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A Tale Of Pirates box art
2017 Ranked #3,040

A Tale Of Pirates

Real-time cooperative pirate game where a crew uses sand timers to navigate a three-dimensional ship through dangerous scenarios. Each timer represents a crew member's activity, so every quick decision must coordinate the ship before time runs out.

Family Games Nautical Pirates Action Queue Action Timer

Players

2-4

Play time

Not listed

Age

8+

Complexity

1.83/5

Rating

7.05

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.6/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 4.1/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.7/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.0/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

Put on your captain's hat and navigate the 3D pirate ship using sand timers in this unique real-time cooperative game. As a member of an adventurous pirate crew, your goal is to be crowned Admiral of the Black, the most feared pirate ship in the Caribbean.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

Put on your captain's hat and navigate the 3D pirate ship using sand timers in this unique real-time cooperative game. As a member of an adventurous pirate crew, your goal is to be crowned Admiral of the Black, the most feared pirate ship in the Caribbean. To earn this title, you must complete dangerous scenarios in the shortest possible time frame. The most innovative element of the game is that the player uses their own 30-second sand timer as a character to be placed on the ship to perform actions. Each time a player places their own sand timer, they have to wait for the sand to run out to be able to perform the action needed. Each hole in the ship represents an area where you can perform a specific action: turning the ship, loading cannons, shooting enemy ships, repairing damage, and so forth... A Tale of Pirates (previously announced as Admiral of the Black) has ten different scenarios, ranging from ordinary pirating activities like looking and shooting, to kraken-hunting, prison breaks, treasure hunts, and much more. An app for any smartphone or tablet will lead the players along the missions, assist with scenario data, random events, multiple paths, upgrades, and gamestate-saving for later sessions. It also serves as a timer for the individual round as the typical scenario lasts 2-3 rounds, each five minutes long. The players have to react to events and maneuver the ship to fight enemy gunboats, catch rich merchant vessels, and avoid other obstacles. They must communicate to agree and organize things to do, but they have to be quick because time is always ticking. A Tale of Pirates is swift playing with simple rules, but it's exciting and involving, with great interactions among players. Unlike some other real time coop games the stress is present but not dominating. The thirty-second delays, in addition to the intermittent rounds, always allow you to catch your breath!

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Editions

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Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
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Player resources

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Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2–4
Best with
2–4
Play time
30 min
Age
8+
Complexity
1.8/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

3
Asger Harding Granerud Daniel Skjold Pedersen Daniele Tascini

Artists

1
Ruslan Audia

Publishers

1
Cranio Creations

Linked items

No published linked games yet.