There is one aspect of the game that may not sit well with some (especially family gamers), and has to do with some game effects targeting female characters. Finally, the “Night” phase occurs, where all characters in a player’s den having Night powers my execute them. These powers execute each day, so some of these Night powers can be pretty beneficial. Having a bit of lighter fun with people at the local club playing Forgotten Waters. The only disappointment is that because there's around 20 people playing different games in a pub's function room... Broadsides and Boarding Parties (1982) – a classic light, tactical game for two, where you command a pirate ships try to sink each other. This game could be #1 on either physical size (the pirate ships are a foot tall) or on nostalgia (old MB Gamemaster Series). Gameplay lasts about an hour. Great for family, casual, or avid gamers.

There are 30 characters in all; players start with 9, and will use 6 (or 7) during each Campaign, and replenish with a new six between campaigns. The game mechanics are such that the nine starting cards, and each set of replenishments, are the same for all players. However, the play mechanics and some of the powers, combine to create an increasing variety of crew members in each campaign as the game progresses. I can't remember the exact moment, but I think in season 2 he just really lets his anger get the best of him, beating people up on the sidewalk for the most trivial stuff. Just his explosive temper,... This is repeated with each voyage and coins are earned and stashed in the treasure chest. Each voyage lasts a day longer than the previous and six more character cards are added (and combine with characters not played in the previous voyage) until the end of the final voyage. Anchors Away Players should have in hand only the 3 character cards which they haven't played during the previous campaign (some characters played may modify the number of cards kept). The game takes place over 3 campaigns. During each campaign the players will resolve 6 days of looting (from the sunrise phase through the night phase) and 1 day of rest during which their riches will be totaled.With the recent reprint of Libertalia, Stonemaier Games has also provided a new Automa for solo play, which is what this review will cover. I’m quite new to the concept of solo board games but I’m really enjoying it. It's great for when I’m desperate to play a game but can’t gather enough people. Before Setting Sail

Place all booty tokens in a bag and shuffle them thoroughly. Draw 1 booty token per player per day of the campaign and place them on the various spaces under the ship which will be looted by the players (example: 24 booty tokens for a 4 player game). If you like Mission: Red Planet, Broom Service, and other hand-management games, we think you will enjoy sneakily managing your crew in Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest! You should know the board is double sided with a nicer and meaner side based on the loot token abilities. You can even use a mix of nice and mean abilities using the loot tiles. But no matter what there is some take that in this game.Players all resolve this phase simultaneously. All characters present in their dens use their "night" special actions. Before starting a new voyage, players get six new cards for their hand -- and this is where things really start to heat up. Although all players get the same six cards, chances are they played different cards during the preceding voyage which means everyone is now holding different hands. This brings a memory element into the game as you’ll be at an advantage if you can recall what other players are holding; but either way, it opens up more variety in potential effect combos. Despite this fresh blood, the arbitrary nature of simultaneous play does make the hour-odd play time feel a little overlong.

At the start of each voyage (round), loot tokens are laid out onto slots on the board. There are seven types of loot tokens, each with a different use or monetary value. One of the tokens is a relic and it’s the only purely “bad” one, although there are characters that might pop up who can use them in creative ways to get doubloons (the game’s scoring mechanism). This is a simple competitive game that I can bring out and play with just about anyone as it’s really easy to teach. The pirate theme is always easy to convince people to play, so it’s not hard to find people to enjoy it with. The arrrs will be in full swing before you know it. If you're headed to GenCon next week, you'll have first dibs on a brand new game from Asmodee called Libertalia. I would tell you how everyone is talking about it, but honestly, I don't really follow who is saying what any more. I'm like a hermit living in a cave above the village who just comes out once a month to buy toenail clippers and porn.There will be one booty tile per player, which you’ll see in advance. Many are good (positive points), while some are cursed (negative points), and others allow you to discard crew, either yours or your neighbors’. There are also maps that are worthless alone, but worth a lot (12 points) if you get three. This treasure collection adds to the strategy of card play. Do you use your high card to try and grab treasure now, or wait until later when it may be more lucrative?

It can also be random as you play crew members with the best of plans that get derailed by other players’ actions. If you are someone that does not like disruption in your board games take note. To setup for the next campaign each player gets 10 new doubloons and add an identical random set of 6 crew cards to the three crew left over. We also have now ten more characters to head out on the voyage, as well as a double-sided board. The significance of that board is to give a different challenge by changing up the abilities of the loot tokens. Even better is the option to mix and match the different sets of abilities to create unique combinations each time. I’ll start off with what has changed between the first and second editions. The first big thing you’ll notice is the art style. The slightly darker pirate cover has been replaced with a much brighter and heroic style, with the gritty characters replaced with anthropomorphic animals. To me, that’s a great way to change perspectives. If this was the end of the strategic decisions, Libertalia would still be a remarkably good game. But it is not the end, because every time you choose, you'll have to take a good look at the pirate's booty (which is great if the pirate is Megan Fox, not so much if the pirate is Ned Beatty).

I’ve played Libertalia with casual, social, and avid gamers, and all have enjoyed it and wanted to play again. As long as the theme is acceptable, family gamers should enjoy the game, while it may leave power and strategy gamers looking for a bit more. On your mention of Skat that is similar to the game 500 (pretty common in New Zealand and Australia and the Northern US and Canada from what I hear - well, at least in the 70s & 80s) where there are...