Pirateer
Pirateer Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object
The object of Pirateer is to take the treasure with one of your ships and move it to your home port anchorage, or to capture the last of your opponents.
Starting Positions
Each player places three ships on the second, third and fourth space from the end of their home port. The Treasure coin is then placed on Skull Island and the game is ready to play.
Basic Movement
Dice rolls are used to sail the ships of your Pirateer fleet. Each of the dice represents sailing one direction for one ship. With a roll of two dice, ships can sail several ways.
Reach
Sail one ship twice in the same direction.
Tack
Sail one ship in an 'L' shaped course.
Slip
Sail one ship back and forth.
Jibe
Sail two ships separately.
No Jumps
Ships cannot sail across other ships.
Navigation
Open Sea
All spaces with the exception of tradewinds and straits. Sail in four directions parallel with the lines of the board. Ships cannot sail across rocks or land.
Tradewinds
Two diagonal rows of waves (10 spaces each), which run the length of the board. Sail diagonally in two directions within the tradewinds, or in four directions to the open sea from the tradewinds. Ships cannot sail across tradewinds with a single die roll.
Straits
Two pairs of half-spaces located at the center of the long edges of the board. Straits allow passage between opposite sides of the board. Sail in four directions to the open sea from the straits. Ships cannot sail across straits with a single die roll. (See FAQ: How do the straits work?)
Capture
Opponents' ships may be captured by landing on them with the exact roll of either die. Once captured, that ship is removed from play for the rest of the game.
Plunder
The Treasure may be taken by landing on any of the eight spaces next to Skull Island with the exact roll of either die.
Treasure may also be taken by capturing any opponent which is carrying it.
Ships carrying treasure can move directly toward and parallel to their home port. Ships with treasure cannot move directly away from their own home port. (See FAQ: Which direction can the treasure be moved?)
Winning
The game is over when the first player reaches their home port anchorage (the end of their harbor) with the treasure.
Rules
Both dice must be used to move wherever possible. Players caught cheating must forfeit their next turn. No fist fights, knives, guns or nuclear weapons are allowed during play.
Variants
Devil's Island
Players start with one ship on their home port anchorage and their remaining ships on the nearest anchorages next to Skull Island. This variant can always be counted on for a lively beginning.
Hurricane
Add an extra die to your plundering for some unusually fast action. But if you roll a hurricane (three of a kind), you lose the ship furthest from your home port. Batten down those hatches!
Nuke-a-teer
At the beginning of your turn, you may declare one of your ships to be a nuclear device. Then, sacrificing that ship and forfeiting movement, both dice are rolled to determine the blast radius. The low die is counted in all directions from your nuke's position to define "ground zero". Anything within this area is destroyed for the duration of the game, including all ships and treasure.
Flotilla
The game begins with players stacking all three ships on the home port anchorage. The stack may be moved as a unit, deployed into individual ships, or restacked on appropriate dice rolls.
Shipwreck
Low tide is the prevailing factor here. Instead of stacking or removing captured ships, they are flipped over and left in the space where they were captured. Such shipwrecks are impassable and bring an interesting new dimension to plundering.
Acey-Deucey
In this wild card variant, all usual rules apply, but when a player rolls a 1-2 combination (acey-deucey), that player is allowed to use the roll, make up any roll and move, then roll and move again.
Dominion (2 players)
Two players each control an alliance of six ships from the ports of one tradewind against the ports of the other. Dice rolls are used to move any of six ships in the alliance, but treasure must be returned to the home port anchorage of the ship which is carrying it. The additional ships - and choices - give a distinct advantage to players with skill and experience.
Runaway (2 players)
Likewise, Runaway is an alliance of six ships, this time between the ports at each end of the tradewinds. However, the polar position of opponents distinguishes this game for strategy, tactics and hot dice.
Pieces of Eight (5 to 8 players)
This requires two complete game sets. Place the game boards together, joining them at the straits. Up to eight players take normal starting positions, and then a coin toss determines which board both treasures will be placed on. The inside straits provide passage between boards at the center, and the outside straits allow passage from one side of the assembly to the other. And, oh yeah ...all four dice are used at once.
FAQ
Q: Do you always have to use your entire dice roll?
A: If possible, yes. Sometimes it isn't possible to use both, in which case you must use one of the dice. You cannot choose a move which prevents you from using both dice.
Q: How do the straits work?
A: Imagine the Pirateer map as a cylinder with the seam at the straits. These two half-spaces have two half-space partners on the other side of the seam. Combined, these four half-spaces form two complete spaces, which provide passage between opposite sides of the board.
Q: Can you move diagonally off the end of the tradewinds?
A: No.
Q: Which direction can the treasure be moved?
A: Ships carrying treasure can move directly toward and parallel to their home port. Ships with treasure cannot move directly away from their own home port. However, you can cross the near straits with the treasure and transit to the far side of the board. This is because -technically- both sides of the straits are the same space.
Q: What happens if a Pirate (skull & crossbones) take the treasure in the Barbarys' (crescent moon & star) harbor?
A: Because ships can't back up with the treasure, every player has an opponent with a 'Poison Harbor'. That's a harbor that ships can enter to take the treasure, but then they can't escape. True Pirateers will try to escape anyway & hope their opponents fail to call them on it.