< previous – next >

For a great addition to your gaming experience check out these 144 pirate coins, for under $10.

Then master the language of swashbucklers and rogues with the pirate primer.

Spotlight on Games > Ludographies > Pirate Games    

The Ancient Pirates of Pernia
Kevin Everingham; MI Prime Games-2003; 2-4
One hour game of pirates before gunpowder. Includes 8-sided dice, special pirate dice, ship boards and fifty cards. P

Aux Sabords
Didier Panthout; Ludi-Storia-2002
Players retrieve treasures and need to sail home before they can be captured by other players. Players roll to move. Special cards can be used to overcome difficulties. P

Battles & Bones
(unknown); Dowrick Games-2008; 3-5; 90
Players compete over three pieces of a map to a treasure-bearing island, but only pirates with sufficient infamy may claim the goods. The treasure may be in any one of six possible locations. Features variable player powers; dice are used determine the movement rate. P

Blackbeard
aka Barbe Noire
Richard Berg; Avalon Hill-1992; 1-4
Piracy on the high seas, not just of the Caribbean, but also in the Gold Coast and Indian Ocean. Pirates may even relocate between oceans in this war game of great atmosphere which sometimes irks players because the turn order is random and they feel they have to wait too long in between. Features a large number of differently-rated pirate cards with historical notes and even a Captain Blood. Long and detailed, for many this is the definitive pirate game. more P

Blackbeard II
Richard Berg; GMT-2008; 1-5; 120
The "II" isn't really part of the title, but distinguishes this version from the earlier one. Significant changes include use of an area map rather than a hexagonal grid and removal of the variable turn order mechanism. The pirates are stronger in this version and it's easier for them to take merchants and attack ports, though fully investing ports is more difficult. P

Blackbeard's Last Stand
Don Maitz; Channel Craft-2007;
Game of drawing tiles and stacking them up. Players win a round by being the last to stack their Blackbeard tile. Includes a replica doubloon and ten wooden plank tiles. P

Broadsides & Boarding Parties
Lawrence Harris; Citadel Game Systems-1982/Milton Bradley-1984
The first title in Milton Bradley's Gamemaster series is a light war game of two ships facing off against one another. First players maneuver ships using cards, firing as they pass. The eventually come together which permits boarding actions. The plastic ships, being a foot long with masts, pirate figures, and cannon, are amazing, though this was not part of the original 1982 self-published edition. P

Blockadebrecher
Knut-Michael Wolf; Schmidt Spiele-1985; 2
In "Blockade Runner" one player controls a merchant trying to escape the pirates while the other controls three pirate ships. P

Buccaneers!
Julio Trois; TroisStudio-2013; 2-4; 30
Each turn players attack other pirates ships or warships. Battles are defined by the sum of the results of three dice while merchant lootings use five dice. But beware the sea monsters. P

Cannons & Crossbones
unknown; The Game Crafter-2009; 2-4; 45 minutes
Players begin with a captain-less crew, a raft and the news that a treasure has been buried on an island. The game is about collecting resources so as to upgrade capabilities and thereby sink the other players. Includes two vs. two and three against one modes. P

Cannons & Cutthroats
Ryan Wilson; The Game Crafter-2009; 2-6; 30
Players are captains trying to grab the most gold. Activities include boarding, taking prisoners and blasting opponents. Tracks individual cannonballs and gunpowder, which determine success in battle. Luck plays a significant role in this card and dice game. Features 136 cards. P

Il Corsaro Nero
(unknown); Editrice Giochi-1978; 2-4
"The Black Corsair" is based on a novel by Emilio Salgari, later a film. Players contend to pillage the most Spanish ships with their own. P

Capt'n W. Kidd
Günter Cornett; Bambusspiele-2004; 2-3
Rather abstract game featuring various scenarios related to the career of the infamous Captain Kidd, the gentlemen assigned to catch pirates but who turned into one. It's a move-and-capture game with clever positioning challenges.

Captain Treasure Boots
James Ernest; Cheapass Games-2005; 3-6
Four color map pieces depict mostly sea on a square grid with a few named or numbered islands. Dice determine which islands contain treasure and dice are used again to move and yet once more to fire on enemies. There are five types of treasures – similar to Buccaneer – and bonuses are provided for bringing back a haul that contains many types. The winner games the legendary name of "Captain Treasure Boots".

Cartagena
Leo Colovini; Winning Moves Deutschland-2000
The players represent men who once were pirates, but now languish in a dank, South American prison. But, now they are set to escape to a waiting rowboat. Trouble is, it only has limited space so players attempt to be the first to escape their six prisoners. Movement is based on the positions of all of the pieces on the board which greatly rewards planning and understanding of the likely activities of the other players. At the same time the rule details are so light that the game is quite pleasureable. more P

Cartagena II
Leo Colovini; Winning Moves Deutschland-2006
In the sequel to the above, the escapees have reached an island which they must now cross, row to another island, cross it and finally reach safe haven. Once again movement is based on the positions of all of the pieces on the board which greatly rewards planning and understanding of the likely activities of the other players. Just as fun as the original, if not more so. more P

Cartagena - Die Goldinsel
Rüdiger Dorn; Winning Moves Deutschland-2008
Having reached the pirate haven, now the pirates become captains of their own ships. To begin they must shanghai sailors to serve as crew and collect pieces of the map showing the location of the aptly-named island of gold. For two pirates only. P

Crossbones
Michael Anderson; One Small Step
Desktop-published game with some assembly and dice required. Includes a battle game played by up to two or a campaign game for 2-4. There are basic and advanced rules, the latter using an Ace of Aces type of system to track the opposing ship. Possible roles in the campaign game are pirate, privateer, merchant or galleon, each having different goals. The map shows the Caribbean with six ports and two sea zones. Destinations are selected secretly and revealed simultaneously. Combat may occur when players meet. Encounter tables apply elsewhere. P

Cutthroats
Erik Moore; Tinderbox Entertainment; 2010; 3-7; 90 minutes
Players are all members of a pirate crew, voting one of their number captain and selecting one of six voyages which they must successfully navigate together. Despite this cooperation, the winner is the player who ends with the most loot. P

Don't Touch My Booty
Chuck Henry; (web-published)-2007; 2
Win treasures by putting three coins in a row.

Doubloons!
Chevee Dodd; (web-published)-2008; 3-4
Depicts the dividing up the loot phase of pirate life. Using cards players take doubloons with hidden values, or give them to opponents.

Drake
Edmond Vale; Robert Ross & Co.-1934; 2; 60
Galleons try to reach home port while privateers attempt to capture them. All ships have the same capabilities. Map features include wind directions in various zones, becalmed areas, sand bars, icebergs and reefs. Wind appears in becalmed areas randomly. Damage affects ability to change direction and ultimately speed. Rules for boarding and artillery fire from forts are included. P

Escape from Pirate Island
(unknown); Wolf Mountain Games; 2
Dice rolling combat game in which one player has a pirate fleet of six ships while the opponent has three war and nine merchant ships. Also includes monsters such as a giant squid. P

Escape from Pirate Island
Mike Young; xxx-2012 The Game Crafter, LLC-2012; 1-5; 45
Cooperative game in which players have become shipwrecked on a pirate island and need to work together to escape. Dangers include headhunters, skeletons and pirates. There is also a treasure to discover. P

Flußpiraten
Klaus Zoch & Walter Müller; Walter Müller's Spielewerkstatt-1990
According to its creator, "River Pirates" is an evil game, but also a fun one. Two players are sitting together in a boat and try to row against the river to get a treasure. A short way before the treasure, sometimes a player throws his friend out of the boat and he tries to get the treasure alone. This is evil, but dangerous too. If you throw the other players out very often, at the end of the game nobody wants to sit in a boat together with you and so you will lose the game. If you want to win the game, you have to keep most of your promises. So, if you want, this game is a lesson for life for evil players; almost always the friendlier players win. P

Freelooter
Kirk W. Buckendorf; The Game Crafter, LLC-2009; 2-5
Most, or at least many, pirate games are about finding and retrieving treasure, but in this set collection effort players collect the crew and ship cards needed to bury as much gold as possible. Randomly drawn cards provide different victory conditions every time.

Frégate Noire
Christophe Berg; TooDoo Editions-2003
There are 60 sailor cards which are all distributed to the players. They also get ship and shipment bonus cards. The sailors are each rated for Attack, Defense, Name and Special ability. Then players announce how much treasure they commit to bring back, the boldest of them becoming caption of corsairs and choosing his team. The rest are sailing merchants. The two teams compete. An attack occurs when a pirate picks a target. Each combatant chooses three cards which are turned over one at a time, sort of like the card game War, but more complicated since cards have multiple attributes. If a corsair loses twice it is captured instead of being the capturer. There is a duel mechanism in case of ties. The sailors have names like Ben, Crack, Loop, Samsar, Trigg, etc. The game sounds a bit like Slapshot as well. P

Freibeuter
Reiner Stockhausen; Hans-im-Glück-1998;
In "Freebooter" players place boats according to cards in hand, trying to be part of a team capturing a prize. The theme is pretty abstract. P

Freibeuter der Karabik - Yvio
Alexander Pfister; Public Solution GmbH-2008; 1-4
"Freebooters of the Caribbean" is a module for the Yvio game console. Players load cargoes at various ports and sell them for profit at other ports, hoping to weather the attacks of other pirates along the way.

Die Gulli Piratten der Schrecken der Kanalisation
Andreas Pelikan; Heidelberger Spieleverlag-2011; 2-5; 30
The pirates are rats, raccoons, toads and cockroaches in this game of card drafting and set collection. P

Hispaniola
Michael Schacht; Cafe Games/Pro Ludo-2004; 3-5
Trick-taking card game with adjunct board. Before each hand players each bid a secret hand card to determine trump. The highest card wins and yet is removed from play. The color of the led card corresponds to an on-board ship illustration which the trick winner gets to occupy. As they fill up, earlier players are kicked off onto a penalty track somewhat akin to that of Adel Verpflichtet. On top of this, taken tricks can be given away – the two players who end with the most cards suffer penalties. Not particularly thematic, although nicely produced. more P

High Seas
Douglas Setser & Nathan Wagner; DSRG-1992
Wargame about raiding and trading on the Caribbean Sea for up to four players. Players are basically traders, but when they run across one another can act as pirates, if they have managed to build up some fighting ability. Very detailed; almost feels as if it needs a computer aide. more P

Insel der Piraten
Kemal Zhang; Yun Games-2007; 1-4
30-minute deduction game whose title translates to "Isle of the Pirates". The goal is a treasure hunt. The challenge is that the map is all mixed up. There are twenty separate adventures to solve. P

Insel der Piraten
Christian Groth & Benjamin Ritter; Rigro-2007; 2-4
Each ship begins with five cannons and tries to capture enemy and neutral vessels and islands to earn more gold. Dicerolling is the method of resolution. Gold gives ship improvements and eventually control of the "Isle of the Pirates" and victory. P

Jamaica
Bruno Cathala, Sébastien Pauchon & Malcolm Braff; GameWorks SàRL/Pro Ludo-2007; 2-6
Pirates are conducting a race around the island. It's good to be the first around, but also useful to pick up or fight for the treasures and special beneficial items that show up along the way. more

Jolly Roger
International Team
Two to six players sail their galleons around the islands of a fantasy worlds, intending to eventually bring them to home port in the center. Movement is via wind disk which changes the wind direction in a predictable way every three turns. Players must take care not to run aground. Sailing off one edge of the map places a ship on the opposite edge. Storms arise via dice and become impassable areas. Players hamper one another via war ships, each player controlling one. Play ends when the first player collects a fixed amount of treasure. Said to last sixty minutes. P

Jolly Roger
(unknown); Koplow Games-1993; 2
In this dice game a player rolls six dice and for each "1" result captures another die and scores its points. Two re-rolls are allowed, but getting five "1" results means no points for this turn. P

Kapt'n und Pirat
unknown; Lademann Forlagsaktieselskab-1988
"Captain Flint's Treasure" was published in a book. There is a map showing a number of different ship routes. Each player is dealt four cards corresponding to map locations. On a turn a player asks another for a card which, if it's held, must be handed over. The winner is the one to get four connected destinations. P

Lady Pirates on Terror Island
Carl Salminen; self-2012; 1-6; 30
Cooperative game of pirates working together to escape their stranded state on an island. Dangers include monkeys, volcanoes and pirate hunters. P

Lords of the Spanish Main
Philip Eklund; Sierra Madre Games-2006; 3-6
Auction and negotiation game set in the Caribbean of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Players can represent anyone from Spanish viceroys to Cardinal Richelieu to Sir Walter Raleigh or Sir Francis Drake or yet others. It is assymmetric in that one player controls the treasure fleet (who it is can change) which sails every ten turns while the others can be pirates if they wish. But it's the fact of two ways to make money that is the point of the game, the other being to sail as a merchant to willing colonies, an activity that earns both the fleet and the colony owner gold. more P

Martinique
Emanuele Ornella; Huch & Friends-2009; 2
Logical deduction played out on a large grid. Finding the treasure is a matter of getting there, but there are tactical considerations as players may block the other's pawns or steal the other's tiles. P

Meuterer!
Roland Weiniger; W&B Verlag-1994; 4; 30
In "Mutineer" players are pirate crew members trying to jostle each other into the water. When mutiny breaks, each player must decide on which side to be and try to secure a part of the ship for that side. Event cards add crew, gold, cannonballs, movement, combat and imprisonment. P

Merchants and Marauders
Kasper Aagaard & Christian Marcussen; Bloodline Games-2008; Pegasus Spiele/White Goblin Games/Z-Man Games-2010; 2-4
Two to four players compete in this three-hour game that permits playing either merchant or pirate in the Caribbean. In-depth rules for ship building and trade are included. Simultaneous action selection is used. In the 2009 version there are five different ship types, sixteen different captains and over two hundred cards. The 2010 edition has flutes, sloops, frigates and galleons. Once demo-ed as Age of Piracy. P

Middle Passage
David F. Nalle; Ragnarok Enterprises-1984
Trade, piracy, warfare, plunder, raids and crew training in a number of different Atlantic Ocean scenarios. Includes stand-up counters for six players, record sheets and a 17x33" map. Can be combined with with Pacific Passage (Pacific Ocean) and/or Passage to Cathay (Indian Ocean) for a larger game. Some reviewers complain about component quality. P

Motim Pirata
Itago Junges; Coisinha Verde Games-2012; 2-6; 30
"Pirate Riot" is a dice game where players represents pirates sailing together. Each tries to recruit more dice, representing other pirates, so as to get a sufficient majority to take over control of the ship. Different colors of dice represent differently capable pirates, e.g. blue smarts can recruit others; red thugs can kill other pirates; green are cannon fodder. P

Mutiny
Kevin Wilson; Fantasy Flight-2003
Auction game of buying the rights of the five best crewmembers who then may or may not perform as you wish. P

Mutiny on Little Blue, The
aka Mytteriet på Little Blue
Kristian Roald & Amundsen Østby; Damm/Egmont-2004; 3-7
Negotiation game of collecting the most treasures. Features variable powers in the form of differently-abled characters. Bluffing is a big part of the scene. P

North Wind
Klaus Teuber; KOSMOS/Z-Man Games-2014; 2-4; 45
Also known as Norderwind somewhat similar to the two-player game Starship Catan. As merchant captains players carry supplies and fight pirates. Encounters and supplying demands provide the ability to improve one's ship, represented in customizable 3D cardboard. Shorter than Starship Catan, it is just as enjoyable. P

Pacific Passage
David F. Nalle & Eric Olson; Ragnarok Enterprises-1984
Trade, piracy, warfare, plunder, raids and crew training in a number of different Pacific Ocean scenarios. Includes stand-up counters for six players, record sheets and a 17x33" map. Can be combined with with Middle Passage (Atlantic Ocean) and/or Passage to Cathay (Indian Ocean) for a larger game. Some reviewers complain about component quality. P

Passage to Cathay
David F. Nalle; Ragnarok Enterprises-1984
Trade, piracy, warfare, plunder, raids and crew training in a number of different Indian Ocean scenarios. Includes stand-up counters for six players, record sheets and a 17x33" map. Can be combined with with Pacific Passage (Pacific Ocean) and/or Middle Passage (Atlantic Ocean) for a larger game. Some reviewers complain about component quality. P

Piece Packing Pirates
Clark D. Rodeffer; Piecepack Games-2004; 1
Solitaire pirate adventure playable with a standard piecepack set. Winner of the piecepack "Solitary Confinement" design contest.

Pieces of Eight: Steal the Booty! Drink the Rum!
Jonathan Kantor; The Game Crafter-2011; 2-4; 30
Each player represents a different famous pirate with his own special abilities. Dice are the main mechanism in this game of building up a crew and raiding merchants, forts, towns and other pirates. P

Piracy
Michael Greiss; mgxmedia GmbH/Papergames-2004
Two to five players compete in this ninety minute game, recruiting a crew, taking on missions and hoping to attack the Spanish Treasure fleet. P

Piracy
Bungalow Entertainment-2006; 2
Physical version of a Commodore 64 board game from 1985. In this abstract one player takes the role of a Spanish merchant, the other a pirate. On a turn a player either launches pieces from their cannon trying to hit and remove enemy pieces or or moves their pieces.

Piratas la Isla del Tesoro
Sergio Urquía; CEFA (Celulosa Fabril S. A.)-1998; 2-5; 90
Players are pirates in the Caribbean during the era 1665-1730. They perform activities like picking up goods and delivering them, attacking galleons and looting cities while trying not to get caught. The goal is to retire wealthy. P

Piratas Paraguaios
Antonio Marcelo; Riachuelo Games-2003
"Paraguayan Pirates" is a Brazilian-made alternate history wargame for two simulating the War of the Triple Alliance (Paraguayan War, 1864-70) in which Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay took on Paraguay. In this realization, Paraguay, the real life loser, does receive the ships they had ordered from Europe and also develops a line of ironclad warships. Out of print, but possibly available in downloadable form from the publisher. The name Riachuelo comes from the deciding naval battle of the war. P

Pirate Coins
Matthew Kloth & Michelle Martino; Mused Fable-2012; 2-5; 15
There are seventy-five coins and a pouch. Each player begins with one gold piece. The current player draws a coin to determine how the current pile of loot would be split, e.g. if gold, a player can take the loot if he's the only one to try for it. Players then each use a coin to secretly choose whether to try for loot or wait for more treasure in later rounds. After this is resolved, teh coin is flipped and either added to the loot or placed in the monster pile. When three monsters have appeared the pile is returned to the pouch. Reminiscent of Diamant. P

Pirate Dice: Voyage on the Rolling Seas
Sean Brown & Clint Herron; Gryphon Games-2012; 2-4; 45
Each player represents a pirate captain sailing bringing home treasure. Activities include blocking, ramming and firing at opponents. Features a modular board, simultaneous action selection and plenty of dice rolling. P

Pirate Game!, The
Ken Hoyt & Morgan Rose; The Game Crafter-2009; 2-4; 120
Players outfit their own sloop and sail the Caribbean collecting cards at ports which are used to pursue and fight merchants as well as rob other players. Their setups can be improved as well by selling and adding crew and cannon. Features two-sided boards. Dice also play a role. Includes an "at sea" deck, an action deck and a port deck. P

Pirate Masters
Ronald Schutze; The Game Crafter-2010; 2-5; 45
In a fantasy set collection game, players race to be the first to acquire a set of captain, treasure map, jewl and coins cards. Beware the Kraken. May be a card game. P

Pirate War
Ian Milnes; Warp Spawn Games-2002; 2
Units are based on fleets from the Warhammer game Man O' War. Players control ships from the Empire, Brettonian, Elf, Dwarf, Orc, or Chaos fleets. First to accumulate seven Treasures wins.

Piraten & Papageien
Holger Marckwardt; Playme.de-2003; 2-4
"Pirates and Parrots". Each round three parrots enter a 9x9 grid via die roll. Then players choose which of their cards to use to move their ships. A ship that catches a parrot gets a point, but one that runs over an island loses it. P

Piratenbillard
Reinhold Wittig; Abacus-1989
Action game for up to four played on a raised linen platform overlaid with a wooden grid. Players use wooden mallets strike under painted balls, attempting to reach the opposite edge – which scores a point – or into the space of another – thereby capturing it. Strategy is hard to find, so dominant is the skill factor. An American company is selling this under the title Cannonball Capture, which the inventor has denounced as an unlicensed copy. more P

Piratenbucht
Paul Randles & Daniel Stahl; Amigo Spiel-2002/Days of Wonder-2003 (as Pirates Cove); 3-6
Employs the tried-and-true "simultaneously select a location" mechanism. The six island locations include one for each of the four different ship attributes (hull, crew, cannon, sails) one wishes to enhance, one for drawing special cards and one for burying treasure, i.e. scoring points. In addition, each island provides randomly-determined free goodies such as gold, treasure and cards. But peril rears its head when players run into one another and either shoot it out by playing cards and rolling plenty of dice or flee – fortunately, flight or defeat still provides a nice consolation prize. The wooden sloops and very attractive artwork (by Markus Wagner & Swen Papenbrock) add quite a lot to this feeling. more P

Piratengold
Jay J. Bommer; LudoArt-2004
A roll-and-move game with many action cards. rules P

Pirateninsel
David Watts; Schmidt Spiele-1986/Rostherne Games (as Pirate Island Race Game)
A treasure is buried at one of six locations and a group of river pirates divide into four groups to find it. Dice are used to move. Rolling doubles causes an event, some of which are beneficial. Attacks on opponents are possible and resolved with dice. The goal is to get the treasure back to ship, even if you are not the one who found it. Kind of a role-playing game, if very lightly so, but probably not balanced at all. P

Pirateninsel
Georg Rönnau; Spiel mit-1986; 2-6; 6+
A treasure is indicated by a face down chit at one of nine locations. The first pirate to discover this location and return to the ship wins.

Piratenschatz
Jim Winslow; Piatnik-1997
Two-player game in which players attempt to deduce where on the 15 space board a treasure is located. Title means "Pirate Treasure". Only one player is active. The other simply reports on his progress, similar to Mastermind. P

Piratenschatz
Johann Rüttinger & Michael Rüttinger; Noris-Spiele-1992
Two pirate crews are on an island. One tries to find the hidden treasure and the other tries to prevent this. Simple deduction game using roll-and-move as well as cards and questions. P

Piratenschiff, Das
Volker Schäfer; Regenbogen-1998
Roll the dice to determine which tile you take. This represents the distance you may move, but if you roll the "black" you are a pirate for the turn, meaning that if you can land on another ship you can take half their money. Supports up to four players. P

Pirate's Island: Escape
(unknown); Desyllas Games-2014; 2-6
From Greece comes this game featuring exploration, worker placement, card drafting and set collection that puts players in the role of pirates trying to escape a pirate haven before the imminent arrival of the royal navy. Before you go, however, you need to secure supplies, allies and money, plus hire a crew and find a place to hide. Players must deal every turn with a random event. P

Pirates Backgammon
Lloyd Krassner; Warp Spawn Games-2005; 2
Pirates, merchants and warships sail about a Backgammon board collecting gold coins. Players may plunder one another.

Pirates 2 ed. Governor's Daughter
Malgorzata Majkowska, Tomasz Z. Majkowski, Michal Stachyra & Maciej Zasowski; Kuznia Gier-2010; 2-4; 45
The Governor`s Daughter has been kidnapped and it is the duty of surprisingly law-abiding local pirates, i.e. the players, to track down the culprit. On the way they can attack merchants, sack cities and deal in wares. Includes 112 wooden pieces and 55 adventure cards. P

Pirates of Nassau
Richard Glazer, Tom Merrigan & Gabrio Tolentino; Gung Ho Games-2011; 3-5; 90
Player ships are composed of interlocking swaths. When a larger ship is acquired, it is indicated by adding another swath in the middle. Pirate captain cards are named and have gunnery and sailing ratings. Merchant ship cards are named and rated for sailing, gunnery, resources and region. Royal Navy ship cards are similar. Possible resources are cargo, hostages, coin, gunpowder and rum. The board is essentially three rows of six card slots each, each row having its own color and indicating a different region of the Caribbean. Seven of the slots represent land, e.g. Port Royal or San Juan. At the start of a turn the player rolls three dice, each corresponding to a row, and moves to a space indicated by the intersection of pips and color for one of them. On the next two turns the remaining dice are used to move a number of spaces relative to this one. Possible actions include plundering a merchant, smuggling goods in a port, ransoming a hostage or looting a port. Plundering a ship is accomplished by exceeding the merchants sailing and gunnery values. After evading the Royal Navy, all players return to Nassau to buy upgrades, including two levels of cannon, bow and stern chasers, figureheads in three levels, three levels of captain's cabins, three types of sails, flags, crow's nests, ratlines, quartermasters, first mates, carpenters, navigators, coxswains, cartographers, smugglers, riggers, press gangs, black marketers, powder monkeys, bos'ns, helmsmen, cooks, fixers, pilots, bards, cabin boys, cats and dogs. Victory is based on a combination of notoriety, crew, money and having the better ship. P

Pirates vs. Dinosaurs
Richard Launius; Jolly Roger Games-2010; 2-5; 90
Players control pirate ships whose crews have partial knowledge of a treasure buried on some Pacific island which just happens to be filled with leftover dinosaurs, and also is sinking. At the start players get to outfit their ships with crew, weapons and other equipment. One of their tasks will be to find other pieces of their maps so that they can definitively locate the treasure. Hostile dinosaurs appear in the form of cards played by others. The treasure is dug up by pulling pieces from a bag; deciding how long to keep doing this before getting back to the ship in safety is a matter of pushing one's luck. [Dinosaur Games] P

Piratical
Lloyd Krassner; Warp Spawn Games-2001; 2
Played on a 48-space circular board. Each player's ship includes a hull rating, amount of open cargo space, crew size, cannons, possible goods and gold. Various spaces have special effects and a there are a number of cards, some of which are events, others being holdable for later use. Battle is based on the number of cannons one has – each provides one die in combat, damage being taken to the hull rating. Dice are used for boarding actions, damage being taken in crew size. P

Privateer
aka Pirateer Scot Peterson; 1995
Abstract with ostensible theme of up to four pirates fighting over treasure. Player pieces travel on a grid using dice to move as in Backgammon. more P

Privateers! Tina Enström; MylingSpel-(unpublished); 1-6; 180
Team or cooperative game in which players represent privateers for one of England, France, Spain or Holland. Players must recruit their crews and can plunder colonies, take ships and hunt both pirates and merchants. Attacks and "to hit" rolls are handled using dice pools and cards. Captains are rated for Combat, Cunning and Health, Ships for Sails, Cannons and Hull. Ships can be upgraded. The board is modular, formed by 22 hexagonal tiles.

Quest for the Pirate Chest
Lloyd Krassner; Warp Spawn Games-2006
Jack Sparrow, Captain Kidd, Davy Jones, Admiral Horatio, The Dragon Lady, Captain Morgan, Ghost of Redbeard, Black Bart, Dread Pirate Roberts, Captain Barbossa, Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Long John Silver, Captain Hook, Captain Blood, Sinbad the Sailor, Mama Lola, Captain Nemo and Yellowbeard, Black Pearl, Adventure, Flying Dutchman, HMS Endeavor, Royal Fortune, The Revenge, Queen Anne, The Neptune, Hispaniola, Jolly Roger, Arabella, Voodoo Queen, Nautilus and The Lady Edith. Each player has some special ability appropriate to their character or ship. Players attempt to recover a treasure chest, but to do so must first gain the map, the key and the magic compass. Conflict is resolved via competing dice rolls augmented by cards. Unfortunately a lot of cards cause an opponent to lose a turn. P

Raid: Pirate's Plunder
Nic Cargill, Jordan Denning & Jeff Pitts; Boulder Board Game Company-2014; 2-4; 30
A KickStarter project that did not start.
On a modular hex tile board, players were pirates competing to take the most merchants. Some tiles show serpents, giant squid, super volcanoes, ship wrecks or sand bars, but a player may only move in one direction a turn. Pirates could steal from one another and there is a neutral navy that sent you back to home port. Treasure could be re-invested in the ship.

Rum & Pirates
aka Um Ru(h)m und Ehre
Stefan Feld; Alea-2006; 2-5; 9
Movement and collection game. At the pirate hideout the pirtaes take part in various competions – fighting, drinking, ... – trying to gain as much fame as possible. Includes 76 plastic figures and 200 tiles.
P

Rum Runner
Brian Peterson; Warp Spawn Games-2005
One player is the rum runner, the other a rival who tries to intercept. Their conflict is played out on a Chess board. If the rum runner can get even one unit to the other side he wins. Dice play a role.
P

Schatzinsel
Alex Randolph; Jumbo-1989
Taken from the R.L. Stevenson story, "Treasure Island" is a two player game in which the sailors and the pirates each try to bring seven treasure chests to their own ships. The trouble is getting them through the jungle which is made up of 19 discs which are changed each turn. P

Schatzinsel, Die
Peter Lewe; Spielspass (W&L Spiele)-2002
Inspired by the R.L. Stevenson story, "Treasure Island" is a lightweight tile-laying game for up to four. P

Sea Rovers
Van Overbay; History In Action Game-2006; 1-4
A game of capturing prizes on the Spanish Main. Players design their ships and can attack one another. Successfully bringing prizes/treasures home is part of it. Card management is also an important aspect. Historical maps appear very attractive.

Seadogs
Dave Fulton; Jacksmack Games-2014; 2-6; 60
Players are dog pirate captains competing to gather the most treasure. Activities include pillaging ports, selling treasure, attacking other pirates and digging up buried treasure. Players who attack another have bounties on their heads that can be claimed by the next pirate to get a victory over them. P

Seas of Chaos
Tom Velure; Bored in the Basement/PandaGM-2014; 2-6; 90
Players begin with simple vessels and develop them in any of speed, hull size, defense, and attack and pirate rating. The board is formed from hexagonal tiles, including islands that contain treasures, docs, ports and obstacles like whirlpools. P

Seeräuber
(unknown); Otto Maier Verlag-1956; 2
Players move their eight ships on the triangular grid board with the goal of stealing treasure from the opponent's harbors using the two ships that are actually pirates. Each ship has a different speed and cannon range. P

Seeräuber GmbH
aka Pirate, Inc.
Reinhold Wittig; Franckh-Kosmos-1986
Two players try to figure out the exact coordinates of R.L. Stevenson's "Treasure Island". One knows the latitude, the other the longitude and they spy on one another to deduce the other. P

Spanish Main
Francis G. Tresham; Heartland Trefoil-1984
War game for four players, two representing Spanish and two British. Features cardplay to cross the Atlantic and resolve battles while being an exploration game for the discovery of the New World (Caribbean islands handled abstractly). A rare war game with German-style game mechanics. more P

Skull & Bones: A World of Pirates
Elegwen O'Maoileoin, Jonathan Mauro, Richard & Wayne Pulis; Golden Laurel Entertainment-2007; 2 - 6; 90
Variably-powered pirates travel around raiding ports, merchants and other pirates. Mechanisms include dice and cards. P

Somali Pirates
Joseph Miranda; Decision Games-2012; 1-2
War game of a coalition campaign against modern pirates based in Somalia. Success is measured by an index, which in turn affects various abilities such as reinforcements. Map is 22x34" and there are 176 counters. P

Somalia Pirates
Zhai Hui; Nine Gods studio-2010; 3; 30
The map is a 3x4 grid representation of the Gulf of Aden. One player is a merchant shipper, one the pirates and one the navy. The pirates have the advantage that no one knows where they will appear whereas the navy is far stronger, but less flexible. P

Swashbuckler
S. Craig Taylor & T. O'Neill; Yaquinto-1980
Players represent brawling characters aboard a ship or in a tavern. Probably the heaviest of the games here as players must plan out every minuscule action the play to take, e.g. throwing things, toppling tables, using weapons, etc. Supports up to 6 players. P

Treasure Island
Peter Burley; Burley Games-2003
On a turn, a player rolls a pair of dice and is able to place his counter on a square bearing that number. By continually doing this certain areas become cut off from the rest of the board and therefore the treasures within can be claimed by those players, if any are indeed there. Supports up to six players.

21 Mutinies Arrr! Edition
Perepau Llistosella; Chechu Nieto/Xavier Carrascosa-2011; 2-4
The Captain player starts the round, deciding which action is performed that round. The others can either perform it mutiny to become the Captain for the next round. The game ends after 21 mutinies, i.e. 21 changes of the Captain role. Includes worker placement and economic factors. P

Vigo
Edith Grein Bottcher; Amigo-1994
Players navigate a grid of unknown tiles attempting to construct a treasure chest with what they find. Includes a memory element. P

Winds of Plunder
Alan Newman; GMT-2007; 3-5
Compete for points via plundering ports, finding treasure and boarding opponent ships. Random tiles determine the port values and treasure locations. There are also action cards. P

< previous – next >