Ahoy, me hearties! We're out in the depths of the high Caribbean seas. There's nothing but open water and an island or three on the horizon… or, er, board. The cry of 'land ahoy,' comes from the crow's nest. Pirates disembark their vessel to bury treasure away from the prying eyes of the land lovers, a-ha! Black Fleet, published by Space Cowboys, is a 3 – 4 player game. It allows you to dabble in some well-earned pirate booty, play your fortunes, and even save the captive Governor's daughter. If you are looking for a lightweight title that does not take itself too seriously, then Black Fleet is the pirate game you arrr looking for – yarr! So, get ready to trim those sails and roam the seas!
How to P(ar)lay
Black Fleet is a basic pick-and-deliver game. Your task is to ship goods in your merchant's vessel from one port to another to earn doubloons. But, nothing is quite that simple, a-ha. No! You are also pirating these goods. Each player controls two ships of their own. The merchant and pirate vessels. Merchants can carry three cubes, and pirates can carry a single cube. Cubes are representative of goods. Pirates can attack merchants to scupper their chances of a top-notch doubloon payoff. Pirates earn doubloons for attacking. They can also steal cargo and bury this treasure on an island for a further doubloon payoff. To add another twist, two independent navy ships patrol the board. Players control these on their turn to hunt and sink enemy pirate ships. This can create a tug of war, back and forth kind of motion, as players struggle to control the navy ship's actions. You select a movement card from a choice of two to move your vessels. This card indicates the number of spaces each ship can move on that turn. But the tale is not over yet. You also have fortune cards to add to the mix. These fortune cards give you unique pirate-themed abilities to power up your turn. But to sail to victory, you need to flip over development cards, paying to flip them with doubloons. Once flipped, each development card gives you special powers. The final development card is the Governor's daughter. Indicated on the card is a ransom of ten doubloons, or twenty, should you decide to play a longer game. This is what you must pay for her release and to win the game. You win if you are the only player to flip this card in the round. But if another player does, the one with the most doubloons wins.
Shiver me Timbers
This is a fun, fast-paced, pick-up-and-deliver game. It does not need a lot of strategizing or in-depth thinking. In fact, too much thinking and you may come unstuck. You're wasting your time if you sit there trying to guess what the other players will do. Those pesky one-shot fortune cards will scupper your plans faster than you can say, walk the plank. The upshot is some of these fortune cards give you pretty awesome powers. For example, Mercantile Breeze allows your merchant to move seven spaces. Tidal Wave enables you to sail over land – who can predict that?! You can use up to three fortune cards on your turn, as that is the most you're allowed to hold. The fortune cards allow each player to move full steam ahead at a moment's notice. They can then take whatever and whoever gets in their way. The special power of these cards, combined with the development cards, makes the game more complicated than the usual family game. At the start, every player has different costed development cards dealt to them. The idea is to turn these over with your hard-plundered doubloons. Once flipped, the abilities on the back of the development cards remain with you until the end of the game. Thus, every player's fleet acts and feels distinct from the last. This adds a pinch of strategy to the game's basic mechanics. Players can buy these cards in any order they choose to enhance their fleet. That is apart from the last one -the Governor's daughter. Your pirate ships can now attack other pirate vessels? Sure thing! Wait, now all ships under your control can move an extra space!! Correct! In true underhanded pirate fashion, some of these cards break a few basic rules of the game while adding a ton of future replayability. Even so, despite the extra complexity these cards add, it is still a pretty standard family game at heart. The age bracket is fourteen plus. But children as young as eleven would stand a pretty good chance. They would enjoy Black Fleet's light, random take-that nature.
'll Crush Ye Barnacles
If you need more motivation not to strategize too much, there is another element to consider. When you sink a pirate ship – and this is going to happen a lot - you have no idea which side of the board the said ship will re-emerge on. There are three spaces on the board where your pirate ships can re-emerge. This adds to Black Fleet’s chaotic nature. So, there is no way to tell if your fleet will be safe if it is anywhere near these three points. But, if you know who your opponent wants to sink more, you may be able to guess where they will pop up. It is all down to how you feel the game is flowing, but it can change at a moment’s notice; there are no easy routes. Also, with all those other ships on the board, it can prove quite a difficult task to get from a to b. If a merchant gets sunk, it can re-emerge next to any port and block your path. Ships can sit between islands blocking you. Meaning you have to take a long way around. There are no mandatory movements in Black Fleet. A pirate can work within the rules by anchoring down and blocking the way for as long as they want, love it or hate it. But when the pirates go, you are in a sort of quasi-game of chase. You know the game is a-foot when the real skulduggery begins. That's blasting each other out of the water and off the board. Sinking pirate and merchant ships is all part of the Black Fleet fun. The great thing is, you can't get too downhearted even if your ship and crew do get unceremoniously sunk. Another pops back up to replace it. It is a fleet, after all, not on a single, lonely vessel that you must protect at all costs. You will have some fun sinking each other’s ships over and over again. This is a game where you ebb and flow your way to victory. It is not about avoiding those pesky cannons. It is about getting doubloons. Ultimately having your ships sunk is a minor setback from which you can recover. So long as it doesn't happen to you more often than it does to everyone else.
Gang Warfare
Ganging up is always an option in Black Fleet, as it has a 3-player minimum rule. You may want to use this tactic if a player is amassing a large pile of doubloons. Or, if they have flipped over some powerful development cards. Or if they are enjoying lady lucks favour a little bit too much. Together you can bring the runaway leader down a peg leg or two. This can be very entertaining indeed. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as they say!
Component Quality
This is a fantastic visually-looking game with high-quality components. There is a large colourful board that screams a kind of cartoonish quality - a great touch for that family feel. The spaces on the board are clear and large enough to fit your miniature ships in while you navigate across the board. The ship miniatures are true to form and are easy to identify. Players can choose either grey, brown, white, or, of course, black. This carries a very thematic first-turn mechanic. The player assigned black always to go first -Blackbeard would be pleased! A great aspect of the miniatures is that they physically carry the coloured goods/cubes. Also, how many cubes each ship can carry is obvious. In keeping with the cartoonish artwork, the development cards each have an image on them. When you place the cards together, they form a dockyard panorama. A picture of the Governor's daughter props up the end. Obviously, as soon as you flip a card, the image is upset, but who cares about that? The image on the fortune and movement cards don't have that cartoon feel, which is in contrast to the theme. The rulebook is a great feature for its simplicity and cartoonish charm. Plus, it’s easy to digest for everyone. The box itself enforces the cartoon direction. It even has a fantastic skull and crossbones inlay for that extra added va va voom. Oh, and the pièce de resistance is the wonderfully overproduced doubloons themselves. They are like real money, made of shiny gold and silver metal. This makes a great statement and adds to the desirability of this pirate currency in the game.
In Summary
Black Fleet, at its core, is a simple, accessible game. There is enough variety to guarantee it will receive some good mileage around the table. Combine this with the aesthetics and components, you are bound to have some fun. Although veteran players looking for a more immersive pirate experience will have to look elsewhere to scratch that itch. Merchant and Marauders springs to mind. Yet, Black Fleet’s take on the classic theme is still top-notch, albeit more simplistic. Black Fleet shines as a gateway game to introduce new players to the hobby.
Total Score
80%
Scores
Artwork: 5
Complexity: 2
Replayability: 3
Player interaction: 3
Component quality: 4
Likes
· The doubloons, miniature pieces, the colourful board – aka the components.
· The fun aspect - sinking each other’s ships, stealing cubes, burying treasure.
· Basic rules, easy to learn and digest.
· The card abilities add a lot of variety to the game.
Dislikes
· Tug of war nature of playing with the navy vessels.
· Ships indefinitely blocking the way.
· The fact there could be a runaway leader.
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