an Action card, follow its directions. (See Action Cards.)

3) Discard phase

Discard one card. A player always receives the Discard Bonus no matter what card was played during the play phase. For your Discard Bonus, you must choose one pirate on the board to move according to your discarded card. What the pirate does depends on the card that was discarded. Note: You may not discard a Goods card.

Map Cards: If you discard a Map card, move a pirate according to that card's map.
Port Island Cards: If you discard a Port Island card, move a pirate directly to the island mentioned on the card (it does not come into contact with anything on the way). No player may collect goods from a Port Island that has a pirate on it.
Action Cards: If you discard an Action card, move a pirate one place in any direction orthogonally as noted by the image on the card that reads "If Discarded".

Event Cards

Event cards are cards that have a red header. If you ever draw an Event card, lay it to the side and complete your draw phase. An Event card does not count as one of your cards drawn or played, therefore, an additional card should be drawn to go into your hand so that by the end of your draw phase your hand has increased by two cards like normal. After your draw phase is complete, the Event card will immediately be resolved. Follow the directions on the Event card (See Card List). Once the Event card has been resolved, move it to the play/discard pile. The active player will then begin their play phase as normal. If multiple Event cards are drawn in the same draw phase, resolve the Event cards in the order that they appeared.

Action Cards

Action cards are cards that have a blue header. These cards go into your hand and can be used at strategic times to produce interesting combos. When "played", action cards can have a wide range of effects that can occur (See Card List). When "discarded", the Action card will now act as if it were a map card. The original action card text now has no effect.

Designer's Note: If you have an action card in your hand that you don't have plans of using for its main effect, it is recommended to use it on your discard action. This will help to bring new cards into your hand that you may find more useful in the moment.

Goods Cards

Collecting Goods

Goods can be collected from Port Islands or stolen from other players (See Possible Interactions). When you land on, or pass over a Port Island, you will then collect a Good of the Port Island's corresponding color and add it to your hand. Goods are a limited resource. There are only 4 Goods cards of each color in the game. Once they are gone, there is no way to get another until a player returns a Good to its original stack due to an interaction with a pirate (See The Pirates and Debt Tokens).

If multiple players land on a port island at the same time, they will all collect a Goods card as long as there are available resources. If there are not enough for all players, the goods are passed out in turn order starting with the active player.

Note: you may not collect a Good from an island where a pirate is located.

Use of Goods

Goods cards can be worth points at the end of the game (See Game End). They are also used as a bribe to keep the pirates from attacking your ship (See The Pirates and Debt Tokens). A Goods card may not be played or discarded. If a Goods card should ever leave play, it is added back to its stack of Goods next to the board.

Map Cards and Port Island Cards

Your ship's location starts in the square noted on the map card with the ship and moves according to the path on the card ending on the square that has the X. The card must be in the same orientation as the compass on the board unless the player also uses a Magical Compass (See Magical Compass Tokens).

Designer's Note: It is recommended that you orient your Map cards so that the compass on the cards matches the position of the compass on the board. If you are looking at the board upside down, then it can be easier to understand the direction of movement noted on the cards by holding the map cards in your hand upside down like the board.

Multi-option map cards: If the card has multiple X's then the player may choose which X they would like to travel to.

Multiple moving objects: If multiple objects are moving according to a card with multiple X's, then the active player must choose for each object, which X it should go to. The objects may travel to the same X or to different X's.

Example: Blue played Hurricane and therefore does not move. They move each of the other players' boats in the direction of their choosing due to the multi-option map that they discarded. They then moved one pirate for their Discard Bonus.

Port Island Cards: These are a specific type of movement card that allow a ship to move directly to the location mentioned on the card. The ship does not come into contact with anyone or anything on the way to the island. However, the ship will still interact normally with the island itself and also anything else that might already be there at that location.

Endless Seas

Sea of Plunder has an endless sea. If a ship's movement causes it to go off the edge of one side of the board, it will then pop up on the opposite side of the board.

Example: The orange player plays the following card and started on M2, they will end up on A13.

Magical Compass Tokens

A player may use a Magical Compass in combination with almost any map card. (Exception: Using a Magical Compass in combination with any multi-option map card will have no effect.) You may use a Magical Compass during your play phase, discard phase, or both. To use a Magical Compass, a player announces that they are going to use one of their Magical Compasses and then puts it back into the pile of tokens next to the board. They may then rotate their map card into any 90-degree orientation and can now move the ship accordingly. You may not rotate the card 45 degrees.

A single Magical Compass token can only affect one map card. If you use a Magical Compass token during your play phase and would like to rotate your discarded card as well, you would need to use a second Magical Compass.

Using a Magical Compass token when there are multiple targets

You may pick a new orientation of the map card for each target if you choose. One example of how this could occur, is if you played Hurricane and then used a Magical Compass token with your discarded Map card.

Possible Interactions

Interacting with Treasure Islands

If you pass over a Treasure Island or a Treasure Island passes over you: collect a treasure. (See Treasure Islands and Collecting Treasures)
If you land directly on a Treasure Island or a Treasure Island lands directly on you: collect a treasure and draw 1 card from the deck.

Other Players

If you pass over another player on your turn: draw 1 card from the deck.
If you land directly on another player on your turn: steal 1 card randomly from that opponent's hand.

If you ever come into contact with another player and it is not your turn, you do not receive any reward.

Pirates

If you come into contact with a pirate: return 1 Good of your choice from your hand to its original stack. If you have no Goods, gain 1 Debt. (See The Pirates and Debt Tokens)

Port Islands

If you come into contact with a Port Island: collect 1 Good of the corresponding color. This card will go to your hand.

Treasure Islands and Collecting Treasures

If at any point in time a player or pirate comes into contact with the Treasure Island, they collect a Treasure from the supply. The Island that they came into contact with will now be removed from the board and a new Treasure Island will be immediately placed out on the board. (See Placing new Treasure Islands)

If a player collects the Treasure, they will place the Treasure in front of themselves. (You may not hide the number of Treasures/tokens you own)
If a pirate collects the Treasure, place the Treasure in the pirate dish at the top right of the board.
If multiple players/pirates are on the same location when they come into contact with the island, each ship will receive their own Treasure.
If multiple players/pirates are not in the same location but would come into contact with the island, then the first player to make contact with the island is the only one to get the Treasure. (In the example, the purple player is the only player to collect a Treasure.)

Placing new Treasure Islands

Roll both Treasure Placement dice and place the new Treasure Island on the coordinates. If a pirate symbol is rolled then give the pirates a Treasure and reroll both dice.

Placed on a Pirate: If the new Treasure Island would be placed on top of a pirate, then instead of placing the island on the board, the pirates would collect a Treasure and you would reroll the placement dice to place a new Treasure Island.

Placed on a Player: If the new Treasure Island would be placed on top of a player, then instead of placing the island on the board, the player would draw a card from the deck. And you would reroll the Placement Dice to place a new Treasure Island. The player does not collect a Treasure in this case.

Placed on another Island's Location: If the new Treasure Island would be placed on another Treasure Island or Port Island, stack the new Treasure Island on the previous island. This location will now have both effects when someone comes into contact with it.

The Pirates and Debt Tokens

If at any point in time a player comes into contact with a pirate, they must then choose a Good card in their hand to bribe the pirates and stop them from attacking their ship. The Good that you bribe the pirates with is returned to its original stack. (Players must bribe the pirates if they have a Good.) If, and only if, the player does not have a Good to bribe with, the pirates will attack the player's ship. In order to pay for the repairs of the ship, the player will then receive a -1 Debt token. There are no ways to get rid of Debt.

Designer's Note: Remember that the pirates are able to collect Treasure Islands as well. If a player thinks that someone else will make it to a Treasure Island before they will, it is not uncommon for the player to use their discard action to direct a pirate into the Treasure Island before the opponent can make it there. However, also remember that in doing so this will bring the pirates closer to triggering game end. (See Game End)

Game End

The game end can be triggered in two ways: 1) when a player has collected 3 or more Treasures or 2) when the pirates have collected 6 or more Treasures. When the game end is triggered, the players finish the round and then calculate final scoring. (Note: All players will have the same number of turns.)

Final Scoring

Each Treasure is worth 3pts.
Each unused Magical Compass token you have is worth 1pt.
You receive negative points for the Debt tokens that you have collected throughout the game.
Depending on the number of different types of Goods cards in your hand, (1/2/3/4), they will score as (0/3/5/8pts). Goods may also be played in sets.

Example 1: A player has 1 blue Good, 2 green Goods, and 1 purple Good. They can choose to play them as two sets. 1 set as blue/green and the other as purple/green. Each set would score 3 points because they are made of two different types of Goods.

Example 2: If a player has 3 blue goods, these will score 0 points at the end of game because they are all the same type.

Tie Breaker #1: The player with the most Magical Compass tokens wins. Tie Breaker #2: The player with the most different types of Goods wins. Tie Breaker #3: The player with the most Treasures wins. Tie Breaker #4: Roll the numbered die. The Highest number wins.

Two Player Variant

Differences in Set up: Each player picks two colors to play as. Each player will have one Magical Compass, and five cards from the supply deck like normal, but instead of one Good, they will have one of each color that they are playing as. (A starting hand should have a total of 7 cards.)

Differences in Game Play: On their turn, players may choose to move either one of their ships, but not both. A player may use the same ship multiple turns in a row. If you ever come into contact with your other ship, nothing happens. All other game play is the same.

Random Setup Variant

First flip the board over to the side that has no islands on it. Then roll the Treasure Placement dice to randomly place each of the four Port Island tokens and the four pirates onto the board. Each player then places their ship on their own starting island like normal! There is no change to game play!

Combo Port Island Module

(This module can be added to any of the game set ups/variants.)

Roll the Treasure Placement dice to randomly place the Combo Port Island onto the map. When a player comes into contact with the Combo Port Island, they may choose any of the available goods to add to their hand. The Combo Port Island should then be removed from its location and randomly placed back onto the board in a new location by using the Treasure Placement dice.

A pirate symbol rolled during Combo Port Island placements does not give the pirates a Treasure (pirates only receive Treasures during Treasure Island placements).
A player may not use a Port Island card to travel directly to the Combo Port Island.
Pirates on the Combo Port Island stop players from collecting Goods from it just like any other Port Island.

Card List

Event Cards

Cargo Adrift: Each player draws one card randomly from the hand of the person on their right. Cards should be drawn simultaneously. This means that the farthest any card can move around the table is one person away from where it started.

Magical Compass: Each player receives a Magical Compass token. Give each player one Magical Compass token from the pile on the table.

Parting Storms: All players draw a card. Players may not pick up a card from the play/discard pile.

Tales of More Treasure: Add another Treasure Island to the board. Roll the Treasure Placement dice and add a new Treasure Island to the board. If there are already three Treasure Islands on the board, ignore this card's effect.

Action Cards

Broken Compass: Other players with (Choose one: equal to or more / equal to or fewer) cards than you receive a Debt. This is referring to the number of cards, including Goods, that you have in your hand after you play this but before you discard. Other players do not have to reveal the number of cards in their hand until you make your choice of equal to or more / equal to or fewer.

Cursed Treasure: Other players with equal to or more Treasures than you receive a Debt. If you currently have no Treasures, all other players would receive a Debt.

Hurricane: Move all other players according to your discard. Hurricane moves all other players. It does not move you or the pirates. After Hurricane's effect is resolved, you then receive your Discard Bonus where you will choose one pirate to move according to the discarded card. (If another player and a pirate share the same location at the beginning of a turn when hurricane is played, due to Hurricane's and the Discard Bonus's effects occurring at different times, this will almost always lead to a new interaction occurring between player and pirate again.)

Resupply: Draw 3 cards and add them to your hand. Then put 1 non-Good card from your hand on the bottom of the deck.

So Close Yet So Far: Move up to two Treasure Islands according to your discard. When using this card, the Treasure Islands that are moving will move as if they were ships. When looking at the movement card the island starts in the ship's location and is going to move to the X's position. The player may choose to move only one Treasure Island. After So Close Yet So Far's effect is resolved the active player then receives their Discard Bonus where they will choose one pirate to move according to the discarded card.

Trouble at Sea: Move all pirates according to your discard. This card moves all the pirates at the same time. After all the pirates have been moved, the active player then receives their Discard Bonus where they will choose one pirate to move again according to the discarded card.

Uncharted Waters: Draw one card, then play two more. Discard as normal. After playing this card, the player draws another card and then plays two additional cards. After these plays, the player then discards as normal. At the end of that player's turn they will have one less card in their hand than what they had started with, unless they have gained a card by another means.

Player Power Cards

The Gambler: At the end of the game, your Debt value is cut in half (rounded down). If you end the game with -7 Debt, then it will score as -3.

Lucky Jill/Jack: At the end of your turn, if your boat has not moved, you may move it one space in any orthogonal direction, twice (two movement icons). You may choose to move your boat in different directions for each of the movements.

The Navigator: Whenever you use a Magical Compass token, you may move your boat one space in any orthogonal direction. The Navigator's bonus movement always occurs after the original action that triggered it is complete. You may choose to use a Magical Compass token without changing the original orientation of the map card played (See Magical Compass Tokens). The Navigator's bonus movement may not be used to move a pirate.

Odd Jane/Jon: Start the game with an extra card and Magical Compass. The extra card may not be an Event card or a Port Island card (Rabakin, Grayseo, Izarea, and Morrosa).

The Scallywag: You are the only player to start the game with a Good. In a two-player game, the other player may keep one of their two initial Goods.

The Smuggler: At the end of the game, you may pick an available Good of your choice and add it to your hand.

The Strategist: Any time you come into contact with a pirate, if you roll an 8-13 you do not suffer any penalties. The pirates do not gain Treasure for any pirate symbol rolled.

The Thief: Any time you come into contact with another player, steal a card from their hand. You will never draw from the deck during interactions with other players.

FAQ

Q: What happens if I am in the same square as a pirate, port city, another player, etc... at the start of my turn but do not move by the end of it. Does the interaction reoccur? A: No. Interactions only occur when you move into contact with an object. Example: If you are on the Port Island of Rabakin with another player and you play Broken Compass, nothing would move. Therefore, it would not trigger any interactions. However, If you had played the Rabakin Port Island Card, then you would be technically moving to the island again, even though you have not changed location. This would cause both the Port Island and other player interactions to trigger again.

Q: A player uses a Magical Compass to rotate their discarded map card 90-degrees and then the next player picks up the card from the play/discard pile during their draw phase. Is the map card now permanently rotated 90-degrees? A: No when the second player picks up the card, it is back to being a regular card. If the player wants to play it rotated 90-degrees, they need to use a Magical Compass token themself.

Q: In what order are actions resolved when an Action card is based on a discard. A: You will always resolve the text effect of the action card first and then resolve the Discard Bonus.