Pyramid Review
Sword & Skull
Published by Avalon Hill
Game design by Mike Elliott
Game board, rules booklet, 10 color coded figurines, 2 Dice, 80 Plastic gold pieces, and 110 cards; 2-5 players, boxed, $40.00
The greatest ship in the royal navy, H.M.S. Sea Hammer, has been stolen by the powerful figure known as the Pirate King. Now it is up to a few brave officers to try and retrieve this prize, through might or wealth. Each officer has control of a conscripted pirate from the dungeons, in case -- as the game text says -- "it might take a thief to catch a thief." Will might or gold win the ship back for the Queen?
In each turn of Sword & Skull players will roll a pair of unusual six-siders to determine how far their pieces must move. On a typical roll, the movement is equal to the sum of the die faces and the player may move either their pirate or their officer that number of spaces in a clockwise direction. On a roll of doubles, the player must move both his pirate and officer the number of spaces shown. And these dice have a blank side as well. If both die come up blank, the player may move either his officer or his pirate to any space on the outer board.
The game board of Sword & Skull represents the mysterious island where the Pirate King has his lair. The spaces on the outer board represent various colonized locales on the island where the player may gather gold, items, or followers. The inner board represents the volcanic path that leads to the Pirate King's secret hide-a-way where . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: September 1, 2006
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