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Underground > Games & Gameplay >

Wizkids Pirate collectible game. As Evil as other Wizkids products or not?

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

18:52 / 14.06.05

So Pirates of the Spanish Main has been out for a while now, anyone look into it?

I like it quite a bit myself, a bit of a departure from what I would have expected from WizKids, since each pack at about $4 gives you a full set of rules, 2 ships, and even a tiny 6-sider.

Part of the appeal is obviously the pirate theme, but the gameplay is pretty slick as well. The "gotta catch em all" aspect of most CCGs is there, but in minuature, since to play, you need to punch out the cards full of ship parts, thus lowering the value of rare ships as an investment.

I see it as a step in the right direction. Anyone else looked at it?

All Acting Regiment

20:07 / 15.06.05

So this is a miniature game using cardboard ships? That really is low. I mean, at $4, I have to ask, can't you make them yourself? I know it wouldn't be the same, but, you know...?

Maybe I just don't understand? When Legba was a horrible 10 year old, I used to hang around with other spotty kids and there used to be a fair lot of that sort of thing, miniatures, poly cement, usually the Games Workshop stuff, going on. I never understood the appeal. The money making aspect of it worried me even back then; my friends were paying sometimes a £100 for model figures they couldn't even get the most out of, because they weren't adept enough at painting them.

Also, the effect it had on social groups: you couldn't join in the game unless you had exactly the right models. Corks or whatever didn't count. You had to buy if you wanted to join in the social activity. I can imagine company execs rubbing their hands in glee. Without wanting to come over all Mary Whitehouse, the phrase "Hijacking Childhoods" comes to mind.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

03:36 / 16.06.05

The ships are a glossy, heavy, cardstock deal. they build like the old balsa wood gliders, (tab A into slot B etc...).

It really is a lot more like Magic: The Gathering using cardstock ships rather than cards.

I worked in a store years ago that carried all the Games Workshop stuff, and I got into some of it, but for miniature games I usually played the non GW stuff, for the same reasons you stated above. GW, when they held events, wopuld not only force you to use their products rather than near identical proxies, but also required at least 3 colors of pain on a model for it to be play legal.

Wizkids, while being a money making corporation, allows people to play with a small investment. I have played many home made miniature games, and even wrote a rules book for one based on the Aliens movies. The problem is with DIY rules, you need to teach every new person you meet how to play. I think this is why Magic took off, because any kid could bring a deck to school and play with people right off.

16:32 / 02.07.05

I, uh... because of this thread, I now have a problem with these Pirate cards.

The first 'series', Pirates of the Spanish Main, was bad enough. Spanish, English, and Pirate Ships to build. Five masted Spanish Galleons.

British Admirals. A Pirate Monkey. Rum, Plague, and lots of Treasure. Very elegant ruleset and a game that is totally playable for two people out of a single four dollar deck. Totally engrossing and, since I'm babysitting a 15 year old for 2 weeks, subsidized by his father.

Then I found out that the second series, P ot Crimson Coast, added French ships and Forts. Forts. How cool are those? I'll tell you. Very cool. And now I have Ghost Ships. Well, a Ghost Ship. For the Pirates.

(Okay, you can't see it, but the ghost ship has Skulls & Crossbones on its Sails, too.)

I dunno, I think the game's amazing. I'm sure I'll get tired ov it inside the month, but it's a satisfying way to drop thirty dollars on a whole horking fleet of pirate ships.

All Acting Regiment

16:58 / 02.07.05

I hope there's some Ninja ships in the pipeline.

17:09 / 15.07.05

I played this a couple of weekends ago, and I have to say that I heartily endorse it.

Not much of a game player myself, but the fact that, with only one box, two people can get down to the business of plundering and pillaging...

The little models are pretty well crafted, too. A bit prone to breakage if you're not careful, but not too delicate.

I played it with two other people, one ship apiece, and had a good time. I'm told that a proper game involves fleets and an entire table top.

01:20 / 19.07.05

I like the name of the new set. It makes me wanna sing T-Rex real loud. "You wont FOOL THE PIRATES IF THE REVOLUTION; NO YOU..." Think I've embarrassed myself enough now.
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