Davy Jones' Locker: The Kraken Wakes Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Act 1: Visiting Ports & Equipping Ships for Battle
  • Objective
  • Map Areas & Spaces
  • Ports
  • Shallows
  • Shipwrecks
• Set Up, Round Order & Player Actions
  • Ship Selection
  • Setting Up Act 1
  • Player Setup
  • Starting the Game
• Act 1 Player Actions
  • Sail
  • Trade
  • Repair
  • Plunder
  • Attack
  • Explore Port
  • Visit Market
  • Explore Shipwreck
  • Hunt
  • Smuggle
  • Bolster
• Act 2: The Kraken Wakes!
  • Setup
  • Black Spots
  • Whirlpool Spaces
  • Kraken Board
  • Act 2 Gameplay & Round Order
    • Round Order
  • Sinking Ships
  • Playing as Rescued Deckhands
  • Manning the Ship
• Winning the Game
• Losing the Game
• Alternate Difficulties
  • Old Salt Set Up — Difficulty: Hard
  • Black Spot Set Up — Difficulty: Very Hard
• Quick Play
• Pillager Rules Variant
• Become the Pirate King! — Semi Co-op Mode
• Solo Mode
• 5-Player Mode
• Act 2 Only Mode
• F.A.Q.
• Credits
• Icon Reference

Game Components

• Double-sided Game Board x1
• Double-sided Ship Boards x5
• Kraken Board x1
• Gold Coins x50
• Explore Tokens x5
• Stat Cubes x27
• Market Tokens x5
• Flood Tokens x4
• Deckhands x15

Miniatures: Ship Miniatures x5, Tentacle Miniatures x8, Kraken Head Miniature x1

Port Decks: Siren's Grotto Port Decks (Explore x13, Market x13), Mutineer's Bay Port Decks (Explore x13, Market x13), Shipwreck Reef Port Decks (Explore x13, Market x13), Remedy Cove Port Decks (Explore x13, Market x13)

Ship Ability Cards x10

Overlay Tiles: Repair Dinghy x1, Exploding Barrels x2, Merchant Ships x2, Waterspouts x4, Strong Tides x4, Shipwrecks x2

Standees: Raiding Ships x4, Naval Ships x4

Cards: Event Cards x17, Open Sea Cards x25, Kraken Modifiers x17, Shipwreck Cards x6, Whirlpool Cards x25, Treasure Galleons x5, Reference Cards x10, Treasure Cards x14, Infamy Trackers x5, Flood Cards x5, Black Spots x10 (one side is used in Act 1, the other in Act 2)

Dice: Fortune Dice x20, Compass Dice x4, League Dice x10, Integrity Dice x5, Tentacle Life Dice x8

Act 1: Visiting Ports & Equipping Ships for Battle

Objective

Davy Jones' Locker: The Kraken Wakes is a cooperative game where players work together to take down the Kraken. In Act 1, players will be sailing around the map using actions to explore ports, visit markets, explore shipwrecks, or anything else they can do to upgrade their ship as much as possible before Act 2 begins.

Map Areas & Spaces

Pirate Havens — These islands are where pirates meet to get leads on Treasure Galleons to Hunt.

Smugglers Den — This center island is used as a way for pirates to smuggle goods.

Open Sea — Sailing the Open Sea is a dangerous endeavor! All spaces on the map other than the Shallows & ports are considered the Open Sea. Whenever a player moves through one or more Open Sea spaces, at the end of the movement they must immediately draw an Open Sea card. See "Sail".

Trade Winds — Areas on the map marked with the wind icon are the Trade Winds & have special movement rules. See "Sail".

Ports

There are 4 ports at each corner of the map. Visiting these ports is how players complete Scenarios & gain Equipment/Crew. Each port specializes in a specific stat.

Siren's Grotto — With tales of Sirens calling sailors to their death, none seem to linger here long in order to avoid the alluring Shallows that surround the island. This port's Market specializes in Sail.

Remedy Cove — Once a place of healing, this port is now said to be haunted by those who have been sent down to Davy Jones' Locker. This port's Market specializes in Repair.

Shipwreck Reef — As the name suggests, the Shallows surrounding this port are a graveyard of sunken vessels. A deadly reef around the island has made this port a renowned market for ship fortification. This port's Market specializes in Hull.

Mutineer's Bay — There is no law or authority at this port, but if you can avoid the constant pistol shots & sword fighting, you'll find the best weapons in the Seven Seas. This port's Market specializes in Attack.

Shallows

The light blue space around each port is the Shallows. The entire area is considered 1 space.

Shipwrecks

Spaces on the map with the Shipwreck icon are where Shipwrecks can be found. At the beginning of the game, the Shipwrecks are on the North & South spaces. See "Explore Shipwreck".

Set Up, Round Order & Player Actions

Ship Selection

There are 5 ships in the game, each bringing their own unique abilities, strengths & weaknesses to the fight. Players may select their ships at random or however they choose.

Ship Stats — Each ship has 5 stats: Sail, Attack, Hull, Repair & Integrity. These stats are used to indicate how many Fortune Dice will be used for rolls, along with being used for other actions. The darker box in the center of each stat bar indicates the base stat for that ship & is where the stat starts at the beginning of the game. Each ship has 1 stat that is its strength, which matches the color of their ship. So the strength of the Sea Dragon would be its Sail stat.

Integrity — This is where players place their Integrity die to keep track of their life total throughout the game. Each ship starts with 8 Integrity.

Abilities — Each ship has 2 ability cards to choose from, each with an Act 1 & Act 2 ability. These abilities give the ship its own unique play style & special advantages throughout the game. Players can only use the Act 1 abilities in Act 1, & their Act 2 abilities in Act 2.

Ship Equipment — These spaces are where players place Market cards they obtain throughout the game. There is no limit to how many of each type of Market card a player can have.

After selecting ships, players will take the 4 stat cubes & Integrity Die that match the color of their ship & place them at the base position of each stat on their Ship Boards. They will then choose 1 ability card to use for the game & place it on their Ship Board. Each player will then take the following components that match their ship's color & place them on their Ship Board: 3 Meeples, 1 Explore Token, 1 Market Token.

Setting Up Act 1

After players select their ship, follow the steps below to set up the game board & various decks. Be sure to leave room for discard piles beside each deck!

1. Game Board — Place the game board in the center of the table with the Act 1 (map) side facing up. Place the 2 Shipwreck tiles at the North & South spaces on the map.

2. Kraken Board — Set up the Kraken Board with the Smuggler's Den side face up.

3. Event Deck — Shuffle all Event cards & randomly select 6 to make the Event deck. Place the Event Deck at the center, above the game board.

4. Open Sea Deck — This deck is set up differently depending on the number of players in the game. For each player count, randomly select & shuffle together the indicated number of each card type in the table below. Finally, add the remaining Open Sea cards to the top of the deck to form the Open Sea deck & place it at the center below the game board.

   Players	Kraken Modifiers	Open Sea
   4	8	17
   3	9	19
   2	10	21

5. Whirlpool Deck — Shuffle all Whirlpool cards & randomly select 10 to make the Whirlpool deck. Place this deck within reach, as it will be modified throughout Act 1.

6. Shuffle the Market & Explore Decks for each port separately & place them by their port on the sides of the board.

7. Randomly select 3 Black Spot cards & place them face down next to the Kraken Board.

8. Shuffle the Treasure Galleon, Shipwreck & Treasure Decks separately & place them near the game board.

Player Setup

After setting up their Ship Boards, give each player 2 Gold & place their ships at these locations:

• The Hammerhead: Mutineer's Bay (Gray port)
• The Man O' War: The Shallows of Shipwreck Reef (Purple port)
• The Sea Dragon: Siren's Grotto (Green port)
• The Nautilus: Remedy Cove (Red port)
• The Marlin: Any Port

Starting the Game

The last player to become Pirate King goes first. If no one has been Pirate King, then the player who last ate seafood goes first! Each round of play in Act 1 follows this order:

Phase 1. Draw & Resolve Event Card — Flip the top card of the Event Deck over to reveal the unique event for the round. Some of these cards will stay in play throughout Act 1 & some have actions that happen before each round begins. When a card cannot be drawn from this deck, Act 2 immediately begins!

Phase 2. Players Take Their Turns — Starting with the first player & going clockwise, each player takes a turn using up to 3 actions. There are 11 possible actions a player can take on their turn, outlined below. Each action can only be used once per turn in Act 1.

Act 1 Player Actions

Sail

Move up to as many spaces (including zero) as your ship's Sail stat. Players & enemies are able to occupy the same space. The entire colored section of each port is considered 1 space, The Shallows around a port are also considered 1 space. Smuggler's Den is considered 1 space.

Drawing Open Sea cards — Whenever you move through one or more Open Sea spaces, whether using a Sail action or other effect that allows you to move, at the end of the movement you must immediately draw an Open Sea card before making any other actions & before any card effects take place. If you do not move during your turn & end your turn on an Open Sea space, you must draw an Open Sea card at the end of your turn. You will never do both of these. All spaces other than the shallows & ports are considered Open Sea spaces.

Kraken Modifiers — When a Kraken Modifier is drawn from the Open Sea deck, place it next to the Kraken Board & discard the top card of the Whirlpool deck. Once 3 Kraken Modifiers are drawn, Act 2 immediately begins!

Some Open Sea cards will have illustrations in the lower-right corner of the card matching a Market card in the game. If you draw one of these cards while having the matching Market card on your ship, you will ignore any negative effects of the Open Sea card & place it in the discard pile. If it is a card where you are making a stat roll, you instantly succeed & can choose any outcome on the card.

Avast Ye! — Always remember to draw an Open Sea card after moving through the Open Sea before any other actions or effects take place!

Other Open Sea cards will have a Trade Wind symbol. These Open Sea cards only affect you if you have occupied the Trade Winds at some point during your current turn. If you have not, you simply ignore any effects & discard the card.

Trade Winds — When you move into a Trade Wind space during a Sail action, you are instantly moved an additional Trade Wind space in the direction of your choice. If you continue to sail in the Trade Winds, you must move 2 Trade Wind spaces per Sail in any direction within the Trade Winds. If you are leaving the Trade Winds or there aren't enough spaces for you to move the required 2 spaces, your movement is the normal 1 space per Sail.

Trade

If two players occupy the same space, they may agree to a Trade. Making a Trade action allows players to exchange any amount of Gold, Market cards, & Treasure between their ships.

The Nautilus' Act 1 ability "Privateer" allows it to Trade with any player regardless of location!

Repair

Choose & raise your Integrity or one stat by as much as your Repair stat. Multiple stats cannot be repaired at the same time. Stats cannot be repaired past their base positions.

Lowering stats — When you are required to lower a stat (usually signified by a "-1" after the stat icon), you will move the tracker cube down that many spaces on the stat tracker. If you do not have enough spaces, you lower it as much as you can & then lower your Integrity by 1. You will only lower your Integrity by 1 when this happens, regardless of the number of spaces you are short.

Plunder

While occupying a port, choose & lower any stat on your ship by one to either:

• Take a card with a cost of 2 gold from the port's Market discard pile.

OR

• Draw cards from the port's Market deck until one is drawn with a cost of 2 gold & equip it to your ship, shuffling all other cards drawn this way back into the Market deck.

You cannot Plunder a port if you have a Market card from that port worth 2 gold already equipped to your ship.

Attack

Players may encounter enemies in the Open Sea throughout Act 1. The base Range of each ship is one space, which covers any adjacent space (adjacency includes its own space).

If you are within range of an enemy, you may make an Attack action against that enemy by rolling Fortune Dice equal to your Attack stat.

Defending — Both players & enemies defend attacks by rolling Fortune Dice equal to their Hull stat. If the attack value rolled is higher than the defense value rolled, the defending player/enemy loses Integrity equal to the difference. If the attack value is tied or lower than the defense value, the attack is blocked & no damage is done. Player ships cannot sink in Act 1. If your Integrity would ever be lowered past 1, you will instead lower a stat by 1. You will only ever lower a stat by 1 in this instance no matter how much damage is taken. If all of your stats are at their lowest positions, your luck is bad enough & nothing happens.

Explore Port

While occupying a port, draw the top card of the port's Explore deck & read it aloud. Then, make the roll specified on the card (example: "Make a Hull roll") by rolling Fortune Dice equal to that stat on your ship.

Example: If the Man O' War draws an Explore card that says "Make a Repair roll", they will roll 2 Fortune Dice, assuming their Repair stat is at its base position.

Successful Explore Port action — If you roll enough successes on the Explore card to get one of the top two outcomes, it is considered a successful exploration. You will place your Explore Token on the board at that port. This token indicates that you cannot make an Explore Port action at this port again until you have made a successful Explore Port action at a different port.

If you get only enough for the bottom outcome, it is considered a failed Explore Port action & you do not place your token at the port.

Instant Success — When an Explore card is drawn, if you have the Market card indicated in the bottom right of the card, you automatically succeed at the Explore action! When this happens, you may choose ANY of the 3 outcomes on the card.

If you ever need to raise a stat that is already at the highest position, you may raise any other stat by 1 instead. If all stats are at their highest positions, you may Bolster the stat that would have been raised.

Visit Market

While occupying a port, choose one:

• Reveal the top three cards of the port's Market deck. You may purchase one of the revealed cards for the cost listed, discarding the rest.

OR

• Select any card in the Market discard pile & purchase it for the cost listed.

You may also sell Market cards from your ship for the cost listed on the cards when making this action. The sold card is placed in the Market discard pile at the port where it was sold.

After purchasing a Market card with a Visit Market action, you will place your Market Token on that port. You cannot make a Visit Market action at a port if your Market Token is on that port.

Using Market cards — Unless otherwise specified on the card, Market cards can be used/activated/discarded at any time, including after seeing the outcome of a roll! If a card must be discarded to use, it is removed from the game. When you activate a card, you will place it above your Ship Board for the activation period. These cards will also have a Reload. Once the card's activation period ends, the Reload period begins. Place a League Die on the card, starting at the number listed as the Reload. For example, if a card reads Reload: 2, you will place the League Die with the number 2 face up. During this time, the card cannot be used. At the beginning of your turn, you will lower all Reload counters on your cards by one. Once a Reload counter hits zero, the League Die is removed & the card can immediately be used again. When activating Market cards, always read top to bottom.

Repair Cards — These cards will have the Repair icon followed by a number. This indicates that you can use the card to Repair up to the given amount on any one stat, including Integrity. You may use these cards before & after taking damage, even if your Integrity hits zero.

Example: Mast Ropes allows a player to discard it & Repair any stat on their ship by 3. After they Repair, they then must lower their Sail stat 1 position.

Explore Shipwreck

While occupying a Shipwreck tile, choose a willing player within 4 spaces of you to assist with the search & move them into your space. Only 1 ship may assist. If multiple ships in range are willing to assist, you choose who you would like to assist. Players moving to assist are unaffected by overlay tiles & do not draw an Open Sea card.

After deciding who, if anyone, will assist, draw the top card of the Shipwreck deck. You will roll Fortune Dice equal to the listed stat on your ship, while the player assisting will roll Fortune Dice equal to half the value of that stat on their ship, rounded down. Combine your Successes & determine the outcome. You & the assisting ship split all rewards/penalties any way you would like.

After a Shipwreck has been Explored, even if unsuccessfully, roll a Compass Die & move the Shipwreck tile to the space with the matching direction. If the space it is currently on is rolled or if the rolled space is occupied by the other Shipwreck tile, place it 2 Shipwreck spaces away going clockwise. Place the Shipwreck card in a discard pile. If the Shipwreck deck ever runs out, reshuffle the cards & reset the deck.

Treasure Cards — These cards are powerful upgrades for your ships that work similarly to Market cards. Each player can only hold up to 2 Treasures on their ship at a time. If a player ever has more than 2 Treasures, they must discard down to 2.

Ship Ability Upgrades — If a player has a Treasure card that has the name of their Act 2 ability listed at the bottom, that player receives the bonus listed whenever they use their ship's ability.

Avast Ye! — Shipwrecks are dangerous endeavors! Avoid attempting one alone & bring along a fellow Captain to make it safer!

Hunt

While occupying one of the two Pirate Havens, choose a willing player within 4 spaces of you to assist with the Hunt, & move them into your space. Only 1 ship may assist. If multiple ships in range are willing to assist, you choose who you would like to assist. Players moving to assist are unaffected by overlay tiles & do not draw an Open Sea card.

After deciding who, if anyone, will assist, draw the top card of the Treasure Galleon deck. Find the space on the board where the Treasure Galleon is located, marked with the icon on the card.

Start moving both ships toward the space. For every 2 spaces moved, draw an Open Sea card & decide which of the 2 players will resolve it, then continue moving. If any Kraken Modifiers are drawn during this action, place them to the side & draw another card. Once the space is reached, players will follow the instructions on the card. After the Hunt, shuffle any Kraken Modifiers that were drawn this way back into the Open Sea deck.

Trade Winds still affect players during this action.

Avast Ye! — Treasure Galleons are dangerous! Avoid hunting one alone & bring along a fellow Captain to make it safer!

Smuggle

While occupying Smuggler's Den, choose one:

• Hire a Smuggler — Pay 3 Gold & draw the top card of any port's Market deck, placing it face up on the Smuggler's Den board with one of your Deckhands on top of the card. While occupying Smuggler's Den, any player may use a Smuggle action to take a card that has been smuggled, but the player whose Deckhand is on the card must agree to let another player take the card.

OR

• Smuggle — Gain 2 Gold or take a Market card from Smuggler's Den.

You cannot Hire a Smuggler & Smuggle in the same turn.

Bolster

Chooses a stat & place a Fortune Die showing a success beside that stat on your Ship Board. This acts as a Bolster counter. Each stat may only be Bolstered by 1 at any point. Any time you make a roll for a Bolstered stat, you may choose to use the Bolster to add 1 Success to the roll.

You must decide to use the Bolster before making the roll. If you Bolster your Sail or Repair stat, you may instead choose to use the Bolster to move 1 more space during a Sail action, or Repair by 1 more during a Repair action.

Act 2: The Kraken Wakes!

When a card cannot be drawn from the Event deck at the beginning of a round OR players draw a 3rd Kraken Modifier card from the Open Sea deck, Act 2 immediately begins! Remove all pieces from the board, flip it over to the Whirlpool side, & follow the set up rules below.

Setup

1. Place any Kraken Modifiers that were drawn in Act 1 near the game board.

2. Take all Kraken Modifiers from the Open Sea deck & game box, shuffle them together, & place them face down in reach.

3. Place the Whirlpool deck above the game board.

4. Place all other cards (except the Whirlpool deck, Kraken Modifiers & Black Spot cards) back into the game box.

5. Players flip their ability & reference cards to the Act 2 sides.

6. Place the Kraken Head in the middle space of the Whirlpool. It can never move or be moved from this space.

7. Depending on the number of players, set the number of tentacles listed here next to the board along with the Kraken Board. For solo play, see "Solo Mode".

   2 Players	3 Players	4 Players
   4 tentacles	6 tentacles	8 tentacles

8. Flip the Kraken Board over from the Smuggler's Den side to the Kraken side. Place the tentacle life dice on the corresponding numbers of the Kraken Board for each tentacle that will be used.

9. Tentacles start with 3 life each. The Kraken starts with 24 life.

10. Discard any Open Sea cards that state to discard them when Act 2 begins.

Black Spots

After setting up Act 2, flip the 3 Black Spot cards that were randomly drawn at the beginning of the game. Each card has a section for adding Kraken Modifiers & for adding life to the Kraken.

Adding Kraken Modifiers — If this condition is met, players will add a random Kraken Modifier to start Act 2. The maximum amount of Kraken Modifiers that can be in play at the start of Act 2 is 5.

Adding life to the Kraken — This section has 2 different conditions that can be met. For each one that is met, players add 1 life to the Kraken's starting life of 24. The new life total is now considered the Kraken's starting life. Place a teal cube in this space once it has been determined.

After all Modifiers & life have been added, return the Black Spot cards to the box.

Whirlpool Spaces

The Whirlpool is split into multiple sections:

1. The Eye of the Whirlpool — This consists of every space surrounding the Kraken's head. In the Eye, there are only 6 Octants: NE, E, SE, SW, W, NW. If a player is in the Eye, they are considered to be adjacent to the Kraken. Players can never be in the same space as the Kraken & cannot move into the center space of the Whirlpool.

2. Octants — The Octants refer to the different directions of a compass — N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW. These sections are separated by gold lines & extend into the Eye of the Whirlpool.

3. Leagues — Leagues refer to how close a player is to the Eye of the Whirlpool. Each circle of hexes outside of the Eye is a different League, starting at League 1.

4. Octant Leagues — Each row of spaces inside an Octant is called an Octant League. Similar to Leagues, there are 3 in each Octant: 1, 2 & 3. Example: In the North Octant, there are the following Octant Leagues: N1, N2 & N3.

Kraken Board

Tentacle Stats — This section has information for the tentacles' attack, defense, range, movement, & how they choose their target to attack each turn.

Tentacle Life Tracker — This table is where players keep the life dice for each tentacle. Tentacles start with 3 life.

Enrage — When the Kraken's life is taken to or below this space, players will place a new, random Kraken Modifier into play no matter how many are already in play.

Kraken Reference — This section refers to how the Kraken attacks & defends. The hex graph & Safe Octants sections refer to the Kraken Attack Phase. The Kraken defense section refers to how much defense the Kraken has at any given time based on the number of tentacles still on the board.

Kraken Life — This section tracks the Kraken's life total. The Kraken starts Act 2 with 24 life. If the Kraken's life is ever raised above one of the tentacle respawn or Enrage spots after already passing it, they will trigger again once its life is moved to or past that position the next time.

Tentacle Respawn — Spaces with tentacles on them represent when the Kraken will respawn its tentacles. When the Kraken's life is moved to or past one of these positions, it will instantly respawn up to 2 defeated tentacles before any other actions are made. It will never have more tentacles than what it started with at the beginning of Act 2.

Act 2 Gameplay & Round Order

At the beginning of Act 2, roll 1 Compass die & 1 League Die to determine where you will spawn. The Compass die will tell you which Octant you will spawn in, while the League die will tell you which League inside of the Octant you will spawn into. If there are multiple spaces that a player can spawn into, they may choose any of those spaces.

After spawning each player, flip the top card of the Whirlpool deck. There are 4 sections on the Whirlpool cards: Title, Whirlpool Current, Push/Pull Effect, and Effect. Follow these steps every time a Whirlpool card is drawn:

1. Check the direction of the whirlpool current — Symbolized by the curved arrow in the middle of the card, ships are instantly moved the number of spaces indicated inside of the curved arrow, following the direction of the arrow.
2. Check for Push/Pull Effects — A blue up arrow beside the number means ships are pushed 1 League further from the Kraken. A red down arrow means they are pulled 1 League closer to the Kraken. Ships are always pushed/pulled in the direction of the whirlpool current.

Since ships cannot occupy the same space as the Kraken, if any ships are in the Eye of the Whirlpool when a pull effect happens, they are not moved, but lose 1 Integrity.

In the first round of Act 2, if the Whirlpool card has specific movement or spawn instructions for the tentacles, that will take the place of their normal spawning. If not, spawn in each tentacle as you did for your own ship, using 1 Compass die & 1 League die (refer to "Tentacle Breach Damage" if a tentacle spawns in the same space as a player). When spawning tentacles, they will always go to the furthest space of the Octant League in the direction of the Whirlpool current. If another tentacle spawns in the same Octant League, place it in the next empty space. If there are no other empty spaces, place it in the furthest space with the whirlpool current.

This completes the setup for Act 2. For the first round of play, skip Phase 1, as you've already drawn a Whirlpool card during this setup!

Round Order

There are 4 phases in each round of Act 2:

Phase 1 — Draw & Resolve Whirlpool Card

1. Flip over the top card of the Whirlpool deck.
2. Move each ship the number of spaces shown in the direction of the Whirlpool Current & resolve any push/pull effects.
3. Resolve the Whirlpool card.

Respawn Cards — Some Whirlpool cards will respawn tentacles that have been defeated. When these cards are drawn, players spawn tentacles as they did at the beginning of Act 2. Be sure to resolve each tentacle spawn completely before rolling for the next, referring to "Tentacle Breach Damage" if any spawn into the same space as a player. When respawning tentacles, they do not move or attack on the turn they are spawned in.

Phase 2 — Tentacles Move & Attack

Each tentacle takes a turn, starting with tentacle 1 & going up to the highest numbered tentacle in play.

Tentacles have the following base stats: Movement: 2 spaces. Range: 2 spaces. Attack: 4 Fortune Dice. Defense: 3 Fortune Dice.

Starting with Tentacle 1, each tentacle will follow this turn order:

1. Choose a Target — Using the following targeting priority, the tentacle will find its target:

1. Closest Ship
2. Same Octant
3. Highest Integrity
4. Highest Hull
5. Most Market & Treasure cards
6. The ship who is first in turn order.

Starting at the top, if there is a tie between two or more ships, it will move to the next priority until there is only one ship to target.

2. Move — After choosing its target, the tentacle will move up to two spaces towards its target. Tentacles are unaffected by Whirlpool Currents. Be sure to make note of any Kraken Modifiers or Whirlpool cards that could allow them to move further! Tentacles will always try to move into the same space as their target to trigger Tentacle Breach Damage. If the tentacle cannot do this, it will move until it is in range. Tentacles will never move into the Eye of the Whirlpool. Multiple tentacles can occupy the same space.

Tentacle Breach Damage — If a tentacle moves or spawns into the same space as a player, it deals Tentacle Breach Damage. When this happens, all players in the space instantly lose 1 Integrity.

3. Attack — After moving, the tentacle will attack their target by rolling 4 Fortune Dice. As in Act 1, players will roll Fortune Dice equal to their Hull stat to defend. Be sure to make note of any Kraken Modifiers or Whirlpool cards that could add dice or successes to tentacle attacks!

Tentacle Movement Examples — For these examples, assume all ships are at full Integrity & all stats are at their base positions.

Example 1: In this scenario, both The Nautilus & The Man O' War are 2 spaces away from tentacle 1. Using its targeting priority, the next priority is a ship in the same Octant as the tentacle. Since The Nautilus is in the West Octant with the tentacle, they will be the target for tentacle 1's attack. After choosing its target, it will move 2 spaces into the same space as The Nautilus to trigger Tentacle Breach Damage, then it will attack The Nautilus.

Example 2: In this scenario, The Nautilus & The Man O' War are tied for the first 3 targeting priorities for tentacle 1: Closest ship (both 2 spaces away), same Octant (both in SW), & highest Integrity (both have 8). Since The Man O' War's Hull is higher than The Nautilus', tentacle 1 will target The Man O' War. After choosing its target, tentacle 1 will move into The Man O' War's space, triggering Tentacle Breach Damage, then it will attack The Man O' War.

Phase 3 — The Kraken Attacks

Instead of targeting players, the Kraken targets entire Octants. As you deal damage to the Kraken, it will start to become angrier, attacking more & more of the board as the game progresses. The Kraken starts the game targeting 4 Octants with its attack. Each Kraken Attack phase, you will roll Compass Dice to determine which Octants are Safe Zones (Octants that will not be hit with the Kraken attack) starting with 4 Compass Dice & removing 1 as you deal more damage to the Kraken, as shown below.

• 4-player Game: 1 Compass Die will be removed for every 3 life the Kraken has lost from its starting position.
• 3-player Game: 1 Compass Die will be removed for every 4 life the Kraken has lost from its starting position.
• 2-player Game: 1 Compass Die will be removed for every 5 life the Kraken has lost from its starting position.

Any duplicates that are rolled are instead moved 1 Octant clockwise. Every Octant that isn't rolled with the Compass Dice is hit by the Kraken's attack. When the Kraken hits an Octant, every space inside the Octant is hit. If a ship is in an Octant that is hit, their position within that Octant will determine how much damage they must defend against. Ships defend as normal, rolling Fortune Dice equal to their Hull stat. Tentacles are not affected by the Kraken Attack.

	The Eye	League 1	League 2	League 3
Damage	9	7	6	5

To more easily determine how much life the Kraken has lost, use the second teal cube to move the Kraken's life tracker down, keeping the first on its starting life position.

Phase 4 — Players Take Their Turn

Each player will take their turn in the same order they did in Act 1, but starting with the player whose turn was next when Act 1 ended. Unlike Act 1, you may repeat any actions you would like on your turn. You still have 3 total actions for your turn, but your actions are limited to: Repair, Trade, Sail, Attack & Rescue Deckhands. You are also now able to Bribe your crew.

Bribe the Crew — For 1 Gold, you may reroll any single die on any of your rolls. This does not cost an action & can be used at any time, even multiple times per roll.

Repair — Choose & raise your Integrity or one stat by as much as your Repair stat. Multiple stats cannot be repaired at the same time. Stats cannot be repaired past their base positions.

Trade — If 2 players occupy the same space, they may agree to a Trade. Any amount of Market cards, Treasure & Gold may be traded, but both players must agree to the Trade.

Sail — Move up to as many spaces as your ship's Sail stat. This includes moving zero spaces.

Sailing in the Whirlpool — The currents are strong in the Whirlpool! To move against the Whirlpool current (shown with the arrow at the top of each Whirlpool card), it requires 2 Sail per space. Lateral movements, such as moving from W1 to W2 or vice versa are considered against the Whirlpool current & take 2 Sail to make the move.

The Eye of the Whirlpool — This is the section of 6 spaces adjacent to the Kraken's head. You are able to move into the Whirlpool using regular movement, but it requires 3 Sail to leave the Eye of the Whirlpool. When leaving the eye, you may move out to any space adjacent to the Eye of the Whirlpool, regardless of where you are in the Eye.

Attack — If you are within one space of an enemy (or have Equipment that allows you to be within a further range), you may make an Attack action by rolling Fortune Dice equal to your Attack stat.

Dealing damage to the Kraken — There are 2 ways to deal damage to the Kraken. The first is by directly attacking its head. To do this, you must be in League 1 or the Eye of the Whirlpool & there must not be a tentacle in the same Octant as you. Market Cards that give a player more range do not change this rule. The Kraken's defense value is a set number equal to the number of tentacles in play +2. It does not roll dice for defense. The Kraken's head cannot be moved from its space.

The second way you can damage the Kraken is by defeating tentacles. When a tentacle's life goes to zero, it is defeated & removed from the board. Each time you defeat a tentacle, it deals 1 damage to the Kraken's life. However, The Kraken cannot be defeated by defeating a tentacle. This means that if the Kraken has 1 life, defeating a tentacle will not deal any damage to it. Tentacles defend attacks by rolling 3 Fortune Dice.

Rescue Deckhands — While in the same space as a Deckhand, rescue it by placing the sunken ship's Explore Token on your Ship Board. The sunken player takes their Deckhand off the board & places it on the Deckhand icon at the end of their ship (see Sinking Ships below) along with their other two Deckhands. If the sunken ship had any Market/Treasure cards, shuffle them together & randomly take one to place on your ship, along with all Gold from the sunken ship. Remove the remaining Market/Treasure cards from the game. Ships may hold more than 2 Treasures if they are gained in this way.

Sinking Ships

Your ship is considered sunk if your Integrity hits zero, but this does not mean you are out of the game! When this happens, flip your Ship Board over to show the Rescued Deckhands side & place 1 Deckhand in the space where your ship sank. Place the other 2 Deckhands on the Deckhand icons at the end of the ship. Deckhands in the Whirlpool cannot be targeted by tentacles or damaged by the Kraken attack, but are still affected by the Whirlpool Current & push/pull effects.

Before being rescued, you still have a turn with 3 actions. You have 2 actions available to use:

• Swim — Move 1 space. This cannot be used to move against the Whirlpool Current.
• Board Ship — If occupying the same space as a player ship, you may board their ship & become Rescued Deckhands on their ship.

If a ship that already has Rescued Deckhands on it sinks, place one of each ship's Deckhands into the space where it sank. Both players can still be rescued, but being rescued a second time does not give the rescuer any cards or Gold.

Playing as Rescued Deckhands

Whenever your Deckhands are rescued, you change roles from Captain of your ship to Deckhands on another. Your turn will now be immediately before the turn of the player who rescued you. While playing as Rescued Deckhands, you have 3 Deckhands & 9 total actions per turn. There are 2 actions that Deckhands can take:

• Move 1 space up the ship
• Man part of the ship

As soon as you are picked up by or board another player's ship, you may immediately place 1 Deckhand on any space of the ship board except OVERHAUL to man that part of the ship and take the corresponding action. If you do, that Deckhand cannot be used during your next turn and remains in its manned position for that turn.

Manning the Ship

When a Deckhand reaches a row on the ship that has an icon on it, this indicates that the Deckhands can man that part of the ship. There are 5 areas of the ship that can be manned: The Helm, The Supplies, The Cannons, The Hull & The Overhaul. When a Deckhand mans part of the ship, move it down to the corresponding section at the bottom of the board.

Actions made by Deckhands do not take away actions from the rescuer's ship, but they are considered actions made by the rescuer's ship when it comes to cards triggering or giving bonuses. For example, if you Man the Helm to Sail the rescuer's ship as Rescued Deckhands, the spaces moved would count towards "The Navigator" card if it were on the rescuer's ship. Deckhands cannot use Market or Treasure cards on the rescuer's ship, but still receive bonuses from cards that affect allies.

Man the Helm — When a Deckhand mans the helm, they make a Sail action, moving the rescuer's ship up to one more space than its current Sail stat.

Man the Cannons — When a Deckhand mans the cannons, they make an Attack action following normal attack rules, but using the rescuer ship's Attack stat. They add 1 Success to the roll.

Man the Supplies — When a Deckhand mans the supplies, they make a Repair action on the rescuer's ship using the rescuer ship's Repair stat.

Man the Hull — When a Deckhand mans the hull, the rescuer's ship adds 1 Success to all Hull rolls until the beginning of the Deckhand's next turn.

Overhaul — Once a Deckhand mans this position, they get to raise any stat by one position on the rescuer's ship. This can be used to move stats above their base positions.

At the beginning of the Deckhands turn, all Deckhands that are manning part of a ship are moved back to the starting position. Any Deckhands that moved up the ship, but did not man a part of the ship, stay where they are.

Winning the Game

There is only one way to win the game. Players must defeat the Kraken! Once the Kraken's life total reaches the skull on the Kraken board tracker, the players win!

Losing the Game

Players lose the game if all players sink or there is no Whirlpool card to draw at the beginning of a round.

Alternate Difficulties

Old Salt Set Up — Difficulty: Hard

• Place 4 random Black Spot cards at the beginning of the game instead of 3.
• Take the Kraken Modifier Aggression & place it by the Kraken Board face up.
  • This Modifier will always be in play & does not count towards the maximum number of modifiers.

Act 2 Rules:

• After the Kraken Enrages (at 9 life), defeating a tentacle no longer deals damage to the Kraken.
• The Kraken cannot lose its last life until all tentacles have been defeated.

Black Spot Set Up — Difficulty: Very Hard

• Follow the Set Up of the Old Salt difficulty along with these additional set up instructions:
• Open Sea Deck: Remove the following cards from the game before setup: Merchants at Sea (x2), Smuggler's Secrets (x2)
• Act 2 begins after 4 Kraken Modifiers are drawn instead of 3.

Act 2 Rules:

• Start the Kraken's Life total at 32. Ignore adding life from Black Spot cards.
• The maximum amount of Kraken modifiers that can be in play at the start of Act 2 is now 6 instead of 5.
• After the Kraken Enrages (at 9 life), defeating a tentacle no longer deals damage to the Kraken.
• The Kraken cannot lose its last life until all tentacles have been defeated.

Quick Play

For a quicker experience, follow these quick play set-up rules:

Act 1

• Start each ship with 4 Gold & these Market Cards: The Sea Dragon - Stern Chasers, The Nautilus - Head Rails, The Hammerhead - Grapeshot, The Man O' War - Fortification & The Marlin - Deadeyes.
• Use only 3 Event cards when creating the Event deck. Do not use Waterspouts or Strong Tides Event cards.
• Do not shuffle Kraken Modifiers into the Open Sea deck. Instead, place 3 at random face down by the board.
• Each player may choose 1 stat other than their ship's strength to raise by 1 position.

Act 2

• Remove both Regenerating Tentacles & Feeding Frenzy cards from the Whirlpool deck.
• Instead of spawning tentacles, place one in League 2 of each Octant, starting in the North & going clockwise.
• The Kraken Attack always hits all Octants, but it does half damage, rounded up.

Pillager Rules Variant

Become a ruthless pirate, battling ships & plundering markets in Act 1!

Take the Naval Brigade Event card & place it face up beside the Event deck. Naval ships will be in play throughout Act 1. Whenever a Naval ship leaves play, either by reaching the end of their route or by being defeated, respawn it at its flag at the beginning of the next round.

Anytime a player would defeat a Naval Ship, they may raise any stat by 1 & gain 2 Gold. If at any point there are 2 or less Naval Ships in play, players may forgo their Visit Market action to make a Pillage action at any port.

Pillage Action — While occupying a port, draw the top 4 cards from the port's Market deck. Then roll 4 Fortune Dice & take 1 Market card worth less than or equal to the amount of successes rolled.

Solo Mode — Spawn in 2 Naval ships onto 2 flags randomly. You may Pillage any port that is not within 5 spaces of a Naval Ship.

Become the Pirate King! — Semi Co-op Mode

Although you must all work together to defeat the Kraken, power & notoriety are always at the front of your mind. You are pirates, after all! Coming out of this battle with the best ship, crew, equipment & infamy will give you the title of Pirate King, ruling over all pirates across the Seven Seas!

As you play through the game, there will be many achievements for players to complete to add to their Infamy. Some of these achievements give the player Infamy right away, while others are not counted until the end of the game. Whenever a player completes one of the challenges in the During the Game table below, they will move up their Infamy tracker that many spaces as soon as they complete the achievement. Then at the end of the game, players will add up their Infamy from the End of the Game table, moving their cube up the Infamy tracker as they score their achievements. The Captain with the most Infamy becomes the Pirate King! You must defeat the Kraken for any player to become Pirate King, so you will still need to work together to win!

During the Game	Gain	End of Game	Gain
Each defeated Naval & Raiding Ship	1 Infamy	For every 2 Gold	1 Infamy
Successful Shipwreck/Treasure Galleon	3 Infamy	Each position a stat is raised	1 Infamy
For each tentacle defeated	2 Infamy	Each Market card	2 Infamy
Rescuing Deckhands	3 Infamy	Each Treasure on your ship	4 Infamy
Making the final hit on the Kraken	5 Infamy	Each position a stat is lowered	-1 Infamy

If your ship sinks, you cannot become the Pirate King, but you can be part of their crew! If the ship that rescues you becomes Pirate King, you are considered their First Mate & most trusted ally! All Infamy you gain as a deckhand goes towards their Infamy.

Tiebreaker — If 2 or more players are tied for Infamy, the player with the most Gold is named Pirate King. If there is still a tie, the player with the most Treasure is Pirate King!

Solo Mode — You can still become Pirate King playing solo. If you defeat the Kraken & have 35 or more Infamy, you are the Pirate King!

Solo Mode

For solo mode, follow the instructions below during set up.

Event deck setup — Remove the Avast, Matey! card from the game before creating the Event deck.

Market deck setup — Remove the following cards from each Market deck:

• Mutineer's Bay — Explosive Cannonballs, Exploding Barrels, Powder Monkey x1
• Remedy Cove — Bridge Plank, Patchwork Wood x1
• Siren's Grotto — Grappling Hook, Dead Eyes x1
• Shipwreck Reef — Head Rails x1

Open Sea deck setup — Separate the Open Sea & Kraken Modifier cards. Shuffle all Open Sea cards & set aside 1 card. Then, shuffle the remaining Open Sea cards together with all Kraken Modifiers, forming the Open Sea Deck. Place the Open Sea card that was set aside on top of the deck.

Whirlpool deck setup — Remove the following cards before creating the deck of 10 Whirlpool cards: Confusion in the Mist, Curse of the Compass Rose, Strength in Numbers, Circling Its Prey, Tentacle Wall, Regenerating Tentacles x2.

Shipwreck & Treasure Galleon Rules

• Add 2 successes to all Shipwreck & Treasure Galleon card rolls. You roll both stats for Treasure Galleons.
• When you successfully complete a Shipwreck, gain 2 Gold instead of 4.
• When you fail a Shipwreck, lower the amount of all Integrity/stats that would be lost by half rounded up.

You may start your ship on Smuggler's Den.

Act 2 Rules

• Kraken Life — Starts at 18.
• Kraken Attack — 1 Safe Zone will be removed for every 3 life The Kraken has lost.
• Starting number of tentacles — 4.

5-Player Mode

Follow the setup instructions & rule modifications below to play a 5-player game.

Open Sea Deck Setup — Separate the Open Sea & Kraken Modifier cards. Randomly select 15 Open Sea cards & 7 Kraken Modifier cards & shuffle them together. Shuffle & place the remaining Open Sea cards on top of this pile to form the Open Sea deck.

Black Spot Cards — Randomly select 4 Black Spot cards at the beginning of the game instead of 3.

Act 2 Rules

• Use the 4-player triggers for each Black Spot card.
• Start the Kraken's Life total at 32.
• Ignore adding life from Black Spot cards.
• Maximum Kraken Modifiers: 6.
• Whenever the Kraken would respawn tentacles from its life being lowered, respawn 3 tentacles instead of 2.
• After the Kraken Enrages (at 9 life), defeating a tentacle no longer deals damage to the Kraken.

Set up the remaining components as you would a 4-player game.

Act 2 Only Mode

If you cannot wait to take on the Kraken & would like to skip Act 1, follow these set up rules.

Player Setup

• Each Player chooses a ship & an Act 2 ability to use.
• Determine which player will go first by rolling Integrity dice. Starting with that player & going clockwise, each player will be able to choose & purchase 1 Market card (for its normal value) or 1 Treasure card (for 8 Gold).
• After each player gets a chance to purchase a card, repeat this step, starting with the player who chose last in the previous round.
• Each player may purchase up to 18 Gold worth of cards.
• After every player has reached their 18 Gold limit or has decided not to purchase anything, give each player the difference in Gold between their purchased cards & the 18 Gold limit.
• Any player with Gold may now use 2 Gold to raise any stat by 1 position.

Kraken Setup

• Randomly select 4 Kraken Modifiers to start Act 2, putting them face up near the game board.
• Randomly select 1 more Kraken Modifier, placing it face down near the others. This will be flipped when the Kraken reaches its Enrage stage at 9 life.
• Randomly select 7 Whirlpool cards to create the Whirlpool deck, placing it above the game board.
• Follow the remaining, normal setup rules for Act 2, placing the Kraken head in the middle of the board & adding tentacle life dice to the Kraken Board for each tentacle in play based on the player count.

F.A.Q.

Adjacency — References to being adjacent include every space directly next to the player/target, & the same space as the player/target.

Lowering Stats — If a stat is at its lowest position, players cannot choose that stat to be lowered.

Raiding Ships are able to use Trade Winds.

Market Cards

Market cards can be used at any time. This means you can discard & activate a card to use its ability after seeing all rolls for an action, even if your Integrity is at zero, unless otherwise specified on the card.

Grappling Hook — If a player is attached to another ship & they are forced to respawn, they are no longer attached. The Grappling Hook is no longer active & the player must place a Reload counter on it.

Stern Chasers — Sailing at any point in the round includes successfully using The Sea Dragon's Run A Rig ability, the Sextant Treasure card, or any other card that allows a player to Sail outside of their turn. This does not include being moved by the Whirlpool current.

Treasures

Treasure cards always supersede other cards, such as Whirlpool cards.

Chain Shot — The enemy must move at least 1 space before activating this card.

Ship Ability Upgrades — These upgrades only apply if the ship equipped with the Treasure is using the named ability. Ship Ability Upgrades supersede Whirlpool cards & Kraken Modifiers.

Treasures that state that a stat cannot be lowered, such as the Spyglass, allow players to ignore any effect that would cause them to lower that stat. However, players cannot choose to lower that stat. For example, if a player has the Spyglass & they fail a Shipwreck card that causes the players to lower their Attack by 2, the player with the Spyglass cannot choose to take that effect, so the other ship must take that effect.

Ship Abilities

The Marlin's Lend a Hand ability — If The Marlin sinks while its Deckhands are on another ship, they are immediately returned to The Marlin to be used as Rescued Deckhands.

Beginning of Turn Triggers

Abilities that state a player may do something at the start of their turn must be done first on their turn, before resolving any other cards, actions, or abilities. If a player has multiple cards that trigger at the beginning of their turn, they choose the order in which they trigger.

Kraken Attacks

The Kraken does NOT target players. Instead, it targets Octants & hits each player within the Octant separately.

Shipwrecks

Damnation & Discord — When resolving this Shipwreck card, the assisting player adds 2 successes (half of 5 rounded down).

Free Actions

When making a free action, other Market cards are still considered for these actions. For example, the Treasure card Swivel Cannon gives players the chance to make a free attack using 3 Fortune Dice. If a player has any Market Card that adds dice or successes to attack rolls, they are still used during this free attack.

Free actions are still considered actions taken by the player, but they do not use one of the 3 action points for their turn. For example, if a player has the Treasure card Astrolabe & the Market card Life Boat, using the Astrolabe to make a free Sail action would trigger the Life Boat's ability to Repair: 1 after making a Sail action.

Credits

Game Design & Development — Zachary Jacob & Katie Jacob

Graphic Design & Art — Giovanni Spadaro & Daniele Nicotra

Equipment/Crew Illustrations — Daniele Nicotra

3D Modeling — Alfonso Martinez Erades & Jonty Pvt Ltd

A special thanks to Ross Baumis, Dustin Baumis, Brett Cohen & Chris Skees for their constant support from day 1 of this journey & willingness to play test even through their very busy lives.

Also a big thank you to our Discord community for play testing & pushing the game to its fullest potential! A special thank you to Jason B. & Brandon Field for being a constant presence in the Discord, going above & beyond to help edit & play test. You all helped flesh out so many ideas that made this game better & more unique. We are so thankful for you all!

We also want to thank all of the backers that funded this project & brought it to life. You've helped us achieve our dream of designing a game. We couldn't have done this without you & we are eternally grateful for you all!

Icon Reference

Card Icons — Attack, Hull, Sail, Repair, Range, Success, Fortune Dice, Gold

Map Icons — Naval Ships, Raiding Ships, Merchant Ships, Shipwrecks, Trade Winds, Strong Tides, Waterspouts