Piratissimo Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Preparations
• Contents
• Aim of the game
• How to play
  • Play in turns
  • The dice shows a number
  • Reaching an island
  • Loading and overloading a ship
  • Bringing treasure back to harbour
  • The dice shows the tornado
• End of the game
• Variation for younger players
• Variation for older players

Preparations

Before starting to play, fix the wind wheel in the corresponding hole on the game board.

Each player chooses one of the four colours and places their ship on the start square of their harbour. Put the treasure pieces into the little basket and place them together with the dice and the tornado piece next to the game board.

Contents

• 1 game board
• 4 wooden ships
• 1 dice
• 64 treasure pieces
• 1 tornado piece
• 1 wind wheel
• 1 small basket
• 1 instructions

Aim of the game

The first captain to bring at least ten pieces of treasure back to his harbour wins the game.

How to play

Play in turns

Play in turns in a clockwise direction. The player who was on a boat most recently begins. They place the tornado piece on a tornado square of their choice. During the game, the tornado piece will start from here and move in the direction shown by the white arrows.

Now, the first player throws the dice.

The dice shows a number

If the dice shows a number, the player moves their ship forward by the number of islands (squares) indicated on the dice. The little arrow near the islands shows which direction the ship sails in.

Each island has enough space for two ships to moor. If an island is already occupied by two ships, the player has to place their ship on the next free island.

Reaching an island

If the player's ship lands on an island, the following rules apply:

• Islands with a green treasure chest: They may decide how many treasure pieces they want to load onto their ship. They may only take as many as indicated by the number on the island. Of course, they can also relinquish the right to take on treasure in order not to overload their ship. Other captains who arrive here later may also want to pick up some treasure.
• Islands with a red treasure chest: The players become so dazzled by greed that they can no longer think straight. For this reason, they have to load two treasure pieces onto their ship.
• Neutral islands: Neutral islands have no hidden treasure. There could be some skulduggery if two ships meet here, though: The last player to arrive has the possibility to steal up to two treasure pieces from their opponent and to load them onto their own ship, or to relinquish up to two of their own treasure pieces to their opponent in order to overload the opponent's ship. They may also choose to do nothing.
• Islands with a tornado piece: If the player's ship comes to an island with a tornado piece on it, they may execute the action corresponding to this island (see the description above). Tornados have no effect on the ships arriving at that island.

Loading and overloading a ship

To load a ship, simply place the treasure on the masts. A ship may only carry a maximum of seven treasure pieces, so the players need to plan carefully!

If their ship picks up more than seven treasure pieces, it capsizes and its cargo sinks to the bottom of the sea. All treasure must be put back into the small basket. The ship in question continues sailing from the island where it capsized. The player may start collecting treasure again.

Bringing treasure back to harbour

Each harbour is an individual square on the game board. Only the ship with the same colour may sail into the corresponding harbour. When entering a harbour, any moves not taken by a ship are forfeited.

If the ship returns to the harbour with seven or less treasure pieces, the player may unload them and place the treasure in the hollows on the board.

As soon as it's the player's turn again, their ship leaves the harbour to find new treasure until they have a total of ten pieces.

The dice shows the tornado

If the dice shows the tornado, the following actions have to be executed, one after the other, in the given order.

1. Move your own ship: First of all, the player may move their ship to the next island in the direction indicated by the arrow. Depending on the island they reach, they may execute the corresponding actions (see the description above, chapter "Reaching an island"). The player may also choose to do nothing.

2. Move the tornado piece: The player then moves the tornado piece anticlockwise:

• If there are two players: from one to five squares.
• If there are three players: from one to four squares.
• If there are four players: from one to three squares.

The player may also choose not to do this.

a. The tornado meets one or several ships: If the tornado stops its movement directly on an island where ships are moored (with or without cargo), the player who moves the tornado piece moves the wind wheel in the centre of the game board. One of the tips on the wind wheel is marked and indicates what happens when the tornado passes over the ships.

Note: All actions caused by the tornado are executed by the player whose turn it is and who has moved the tornado piece! This may include moving the other players' ships, removing their treasure or distributing treasure among other participants.

• "The affected ships are lucky!" The tornado is not very strong. The players do not lose any treasure, but the tornado moves the ships to the next island. Where appropriate, the player may immediately pick up treasure on this island. It is also possible that a ship cannot sail into its harbour because of this movement and must sail another round, or that a ship becomes overloaded.

• "Oh no! The tornado hit the ships on the island causing much of the treasure to go overboard." Each affected player must give one treasure piece to every other participant, who in turn has to load it onto their ship. If a player does not have enough treasure to give to each person, they may decide for themself who receives one and who does not. If a player whose ship is actually moored in the harbour receives some treasure, they can unload it immediately. If a player receives some treasure after their ship was in their own harbour but is now on the island directly outside their harbour, they may not return to unload but must first complete a full round before they can call in again.

• "Great! The man in the lookout-post saw the oncoming tornado early and the ship was able to reach its harbour in time!" Move the affected ships to their corresponding harbour. If they have already collected treasure, they may unload it now. If necessary, they may start a new expedition.

• "The tornado has hit the ships of the affected island and washed two treasure pieces into the sea." Take two treasure pieces from each affected ship (provided they are carrying some) and place them back into the small basket.

b. The tornado does not hit any ships: If the tornado stops at an island where no ship is moored, nothing happens. It is then the next player's turn.

End of the game

The game is over when a player has brought at least ten pieces of treasure back to their harbour. When the winner has reached their destination, the other players are free to continue in order to determine the other places.

And now: Ship ahoy! Make your fortune searching for the precious treasure with Piratissimo, the great treasure hunting game!

Variation for younger players

If younger children are participating, they may play without the tornado piece. If the dice shows the tornado symbol, the affected ship is simply moved to the next island in a clockwise direction. For this variation, they don't need the wind wheel at all.

They may also reduce the number of treasure pieces required to win the game.

Variation for older players

This variation is especially suitable if older players want to participate, since the tornado may move in any direction and thus becomes more dangerous.

As soon as the dice shows the tornado symbol, the tornado piece is moved in any direction. Once moved, the direction may not be changed within this turn. In this variation, the number of squares also depends on the number of players, as described in the chapter "Move the tornado piece".