Object

Merchants

Survive and end the game with more Treasure than the Pirate. Note, all Merchants play together as a team, even if one or more sink.

Pirate

Sink all Merchants or end the game with more Treasure than the Merchants.

The game ends when the Pirate returns to Pirate Island and each remaining Merchant plays another two turns OR when all the Merchants have sunken and/or reached safety at Port. For example, if one Merchant sank three turns ago, one Merchant returned to Port two turns ago, and the last Merchant returns to Port on their turn then the game ends; the Pirate does not take another turn.

Setup

2-6 players, find a random (or not!) way to determine which one will be the Pirate.

Shuffle the deck.

Merchants draw three random Vessel cards each.

The Pirate draws two random Vessel cards for every Merchant playing. For example if there is one Pirate and three Merchants the Pirate begins with game with six random Vessel cards.

Turns

Player to the left of the Pirate starts and play continues clockwise.

The Pirate must do one and only one of the following on their turn

• draw two cards

• steal one card from one Merchant who is not safely at Port

• attack one Merchant

• discard any three Navigation cards to return to Pirate Island and limit Merchants to two more turns

Merchants must do one and only one of the following on each of their turns

• draw a card

• trade a card with another Merchant

• attack the Pirate

• discard three Navigation cards to return to port

At the end of each turn, Merchants may discard down to seven Vessel cards. If the Pirate notices a Merchant with eight or more Vessel cards in hand they can randomly select half of the cards to discard (round down if needed) or view the entire hand and choose two to steal.

Attacks

The player attacking discards one attack card. The player defending also discards an attack card if they have one in their hand. If a Merchant cannot defend itself in an attack they must discard everything and sit out the rest of the game. If the Pirate cannot defend itself in an attack, they must choose half their Vessel cards to discard, rounding down.

Cards in The Deck

45 Vessel cards as noted by the barrels icon in the corner. Keep them in your hand and don't show them unless you have to.

   15 Treasure (5 each of three varieties)

   15 Attack (5 each of three varieties)

   15 Navigation (5 each of three varieties)

7 Exploration cards as noted by the globe icon in the corner. If you draw one you must read it aloud right away, follow the instructions, and then discard it.

2 Turn Option cards for easy reference.

Or write your own special events for each card!

Invent your own special rules for Attack, Navigation, and Treasure card variety!

Give bonuses for successful attacks, like taking cards from your opponent!