Rum & Pirates - August 5, 2006

Rum & Pirates wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms at the 2006 Gathering of Friends. The incredible buzz surrounding a new Alea game is usually something to behold during that magical week in April. Unfortunately, Rum & Pirates didn't appeal to a majority of the attendees. In fact, after looking at the board I wasn't especially excited about playing, particularly when I heard about how much die-rolling was involved. Take a look at that board and be honest -- doesn't it look like your typical roll-and-move nightmare?

I'm here to tell you I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Okay, I admit the game does not have the depth of, say, Puerto Rico, Princes of Florence, or even Taj Mahal. And yes, it does have alot of dice rolling. ALOT. But you know what? All of the players thoroughly enjoyed it. We laughed thoughout and really had a pleasant time.

I think the issue is that Alea isn't especially known for this kind of game. I have to admit that it puzzles me. To me, the Alea brand typically represented games for gamers. Putting Rum & Pirates in Alea clothing is kinda like showing Seinfeld on The History Channel. Not something you'd expect.

The play of R&P comes in two parts. There's the boardplay, and then there's fighting for bunk space, which occurs off the board. On the board are several (and I do mean several) different ways to score points. Most of them involve rolling a die, but all of them involve using your limited supply of pirates to move. The more you move, the more pirates you must use, and the fewer you will have to fight for bunk space. Once a player decides to move his remaining pirates off the board, he places them next to the ship to wait for the second half of the phase. This phase is called the wrangling phase and thematically what you're doing is scuffling around trying to find the best place to sleep. In the bunk is best, on the hammock is second best, and the mast is reserved for the player who comes in third. Everyone else sleeps on the floor, I guess. Without going into how the wrangling phase works (it's unusual but simple), you want to have more pirates than your opponents, and you want to place them later in the phase.

The game lasts five rounds -- boardplay + wrangling = 1 round. Once you're done you tally up your points and the best man wins.

I recommend Rum & Pirates for anyone who wants a good family game that promises a rollicking good time. Oh, be forewarned though -- this game is better the more pirates you have at the table. I tried a two-player game with my son and the game felt rather flat. This game needs lots of energy for it to perform at its best.

Arr!