Being a pirate captain is a fine life, but being the captain of captains is far grander. There are benefits to be had by having that there flag hanging out over the back of your ship when you’re on the open seas. But, you have to be the one to get it to those open waters.
The Pirate’s Flag, designed by Tucker Smedes and Shannon Fyfe (I’ll admit that when I see Tucker Smedes I keep thinking of Mr. Smee from Peter Pan), is a fast paced game of capture the flag. I was able to play a five person game of The Pirate’s Flag at SaltCon (websiteand Facebook page) 2018. The game was still in prototype. However, it is ready to go to market and scheduled for release later in 2018.
Game Play
All the players start in the Dread Sea, at the mouth of Serpent’s Pass. It’s a winding path heading up to where the pirate flag is waiting. They race up the pass to capture the flag, then have to get the flag back out into the open sea where the game started. Players roll two dice when starting to head up the pass. After a player picks up the flag only one die is used. Cards are also used to influence play.
Players take on the role of one of the different captains available. Each captain has a special ability they can use once during the game. Along with the captains, there are other cards players collect along the way which alter movement, possession of the flag, and battles.
Yes, there are battles—you’re pirates! When a ship enters into the area of the ship currently carrying the pirate flag the two players battle for possession. Battling is settled by a die roll. If the numbers tie, you roll again.
The game continues until the ship with the pirate flag makes it back out into the open waters of the Dread Sea.
Designers
I had the chance to talk Tucker about their company name, CardLords (website and Facebook page). They are experienced deck building players who have done well on the national level and in developing deck building games. It is easy to tell they have brought this experience to the cards they created for The Pirate’s Flag.
Art
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| Captain Morgana |
The artwork in The Pirate’s Flag is done by Sam Turner. (Any relation to Ned Turner?) The art is colorful and plays into the pirate theme. They are also have fun backgrounds younger players will enjoy.
Overall
We had five adults playing in our game of The Pirate’s Flag and everyone enjoyed it. The use of the cards to influence the game added more strategy, which more experienced players will enjoy. We didn’t have as much fun as the younger players I saw playing it earlier at the convention.
The Pirate’s Flag is being considered for ages 9+. As long as you have players who can read the cards, or you are willing to help with the cards, I think younger players would also enjoy The Pirate’s Flag. If you wanted to start younger players with the game, you could play without the cards.
The younger players I saw at the convention playing The Pirate’s Flag, wanted to play again.
The Pirate’s Flagis designed by Tucker Smedes and Shannon Fyfe, with artwork from Sam Turner. It is designed for 3 to 6 players of ages 9+, and to last 30-45 minutes.
The breakers of the open waters slap against the hull. You see the ships of the other captains making their way into the deeper waters behind you as you stand under the pirate flag snapping in the wind.
If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
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