Customer Reviews

Pirate's Cove

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm surprised I'm the first to review this item: it's a very enjoyable game. Since I'm first, I'll be thorough (though I won't explain all the rules, just give a flavor of the game play).

Pirate's Cove is a game by Days of Wonder, a company that also makes Ticket to Ride (a very fun game). Pirate's Cove appears complex at first glance but actually is not. The basic idea is to try to get the most Fame points (e.g. be the most famous pirate) by balancing upgrading your ship, choosing the best moves to make and avoiding confrontation with other players. Players act together, so while there are different steps in a round, there are no "turns" per se. The game is quick, about 60 minutes with a full house of 5, and moves quickly as well (unlike, say, Risk). It is fun for all ages but probably too complex for those under 10.

The Longer Version

Each player (pirate) in this game has a ship consisting of four areas: Sails, Crew, Cannons and Hull. Sails affect who goes first in a fight (more later on this), crew and cannon determine how potent you are in a fight and hull affects how much treasure you can carry. Players travel to different "islands" on the board, fight any other players who also went to that island and then plunder whatever that island has to offer.

Each turn starts with players choosing, in secret, the island they are going to. Then everyone reveals their island choice at once using an included island-choosing cut-out. Any combat between players is resolved by playing combat cards (that have temporary effects) and the winning player reaps the benefits of that island. The benefits of each island vary and are determined by flipping over island cards (which you can see before you choose your island, thus influencing your choice). Islands grant different benefits: gold, fame points, treasure or cards (such as battle cards and other special cards), each in varying amounts depending on the island.

Players may then upgrade their ship by paying gold. Upgrading is controlled by what island you have choosen to visit (there are islands corresponding to each ship section, sails, crew, cannons and hull, and you may only upgarde that section at that island). After upgrading, the turn ends, new island cards are flipped and a new round begins (with players again choosing what island to go to).

Strategy and Challenge

The challenge of this game is figuring out what island to go to and when. If you choose an island another pirate has gone to, you have to fight or flee (and fleeing has its own risks). But if you let other players take all the best islands (as I mentioned, the island cards vary and some give much more than others) you'll fall behind in the game. You also must balance when to collect treasure (which can later be exchanged for fame points) and when to focus on upgrading, etc.

Summary

The most interesting thing about this game is that the details disappear when playing. Everything works naturally and smoothly and, after just a game or two, you'll find yourself very comfortable with the rules, upgrading, etc. The game has more flavor then I have presented here (for example, I did not discuss the Legendary Pirate that travels from island to island automatically nor did I discuss the different types of battle and special cards) and is good, clean fun. It's definitely not a game you can say to your Monopoly-loving family "hey, check out this board game" and is more suited for people who enjoy Risk, Settlers of Catan or other such games. I would rank this game higher except that some of the pieces are made of essentially laminated, glossy paper. This is very odd since the pirate ship pieces are very detailed and high-quality and the board is beautifully-made. And the names of the legendary pirates are even historically accurate! But still, the game is easily worth its 4 star rating.

This is a great game. If you're not sure this is your type of game, I suggest you try Ticket to Ride- Europe first, also made by Days of Wonder, or go to the Days of Wonder website and read more about Pirate's Cove. But if you like games like Risk 2210, or the others I mentioned above, I suspect you'll enjoy this.

This is a great game. It was easier to learn than most euro games I have and everyone I game with seemed to like it immensely. It also goes pretty fast, with 5 people, about an hour. I'll probably look into rules for extending the game, since all liked it so much, even those (like my husband) who have no patience for learning the new details of games. Only thing that I was a little confused on was fighting the pirates but got the hang of it after doing it a few times. And I also wish they would have included little cards or something that states what each island does, because I am usually asked about 20 times (not exaggerating) what options people have on treasure island (burying treasure/buying fame pts/upgrading 1 level) verus pirate's cove(getting 1 card & gold or 2 cards). But the game has just enough strategy, luck, and fighting to satisfy any gamer. I've only had it two weeks and have played it numereous times. Everytime I go to my friends houses they want to play it. I definitely recommend it.

Who needs television when there are great family board games like this?!? My wife and I have just recently started getting into board games. After getting Ticket to Ride: Marklin edition, Pirate's Cove was our next purchase. We payed about $35 for it and it was worth every penny! If you think about it, you pay almost that much to take the family out to a movie for two hours. For $35, we got something that gives much more family entertainment than that!

Pirate's Cove is beautiful to look at. The board and components are all excellent quality. The gameplay is done simultaneously and makes for a quickly paced game. This game is a bit more luck than it is strategy, but as long as you don't take it too seriously it is a lot of fun. The game is a little short so we expanded it from 12 rounds to 18... much better!
Basically if you like fun, fast, light board games that the whole family can play, Pirate's Cove is right for you! Highly recommended! Also check out other games by the publisher, Days of Wonder.

Also recommended: Memoir 44, Ticket to Ride: Marklin edition, Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, Guillotine card game, Ligretto card game.

I stinking love board games, as does my wife. I initially bought the basics of Settlers, Ticket to Ride, Dominion, Stone Age and Puerto Rico. We knew we wanted another game, and after days of researching I kept coming across this game. SO I got it, and it blew our minds! This is the ONLY game where when we play it people erupt in cheering, laughter and I have never heard more smack talk in a game ever. Every single person we have played this game with loves it and it is now the first game we teach anyone when introducing them to the "Euro style" games out there (and yes, I realize that this might now be a true Euro game, so please do not attack me BGG people). It is a faster moving game that even when we teach people-which is always the slowest game thats played, it still ends in about an hour. Our fastest game was about 30 minutes. We prefer to battle. A lot. In our opinions that is what makes this game so much fun. It is very simple to teach, quick to learn and addictive to play. I would be un-American if I did not mention that playing this game on national talk like a pirate day is pretty much the best activity ever. Also, you can create your own "Pirate", so naturally I created the Chuck Norris Pirate. This game is Light-although the rule book is thick, its mostly to help describe the battle rules and intricacies. Buy this game. Play this game. Watch the Princess Bride and then play this game a few more times!

This is a very different game in the Days of Wonder world. As some of friends noticed - you get to attack your opponents here! You are thrown knee-deep into the world of pirates and booty. Overall, it has many facets - strategy, predicting where your friends will move, resource management, and ruthless plunder!
Pros: You get to attack people! Yeah, when you run into one of your opponents at an island, it's time to fight! This is lots of fun, especially since you build up your ship during the game and can look forward to these fights!
At the end, it's usually a wide-open game - truly anyone can win. I have yet to play a game where you feel you are completely out of it or can't come through at the end and win - this is a departure from many games where you can feel whether or not you will win.
Cons: It's rules are not very thoroughly written and leave many gapping holes. You really have to use the forum to learn things and make sure you're not missing anything. Honestly, it was hard to get the first set of friends to sit through the explanation - I could see 25 minutes into it that I was losing some of them. But once you get going - it's intuitive as long as people stick to the play order.
Lots of fun - definitely something I look forward to playing... someone compared it to Ticket to Ride and Settlers - it's completely different and worth the try!

This is a great game to play. It is a little complicated to learn at first(and I am in college) but pretty intuitive after you learn the rules. The goal of the game is to become the most famous pirate, or gain the most fame points. You do that by fighting other ships(players and famous pirates) and by "plundering" the different islands each turn. You can also upgrade your ship which gives you different advantages such as rolling more dice. Each dice is a cannon shot and "hits" the opponent when a five or six is rolled. I won't go into all of the details, but the game is a lot of fun for 3 or more, but not a game for young kids.

Arr, Mateys! This game is awesome! I played it once while visiting a friend at school and had to have it. My roommates and I have played it several times, supplying some costumes and "beer" or "rum" (non-alcoholic, of course!), to add to our "Pirate Night." Watching a movie with pirates in it always completes the night of fun. Everyone has fun playing on teams or alone and trying to find the best strategy for becoming the most famous pirate.
My family also loves this game. We used to play Risk and Settlers of Catan all the time. Adding Pirate's Cove was natural as it matched our preferences exactly. With different infamous pirates and the luck of the dice, the game is never the same. It is always exciting and can easily be shortened or extended based on the time available to play. Be sure to act as much like a pirate to enjoy this game to the max!

Gotta love Amazon Prime! I ordered it one day and got it the next!
Opening the box we were treated to well made, eye pleasing components as well as that new game smell.

The instruction booklet was full color and well illustrated.

The game is just right: not too long or short; not too complicated or lacking in details/depth.

Overall one of the best games I've played.

Potential problems: Not two player. You need at least 3 and then have to also use 2 non player characters which is okay but not ideal. Oh well.

Also this game is fairly easy to tweak the rules with for whatever suits your group. Also you can make up other Non Player Pirates using the two provided cards or make more than two with just plain paper! (Patchy the Pirate?? Why not!?)

This game really tickled several happy glands in my brain such as: Imagination, Adventure and Creativity! I'm sure you'll love it too.

We love this game! There's a lot of aarrrgghhh going on at our house. :-) This is a great and fun game for all ages with plenty of laughing. Very competitive game. We'll probably play it even more this summer when the family has more time. Recommend to all ya pirates out there! Just pray that your pirate competitors don't throw you overboard, Matey!

I bought this game as a birthday present. Unfortunately, one of the ships were broken. I e-mailed the customer service and they were very quick in replying and sending a new game piece. I will definetly buy another game from this game maker based on the customer service I received.
Another extra bonus feature is on-line game service with a unique sign-on ID with the purchase of the game.