Pyramid Review
Buccaneer
Published by Queen Games
Designed by Stefan Dorra
Art by Jo Hartwig
full-color boxed game with 25 disks in five colors with stickers, 15 ship cards, 24 booty counters, 75 coins, rules; $24.95
Avast and all that. Time for yet another stab at taking the romance of the pirate and putting it into board-game form. This outing, however, doesn't so much seek adventure on the high seas . . . these cutthroats haunt the coasts in the literal sense. They wait for the ships to float into the harbor laden with treasure, where they can be picked clean. Such is the life of a lazy Buccaneer.
The object of the game is to have the greatest booty by the time you've robbed the last ship.
Everyone (from three to five sailors can play) receives five disks in his color, with an identical assortment of pirate stickers attached to them. Four of these men have a number, from two to five, while the fifth has only a question mark. You get a starting pile of cash to seed your rotten ambitions, and the first three ships in the harbor are revealed.
On your turn, you have a choice: capture another pirate or move in to take a ship. Each ship has a disk requirement, so to attack that vessel you need to meet that minimum with the brigands in one of your stacks. If you're not ready for a boarding party, capturing pirate disks lets you start or improve stacks of buccaneers. Place one of your pirates over an opponent's piece, then place both in front of . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: September 22, 2006
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