Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Build your own fleet and conquer your enemy’s in an epic board game full of pirates, battles and adventures! 'Pirates!' is a board game where 2 to 6 players embark on an adventure as a young pirate captain.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
Build your own fleet and conquer your enemy’s in an epic board game full of pirates, battles and adventures! 'Pirates!' is a board game where 2 to 6 players embark on an adventure as a young pirate captain. 'Pirates!' is played with an unique combination of cards, dice and tokens where players must seize glory as they sail the seven seas. However, unlike a game where you’re already established as a villain, 'Pirates!' starts with the barest of set-ups then sees you actually progress. Upgrading your ship and conquering new ships is the order of the day as you take down merchants and other pirates aplenty to build up your own fleet. Will you be feared and become the new Blackbeard, or thrown over board to feed the sharks by your conqueror? In the game there is a wide variation of ships which have a different combinations of speed, cannons, crew members and cargo. Pirate cards can be used in your turn or during battle, improving your ship or giving an advantage in battles. The goal of the game is to become the master of the oceans by conquering 7 pirate points (golden skulls). Ships are worth 1 or 2 pirate points, but pirate points are also found on adventures and fame cards. The game will also end when you conquer all your opponents ships.