Before the game begins, each player secretly receives a loyalty card that determines whether their pirate loyalty is to the British or the French, and this secret persists until the end of the game, so you start without having a clue who your teammates really are. Of course, this particular game mechanic only really comes into play when there are four or more players and Tortuga 1667 is a game for two to nine players. When two players face each other, you clearly know which flag each of you is allied with, but if a third player is in play, someone gets the Dutch card. This is the case when an odd number of players are involved. There are four British and French cards and one Dutch card in the deck, so if five people play, then two British, two French and the other person are Dutch. The British or French team wins when it has the most gold when the Spanish Armada emerges to protect the stranded Spanish galleon. If the match ends in a draw between these two rival nations, the Dutch player wins. Once an action is indicated, displayed on event cards, a voting card is played, or a pawn is released, there is no withdrawal (unless house rules graciously dictate otherwise). When we started in 2017, I resolved to stop watching from the sidelines and support gaming projects on Kickstarter that looked really dignified and entertaining. Tortuga 1667 seemed to tick all the right boxes and was the first campaign I visited in January, and subsequently my first Kickstarter promise. The fact that I published a page called “Tortuga 1667 board game review” should at least indicate that my very first campaign was a success.

Unlike some of the others from last year (but this is a completely different blog post). Tortuga 1667 takes you back more than 350 years to the brutal and deceitful life of a pirate, where all that matters is looting and if a little mutiny, fighting, and sneaky takes place along the way, so much the better. Tortuga 1667 is a brilliant family game and a great game for friends at the table. The portable nature of the box also means it`s easy to take your travels with you, and I`ve had a few fun evenings with friends in the pub with this game as well as co-workers on a train and both groups involved people who wouldn`t normally have such an idea, but they had a great time. Event cards have the Tortuga 1667 logo on the back. Prepare the event set by first selecting 3 of the event cards marked, either randomly or by group consensus. Put the other marked event cards back in the game box, as they will not be used during the game. Players can view the drop pile at any time.

A player can use their own paper or device to track where the cards seen in the row of event cards are located (Tortuga 1667 is not a memory game!). The publishers have positioned the board game Tortuga 1667 as suitable for players aged 12+ and I think it`s a pretty good reference. In our limited research, we found that while children under the age of 11 really enjoyed the game, they didn`t fully understand the sneaky nature of the game, and as I said above, it`s the black distrust of the people you`re playing against that provides the most fun. Young children have usually just enjoyed moving their farmer from one boat to another to the island and vice versa, or it quickly becomes so transparent which flag they are loyal to that they can actually distract a little from the fun of the game. Does it make me look heartless?? In Tortuga 1667, you take on the role of a real historical pirate and after accidentally stumbling upon an undefended Spanish galleon loaded with gold, you and your crew will attempt to steal the treasure and sail towards sunset. But there are already enemies nearby, as another pirate ship has also kept an eye on the glittering price. Do you trust one of your teammates to help you? The rules and mechanics of the game are not immediately obvious, but they are understood very quickly, and it is important that everyone who plays focuses on the first round or two, and the reference to the rules in the first rounds should not be frowned upon by anyone at the table. You can learn the game quickly and by allowing everyone to learn the game quickly from everyone in the party, the experience is increased for everyone involved. I love playing Tortuga 1667 with new players because most people start playing with a straight racket and then he realizes to one person that they can start being sneaky and then another player finally realizes that they are being deceived and they start playing dirty and it quickly degenerates into mass distrust.

And it`s glorious when pointless quarrels break out between players, especially when they realize at the end of the game that they`ve always been on the same team! TORTUGA 1667 RECEIVED THE GOLDEN GEEK RUNNER UP AWARD FOR BEST BOARD GAME IN 2017. IT HAS SOLD OVER 70,000 COPIES. Below are explanations of each event card and some advanced optional rules for experienced players. If you want, you can start playing and read the rest as needed. If the Spanish galleon runs out of treasure, the captain can take 1 piece of treasure from one of the two treasures of the other pirate ship (Flying Dutchman or Jolly Roger), even if the other ship has no pawns, and put it in one of the two holds of his ship. Move 1 treasure token already on your ship from the British Treasure Room to the French Treasure Room or vice versa. Point to 2 of the 5 face-down event cards and choose another player. The player you selected selects one of these 2 event cards face down without looking at it first, displays it to all players and solves it. Players only get 1 total action per turn, but if you are a captain, first lieutenant, cabin boy or governor of Tortuga, you can choose your action from the “All players” potential action list or from the possible action list in your position.