Ahoy there me yellow bellied pock spotted sea chickens. It is I, yer speaker of truth on the high seas of pirate gaming. I have a pirate's heart for the seas and an obsession for all marauder games of pyratical nature, but I will be blunt and bold as I strip the barnacles off the bulkhead and view the game as a hull.
Pirate's Cove is a dreadfully fun game with quite a few problems that can be a lot fun for the right players.
First and foremast, I love the wheel mechanic for ship movement. Setting the course of your ship to one of six destinations in secret then simultaneously unveiling is an intriguing element as used in Key Largo. I love the wheel concept it really imparts that nautical feel that a lot of sea games lack. What is unsettling is the illusion of choices provided.
Pirate's Cove gives you the illusion of choice for your only decisions in the game.
There are six locations that you can set your sails to. Well you are usually already at one of the locations so there are five new locations to choose from. There are also up to two black pirate ships that push each forward each turn. Early in the game it is best to avoid them, so actually each player on a typical turn has will usually decide between three islands. Now if you are playing with three or four players each with a choice of three new islands to visit, the odds are substantially increased of running into other players each turn.
There is a bit of second guessing the motives and needs of the other players which I find intriguing; on the par of Letter of Marque or Pirate's Cups (Liar's Dice), but the more games I play I find the best way to avoid confrontation is to steer blindly into the wind. This brings up another interesting element that is quintessentially detrimental to a game that self proclaims pyrate stature:
In Pirate's Cove, the people who win are the pirates who avoid fights.
Confrontation, raiding, sea battles, boarding and pillaging; these are what give the pirate his prowess and his plunder. To score points, gold, treasure, and tavern cards your best odds are on uncontested islands. More often then not, in a three player game, one player will be the whipping boy as the other two players build the strength of their ship.
Fleeing during combat give your opponents 1 point or fleeing before the cannons fire has only a one in six chance of having minimal negative consequence. The very nature of the game encourages cowardess and hiding from battle. These are not nefarious skull dogged traits that a true pirate glorifies. The Blackbeard, Long John Silvers, and Captain Kidds of stories are malignant treacherous adventurous treasure seeking characters as portrayed in Pirate King or Rum & Pirates. who take on Spanish galleons, French frigates, Dutch traders, and merchant ship of the lines like in Buccaneer or Loot or port raiders like in Dread Pirate.
When it comes down to it the game is all about dice battles.
You aim for the weakest part of their ship to knock them out the fastest. Rolling D6s looking for 5s and 6s. Maybe a parrot to block a shot or a volley card pack more of a punch, but inevitably the game distills down to a dice toss shootout. Some pirates like this type of mindless lack of strategy sea battling, but for those of us who have played enough epic 8hr Risk games to last 3 lifetimes we often want something with a bit more weight to combat.
3 Sheets to the wind.
Inevitably, the pirate first out of sail island with new sheets was the ahead most of the game. Before all the other players can upgrade at four islands two shots are all that are needed to send a ship scuttling over to Pirate’s Cove for repairs. Even the weakest ship gets two shots per turn, that’s a one in three chance of crippling someone before they get a chance to fire back. It all depends on who has the most sails and gets to fire first. Many players will get the sails to hit the high seas each fight, load up at Pirate’s Cove, and head out all the stronger. This game definitely favors the ships with more wind in their mast.
The game is a monotonous, at times a bit tiresome, luck of the sea pirate game that no naughty Nellie or Barnacle Bill should be without. Keep it for the kids or as a gateway game for Errol Flynn swashbuckling movie night.
Replay ability
I wouldn’t subject my gamers to this more than once every great while.
Swashbuckling
Self proclaimed as a game of swashbuckling and daring. I found it lacking in that aspect.
Components
The pieces where jolly good and added much to the intrigue of play.
Overall fun
If you can have fun losing and don’t mind your game in the fate of gods of the sea.
Development of theme
All things Pyratical considered, it left a bit to be desired for a true enthusiast.
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