Captain Treasure Boots

Captain Treasure Boots Rulebook

Table of Contents

This Game Comes With

4 board sections
84 Treasure Tokens (Gold, Rum, etc.)
1 "Wind" Marker
8 player ships (also hex tokens)

Ye Also be Needin': Two 6-sided dice, and a way to keep score.

Note: The ship tokens are not that great, so you might want to upgrade the ships to pawns, or maybe even those delightful little plastic ships from Pirates of the Spanish Main (from Wizkids, also by James Ernest).

Setup

First, set up a number of boards based on the number of players. Arrange the boards any way you like, as long as they conform to the same grid. The edges do not have to touch. All table space outside the boards is presumed to be open water, containing the same grid as the boards.

Number of boards by number of players:

Players	2 or 3	4	5 or 6
Boards	2	3	4

Treasure Token List

Token	Color (count)	Effect
Sails	Green, 18	+1 to Movement.
Guns	Red, 16	+1 to Attack Roll.
Rum	Blue, 12	+1 to Defense Roll.
Gold	Yellow, 14	Defender's option on looting.
Pearls	White, 12	Spend for the effects of Guns, Rum, or Sails, or to control a Privateer.
Privateers	Black, 12	Act as enemy ships. Score a point for gaining treasure. Become Black Pearls when sunk.

Winning

The first player to reach the target score wins the game. This score varies with the number of players:

Players	2	3	4	5	6 or more
Target Score	30 Points	20 Points	15 Points	12 Points	10 Points

Handy Movement Chart

At the start of each turn, move the wind marker clockwise 90° by the difference between the dice.

You have 3 Movement points, +1 for each Sail you hold. You can't move directly into the wind. Moving diagonally into the wind costs 2 points. All other directions cost 1 point. *You get one free "drift" downwind.

The chart's wind diagram, with cost values 1 1 2 2 1 1 1*, is an image and is not reproduced; the costs are the ones given in the text above.

The Treasure Tokens

Use the game box to hold the treasure tokens. Start with all the tokens in the box, except for the player ships and the Wind marker. When you need to draw tokens, close your eyes and take them randomly from the box. Whenever a token leaves play, it goes back into the box.

The types of treasure token are Pearls (white); Gold (yellow); Rum (blue); Guns (red); and Sails (green). There are also black tokens, which are Privateers on one side, and Black Pearls on the other. Each Treasure gives your ship different abilities, so it helps to collect them all. It is also worth extra points when you cash in several colors at once.

Getting Started

To begin, each player places his ship on a Port of his choice. Ports are the islands with no numbers, just names. If it matters, you can make everyone decide in secret where to begin. But really, it doesn't matter.

Ports are the only spaces that can hold more than one ship.

Place the Wind marker at the north edge of the board, pointing north. If you don't know which direction is north, or you can't fake it handsomely, then you are a terrible pirate.

Determine randomly who will go first. Play proceeds to the left.

Pearls

Pearls are wild treasures, which you can spend to control a Privateer, or for the effects of Guns, Rum, or Sails. "Spending" Pearls means putting them back into the Treasure Box.

Controlling Privateers

If you did not roll doubles, you can spend a Pearl to control one Privateer.

Using Pearls as Guns

After making the attack roll, but before the defender rolls, you may spend Pearls to add +1 (for each) to your attack value.

Using Pearls as Rum

After making the defense roll, you may spend Pearls to add +1 (for each) to your defense value. However, you may only do this if it makes the attack fail; you can't just throw Pearls away to keep them from being stolen.

Using Pearls as Sails

While taking your move, you may spend Pearls to add +1 (for each) to your movement points.

Rolling the Dice

Begin each turn by rolling two dice. This will affect the Wind and the Treasure. If you roll doubles, you also get to control a Privateer.

Change the Wind

Wind is always either north, south, east, or west. Using the difference between the two dice, move the Wind marker 90° clockwise this many times. For example, if the dice are 1 and 4, the wind moves 3 steps clockwise. If the dice are equal, or if the difference is 4, the wind does not move.

Add Treasure

Add the dice together, and look for all the empty islands marked with that number. Draw tokens from the box and place one token on each empty island with that number. An island does not get a new token if it is already occupied, either by a ship or by another token.

If the treasure you draw is black, place it with the Privateer side up.

Rolling Doubles

If you roll doubles, you will get to control one Privateer, if there are any in play (see below).

Taking Your Turn

Once you have checked the wind and placed treasure, your turn begins. Your turn has three steps. In Step 1, you may choose to command a Privateer. You can do this by spending a Pearl (if you have one), or for free if you rolled doubles at the start of your turn. In Step 2, you can move your ship. In Step 3, you can pick up treasure (at an island with treasure), unload treasure (at a Port), or shoot (in open water).

Step 1: Controlling a Privateer

If there are Privateers in play, you can control one of them by spending a Pearl, or for free if you rolled doubles at the start of the turn. Privateers can move, shoot, and collect treasure, but they can't unload.

You score one point immediately when your Privateer gets treasure. This includes treasure gained from combat, as well as from islands.

Stack a Privateer's cargo below the Privateer token. A Privateer's cargo affects his abilities just like a player ship.

Step 2: Move

You normally have 3 movement points. If you have Sails, you get +1 movement point for every Sail.

Moving has variable cost with respect to the wind, as shown below. Moving directly against the wind is impossible. Moving diagonally into the wind costs 2 points per space. All other directions cost 1 point per space, but (*) you also get to take one free "drift" directly downwind.

Obstacles: You can move through other ships, but you can not stop on them. You cannot move through islands. You can move into an island space, or out of it, but not through it in one move.

Leaving the Board: The same grid extends forever outside the boards.

Step 3: Collect / Unload / Shoot

What you can do in Step 3 will depend on where you stop.

Collecting: If you stop on an island space that has a Treasure token, you may take that token. Keep all your Treasure in view on the table in front of you.

Unloading: If you are in a Port space, you may unload some or all of your cargo and score points. When you unload, you score one point for each treasure. You also score a bonus for having multiple colors, as shown in the table below.

Note: Pearls (white or black) do not have a color, and are always worth just one point each.

If You Unload	1 Colour	2 Colours	3 Colours	4 Colours
Your Bonus is	0 Points	1 Point	2 Points	4 Points

Shooting: If you are in open sea, you may shoot at another ship. You can shoot at Privateers or other players. Ships at islands can be fired upon. This includes ships that are in Port.

You must shoot along a straight line, orthogonal or diagonal, through open sea. You can not shoot through islands or through other ships.

To take the shot, roll a die. If you have Guns, add +1 for each Gun. Then, subtract the number of empty spaces between you and your target, if there are any. The result is your attack value.

Next, your target rolls one die to defend, adding +1 for each of his Rum tokens. This is his defense value.

If the attack is equal to or greater than the defense, the shot succeeds. Otherwise, the shot fails and there is no effect.

Results of Hitting

If your attack succeeds, you get to steal one treasure from the defender. Normally, the loot is chosen by the attacker. However, if the defender has any Gold, the defender may choose which piece to lose.

If the defender loses his last treasure (or has no treasure to lose) the ship sinks. When your ship sinks, you jump to a Port of your choice. You will begin your next turn with a fresh but empty ship.

When you shoot at a Privateer, you choose another player to roll its die. That player can also make decisions about loot, Pearls, and so forth, on the Privateer's behalf.

If you sink a Privateer, you collect the Privateer token, which becomes a black Pearl.