The new Avalon Hill board game, Sword & Skull, does not have ninjas. It does, however, have pirates, and the front of the box has the catchy phrase, ‘weigh anchor for honor – AND FUN!’ And there it is – that magic phrase that says pirates are somewhere around here. Plus you’ll have fun!
The Components
The parts found in this pirate game are of the quality you would expect from a company owned by Wizards of the Coast, which is in turn owned by Hasbro. The board, cards, dice, plastic coins and pawns are all well-made and attractive.
The best parts of this game are the pawns. Each player (up to 5) gets a pirate and a naval officer. These are sculpted better than most 25mm miniatures, though these are more like 35-40mm and cast in bright colors. The pirate is fearsome (even with a good rum belly) and the officer is dashing and dangerous. These figures are easy to grab and fun to watch as they cruise around the board.
The cards are also great. Most of them have art, and this art is fun, just like the box says. There are zombie pirates, killer crocodiles, and deadly sirens. And those are just the enemies – crew cards have valiant soldiers, tough pirates and greedy coin changers. The design on all the cards is great, too, because it all looks like sailing charts or sails. So not only do I get to weigh anchor, but if I hold up the cards, I can set sail, too.
The board is smaller than many Avalon Hill games, but there is no reason for it to be any bigger. It folds up into quarters to store, and makes a nice-sized square with neat (and FUN) art all the way around. The various spaces are all easy to read and easy to understand.
One of the coolest things in this game is that there is no paper money. Instead, Sword & Skull gives us little plastic gold coins. These are not only great thematically, they also show once again that the box is right – we’re weighing anchor for fun.
The dice are also good, but they’re just two six-sided dice. They have wacky little holes that don’t look exactly right, so that you know that not only are these pirate dice, they’re also fun.
The Game
There is a story behind Sword & Skull. The pirate king has stolen the pride of the Royal Navy, the Sea Hammer, and you must retrieve it. Several teams are sent – coincidentally, as many as there are players – and each team is lead by the honorable naval officer. But since it takes a pirate to catch a pirate, the officer is accompanied by a scurvy pirate, ready to throw down and help recruit all manner of villains to the cause.
The board represents the island where the pirate king is holed up. A track runs around the board, and players roll dice to move their pawns around the outside of the board. At one point on the board, players may enter the caves that pass through the island, and in which the pirate king hides.
On his turn, a player rolls the two dice, which are numbered from 1 to 5, with one side blank. He moves either his pirate or his officer ahead according to the total rolled. If he rolls doubles, both pawns must move the total rolled, and if he rolls double blanks, he may move one of his pawns to any space on the outside of the board.
Each space on the board holds interest. There are caves where enemies lie in wait, guarding treasure. There are settlements where players may recruit crew members. There are treasure chests that hold gold coins. There are taverns and churches, trading posts and castles.
The only way to win back the Sea Hammer is to buy it or beat up the pirate king. Since players start broke and scrawny, they must beef up their avatars with weapons and crew members. Settlements can provide crew members, who can add fighting might to either the officer or the pirate. Crew members might also be able to generate gold as the pawns cruise around the board, leading to a scenario in which a total weenie with tons of money bribes the pirate king and wins without a fight. But that’s OK, because it’s fun.
Trading posts and enemies can be sources for items. Among these items are sailing skiffs, armor, and weapons. Weapons add to might, skiffs allow pawns to move quickly around the board, and armor saves players from having to pay up after they lose fights. Oh, and there’s a parrot, because no pirate game should be without a parrot, at least not if it wants to be fun.
As the game progresses, players will have to choose how they want to develop their characters. Pushing to make the pirate powerful could short-change the officer, not to mention the possibility of winding up broke. Concentrating on income generation might mean you lose every fight, and a powerful officer is no help when the pirate is taking a beating. This is the real strategy of the game – maximizing one area while managing weaknesses in the other two.
Once someone feels lucky enough, they can go into the caves and fight the pirate king, or attempt to bribe him. Both options are left to chance – the pirate king is one tough outlaw, and he wants an awful lot of money to give up the Sea Hammer. Players will have to balance the difficulty of encountering the pirate king with the chance that another player could beat them to the punch. We have played several games of Sword & Skull, and in more than one, the final outcome was tense and exciting as multiple players attempted to challenge the pirate king at the same time.
Observations and Summary
This review was easy to write, because there just is not a lot to say about this game. It is not particularly deep, which is strange for Avalon Hill, and it is not particularly complex. Luck plays a huge part in Sword & Skull, making the game lean more towards the lucky than the skilled. Fortune definitely favors the bold, however, and sheer guts and bravado can carry a game when luck is not helping out. In fact, in one game, I won despite having the worst set of cards and the weakest pawns, just because I said, ‘what the heck, I’m going for it.’
So the real question before me now is simple – did I really set sail and weigh anchor for honor, pirates and fun? I have to say I did. My family has enjoyed this game thoroughly. The components are delightful, and despite being largely an essay in luck, it is enjoyable for everyone.
If you are a diehard strategist, this game is not for you. On the other hand, Skull & Sword definitely delivers great family fun – and pirates. But there are still no ninjas.
Style: 5 – What a great-looking game! Everything is perfect and fits the tone.
Substance: 3 – A very small amount of skill is required to win, and buckets of luck, but it still manages to be lots of fun.
