Pirates of the Spanish Main Review

Pirates of the Spanish Main is a game in the spirit of Hero Clix and Discwars. Which, in turn, were birthed in a marriage of collectible card games, pogs, and miniature games. The goal was to create portable games you can play with simple rules and game mechanics but deep strategy.

First Impression - Shipbuilding fun!

Pirates has coined the label "Constructible Strategy Game" and really impressed me with the first assemblable "cards" I've seen since Hyborean Gates... and the first ones I've ever seen made out of neatly-cut, well-designed rigid plastic. It was really fun to (slice) open the reasonably-priced packs and then assemble my ships.

Putting my fleet together (four ships from the two packs I got, two four-masted ships of the line, one three-masted pirate vessel, and one two-masted raider) was fun in and of itself. Each ship was constructed flawlessly with tabs that only fit into their perfectly snug slots. The first card of each ship (I saw ships spanning up to three die-cut cards) is the one you hold on to... on it is listed the vital statistics and a nice bit of "historical" flavor text.

In addition to the ships, the packs included one treasure sheet each (containing doubloons ranging in value from 1 to 6) with a random "basic" crew type on it. These range from the impressively overpowered Captain to the situationally useful Oarsman. In our limited set, the crew seemed either a frivolous expense in fleet points (more on that later) or an amazing buy (like the captain). Also, and this isn't a knock, the picture you're looking at is probably two to three times larger than the little chit used to represent him in the game. The same goes for the unique crew (who come on cards of their own with an accompanying basic crew chit). You'll need to hold onto a description of what they do for future reference. That means you'll be collecting a pile of punched-out cards until everyone has memorized their contents.

Also included in each Game Pack is a flimsy little island punch-out card made of some kind of laminated cardstock. The islands, at this point, seem to be a minor part of the gameplay but it's possible that the various shapes and configurations could be part of a grander design. Suffice it to say, I was neither impressed or disappointed in the generic design of the little cardboard islands. They are just scenery to be maneuvered around.

Unfortunately, Pirates is one of those game systems that includes dice-based random chance (but, fortunately, a very tiny 6-sided die). Ever since I experienced diceless game systems (Magic: the Gathering, for example) I've been attached to the concept of self-contained randomness. I loved the poker-like system of shoot-outs in DeadLands CCG, the force-drain complexity of the Star Wars CCG, and even the counter-based economy of Vampire: the Eternal Struggle. While I can't think of any way to make Pirates work without dice, I can't help but wonder what sort of interesting innovation its designers could have come up with otherwise.

Well, after building the fleet and figuring out what the other cards were there for, it was time to crack open the rules and puzzle them out.

The Rulebook - Adequate but not the clearest

The first thing I do when playing these new games is devour the rules. I enjoy trying to uncover both the intent and the gist of a game from its framework. The rules for Pirates span roughly 12 pages of the mini-book... counting pictures, credits, and the covers. My favorite line is, "These rules describe the two-player game; multiplayer rules will be posted later at wizkidgames.com." I did not find them there but I'm sure they're coming... probably in an expansion if the game is successful enough.

There is no clearly-shown turn sequence anywhere either. Granted, there are only so many things you can do in a turn but it would have been nice to have it laid out in a quick "at-a-glance" table somewhere just for reference. You'll also be amazed at how often you'll open the book looking for something about docking and treasure you swear you read on page seven only to find it buried on page nine.

Still, the rules are very straightforward once you've found them and the pacing is quick in all but the most tangled circumstances. The simple turn structure has alot to do with it.

An Interesting Combat Game - Fire at Will!

The instant I saw the sleek lines of my four-masted, death-dealing juggernauts I just knew I wouldn't have the patience or the will to play the game as it was originally intended. You see, the stated goal of the game is to find and return, to your home island, half of the treasure scattered throughout the islands. I just wanted to see my shot rip through the rigging of my honorable opponent's future hulks.

This is where we discovered the world of haves and have-nots. In our limited set (two packs each), the HMS Dover crewed by a captain became an unstoppable (well, not totally) machine. The normal turn sequence for each ship of your fleet is a: Perform an action (move, shoot, explore, or repair) then b: Perform any "free action" (usually secondary actions associated to your primary action). A captain allows you to add a free Shoot action on the back of your Move action granting first strike and a continuous advantage in maneuvering against any opponent that must choose to either move or shoot back.

Furthering this divide is the relative cost-effectiveness of a captain for any serious combat vessel. The rules suggest that a contest between 30 point fleets is the standard. A small ship costs, roughly, five points while some of the larger ones get up to 12 or 15 points. A captain costs only three points and grants a significant (I'd almost say overpowering... wait, I already did) combat advantage to any ship he's on. I dislike any one thing that grants a bonus whose only counter seems to be another of its kind. It's possible this "problem" is just a symptom of our small set but not even extended what-if speculations came up with any other answer.

Rant aside, it was pretty fun to plow my fleet into Laserfish's. I won my engagements due to a superior draw (while, at first, his ships seemed an even match for mine, we discovered otherwise through trial by combat) but, unfortunately, did not get to experience much of the potential strategic depth the game does promise. For the record, ramming and boarding are not a great idea as far as I can tell. The pinning of the rammer and the limited effect of boarding (you can't capture the ship) argue strongly for death from a distance.

I'd say the combat is a nice representation of wooden ships and iron men-era naval warfare without the complexity that usually accompanies the games that have come before. Still, there were some glaring oddities (boarding parties without the ship-grabbing melee you'd expect, for example) that took away from the overall enjoyment.

The Strategic Game - Isn't it about finding treasure?

I really enjoyed building my fleet, maneuvering them into position, and opening fire... but that's not entirely what the game's all about. In fact, "Sink your opponent's fleet" isn't even listed as a victory condition in the rulebook! Furthermore, the game is Pirates of the Spanish Main... and everyone knows pirates are all about getting the booty.

And the treasure. As I mentioned before, the islands are placed by the players and then three random treasure tokens are placed face-down on them. These treasure tokens (6 of them per player totaling 12 gold divided at their discretion) represent the true goal of the game. Explore the islands and take the cash home to finance your retirement.

I shudder to think of the pacing the game would take if both players simply shuttled to and fro hoping they find the big treasures, dancing around their opponent's ships and avoiding combat (or kiting them, which, crazily enough, my fleet could have done just as well... ok, more effectively, than my preferred strategy of close and broadside!). It certainly sounds like the more elegant and cerebral path but I don't think I'd like it very much.

I'm certain the treasure-hunting portion of the game can be deep and rewarding. After looking at the official site, I see that there are unique treasures with special effects that can be found. Maybe that will make a difference in the appeal of island-crawling but, until then, damn the torpedoes... full speed ahead!

Conclusion - A fun diversion

Weighing in at roughly $4 (USD) per "Game Pack", which is enough to get started if you have some island-shaped coasters (or maybe some sliced potatoes) handy, Pirates of the Spanish Main is a really interesting way to kill an hour or two. Only time (and moderate investment) will tell if it's got what it takes to become a "hey, come over and play this instead of plugging into something online" adventure but indications are good that, regardless, there will be some little plastic sailing ships decorating my desk for a while.

Read the Deeper Look or discuss it in the forums!

Note: All images were borrowed from the official Pirates of the Spanish Main site.

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