Pirates Constructible Strategy Game

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Pirates Constructible Strategy Game
Players 2–?
Age range 8 and up
Setup time 10 minutes
Playing time 30–180 minutes
Random chance Considerable
Skills required Strategy, Dice rolling, Collecting
Oversized Pirates models at Gen Con Indy 2007
Oversized Pirates models at Gen Con Indy 2007

The Pirates Constructible Strategy Game is a tabletop game manufactured by WizKids, Inc., with aspects of both miniatures and collectible card genres. Pirates of the Spanish Main (the initial release of the Pirates line) is the world's first "constructible strategy game," referring to the mechanics of creating game pieces from components that punch out of styrene cards. The game was created by Jordan Weisman and designed by Mike Mulvihill, Ethan Pasternack, James Ernest, and Mike Selinker. Pirates of the Spanish Main refers specifically to the first release in the series, and generically to the game as a whole (or the game's "universe") including all of the expansions. There is also an online computer game based on Pirates of the Spanish Main called Pirates CSG Online

The game won the Origins Vanguard Award 2005.

Contents

[edit] Game Description

The goal of Pirates is to either collect more gold than your opponents or to sink all their ships. The game's pieces include ships, forts, sea monsters, crew, islands and other terrain markers, and gold or treasure tokens.

One of the features that makes Pirates innovative is the 'constructible' element of the game; each game piece (except for terrain) is created by popping out the small polystyrene pieces from placeholder cards. Many game pieces, such as ships, forts, and sea monsters, are "constructed" from several smaller components which often come on more than one card. As the ship, fort or sea monster is damaged by enemies during the course of game play, pieces of it are removed to record how much damage it has sustained, giving the game piece itself the appearance of slowly being destroyed. The elements removed from the piece - for example, a ship's masts - can no longer be used in the game unless another game element allows it to be replaced later.

Each game piece has a point value that is related to its overall power. The more powerful a piece, the higher its point value. Players assemble fleets of ships, monsters, forts, and crew based an agreed-upon point total, similar to the manner in which many miniature wargames are played. This helps balance each player's fleet, and means that the construction of a fleet can be as strategically important as the gameplay itself.

The action takes place on a tabletop or similar flat surface rather than a pre-set game board; before play begins, players take turns populating the play area with various pieces of terrain like islands, fog banks, and sargasso seas. Face-down gold or treasure tokens are then placed on each island. After creating the play area, players then place their fleets and gameplay begins.

Players take turns moving their ships around the play area, landing on islands and exploring them, which reveals the value of the gold and treasure tokens on that island. Ships then collect treasure and attempts to return it to their home islands before their opponents. Since the game's victory conditions include both gold collection and the destruction of all enemy fleets, there are several different strategies that can lead to victory: trying to destroy an opponent before he or she can gather gold; building a fast and strong enough fleet to avoid being destroyed; or, most common, a mix of both.

The game is packaged so that one person may play the game with only one game pack, but several more packs are required to play using the full rules. Additionally, the game is far more enjoyable and balanced when each player has a larger selection of game pieces from which to choose when assembling their fleets.

[edit] Game configurations

Pirates is sold in "game packs," foil-wrapped packs of styrene cards and other game components roughly the same size as a pack of baseball cards or trading card game cards. Each pack of the Pirates game includes a combination of two constructible game pieces: either ship, fort, or sea monster. These game pieces are collectible, and come in four levels of rarity, designated by a color-coded triangle on each card's corner: Common, Uncommon, Rare, or Super Rare. Unlike most trading card Games, due to the limited number of game pieces in each pack, some packs do not contain Rare or Super Rare game pieces. Each pack also contains an island piece made of cardboard (with the reverse side in later sets being a piece of terrain such as a fog bank or reef), a set of rules, a crew/treasure card (which may include gold pieces for use in the game), and a minuscule die. The crew can be Treasure/Generic, Common, Uncommon, Rare, or Super Rare as well. Each pack generally costs $4 US.

WizKids released other game configurations as well, mostly into mass market channels such as Toys "R" Us, Target and Wal-Mart. These included a Pirates Tin, a small tin box decorated with Pirates artwork which contained three Pirates of the Spanish Main game packs and one Pirates of the Revolution game pack (released in 2005); a Pirates of the Revolution "Holiday Box" which contained seven total ships (including four exclusive ships: Franklin, Concord, Red Curse, and Hangman's Noose), a larger die, crew, gold, and islands (released in 2005); and a Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse Collector's Box which contained seven total ships (including four exclusive ships: Boneyard, Fool's Gold, Electric Eel, and Drowned Man), a larger die, crew, gold, and islands (released in 2006).

On October 25, 2006, WizKids released Pirates: Quest For Davy Jones' Gold, a non-collectible board game version of the Pirates game that uses gameplay elements and game pieces from the constructible strategy game, but is designed to be simplified, self-contained and sold in the board game section of retail stores.

In April 2007, during the release of the new set Pirates at Ocean's Edge, Wizkids released new megapacks, containing 4 ships or monsters, a megacard that could be a giant sea dragon or catamaran or windcatcher, two dice, and several terrain. Also released were new SE boxes, containing one of four ships: Jape, HMS Burma, USS Seattle, and Last Hope. They contain 6 ships/monsters, and a large die. Also, mega tins were released, containing 4 packs of Ocean's Edge, and a special plastic wrapped pack containing junk ships captured by one of the 6 nations in Ocean's Edge, as well as a crew card.

[edit] Factions

Ships, forts, sea monsters and crew are members of various factions. The factions exist largely for fictional purposes, but there are certain game mechanics that use the factions as well. There are ten factions in Pirates:

  • The Pirates, who include Captain/"Emperor" Blackheart, Jack Hawkins, the Calico Cat, and others.
  • The English, representing England and later the British Empire.
  • The Spanish, representing Spain and its empire in the new world. With each subsequent expansion, the fiction refers to Spain's waning power, mirroring their empire's decline in the new world.
  • The French, introduced in Pirates of the Crimson Coast, representing first the French empire and then the Napoleonic empire in later expansions.
  • The Americans, introduced in Pirates of the Revolution, who represent the American colonies during and after the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and later the American Civil War. Various American historical figures have appeared in the game, including John Paul Jones.
  • The Barbary Corsairs, introduced in Pirates of the Barbary Coast, who represent the pirates that operated in the Mediterranean Sea and fought the United States in the Wars with Tripoli.
  • The Jade Rebellion, a fictional organization representing a confederation of pirate-revolutionaries who oppose European and American imperialism in the South China Sea, introduced in Pirates of the South China Seas.
  • The Cursed, a label that encompasses various supernatural characters and ships. The Cursed faction also includes sea monsters.
  • The Mercenaries, introduced in Pirates of the Mysterious Islands, a collection of steampunk-like scientists, revolutionaries and ships, including submarines.
  • The Vikings, introduced in Pirates of the Frozen North. These are not historical Vikings, but Norse sailors who use Viking mythology, symbols and names for their ships

[edit] Releases

[edit] Pirates of the Spanish Main

Pirates of the Spanish Main was the first release, and hit stores on July 28, 2004. It quickly sold out in many places, resulting in a second "limited" print run which featured noticeably higher quality printing than the first print run (the first run cards appear extremely 'faded'). The third print run (Unlimited) changed the card numbering scheme to the more familiar 3-digit system used in Crimson Coast. This set included:

[edit] Expansions

Pirates of the Crimson Coast

Main Article: Pirates of the Crimson Coast

Released on March 2, 2005. The expansion introduced several new elements to the game:

Pirates of the Spanish Main Unlimited

Released on March 15, 2005. The expansion was a reprint of the cards from the original Pirates of the Spanish Main with the exception of changing the numbering on the cards to conform with the Pirates of the Crimson Coast numbering and rarity colors. A checklist of the cards was also added. In Europe, the expansion removed the island cards and in their place issued new rules for ship movement and a playmat.

Pirates of the Revolution

Main Article: Pirates of the Revolution Released in June 2005.

The expansion introduced several new elements to the game.

  • Added American faction
  • Reinforced previous factions
  • Events
  • Three new ship types: Galley, Blockade Runner, and 4 masted Schooner
  • New ability, Marine
  • New named and generic crew for all five factions
  • New generic crew
  • New special treasures

Pirates of the Barbary Coast

Main Article: Pirates of the Barbary Coast Released on October 26, 2005.

The expansion introduced several new elements to the game.

  • Added the Barbary Corsair faction
  • Added the Jade Rebellion faction
  • Added 38 Barbary Corsair Ships
  • Added 7 new English Ships
  • Added 7 new Spanish Ships
  • Added 7 new French Ships
  • Added 7 new American Ships
  • Added 2 new Jade Rebellion Ships
  • Added numerous named crew for Corsair, English, Spanish, French and American factions
  • New generic crew
    • Smokepot Specialist
  • New special treasures

Pirates of the South China Seas

Main Article: Pirates of the South China Seas Released on February 22, 2006

Pirates of the South China Seas introduced new units from the Jade Rebellion, a faction representing China and Korea.

  • Added keywords Fear, Junk, and Turtle Ship
  • Added Cursed faction
  • Added 26 Jade Rebellion Ships
  • Added 12 American Ships
  • Added 12 French Ships
  • Added 0 Barbary Corsair Ships
  • Added 12 Spanish Ships
  • Added 13 English Ships
  • Added 13 Pirate Ships
  • 4 Cursed faction members (two ships and two treasures)
  • Generic treasure ranging in value from 1 to 5
  • New named and generic crew for each faction.
  • Added 6 new Events (Hidden Cove, Favor of the Gods, Rolling Fog, False Tresure, Duel, Cursed Zone)
  • Introduced 6-masted and 10-masted ships

Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse

Main article: Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse Released on May 31, 2006.

  • Added Sea Monsters.
  • Added 11 American Ships
  • Added 12 French Ships
  • Added 12 Spanish Ships
  • Added 13 English Ships
  • Added 13 Pirate Ships
  • Added 31 Cursed Ships

Pirates of the Mysterious Islands

Main article: Pirates of the Mysterious Islands Originally announced for release in October 31, 2006. Released on November 15, 2006.

  • Added Mercenaries.
  • Added Nautilus Ships ("2" Masted and "3" Masted)
  • Added 18 Mercenary Ships
  • Added 11 Pirate Ships
  • Added 11 English Ships
  • Added 11 Spanish Ships
  • Added 11 French Ships
  • Added 10 American Ships
  • Added Mysterious Islands

Pirates of the Frozen North

Main article: Pirates of the Frozen North Released on February 14 2007.

  • Added Vikings
  • Added Icebergs
  • Added Icebreakers
  • Added Longships
  • Added 19 Viking Ships
  • Added 10 Pirate Ships
  • Added 10 English Ships
  • Added 10 Spanish Ships
  • Added 9 French Ships
  • Added 10 American Ships
  • Added 2 Cursed Ships
  • Added numbered Islands

Pirates at Ocean’s Edge

Main article: Pirates at Ocean's Edge Released on April 18, 2007.

  • Added Whirlpools
  • Added Sea Dragons
  • Added New Ship Types (Windcatcher, Catamaran)
  • Added "Titans" (Giant Crabs)
  • Added 18 Cursed Ships
  • Added 20 Pirate Ships
  • Added 13 English Ships
  • Added 12 Spanish Ships
  • Added 12 French Ships
  • Added 13 American Ships

Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModels

Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModels Released on November 6, 2007.

  • Added Crew from the three Pirates of the Caribbean movies
  • Added Ships from all three "Pirates" movies plus some other Disney pirate ships
  • Added Krakens (like an oversized version of the 5-segmented Seamonster)
  • Added Parley and Eternal Keywords

Rise of the Fiends Main article: Rise of the Fiends Released January 30, 2008.

  • Added Flotilla Towers
  • Added Loyal and Hostile Keywords
  • Added new unique treasures
  • Added Scorpion ships
  • Changed Kraken keyword to Octupus

Fire and Steel Main article: Fire and Steel Released April 9, 2008.

  • Added 4 Bombardiers
  • Added 5 Switchblades
  • Added more Collectible Stories

Savage Shores Is scheduled to be released in September 2008.

  • Will add new crew type
  • Will add new terrain type
  • Will add one new type of "action ship"(scorpion, bombardier, switchblade)
  • May add a new Island type or bring back Islands with effects, as with the Mysterious Islands set.

[edit] Fiction

The Pirates Constructible Strategy Game and its expansions feature flavor text on the styrene cards that hold each ship, fort, and unique crew game pieces. The flavor text forms a roughly connected story that centers on several recurring characters: Jack Hawkins, the cursed pirate El Fantasma, the femme fatale known as the Calico Cat, and others. Although the Pirates expansions span several hundred years (Admiral Zheng He sailed in the 1300s, and Pirates of the Mysterious Islands is set roughly in the Victorian age), the recurring characters never seem to age, but they do develop. As such, continuity in the Pirates universe is difficult to establish. Many pieces of flavor text in later expansions reference events, ships, or characters in previous expansions, so there is a coherent - if factually and historically unlikely - plot that continues to develop with each new release.

Jack Hawkins is a typical roguish pirate type, similar to Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. He can often be found stealing ships and gambling them away. El Fantasma's ghostly status was left ambiguous in Pirates of the Spanish Main; in later expansions, he received his own ghost ship and became a member of the Cursed faction, cementing his role as an actual undead pirate. The Calico Cat is a strong female character who provides a dramatic balance to Jack Hawkins; she is often depicted as a plucky adventurer who uses both brains and brawn to further some unknown quest for revenge. The Cat also mentors a girl by the name of Bonny Peel . It has been hinted that "the Cat" has a personal grudge against Hawkins, and is rumored to be the missing Gunn in the Pirate stories.

Several additional recurring characters appear in Pirates fiction, including Blackheart, a pirate similar to the historical Blackbeard; the Crimson Angel, another mysterious female pirate; and even non-pirates such as Charles Southwyn, a weaponmaster who helped create several ships in the Pirates of the Spanish Main release. Other notable characters include: Capitan Alarico Castro, a Moor who, despite a grudge against Spain, becomes an Admiral ; Davy Jones, captain of the cursed ship the Flying Dutchman; Genny Gallows whose father was killed by the English; and many others.

In addition to the flavor text on styrene cards, several pieces of fiction collectively called Tales of the Spanish Main by Noah Dudley and Nancy Berman appeared on WizKids' website before and after the launch of Pirates of the Spanish Main in 2004.

While some ships are historical and contain accurate historical descriptions of real events, others are either original fiction, fiction in the public domain (the Pequod from Moby-Dick), mythological creatures, or are homages to fictional ships or characters. For example, some of the Sea Monsters in the Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse expansion are obvious homages to creatures from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.

[edit] References and Homages in Pirates Fiction

A good deal of Pirates flavor text contains references to historical events or people, other fictional characters or events, or are simply references to the game's writers and designers. Pirates fiction also contains homages to other pirate fiction. Some ship names are references to other games created by Jordan Weisman. The Pandora (from Pirates of the Spanish Main) is a reference to the zeppelin of the same name owned by Nathan Zachary, the main character in Weisman's Crimson Skies game. The Black Swan is a reference to a character from Crimson Skies, and also to the Black Pearl in Pirates of the Caribbean.

A (currently incomplete) list of references and homages is below.

Pirates of the Spanish Main

  • Revenge (PP376/PS007) - Homage to the Dread Pirate Roberts' ship Revenge in The Princess Bride or Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge.
  • Scrye the Explorer (PP375) - Reference to Scrye magazine, in which the promotional piece appeared as an insert.
  • Pandora (PS006) - Reference to the zeppelin of the same name from the Crimson Skies universe, also created by Weisman, along with the legend of "Pandora's Box".
  • Tsuro (PP009) - Reference to WizKid's board game Tsuro
  • "Jack Hawkins" - Reference to PotC's Jack Sparrow (in name and looks) and Jim Hawkins (Jim and Jack are interchangeable names) who was once in the British navy and turned to piracy.
  • "sea monkey"- reference to the Lucasarts adventure game Secret of Monkey Island the flavor text tells the story of it from the game.

[edit] Cross-Promotional Game Pieces

  • 2004 - Scrye the Explorer - Exclusive Explorer crew packed in the Sept. 2004 Scrye magazine (issue 75) along with the ship Bloody Throne. Collector's number PP375
  • 2004 - The Bloody Throne - Exclusive 3-masted ship packed in the Sept. 2004 Scrye magazine (issue 75) with the crew card Scrye the Explorer. Collector's Number PP375 1/2 & PP375 2/2.
  • 2006 - Gale Force Nine - A 4-masted Pirate ship LE, free by mail with proof-of-purchase when you buy either one of two island terrain sets from the G49 game company.
  • 2006 - "Donald Duck & Co. #26" (Kalle Anka) comic magazine distributed only in Scandinavia on 7/20/06 contained 2 ships (which were identical to their English releases), a paper slip of coins to cut out, rules, and two island variants (both islands are labelled "home").
  • 2007 - USS Denver - 4-masted American ship available with a $25.00 purchase from the cross-promoted Sony Online Entertainment online version of this game.

[edit] Convention-Exclusive Game Pieces

  • 2004 - 4-masted Pirate ship (Revenge) handed out free to attendees of the Origins 2004 game convention. The ship's card contains promotional text advertising the game rather than flavor text. Collector's Number PP376.
  • 2005 - Convention Megapack - Added 2 new American Ships (Providence and Destiny) and an American Helmsman.
  • 2006 - 10-Masted Jade Rebellion Treasure Ship & Crew (The Baochuan and Admiral Zheng He).
  • 2007 - Two Cursed nautilus-style submarines, the Locker (3-Masted) and the Pyre (2-Masted), Edward Low (Crew) and Gem of Hades (Unique Treasure).
  • 2008 - Four Pirate ships (Royal Rover, Queen Anne's Revenge, Amity, Minerva) and four Pirate crew (Bartholomew Roberts, Blackbeard, Thomas Tew & Christopher Moody).

[edit] Value Box and Redemption Game Pieces

  • 2005 - Franklin, Concord, Red Curse, and Hangman's Noose - Exclusive ships from Pirates of the Revolution value boxes. These only exist in the "UL" (Unlimited) version.
  • 2005 - 4-masted Pirates of the North Pole Ship & Crew (The Sleigh & Captain Whitebeard) - Distributed to WizKids employees, envoys, registered retail venues and business associates as a Holiday present. Also given away in a drawing for members of WizKids online Pirates community. The Sleigh and Captain Whitebeard are only usable on Christmas Eve each year.
  • 2006 - Boneyard, Fool's Gold, Electric Eel, and Drowned Man - Exclusive ships from Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse value boxes. Broken Key, Black Diamond, Nightmare and HMS Richard available in the "Special Edition" second wave of value box sets for DJC, released in October 2006.
  • 2006 - 10-masted Cursed Treasure Ship (Guichuan) - A customer loyalty promotional piece for customers who sent twelve proofs of purchase from Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse to WizKids along with a redemption certificate (available on the WizKids website).
  • 2006 - Four Mysterious Islands Value Boxes containing prebuilt ships (Tasmanian Devil, Revolution, Empty Sky, Independence).
  • 2006 - "Message In A Bottle" promo pack. 2 submarines (USS Mercury, Slipstream), crew (Thane Hartless) and the Unique Treasure Abandoned Crew - As with the Guichuan, a customer loyalty promotional piece for the Pirates of the Mysterious Islands set in return for proof-of-purchase for four boosters, four booster wrappers and one each of the four special messages (paper slips) from the boosters.
  • 2007 - Four-masted Pirate ship (Obago) - a free giveaway ship sent to retailers to hand out as they saw fit.
  • 2007 - "Nordic Raiders" promo pack with 2 longships (Polaris and Serpent's Fang) & a Unique Treasure Odin's Revenge. Available after sending in 'four lost pieces' of armory found on crew/treasure cards, four wrappers, receipt of purchase, and postage.
  • 2007 - 10-masted Pirate Treasure Ship (Zeus) - Same requirements as the Guichuan (12 "regular" wrappers or 12 "mega-pack" wrappers or a combination of both, alongside a coupon from the site and proof-of-purchase).
  • 2007 - Four Pirates of the Caribbean Value Boxes containing prebuilt ships (HMS Diamond, HMS Phoenix, Neptune, Sea Nymph).
  • 2008 - 5-masted Cursed Ship (Specter) - originally customers had to mail in the Specter story (a paper insert) from a pack, but WizKids changed this to any story from this set, plus a receipt & postage.
  • 2008 - Four Rise of the Fiends Value Boxes containing prebuilt ships (HMS Forge, Rusty Harpoon, Hades' Realm, Isabela).
  • 2008 - Four Fire & Steel Value Boxes containing prebuilt ships (HMS Resolution, Nox, Lucky Seven, Crocodile).
  • 2008 - Cursed Scorpion Ship (Chum Maker) - customers had to mail in the Chum Maker story (a paper insert) from a pack plus a receipt, wrapper and postage.

[edit] Other Collectible Elements, Tins and Odd Releases

  • 2004 - Set of eight mini-busts of Pirates of the Spanish Main characters, including -
    • Calico Cat PP388
    • Captain Blackheart PP389
    • Jack Hawkins PP390
    • Christopher Myngs PP391
    • El Fantasma PP392
    • Diana Doone PP393
    • Luys de Alva PP394
    • Skyme the Monkey PP395
  • 2004 - Several one-off prizes were created for the Pirates Gold auction event at GenCon 2004, including a wooden replica period ship with a Pirates of the Spanish Main plaque, several constructed game pieces signed by Jordan Weisman and Mike Mulvilhill and mounted in shadowboxes, pirate items such as a replica cutlass, and more. Most of these pieces had a small gold sticker "seal of authenticity" from WizKids.
  • 2005 - Six different blue Pirates of the Revolution tins, sold in mass market retail outlets such Wal-Mart (contained no unique new pieces).
  • 2006 - Gale Force Nine licensed items for use in the game, including a special vinyl map, a booty finder pack (containing tokens and a range tool), and two different 3-D island sets.
  • 2006 - UK Tins containing one pack of each of the first five releases available at Toys "R" Us (contained no unique new pieces despite WizKids' announcement that they would).
  • 2007 - Ocean's Edge "Megapacks" containing 1 of 6 random "megacards" (Skipping Stone, HMS Hermes, Shal-Bala, Angelica, Ghost Walker, Mystic).
  • 2007 - Six different "Ocean's Edge" tins featuring OE packs and multiple faction specific, tin-exclusive cards (card #'s 143-162) released to various retailers (two designs of which were exclusive to Target and WalMart stores only, and contained factions not found in the other tins).
  • 2007 - "Pirates Plunder Pack" box containing various packs, a new vinyl map, and an exclusive glow-in-the-dark 10 masted Cursed junk (Delusion).
  • 2008 - Rise of the Fiend "Stories", 1 of 10 possible paper inserts in booster packs telling crew and ship stories. Mispacking issues made these stories very hard to collect as they do not appear in every pack as advertised.
  • 2008 - Fire & Steel "stories", 1 of 10 possible paper inserts which appear randomly in every booster pack.
  • 2008 - A "treasure chest" shaped tin containing various packs and 1 of 4 unique-to-tin Rise of the Fiends megacards (USS Mercury, Terrox, Polaris, Grinder).
  • Expected July 2008 - a "Ship In A Bottle" box containing 1 of 4 new prebuilt ships (unnamed so far), three Fire and Steel Packs, two Revolution Packs, and one Ocean's Edge Pack.
  • Expected Sept./Late 2008 - an "Adventure Book" box including new ships, crew and treasures (a Pirate fleet with Charming Mary, the Mercy, and the Pirate Sean 'Cannonball' Gallows, and a Cursed fleet including the Demon's Heart, the Wraith, and crew El Fantasma, Unique treasures 'Gem Shards from the Eye of the Leviathan)', a new Map with 6 preprinted islands on it, and 4 "fiction pieces" with scenarios.

[edit] External links

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Pirates of the Spanish Main
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