The Game of Life: Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man's Chest

The Game of Life: Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man's Chest Rulebook

Table of Contents

Gameboard
25 LIFE Tiles
35 LIFE Cards
8 Captain Cards
9 Ship Cards
8 Mascot Cards
6 Plastic Seafarin' Ships
3 Rocky Channels
3 Islands
Label Sheet
Stack of Treasure (Money)
Spinner Base, Spinner Ring, Spinner Dial

Setting Up

Assemble Spinner, Apply Labels

Punch out the spinner ring from the cardboard sheet. Match the double-notched section of the spinner ring to the double-tabbed section on the underside of the plastic spinner dial (under the number 1), then snap the ring into the dial by sliding the ring under each of the plastic tabs. Next, place the assembled dial onto the [word obscured in scan] in the center of the spinner base.

Match the letters next to each of the 3 labels to the circled letters on the plastic channels. Apply the labels to the matching plastic pieces as shown.

Attach the Channels, Islands and Spinner

Punch out the small cardboard slots in the gameboard and discard the waste. Insert the channels, islands and spinner by matching the letters on the plastic pieces to the letters on the gameboard. Slide each piece into place as shown.

Note: You'll need to detach the channels, islands and spinner from the gameboard before storing all of the components back in the box after gameplay.

LIFE Tiles

Each LIFE tile carries cash value. The [obscured in scan] treasures you collect along [obscured in scan] journey. Some tiles have a mascot on them as well. These may be worth double at the end of the game (see WINNING, on page 6).

Punch out the LIFE tiles from the cardboard sheet and discard the cardboard waste. Place the tiles facedown near the edge of the gameboard and mix them up. Randomly, draw 3 LIFE tiles and, without looking at their values, stack them on Isla Cruces. The remaining tiles form the draw pile.

Cards

Separate the cards into 4 decks: LIFE cards, Captain cards, Ship cards and Mascot cards. Shuffle each deck separately and place them facedown near the edge of the gameboard.

Treasury

Choose one player to be the treasurer. This player is in charge of all treasure paid to and from the treasury.

The treasurer separates the money into piles by denomination and gives each player $2,000, divided as follows: one $1,000, one $500, four $100s and two $50s. He/she then puts the remaining amount of each denomination in piles near the gameboard.

Seafarin' Ships

Remove the ships from the plastic bag. Discard the plastic bag. Choose a ship and place it in front of you. All players do the same. Place any extra ships back in the box.

Gameplay

All players spin the spinner. The pirate with the highest spin takes the first turn. Play then continues clockwise. If the spinner arm stops between numbers, spin again.

What You Do on a Turn

On your turn, spin the spinner. Then move your ship the number of spaces spun.

Always move your ship forward. (You can't sail against the winds!) If you land on an occupied space, move ahead to the next open space. (EXCEPTION: More than one ship can be on the Shipyard space at the same time.)

Follow the space directions. This ends your turn. Your first turn is an exception. See LEAVING PORT.

Leaving Port

Spread out the Captain's cards facedown on the table. The youngest player chooses two cards randomly. He/she then looks at the cards, decides which to keep as his/her captain, and returns the other facedown to the table. Repeat this with each player moving clockwise from the youngest.

Now check whether your captain will start from the Landlubber's Start or the Pirate's Start. Place your ship on the appropriate Start space.

Your Captain and Your Loot: Your Captain determines how much treasure you collect. Look at the bottom of the Captain cards. The dollar amount shown is the amount this captain collects each time he/she passes over a Share the Loot space. Try to choose a Captain with a higher dollar amount so you can collect more loot on your journey.

The Spaces

General Spaces

Most spaces are general ones that give you some kind of instructions. Whenever you land on a general space, you must immediately follow its instructions.

(Card image on this space reads: "Sell your pieces of eight. Collect $200.")

Whenever you land on or pass a SHARE THE LOOT space, collect, from the treasury, the amount shown on the bottom of your Captain's card before following any other space directions. On some turns, you may be able to pass over 2 or more SHARE THE LOOT spaces!

Stop Spaces

There are 2 stop spaces: SHIPYARD and CHOOSE A MASCOT. Whenever you reach one of these spaces, STOP! – even if you have moves left. Immediately follow the directions, then spin and move again. Stop spaces have special directions, which are explained at the right and on page 5.

LIFE Spaces

Whenever you land on a LIFE space, take 1 LIFE card from the draw pile and read it aloud. Now do as the card says. When you are done, place the card in a discard pile.

NOTE: If the card says to collect LIFE tiles, take them from the pile near the gameboard. If there are no more tiles in the pile near the gameboard, you may take them from the other players. You may take more than one tile from a player. EXCEPTION: You can only take one tile per turn from a player who has retired to Isla Cruces. See ISLA CRUCES, on page 6.

Shipyard

When you reach this space, STOP! – even if you have moves left. Have another player fan out the Ship card deck facedown, and draw 2 cards at random. Look at the cards, choose the one you want, pay the treasury the amount listed on the card and return the other card to the deck.

Place the card faceup in front of you. Now spin and move again.

If you draw two ships that you cannot afford, you must return them to the card deck. Then wait until your next turn and draw 2 more cards. You must stay on the Shipyard space until you have purchased a ship. Once you have purchased a ship, place the card faceup in front of you. Now spin and move again.

(Card image on this space reads: "Fee $3,000. Pride of any fleet, the 'big guns' of the sea, heavily armed. Ship Rank: Man of War. Combat = 3. Galleon." Caption: "If you draw this card, pay the treasurer $3,000.")

Acquire Vessel

This space allows you to upgrade your ship. You can either 1.) draw a ship from the Ship card deck or you can 2.) acquire a ship from another player:

1.) Draw 2 new ship cards from the Ship card deck. If either card is an upgrade to your existing ship, you may trade in your ship for face value and pay the treasury the amount shown on the upgraded Ship card. Return the 2 Ship cards that you did not use to the deck.

2.) If another player has a higher valued ship that you want, take it from them and place it in front of you. In return, give the other player your ship and pay them the difference between the two.

If you already have the highest ship available, you do not need to do anything. Players may only have 1 ship at a time and you cannot trade for a weaker ship.

Pass Through Davy Jones' Territory

If you land on this space, you must pay the treasury. Spin the spinner and multiply that number by $100. This is the amount you have to pay.

Raid

If you land on a RAID space you must choose another player to attack.

You cannot attack a player without a ship.
You cannot attack a player who has retired to Isla Cruces.

Both players (beginning with the player you chose to attack) spin the spinner and add the combat value listed on the bottom of their Ship card. The higher number wins!

If the attacker won, he/she spins the spinner again to determine the amount of treasure won. The attacked player must pay the attacker $100 times the spin. If the attacked player owned the Black Pearl, the attacker switches his/her ship for the Black Pearl.
If the attacked player won the battle, nothing happens.
If the spins tie, re-spin until there is a winner.

Mascots

When you reach this space, STOP! – even if you have moves left. Draw 2 Mascot cards at random from the deck. Decide which one you want, pay the treasury the amount listed on the card and return the other card to the deck. Place the card faceup in front of you. Now spin and move again.

(Card image on this space reads: "Fee $200. Good for a song, givin' pieces of eight, and will gladly carry your treasure chest. Donkey." Caption: "If you draw this card, pay the treasurer $200.")

Choose Another Mascot

If you land here, draw another Mascot card. Pay the treasury the amount shown on the card you've chosen. The more mascots you have, the better your chances are of increasing the value of certain LIFE tiles upon your retirement (see WINNING). If no Mascots are available, do nothing.

Running Low on Treasure

If at any time a pirate runs low on (or out of) treasure and cannot pay off a debt, he/she may trade in 1 LIFE tile for the amount shown on it. Return the tile to the draw pile and the treasurer will give you the corresponding cash. Players, however, cannot cash in tiles to buy ships or mascots.

If you have no tiles to trade in and you must borrow money to stay in the game, you may borrow $2,000 from the treasury, but it must be repaid before you retire and you must pay the $2,000 loan plus $500 for interest.

Isla Cruces

When you reach ISLA CRUCES, STOP! – even if you have moves left. Then do the following:

The first player to reach Isla Cruces may secretly look at all three LIFE tiles. He/she chooses one to keep and returns the others facedown to the space. The second player to reach Isla Cruces looks at the two remaining LIFE tiles, chooses one and returns the other to the space. The third player to reach Isla Cruces gets to take the third and only remaining LIFE tile. Any players arriving after that get no tiles for reaching Isla Cruces. (NOTE: If there are only two players, the third tile will be left unclaimed.)

Once you have retired to Isla Cruces, all of your treasure is safe and no other player may raid you. However, your LIFE tiles are not safe. Other players may take your LIFE tiles but they may only take one tile per turn.

Even though you are no longer moving on the board, on your turn, you still spin the spinner. If you spin a 10 you get to take a LIFE tile.

Winning

When all players have reached Isla Cruces, the game ends. Now it's time to add up your treasure. All players turn over their LIFE tiles and add up the dollar amounts shown. If you have the Mascot card matching that shown on a LIFE tile, double that LIFE tile's value. Once you have all of your LIFE tiles added up, add to it your treasure on hand, the value of your ship and the value of all of your mascots. The player with the highest total value wins! AARRGGHH!