Top 10 Pirate Board Games

[@rich926]

This channel is like if Vinnie Jones had a board game channel

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Maybe he does?

[@sebastianstefanov2679]

Buccaneers Heroes is the closest thing to Sid Meyer’s Pirates! It’s a print and play that’s still in development but it’s free. Worth checking out.

[@Jootie_de_Kop]

I'm glad you called the reprint of Libertalia a pile of shit. Not because it's mechanically a lesser game (on the contrary), but because Jamey decided to involve Mickey Mouse into this game. Jamey Stegmaier is one of the most brilliant contemporary board game designers, but with his ideal son-in-law mentality he often kills all the fun out of game.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

It was a steaming pile of pants. Much prefer the spit and grit of the the original.

[@alasdairdunbar1496]

Feed the Kraken - a social deduction game, needs a lot of people to come together though

[@julianbailey2749]

For those wanting a try before you buy of Libertailia (1st edition), it's available to play on Board Game Arena and it is good.

[@jgvugvugvyuguvugvuyviuh]

i remember libertalia as good too😁😁

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

Dead Man's Draw is another pirate-themed card game worth checking out. There's an app for it as well.

[@Paul-ro6py]

We picked up Black Fleet used pre pandemic and it's a family favorite. Simple and when played with 3+ players lots going on. We played out Jamica, enjoyed it and moved on. Will keep our eyes out for Libertalia (1st edition). M&M looks too drawn out. To your point, maybe if they brought out a second edition. Rum & Bones looks good, just another big box to add to collection 😬

[@BoardGameBollocks]

More than one big box with Rum & Bones

[@tjmontoya1128]

One game I was hoping to see on this list, but alas it's not a very popular game, is british vs pirates (not a very good name, i know). It has a pretty deep combat system with a few different modes of play along with a variety of ship sizes to choose from. The second volume of the game introduces a mission system to make feel a bit like merchants and marauders, whereas as the first volume is more of a skirmish combat game. Obscure game, but worth a look

[@almondroy]

Thank God someone actually mentions a tale of pirates. It's one of the most underrated games in my opinion

[@TrailRush74]

Love your channel and this is a great list! That said, you should add Extraordinary Adventures: Pirates. It’s a great pick up and deliver, deck builder as well as a race to the finish🤠🏴‍☠️

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Tbh I never heard of that one 👍🏻

[@ElRammo]

10 seconds in, and the impression I'm getting is that this is like if Super Hans had a youtube channel about board games.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Who is Super Hans?

[@ElRammo]

@@BoardGameBollocks I don't know if you get it a lot and this is a joke, but he's a character in Peep Show. Look up "Super Hans compilation" or something, you guys are both fucking intense! Much love, I watched a good few of your vids and will keep you in mind when looking for new ones!

[@db5823]

A nice light push-your-luck pirate themed game is Port Royal. Very good little game, people always have fun with it. Pretty easy to get cheap, too. Another good pirate themed game, that I think is very underrated, is Pirateer (1978). It has a criminally low BGG rating, but friends and I had a BLAST playing this. Learned it, played it 3 times in a row, and were still excited about it. Light to Med game, and I'd say worth checking out. Pillage & Plunder is a pirate themed game I kinda like. I'm not going to say it's "good"; it's a dice-fest, random, Ameritrash sort of game. But I do kinda like it.

[@matttrafton2725]

Merchants & Marauder's with the expansion gets my vote. Fire & Axe: A Viking Saga is a great pirate like game. Sail around Europe and raid, trade and settle. The Vikings were a bit pirate-like. Well done matey. I will look into getting #1. Cheers🍻Skål

[@jacktorrance3522]

There was a time I almost bought Libertalia after seeing it played on "TableTop" (which sort of got me into this hobby) but for whatever reason I didn't buy it at the time and honestly it's been one of my big board gaming regrets as now it's like gold dust and I didn't care for the redesign in the new Winds of Galecrest version of Libertalia.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Gutted for you mate. The original version is top bollock

[@JonoNZBoardGamer]

One pirate game I loved for a while was Pirates of the 7 seas. We eventually played it enough that it was time to sell it so someone else could enjoy it. But I recommend it if you find it for a reasonable price. One warning is that it comes in a tin... I know how some people loathe that!

[@teodorkrawiec]

For me #1 is Francis Drake where you are sort of a pirate (because being blessed by HM makes you a good person) :D

[@romiloszachariadis2334]

You have obviously forgotten PLUNDER ...a true Pirate game

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Never played it mate

[@romiloszachariadis2334]

@@BoardGameBollocks ..should give it a try ...it's a gem...! (IMO)

[@theshogunstein6475]

people love top 10 game lists!

[@lone_pathfinder]

I hope you will get a chance to review Captain's Log. Despite a rather poor rules book and too much dependency on icons, it is by far my favourite Pirate board game. While the player can choose to become a pirate, it is not necessary, but there are plenty of pirates on the board most of the time.

[@JohnSmith-pu3pm]

You make the best board game vids.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I know! 😂

[@JohnSmith-pu3pm]

@@BoardGameBollocks Cheeky, come over to gabtv if, or even if not, GAB yeets you. This platform is only getting worse if you ask me.

[@JohnSmith-pu3pm]

@@BoardGameBollocks Cheeky bugger.

[@samhobday1274]

I've just been looking at BGGs "Pirates" category. Maracaibo is the top result, but does this actually feature pirates? I've only played once, and I know it's set in the Caribbean but I thought it was mostly just trading. Good game though. Same with Port Royal. I can't recall if it actually features pirates, but it's a good game nonetheless. Also in that list is... Disney Villainous. Err.. I guess it features Captain Hook, but... bollocks to that.

[@landymaui4465]

Jack Sparrow fan. My list :) Merch&Marau should be the king. But needs serious rule development. WIP. Sea Rovers (has never come out/ Villain author/ too bad :) Captain's Log (overpriced/ bad-looking/ Merch&Marau spin-off) (Its rulebook will be used to rebuild M&M though) Dead Reckoning: incredibly overpriced/ merchants win-pirates enjoy game/ Merch&Marau knock off in its expansions. (Its rulebook will also be used to rebuild M&M though) Games like: - 21 Mutinies - Dead Man's Doubloons (Jamaica on steroids) - Tortuga 1667 (a good party game with min. 3 players) - M&M Broadsides (with rule-development) - Extrao. Adv: Pirates ( good no-three-big-things-in1time life-like lesson :) - Libertalia (1st Ed. kinda piratey trickster game :) - Letter or Marque (with rule-development) - Plunder: very good base of a big pirate game with rule development - Francis Drake (seabattle will be built in) - Dutch Golden Age (on the shelf, haven't tried yet) - Mutiny! (on the shelf, haven't tried yet) - Pirates Cove (got a complete graphics/ components redesign) - Blackbeard: Golden age of Piracy (HC) - Colonial (HC) - Winds of Plunder (HC) No.1: Black Fleet (The most fun :) 30% rule-developed/ graphics-redesigned. And 40+ additional development cards made. Hope it helps you, mateys :)

[@lawrencenehring2567]

Firefly the Board Game is a great pirate themed game (set in space).

[@lawrencenehring2567]

Yoho is a really great game! But is the publisher updating anything, let alone adding content? I kickstarted it and was so disappointed when it went t out of print.

[@bp9762]

Anoher pirate-themed game we like a lot is Jolly & Roger - it is a 2-player-only I-split-you-choose game - pure, simple and enjoyable.

[@gravecac9522]

Older game we like is Frances Drake. Well he was a privateer, but close enough :). It plays well at 5, and with the expansion up to 6. Two parts to the game where you first equip your ship then you go raiding into the Caribbean.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Thought about it but decided I couldn’t be arsed with the debate about his status. I’ll just put him down as a complete c***

[@ronaldbestshirt9592]

then maracaibo should be included as well

[@jackburtonstwin]

I was surprised how many of these I either do, or did, own. Approximately half of your list. One I current have you didn't mention is Extraordinary Adventures: Pirates!, although if you have Jamaica I see little point to owning both as they are both simple race/pick-up and deliver game.

[@RzorFox]

British vs Pirates is a great skirmish game

[@neoasmara]

Francis Drake ? have you tried this one ? It's my favourite one.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Yes I have it but there’s no pirates in it

[@neoasmara]

Sir Francis Drake was a pirate, politician, and privateer. Drake also had a secret agreement with Queen Elizabeth that he would raid Spanish shipping, and upon entering the Pacific he spent several months plundering unsuspecting galleons and sacking ports along the coast of Chile and Peru. He was one of the richest pirate.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

If he was working for the British Crown Drake couldn’t be regarded as a Pirate in Britain. Obviously if you’re Spanish or anti British you’d disagree. My top 10 pirate games list is only interested in the traditional pirate theme (arrrrrr, parrot, Jolly Roger) and not privateers or buccaneers.

[@lexodius]

Have you tried Tortuga 1667?

[@BoardGameBollocks]

No..components looks great though

[@primusinterpares5767]

@@BoardGameBollocks it's a great one

[@cruzdt]

Ship Shape is another pirate themed game.

[@northabbot7116]

On BGG, ShipShape one word

[@Rhino1186]

I just looked up a tale of pirates on Amazon thinking it would be cheap and it was $120!

[@BoardGameBollocks]

£20 here…not amazon though

[@terrencemiltner1005]

Thanks for the list. Skipping right over the app based ones, because the last thing I want to do when I am playing a boardgame is pick up my phone. Black Fleet is a fun game as long as no one takes it too personally when you sink their ship or pilfer their cargo. Played, and enjoyed, the new Libertalia. But I will keep my eye open to add the first edition to my collection if I can find one at a good price. Also going to add Jamaica to my shopping list. Rum and Bones is a monster of a game, I had the Skullkickers expansion just for the figures.

[@photoshopafficionado]

Have you checked out dead reckoning ?

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I haven’t. Almost backed the reprint but was skint

[@cabinvibeetsystore9094]

New sub! Liked 🤣🙏✌️

[@theshogunstein6475]

the colors used on Treasure island and the terrible rule book really made Treasure Island not a good game for us

[@petermillen6924]

Not a favourite theme tbh. I blame Robert Newton. I mean there was already enough romanticism of these aquatic muggers, what with the novels of Jeffrey Farnol and Rafael Sabatini, and the performances of Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn but then Bobby hammed it all up for Disney and associated these degenerates with Ripe Mummerset accents for all time. I like Libertalia, own Riff-Raff and Pirates Cove and probably in a drawer somewhere there is a rotting copy of Buccaneer. That’s enough.

[@barrybadranath]

dead men tell no tales is another good one.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Cooperative right?

[@barrybadranath]

@@BoardGameBollocks ya

[@voldosmith]

Second edition libertalia doesn’t feel like a pirate game for me, the first edition on the other hand great game

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Damn straight

[@frankndice]

Have you played dead reckoning yet?

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Not out over here

[@ianw0ng]

i feel like you're threatening me to buy n play these games or else you're gonna do something terrible to me. ok ok... i'll buy black fleet, alright? please dont give me the death stare.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

That’s my happy face mate 🤷

[@MrMoreMoe]

I'm really a fan of the new version of Libertalia maybe because I play a lot of solo.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Any reason why you can use solo rules with the old one?

[@MrMoreMoe]

@@BoardGameBollocks it's not just rules there's components a set of cards but I would guess theoretically you probably could some of the cards wouldn't make sense.

[@theshogunstein6475]

We just got a used copy of the new SM version this week, on the table right now

[@koonfasa]

Skull King? I’m hoping CMON reprints.

[@keith2570]

Sea of Clouds?

[@Nozdormu1982]

tsk. No Dead Reckoning and as such a reckoning is coming. No more bollocks. No more fiddling about :p.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

It’s not out here yet…cant stick games on a list if you can’t play them innit 😉

[@Nozdormu1982]

@@BoardGameBollocks Bollocks! :P

[@crossrhodes14]

Yeah it's a very good game

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

@@BoardGameBollocks It's kickstarter exclusive currently

[@Nozdormu1982]

@@BoardGameBollocks While dead reckoning isn't without its problems and is best played at 3. At 4, I would house rule it and just add 3 more islands and 1 more seazone just to create a bit more wiggly room to move about. It is a very intuitive game. However it is extremely cut throat. I played the game three times shortly after each other. The first time I felt I was doing ok, but got completely butchered. The second time I did really well and the third time even better. The third time we invited a new player to play the game and he figured it was going really well and it was, but then he got his ass handed to him by all three other players. It is a hard core game. You can be blasted out of the game and that is going to happen to players who have no clue what they are doing or are just learning the game. Once you know the game, it will be intuitive and you will have a good idea about how to not get your ass handed to you. It has a nice flow from exploring to more card crafting to colonizing. It may feel a bit crowded once all the islands are settled, but to me it is kinda thematic and not that big of a deal as the good parts of the game outweigh the bad. Just keep in mind how hardcore this game can be.

[@primusinterpares5767]

I can't find any information on Cartagena die mutioneri😢

[@BoardGameBollocks]

boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40759/cartagena-die-meuterei

[@jgvugvugvyuguvugvuyviuh]

love pirate games, hate that Jamaica game🤦🏾‍♂️🤷🏾🤷🏾😤😤👎🏽👎🏽☠️☠️☠️

[@garicb9271]

Merchants and Marauders is the ONLY pirate board game. The rest is app driven trash or a toy for your 5 year old.