Seas of Havoc
Seas of Havoc Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Overview & Goal
- Box Contents
- Player Setup
- Sea Grid Setup
- Island Setup
- Variants
- Core Concepts
- Island Phase
- Island Actions
- The Market
- Market Cards
- Sea Phase
- Maneuvering
- Collisions, Shipwrecks, Whirlpools & Gusts
- Cannon Fire
- Reminders
- Ending the Game
- Final Scoring
- Credits
- Card Anatomy
- Ghost Fleet: Solo & Co-op
- Quick Reference
Overview & Goal
Among the Archipelago's isles grow tide and swell erratic; Strange winds and stranger waters, as storms of sails are gathered. The blast of guns, the haze of smoke, wood ships are smashed and shattered; Chaotic clashing steadfast souls on the infamous Seas of Havoc.
Take the role of a ship's captain, firing upon your opponents as you sail among the Archipelago of Havoc's isles. Ship movement, cannon fire and other abilities are represented as cards in a deck unique to each player.
Games proceed in two alternating phases:
During the Island Phase, players take turns sending their crew on Skiffs to the archipelago's establishments gaining resources, upgrading their ships and purchasing new cards for their decks.
Following this, the Sea Phase occurs, where players take turns playing out a hand of cards to move their ship and fire its cannons. With each successful hit, players gain Infamy and clutter their opponents' maneuver decks with score reducing damage cards.
The game continues alternating between these two phases until all damage cards have been dealt. The player with the highest Infamy tallied from battle, the cards in their deck, and from developed ship upgrades wins.
Box Contents
- 6 Starting Ship Decks (6 cards in each deck)
- 12 Character Ability Cards (2 cards per character)
- 6 Characters
- 64 Market Cards
- 42 Damage Cards
- 12 Upgrade Cards (2 cards per ship)
- 1 First Player Token
- 18 Skiffs (3 in each color)
- 6 Ships
- 6 Infamy Trackers
- 40 Cannonball Tokens
- 30 Coins
- 1 Board
- 6 Player Boards (1 in each color)
- 4 Flags
- 2 Dice
- 9 Shipwreck Tokens
- 6 Sea Feature Tokens
- 24 Ghost Ship Cards
- Captain's Log Sheet
Player Setup
As the captain, you will maneuver your ship using a personal deck of cards that you will adjust throughout the game. Player area setup involves preparing this deck and organizing the resources that will help you improve your deck.
Player setup can affect decisions during Sea Grid setup and must be performed first.
Select a Ship
Each player chooses a ship and takes the corresponding components related to that ship:
- Player Board
- Ship Upgrade Cards (2 cards)
- Starting Ship Deck (6 cards)
- Ship, Infamy Tracker, and Skiffs
Place both Ship Upgrade cards with their inactive (gear icon) sides up.
Select a Captain
Each player chooses a character to be their captain. Slot the corresponding Character Card into your Player Board. Shuffle that Character's 2 Ability Cards with your 6 Starting Ship Cards to form your 8 card Starting Deck and place it facedown in front of you. Draw 4 cards.
Determine Player Order
The player who was most recently on a ship goes first. If you're playing on a ship, the player closest to the bow goes first. Player order continues to the left.
Starting Resources
All players receive 1 of each resource (Sail, Cannonball, Coin) plus additional resources based on play order:
- 1st Player: Takes the First Player token.
- 2nd Player: Gains 1 Sail.
- 3rd Player: Gains 1 Cannonball.
- 4th Player: Gains 1 Sail and 1 Cannonball.
- 5th Player: Gains 1 Cannonball and 1 Coin.
Recommended Decks
If this is one of your first games, try out one of these Ship & Captain combinations:
- Xebec + Corsair
- Galleon + Treasure Hunter
- Sloop-of-War + Rebel
- Ship-of-the-Line + Admiral
- War Junk + Pirate Queen
- Brig + Merchant
Solo, 2 Player, Co-op & Team
If playing a solo, 2 player, co-op, or team game, see Variants on page 9 or Ghost Ships: Solo & Co-op on page 22 for setup adjustments before moving on.
Sea Grid Setup
Combat takes place on the dark blue Sea Grid in the center of the main board which represents the waters of the archipelago.
In this step of setup, you will determine the locations of sea features, shipwrecks to salvage, and the starting locations of your ships.
A. Place Sea Features
Sea features include Rocks, Whirlpools, and Gusts. Their locations are determined by rolling the Coordinate Dice and using the guides on the edge of the Sea Grid.
We recommend using the following number of sea features depending on ship count:
- 2-3 Ships: 3 Rocks, 1 Whirlpool, 2 Gusts
- 4-5 Ships: 2 Rocks, 1 Whirlpool, 3 Gusts
If a sea feature would be placed on another, roll again.
Arrange all Gusts to point in the same direction agreed upon by the players.
Features may be arranged in any number and location if all players agree on the layout.
B. Place Shipwrecks
Shuffle all Shipwreck Tokens on the table with their value (unique) sides face down.
Using the coordinate dice, place 2 Shipwreck tokens on the Sea Grid, keeping them facedown.
Re-roll locations for Shipwrecks that would be placed on rocks or other Shipwrecks.
Shipwrecks may be placed on Whirlpools and Gusts.
C. Place Ships
In player order, roll the dice to determine your starting Ship location. Re-roll if the space is already occupied by a rock, ship or shipwreck.
Ships are placed standing upright.
You may orient your ship in any orthogonal direction.
Ship orientation is important. Take a look at your starting hand and plan ahead!
D. Set Starting Infamy
Place all players' Infamy Trackers on the "0" space. As Infamy is scored throughout the game, you will be moving the appropriate player's tracker around the board to tally them. Trackers may occupy the same spaces around the board.
You cannot take any action that would reduce your Infamy below zero.
The Infamy track loops. If you pass 60, continue around the track, remembering to add 60 to your final score.
Island Setup
Captains will send their crew to the Archipelago of Havoc's islands to resupply Resources, purchase Cards, to Upgrade their ships, and to repair Damage.
In this step of setup, you will be preparing the resource tokens and the Card Market.
1. Place Flags
Place the 4 Flag tokens on the board just above their corresponding Skiff slot.
2. Place Resource Tokens
Place the remaining Cannonball and Coin resource tokens near the board.
Note that players cannot hold more Sail and Cannonball than can fit on their player boards.
The Coin resource supply is considered infinite, if none remain, use alternative pieces.
3. Shipwreck Tokens
Keep the remaining shipwreck tokens near the board shuffled in a random stack.
4. Prepare the Card Market
Shuffle the Market Deck and place 5 cards in a row face up near the board. This forms the Card Market.
5. Place Damage Cards
Create a Damage Card deck consisting of 10 Damage cards plus 5 additional Damage cards per ship.
Place it face up near the board.
Players will take cards from this deck as their ships take hits. The game ends after the Sea Phase when this deck is depleted.
You may choose to adjust the number of damage cards in the deck for a longer or shorter game.
6. Scrap Pile
Leave room for a scrap pile of cards that are removed (scrapped) from players' decks or from the Card Market throughout the course of the game.
Blocked Ports
Note that some spaces around the islands on the board are marked with 3+, 4+, etc. These are only available if there are at least that many different players in the game.
Variants
In a 2 player game, either the co-op or the 2 ship variant is recommended for a better experience.
2 Ship Variant
A 2 player game where both players control a second ship. This maintains a good number of targets and increases tactical depth.
Setup Differences:
Each player chooses a second ship.
No cards or upgrades from the 2nd ship are used.
When placing ships: Player 1 places their 1st ship then Player 2 places both their ships. Lastly, Player 1 places their 2nd ship.
Gameplay Differences:
- Players use a single captain, deck, hand, ship upgrades, and resources from their one player board to manage both ships.
- Each card you play applies only to one ship.
- Infamy can be earned by either ship.
- Damage taken by either ship enters your discard pile.
- Active upgrades affect both of your ships.
- It is possible to take damage from your own ship. In these cases, no Infamy is earned.
Solo, Co-op & Ghost Players
Ghost ships can be used to simulate players and offer a challenging solo or co-op experience. Their setup and rules are included in detail on page 22.
Teams Variant
A team game can be played at the 3, 4, or 5 player count. A team can consist of as little as 1 player. There may be any number of teams.
Setup Differences:
Divide the players into teams.
Players on the same team should be seated across from one another as best as possible.
Gameplay Differences:
- Players on the same team can still damage one another but do not score Infamy for hitting friendly ships.
- Infamy is scored by each player individually. At the end of the game, a team's Infamy is tallied by adding each of it's member's Infamy then dividing by the number of team members, rounding down.
Core Concepts
Deckbuilding
Your Deck is the engine that will allow you to move around the sea board and score Infamy.
In order to stay competitive, you'll have to add new cards to your deck from the Market to increase the distance you can travel and your firepower. There are also Flag Actions on cards, giving them multiple uses and improving your deck's flexibility and efficiency.
Deck Management
Cards you own will cycle through 3 locations:
DECK (Face down pile) Cards will be drawn from your deck into your Hand at the start of each island phase.
HAND (Held, hidden from others) As you play cards from your hand, they are placed in your Discard Pile.
Cards will also enter your hand when they are purchased from the market.
DISCARD PILE (Face up pile) This is the holding area for used cards. Damage cards may also end up in here as you take hits.
If you must draw but there are no cards left in your deck, shuffle your discard pile and place it face down as your new Deck. You may then draw the cards you require.
You may not begin creating a new deck until you can no longer draw from the old one.
Scrapping Cards
Cards that are "scrapped" are removed from the game and can be placed in the shared scrapped discard pile.
IMPORTANT: If a player scraps a card, they receive its cost in resources from the supply!
Ship Upgrades
You may develop your ship upgrades at the workshop during the Island Phase to grant you unique benefits and abilities that last the remainder of the game.
It's generally a good idea to get these early on, but some can be developed at key moments for surprise attacks!
Infamy
Infamy represents your skill as a captain and will determine the winner.
Infamy is awarded through combat, abilities, the cards you add to your deck, and the upgrades you develop. It can also be lost by taking damage cards from enemy fire.
You'll have to be aggressive enough to score Infamy, but also savvy enough know when to get out of the way!
Phases
The game is separated into two distinct phases.
The Island Phase has players placing Skiffs, gaining resources and building their decks.
In the Sea Phase you will maneuver your ship and combat others.
Each phase has distinct gameplay and affects the one that follows. Together they form the core cycle of this game.
Island, Sea, Island, Sea, Island...
Island Phase
Games begin with the Island Phase. During this phase, players send crew on Skiffs to compete for control of the archipelago's island establishments. Islands yield resource tokens, sell cards, and offer other special actions.
Step 1: Send Out Skiffs
Starting with the player holding the First Player token, each player sends a Skiff to an island by placing it on any unoccupied slot on the board or on a card in the Market.
Play continues clockwise, with each player placing one Skiff per turn until all Skiffs have been placed. Note that only a single Skiff may occupy a slot or card at a time.
Skiffs placed on board slots resolve their actions immediately while Skiffs placed on cards resolve their purchases in turn order after all Skiffs have been placed.
The Blacksmith has two slots (one is only available in games with 4+ players). These spaces can be taken by two different players or both by the same player, though players may only place one Skiff per turn.
Step 2: Card Purchases
Once all Skiffs have been placed, cards claimed for purchase must be paid for.
To purchase a card, players pay the purchase cost on the top left of the card in resources and then add the card directly to their hand.
Example: This card costs Sail and 1 Coin and is worth 2 Infamy at the end of the game.
Unpurchased Cards It is not required to purchase a claimed card. Cards that are not paid for, no matter the reason, remain in the Market for the following Island Phase.
Step 3: Island Cleanup
At the end of the phase, after all desired purchases have been made, players retrieve their Skiffs and the Market is replenished with new cards from the Market deck to a total of 5 cards. Then proceed to the Sea phase.
Island Actions
Resource Producers
Bank, Blacksmith, Sail Maker, & Shipyard
When visiting one of these locations, immediately gain the resources depicted:
- Sail: Gain 1 Sail by turning the wheel on your player board
- Cannonball: Gain 1 Cannon token and add it to your player board
- Coin: Gain 1 Coin token into your play area
- Any Resource: Gain 1 of any Resource
Capitol
Immediately take the First Player Token from its current owner and gain any 1 of any resource.
The First Player Token is transferred immediately, meaning you will go first in the subsequent Sea and Island Phase. For the remainder of the current Island Phase, however, players continue placing Skiffs following the current player order.
Trading Post
Immediately exchange up to two of your resources for any other two from the supply.
Workshop
Pay the resource cost of one of your inactive ship upgrades to flip it to its active side (coloured side up). Read its effects out loud for other players.
Once active, upgrades remain in effect for the remainder of the game.
Active upgrades also contribute to your Infamy. Tally them at the end of the game.
Deep Cove
Scrap up to 2 cards from your hand or discard pile. You may then take resources equal to the cost of those cards (found on their top left) from the supply.
This is a great way to remove damage and to get rid of cards that don't match your deckbuilding strategy while also producing resources to purchase new cards.
Flags
If you claim a flag slot, immediately take the corresponding flag token from the board or from another player if they own it. You now own this flag.
You may then perform the associated Flag's action once:
- Any Resource icon: Gain 1 of any resource
- Scrap icon: Scrap 1 card from your hand or discard pile and gain the resources equal to the cost of that card
- Draw card icon: Draw 1 card from your deck to your hand
- Chain/link icon: Immediately take another turn — Island Phase: Place another Skiff; Sea Phase: Play another card
Once you take a flag, it will remain with you until someone else takes it.
Owning a flag allows you to activate a card's flag action if they match, getting more uses out of your flag during the Sea Phase.
The Market
Claiming a Card
Skiffs may be placed on any of the 5 cards in the Market. This claims the card for purchase by that player. Purchases are resolved in turn order after all Skiffs have been placed.
Players are not required to have the resources to pay for a card when claiming it. They may acquire the resources before the end of the Island Phase or forfeit the purchase at the end of the phase.
If a card is not claimed, it cannot be purchased.
Restock
Before placing their Skiff on a card in the market, a player may scrap all unclaimed cards and replenish the market.
If a player restocks the market, they must place their Skiff on one of the newly revealed cards.
Cards scrapped from a market restock do not yield tokens for any player as they were not owned by any player.
Market Cards
- Card Cost: Pay these resources to acquire the card to your hand. These resources are gained if the card is ever scrapped.
- Ship Maneuver: Visual depiction of card action when played during the Sea Phase. See page 15 for more information.
- Card Type: Sailing, Firing, Pivot, etc.
- Infamy: The amount of Infamy the card is worth if it is still in your deck at the end of the game.
- Extended Maneuver: Pay 1 Sail to extend your ship's maneuver.
- Fire Cannon: Pay 1 Cannonball to fire your cannon out either side of your ship.
- Flag Action: Gain this additional action if you currently own the matching Flag.
Example card — Sailing / Firing card:
- Perform the extended maneuver as well.
- Fire 1 cannon. Range 3
- Green Purser's Flag Action: You may gain a resource of your choice
Sea Phase
After preparing your hand and resource pool during the Island Phase, you're now ready for combat! During the Sea Phase, cards will be played one at a time around the table to maneuver ships in battle until all hands have been played out.
Step 1: Command Ships
In the Sea Phase, players will play cards one at a time around the table until all cards have been played from their hands.
Turn by Turn Card Play The player with the First Player token plays first, selecting a single card from their hand to play and performing the actions it describes.
After this player's card has been resolved, it is discarded and play proceeds clockwise.
Playing a Card On their turn, a player must always play a card from their hand unless it is empty.
Cards may be played to either:
- Pass a Turn or to
- Resolve the Card
Passing a Turn A player may play a card without taking any of its actions, effectively passing that turn.
When a player's turn comes and they have no cards, their turn is automatically passed.
Resolving Cards To resolve a card, place it in view of all players and perform the action (maneuver, cannon fire, ability, etc.) as described by the card.
Note that some components of a card's action may require a resource payment to perform.
After a card is resolved, place it face up on your discard pile.
Resolving Flag Actions Flag actions on a card can only be triggered if the player owns the matching Flag.
Flag actions are resolved last, once all other actions on a card have been resolved or you have passed using that card.
Ending the Sea Phase When no player has cards remaining in their hands, cleanup begins.
Note that players with more cards in their hands (from purchases or other means) will end up getting more turns than others.
Step 2: Sea Phase Cleanup
Each player ensures all used cards have been moved to their discard pile and draws a new hand of 4 cards, shuffling their discard pile to create a new deck if required.
With this new hand of cards, players are once again ready to proceed to the Island Phase.
Maneuvering
Ship's Heading
The direction (heading) that a ship is pointing in on the board matters. Movements on cards start from a ship's current heading and follow an arrow sometimes leaving the ship at a different heading.
- Starting Position: The solid ship icon indicates where your ship begins its movement.
- Maneuver: The outlined ship indicates where your ship will travel to.
- Cannon Fire: Cannons only fire from one side (left or right) of your ship, you must decide which when firing.
Cannon fire not depicted at your starting location requires you to resolve a maneuver before firing.
- Extended Maneuver: Some cards offer extended maneuver options depicted as ship outlines with a resource icon inside.
Extended maneuvers may only be performed if no collision has occured in the first maneuver.
Splitting arrows allow you to choose one of the paths (turning left or right in this example).
Example
To execute this maneuver, move your ship along the arrow (from 1 to 2). After moving your ship forward 1 space, you may spend 1 Cannonball to fire out of either side of your ship (see Cannon Fire on page 17 for more detail).
After performing the first movement without a collision, you may now spend 1 Sail to perform the extended maneuver. Move your ship forward 1 space (from 2 to 3), pivot the ship in square 3, then before continuing forwards at the new heading to square 4.
Note that your ship never moves sideways.
Obstacles
While maneuvering, your ship may run into other ships, rocks, gusts or whirlpools. See Collisions, Whirlpools, and Gusts on page 16 for details on how to manage these.
Collisions, Shipwrecks, Whirlpools & Gusts
Collisions
A collision occurs whenever a ship would maneuver onto or through a space occupied by a ship or a rock. The maneuver ends immediately before the occupied space. No extended maneuver may be taken. The colliding ship may pivot 90° in either direction from it's current heading.
Collision Penalty The player that initiated the collision discards a card (if their hand is empty, they do not discard). Furthermore, depending on the obstacle hit, damage is dealt:
Collision with Rocks: The colliding player places a Damage Card into their discard pile.
Collision other Ships (Ramming): The colliding player scores 1 Infamy, the rammed ship places a Damage card into their discard pile.
Collisions and Cannon Fire After resolving the collision, Cannon fire depicted at the end of the current maneuver may be resolved.
Sailing off the Edge (The Sea Grid Wraps Around!)
The Seas of Havoc are strange indeed. If your ship would sail off of the edge of the board, it instead "wraps" around it, coming back in on the opposite edge at the same heading. Regular collision rules apply, so plan ahead!
These same wrapping mechanics apply to cannon fire!
Whirlpools and Gusts
A player resolves whirlpools and gusts their ship is located on after each card they play (this includes passing by discarding a card, but not passing when out of cards).
Whirlpools The player pivots their ship 90° in the direction the whirlpool indicates.
Gusts The player moves their ship one space in the direction the gust indicates. The ship's heading is not changed. Collisions caused by gusts are resolved as if the ship had caused it, even if it is not facing the object it hit.
No further whirlpools or gusts that a ship is moved onto are resolved until the player plays another card.
Salvaging Shipwrecks
When moving over or ending a maneuver on a Shipwreck, it is placed in your ship's hold as booty. Roll a location for a new Shipwreck.
Shipwrecks may be placed on whirlpools and gusts but not on rocks, ships, or other Shipwrecks. Shipwrecks do not cause collisions.
Booty Place booty near your player board. You may secretly check its value.
You may only have 1 booty in your hold, if you collect another, you must choose 1 to discard.
Booty in your hold can be spent for it's resource value whenever you would spend resources.
Booty does not need to be spent for it's entire value, though any excess is lost when spent.
The resource value of booty can be split across multiple simultaneous transactions (ex: when 2 Market cards being purchased).
Spent or discarded booty is randomly mixed back into the stack of other Shipwreck tokens.
Cannon Fire
Firing a Cannon as depicted on a card costs Cannonballs.
Cannons only fire from one side (left or right) of your ship, you must decide which when firing. A card's firing range is described in its description in number of squares. i.e. Range 3 means a Cannonball would travel 3 spaces from your ship.
Your shots hit the first obstacle in their range. This means that a ship may hide behind a rock or another ship. Cannon fire is not affected by Whirlpools or Gusts.
Cannon fire wraps around the board just as ships do, see Sailing off the Edge on page 16.
Some cards list multiple cannon firing options. You may only choose and pay for one of these. All shots fire from the same side.
Cards with the firing cost "each" allow you to fire normally (left or right) from different spaces during the same card action. Pay a Cannonball for each/either of these shots.
Scoring a Hit
If a shot hits another ship, the shot player adds a Damage card to their discard pile and the firing player scores Infamy based on the side of the ship you hit.
If multiple shots were fired, score Infamy and deal Damage for each individually.
Broadside A hit to the side of a ship earns you 2 Infamy.
Raking Shot A hit to the bow or stern (front or back) of a ship earns you 3 Infamy.
Reminders
- Market cards claimed by a Skiff are paid for at the end of the Island Phase.
- Purchased cards enter a player's hand.
- Infamy on cards (Market cards and active Upgrades) is tallied at the end of the game.
- When a player scraps a card, they gain the card's resource cost from the supply.
- Cannons fire from only one side of a ship.
- Ships and cannon fire leaving the Sea Board wrap around to the other side.
- The term "surrounding" refers to all 8 squares around a given object.
- Cards played to pass a turn may still activate their Flag action if the Player owns
Ending the Game
The game ends at the end of a Sea Phase when the Damage deck is empty.
Players complete that Sea Phase using extra damage cards from the scrap pile or the box as needed. At the end of this Sea Phase, the game ends and scoring commences.
Final Scoring
Players add the Infamy scored on their active upgrades and acquired Market cards (deck, hand, and discard pile) to their total. Damage cards reduce Infamy and purchased cards add to it.
Adjust the Infamy trackers accordingly to get the final results. The most infamous captain wins!
In the case of a tie, the player with the most resources wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the least Damage wins.
Credits
Game Design: Sébastien Bernier-Wong Peter Gorniak
Illustration: Nabetse Zitro
Graphic Design: T.L. Simons
Development + Production: Mike Gnade
Publisher: Rock Manor Games
Playtesters: Alan Stewart, Amber Choo, Amelia van Fram, Benji Tashiro, Caitlin Burrell, Carly Turner, Charlie Picken, Chelsea Schellenberg, Chen "Tiya" Hsieh, Cydney Nielsen, Daniel Mously, Daniel Pruger, Daniel Shearer, Dave Clarke, Denisse Daroch, Derek Eaton-Loken, Duncan Frostick, Geoff Engelstein, Geoff Wilde, Gregory Eeman, Hayden Mebs, Jackson Moores, Jamie Williams, Jeremy Rozenhart, Jiacheng "Vivian" Huang, Keiran Winitana, Marcel Perro, Marcus Gorniak, Mark Ellis, Mark Pickell, Mark Yuasa, Matus Hodul, Max Xuereb, Mike Cassie, Michael Melnychuk, Michael Zalter, Miranda Mogg, Nicolaj Bunting, Nicolas Bernier-Wong, Noe Escobar, Pascal Bernier-Wong, Paul Pinto, Peter Grant, Raymond Wong, Ryan Sojnocki, Sara McMahon, Shannon Lentz, Solange Bernier, Stephanie Kwok, Steve McGeragle, Game Artisans of Canada (Vancouver Chapter), The Apothica Tea Party, Vancouver Playtest Group, Victoria Board Game Design Group.
© 2023 Rock Manor Games LLC, all rights reserved. Rock Manor Games is located at 2324 W 18th St, Wilmington, DE 19806. No part of this product may be reproduced without specific permission. Actual components may vary from those shown. Made in China.
THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A TOY. NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY PERSONS 13 YEARS OR YOUNGER.
Card Anatomy
Upgrade Cards
- Upgrade Cost: Spend this resource cost at the Workshop to flip the card and permanently upgrade your ship.
- Infamy: The amount of Infamy the active upgrade is worth at the end of the game.
- Card Name
- Upgrade Ability: Description of how the ship upgrade works.
- Ship Deck: Denotes the ship that this upgrade is associated with.
Example — War Junk Upgrade, "Rockets" (cost 3): When firing 1 cannon, you may instead fire a rocket. Range 3. After resolving a hit, rockets explode into all surrounding spaces. Score 1 Infamy and deal 1 damage per piece hit by this explosion. Rockets also explode after hitting rocks.
Ability Cards
- Card Name
- Card Effect: Description and instructions of the card's effect when it is played during the Sea Phase.
- Captain: Denotes the character/captain that this ability card comes with.
Remember that character ability cards are combined and shuffled together with starting ship cards to create a player's deck.
Example — Pirate Queen Ability, "Extortion": Choose One: Use the action of a flag you control without returning it. Use the action of a flag you control twice. Return it to the board.
Market Cards
- Card Cost: Pay these resources to acquire the card to your hand. These resources are gained if the card is ever scrapped.
- Ship Manuever: Visual depiction of card action when played during the Sea Phase. See page 15 for more information.
- Card Type: Sailing, Firing, Pivot, etc.
- Infamy: The amount of Infamy the card is worth if it is still in your deck at the end of the game.
- Extended Maneuver: Pay 1 Sail to extend your ship's maneuver.
- Fire Cannon: Pay 1 Cannonball to fire your cannon out either side of your ship.
- Flag Action: Gain this additional action if you currently own the matching flag.
Example card — Sailing / Firing card:
- Perform the extended maneuver as well.
- Fire 1 cannon. Range 3
- Green Purser's Flag Action: You may gain a resource of your choice
Starting Ship Cards
- Card Cost: These resources are gained if the card is ever scrapped.
- Ship Manuever: A visual depiction of card action when played during the Sea Phase. See Maneuvers page 15 for more information.
- Card Type: Sailing, Firing, Pivot, etc.
- Extended Manuever: Pay 1 Sail to extend your ship's maneuver.
- Ship Deck: Denotes the starting deck that the card belongs to.
Example card — Xebec Starting Deck, Sailing card: Perform the extended maneuver as well.
Ghost Fleet: Solo & Co-op
The Ghost Fleet can be used to play a solo game or for added challenge in a 2 or 3 player game.
For a co-op experience, follow the Team Variant rules on page 9 with all players on one team and the ghost fleet as the opposing team.
Ghost Fleet Setup
Setup as usual with the following exceptions:
- Choose 2 (normal) or 3 (hard) ships to represent the Ghost Fleet.
- Ghost ships get a player board, but do not get a starting deck, upgrades, captain or ability cards.
- Shuffle the 24 ghost cards to form the ghost deck. Deal each ghost ship 4 cards face down from this deck.
- Remember to count ghost ships when determining the number of Damage cards and Sea Features to include.
- When placing ghost ships, the player(s) choose their orientation.
- The first player is determined at random. Players and ghost ships receive starting resources based on their play order.
Ghost Fleet Concepts
Collective Scoring: The ghost fleet shares a single deck (the ghost deck) and discard pile (in which Damage may be placed). Tally the Infamy they earn collectively using a single Infamy tracker. Cards purchased from the market by the ghost fleet are collected in a single face down "purchased" pile. They do not enter play, but their Infamy is added to the Ghost Fleet's score at the end of the game.
Individual Resources: Each ghost ship collects its own resources and has its own "hand" of cards that will be distributed from the ghost deck and played out in the Sea Phase.
A ghost ship can hold a maximum of 9 Sail, 8 Cannonball and 7 Coin.
Wild Resources: A ghost ship receives the resource that they currently own the least of whenever they gain a Wild Resource. If tied for lowest, they prioritize Coin, Cannonball, then Sail. Wild resources are taken after any other specified resources.
Island Phase
Skiff slots are available on the board based on total ship count instead of player count.
When it is a ghost ship's turn to place a Skiff, discard a card from the solo deck (not the ghost ship's hand) and place a Skiff on the space shown at the bottom (see figure D on the next page).
- If a Damage card is drawn, the Skiff is placed in Deep Cove.
- If a Skiff would be placed in an occupied space, the Skiff is instead placed in the Capitol. If the Capitol is already occupied their Skiff is placed in the Market instead.
Island Actions
Ghost ships perform the following actions when they place Skiffs at these locations.
The Market Roll a die. Then counting from the left, place the Skiff on the rolled card.
If a 6 is rolled or the rolled number is already occupied, restock the Market and claim the first available card from the left. In the rare occasion where there are no available cards in the Market, draw a new ghost card.
Cards claimed by ghost Skiffs are "purchased" at the end of the Island Phase if they own the appropriate resources.
Ghosts purchase cards starting from their leftmost Skiff. If the ghost owns the resources for a card, they are subtracted, the card is added face down to the ghost fleet's "purchase" pile for final scoring. If the ghost does not own the necessary resources, the card remains.
The Workshop No further action is taken.
Deep Cove Scrap up to 2 Damage cards from the ghost discard pile (if there are any).
Flags Ghost ships collect flags and take their actions:
- Any Resource icon: Gain 1 of any resource
- Scrap icon: Scrap 1 Damage card from the ghost discard pile (if able)
- Draw card icon: Draw 1 card from the ghost deck to the ghost ship's "hand"
- Chain/link icon: Immediately take another turn — Island Phase: Ghost places another Skiff; Sea Phase: Ghost plays another card
Sea Phase
On a ghost's turn, discard the top card from their "hand" and perform the maneuver on the top of the card based on the ship's current heading.
After maneuvering, if there is an ability matching the ghost ship's colour, perform it.
Ghost Maneuvers A ghost ship follows these rules when completing its maneuvers:
Shipwrecks: A ghost ship immediately earns the value of shipwrecks it collects and returns the token to the supply.
Ramming the Player: A ghost ship can ram and collide with a player. It does not change direction after doing this. Discard cards from the ship's "hand" to the ghost discard pile following normal collision rules.
Rocks and other Ghost Ships: A ghost ship does not complete maneuvers that would leave it facing and immediately next to a rock or another ghost ship. This includes if it would be forced into this position by a whirlpool or gust. Instead, the ghost ship ends it's maneuver at the last shown ship outline.
Cannon Fire: Cannon fire is not depicted on ghost cards. Instead, a ghost ship fires 1 cannon at each ship outline (excluding its starting position) of its maneuver if a player's ship is within Range 3. The ghost ship must be able to pay 1 Cannonball to fire.
If no maneuver was taken (due to obstacles) the ghost ship may fire from its current location.
Ghost Maneuver Example: If the Galleon ghost ship played this card and had 6 Sail, it would take the maneuver in the top right (B), shooting at the 2 outlines steps if the player is in range and can afford to pay 2 Cannonball. Then it would trigger the Galleon's ability (C), and draw 2 solo cards to its "hand" facedown.
Ghost ship abilities shown: Sloop-of-War — Replay the top card in the discard pile with a Sloop-of-War ability. War Junk — Steal a flag from the player, use its effect and keep it. Galleon — Draw 2 cards. The Sail Maker (D) is the ghost ship's Island Phase placement location shown at 0-4 Sail (A) and 5-9 Sail (B).
Ending the Game
The game ends as usual.
If playing co-operatively, players divide their score by their count, rounding down.
The ghost fleet does not divide it's score.
Quick Reference
Round Sequence
Island Phase
- Each player places 1 Skiff on their turn until all Skiffs have been placed.
- Purchase (or discard) claimed cards in the Market.
- Cleanup: Each player retrieves their Skiffs then replenish the Market.
Sea Phase
- Each player plays 1 card on their turn and follows its instructions or discards to pass.
- When all players have run out of cards, each player draws back up to 4 cards and the game returns to the Island Phase.
Game End
The Game ends at the end of the Sea Phase when Damage cards have run out.
Symbology
- Sails
- Cannonballs
- Coin
- Any Resource
Flags
- Any Resource icon: Gain 1 of any resource
- Scrap icon: Scrap 1 card from your hand or discard pile and gain the resources equal to the cost of that card
- Draw card icon: Draw 1 card from your deck to your hand
- Chain/link icon: Immediately take another turn — Island Phase: Place another Skiff; Sea Phase: Play another card
Collisions
Stop before the obstacle, pivot 90° if desired, discard 1 card from your hand and take a Damage card if the obstacle is a rock.
Board Wraps Around
Objects (ships, cannon fire, etc.) that exit on one side re-enter on the opposite side.
Whirlpools and Gusts
Resolve whirlpools and gusts your ship is on after each card you play (this includes if you discard a card to pass).
Damaging Your Opponents for Infamy
Ram — Collide with another ship.
- Score 1 Infamy
- Discard a card
- Opponent takes a Damage card
Broadside — Hit to either side.
- Score 2 Infamy
- Opponent takes a Damage card
Raking Shot — Hit to front or back.
- Score 3 Infamy
- Opponent takes a Damage card