| Players | 2–9 |
|---|---|
| Age range | 8 and up |
| Setup time | Depends on how much time it takes to build ships the first time, otherwise 10 minutes |
| Playing time | 30–180 minutes |
| Random chance | Considerable |
| Skill(s) required | Strategy, Dice rolling, Collecting |
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[1] and designed by Mike Mulvihill, Ethan Pasternack, James Ernest, and Mike Selinker. It was released in early July 2004.[1] 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 was also an online computer game based on Pirates of the Spanish Main called Pirates CSG Online, however Sony Online Entertainment ended the service on 1/31/2011.
The game won the Origins Vanguard Award 2005.
On November 10, 2008, Topps announced the closure of Wizkids.
On September 14, 2009, collectible maker NECA announced the purchase of the Wizkids name and properties from Topps, specifically including the Pirates line. No official word has been given on the return of Pirates, but unofficial information from insiders indicates it is possible we will see a return sometime in 2012 - though it would probably include changes to the core game (such as new rules or Clix style game pieces). Several third-party companies have picked up second-hand packages for resale at Target stores.
The general goal of Pirates is to collect more gold than your opponents,[1] or with variants, to achieve a given objective or destroy all enemy ships (numerous scenarios written by WizKids and others have vastly extended the playability of the game). The game's pieces include ships, forts, sea monsters, crew, islands and other terrain markers, events, gold and other treasure tokens.
An innovative feature of Pirates 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 and assembling them. 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 attempt 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.
The recommended "sweet spot" for playability appears to be 3-5 players on a 3x3 foot 'ocean'.
The game is primarily sold in "game packs", foil-wrapped packs of randomized styrene cards and other game components roughly the same size as a pack of baseball cards or other trading card game packs such as Magic: The Gathering. Each pack includes a randomized combination of two constructible game pieces: ships (including forts and sea monsters), and various crew, treasure and terrain. These game pieces are numbered and collectible, and come in multiple levels of rarity designated by a color-coded triangle on each card's corner - the most common rarities for standard booster pack items are : Common (white for generic crew, red for ships), Uncommon (silver-grey), Rare (yellow), or Super Rare (black). Other rarity designations for non-pack ships include "Special Edition" (green), a one-off Promo (purple), and "Limited Edition" (copper) for tournament prize ships.
Unlike most trading card games, due to the limited number of game pieces in each pack, some packs do not contain any Rare or Super Rare game pieces, or may contain multiple Rares. Any given set's Super-Rares will always come all together in the same pack. Each pack also contains a cardboard island (the reverse side in later sets has printed terrain such as a fog bank, sargasso sea, or reef), a checklist and set of rules, a crew/treasure card (which may include gold pieces for use in the game), and a mini-die. 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 include but are not limited to:
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.
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.
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'). This set was printed in a number of languages: English, German, French and Spanish. The only other sets printed in a foreign language (German) were Crimson Coast, Revolution, Davy Jones' Curse, Mysterious Islands, and Ocean's Edge.
The set introduced the Pirate, English, and Spanish factions, with ships for each faction ranging in size from one to five masts. Twelve named crew members, along with the generic crew of Captain, Helmsman, Musketeer, Shipwright, Oarsman, Cannoneer, and Explorer were also present for each faction. A number of generic treasure, in the form of gold pieces ranging in value from 1 to 7, as well as nine pieces of named unique treasure were included, along with an assortment of cardboard islands with blank backs.
Main Article: Pirates of the Crimson Coast
The first expansion was released on March 2, 2005, and added the French faction, as well as the unit type of Forts, which were placed on islands to defend them. It expanded the rules with the Ghost Ship and Schooner ship types; the Broadsides Attack, Limit, and Ransom keywords; and two new generic crew types, the Stinkpot and Chainshot Specialists. Fog Banks, Reefs, and Sargasso Seas were added to the back of the islands as special terrain. The set also previewed the forthcoming American faction with the ship Roanoke.
This edition was released on March 15, 2005, as a second reprint of the cards from the original Pirates of the Spanish Main. The numbering scheme on the cards was updated 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.
Main Article: Pirates of the Revolution
Released in June 2005, Revolution added the new American faction, as well as special Event cards (Divers, Raft, Mermaids, Foul Winds and Becalmed). In addition, the Marine keyword and Galley ship type debuted, along with the new generic crew Firepot Specialist.
Main Article: Pirates of the Barbary Coast
Released on October 26, 2005, this set added the Barbary Corsair faction, and a new generic crew type, the Smokepot Specialist. Four super-rare cards (two ships and two crew) previewed the forthcoming Jade Rebellion faction. It is the only set to lack the Pirate faction.
Main Article: Pirates of the South China Seas
This expansion was released on February 22, 2006, and added the Jade Rebellion's Junk and Turtle Ship types, as well as the Fear keyword and game mechanic. Six new Events (Hidden Cove, Favor of the Gods, Rolling Fog, False Treasure, Duel, Cursed Zone) were included, as well as the first ever 6-masted ships. The super-rares for this set previewed the new Cursed faction (two ships and two unique treasures). WizKids offered a mail-in promotion for the first 10-master, a junk treasure ship called the Baochuan, and her captain Admiral Zheng He.
Main article: Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse
Davy Jones' Curse was released on May 31, 2006, featuring the new Cursed faction, as well as the Sea Monster unit type, which acted as ship but could not carry crew. A mail-in promotion offered a 10-masted Cursed ship, the Guichuan, and her captain Headhunter.
Main article: Pirates of the Mysterious Islands
Released on November 15, 2006, Mysterious Islands added the new Mercenary faction, along with Jules Verne inspired Nautilus-style submarines. The titular "Mysterious Islands" were added as special islands with effects decided by dice rolls.
Main article: Pirates of the Frozen North
Frozen North, released on February 14, 2007, added the Norse Vikings faction and the Iceberg terrain type, as well as the Icebreaker and Longship ship types. Islands were numbered for the first time in this set. A mail-in promotion offered the "Nordic Raiders Pack" with the Serpent's Fang and Polaris ships and the Odin's Revenge unique treasure.
Main article: Pirates at Ocean's Edge
Released on April 18, 2007, Ocean's Edge added Whirlpools as a terrain type, Windcatchers and Catamarans as new ship types, and Sea Dragons and Titans (giant crabs) as new monster types. A 10-masted ship called the Zeus and her captain Emperor Blackheart were available as a mail-in promotion.
Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModels
This expansion was released on November 6, 2007, featuring crew and ships from the three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, plus some other Disney pirate ships. The new keywords Parley and Eternal were included from the films, along with the new unit type Kraken (an oversized version of the 5-segmented Sea Monster) with considerably different effects.
Main article: Rise of the Fiends
Released January 30, 2008, Fiends added the Flotilla ship type, and an action ship called Scorpion. The Loyal and Hostile keywords were added, and the Kraken keyword changed to Octopus. In addition to the standard checklist and rules sheet, numbered collectible stories were also included in the booster packs; the mail-in offer was for the Specter, which was a glow-in-the-dark ship. The Octopus Ochobrazo was set to appear in this release, but was pulled; this unit does not currently exist.
Fire and Steel was released April 9, 2008, adding new "Action" unit types, Bombardiers and Switchblades, and special Equipment items. More numbered, collectible stories were distributed in packs; a mail-away offer was given for the Chum Maker Scorpion ship.
Savage Shores was the final expansion, released on November 5, 2008, and was the first release to be unavailable in booster packs. It added the new generic crew types Navigator and Cargo Master, the new action ship type Hoist, and the new terrain type Trade Current. In addition, several new island types with special effects were added, as well as the new keywords Dories, Secret Hold, Born Leader and Chieftain. Two new 10-mast ships, the Shui-Xian and The Celtic Fury were released as well.
Return To Savage Shores was scheduled to be released in early 2009, and the design phase was supposedly completed and was ready to send to the printers when WizKids was shut down by Topps.
Since the acquisition of WizKids' assets by NECA in 2009, the only statements made informally by official sources indicate the company might have plans for Pirates "Sometime in 2012", though intimations were made that it may not be the same game (aka a series reboot with new rules, or new figures made along the Clix line rather than the previous constructible card game model).
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 14th century, 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.
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 or possibly to the Pirate movie of the same name.
A very incomplete list of other references for the Pirates of the Spanish Main (the 1st Set) alone includes:
In 2007 Pinnacle Entertainment Group released The Pirates of the Spanish Main, a source book for their Savage Worlds role playing game, set in the same world as the CSG.[2]
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