Review of Winds of Plunder
Winds of Plunder (GMT Games, 2007 – Alan Newman) is a game that came with more pre-hype than almost any other game that I’ve known. For years, it was talked about on the internet as a new pirate game, and how it would be out quite soon. Finally, finally, the game has been released, and I finally got a chance to play what a few called the definitive pirate game. Hearing praise for a game over four years certainly whets your appetite, and I was very eager to try Winds of Plunder, as soon as I got it.
My opinion of Winds of Plunder has changed over multiple playings. At first I thought that the game lacked the feeling of a true pirate game and was awfully mean spirited. But I see now that this high interaction is actually befitting the theme, and that the game itself is quite good. I have a few small problems with the game – it’s hard to stop a runaway leader, and the point totals often feel contrived. However, there are multiple paths to victory, and despite odd theming (bidding for wind?), the game is actually quite fun. Winds of Plunder is a very good game – not great – but one that will give a good deal of enjoyment over many plays.
The game takes place in the Caribbean Sea, split into four zones – each zone containing three ports. Players use cards to determine which of six starting ports they place their ship in, and then place cubes of their matching color at the bottom four tracks – Weapons, Crew, Provisions, and Booty. Players also place a disc on a scoring track, and take a compass tile, as well as ten cubes of their color, placing the remaining sixteen cubes in the “reserve” supply. Eighteen victory point tiles are shuffled, and then one is placed face up in each of the twelve ports, and the other six are placed in a tile rotation bar. A pile of twelve buried treasure cards are shuffled and placed next to a pile of shuffled action cards. A wind arrow is placed on a compass pointing north, and a round marker place on the first space of the game round track (with nine spaces). Four “advantage” tiles are placed near the board, and then the first round is ready to begin!
The first part of each round consists of the “wind voting”. Each player secretly picks the direction they want the wind to blow using their compass, and the amount of cubes they are bidding. All of these are revealed simultaneously, with the player who bids the most cubes winning the Blackbeard tile (ownership of this tile allows the player to break all ties). Then, the wind arrow is changed to reflect the new direction the wind blows (determined by the most cubes), and all players place all cubes used in the reserve. The player with the Blackbeard tile then chooses whether they will go first, or if another player will go first, and the round proceeds to the plundering phase.
In this phase, players – in turn order – move and spend three action points. They can do this in any order. Players may spend their action points in the following ways:1 point: Take an Action card
1 point: Take two cubes from the reserve
1 point: Play an Action card
2 points: Take five cubes from the reserve
3 points: Use a “Gust of Wind”, effectively treating the wind as if it was blowing from any direction, or adding one to the strength of the wind
3 points: Take nine cubes from the reserve.
When moving, the player MUST move to a port in the direction indicated by the wind. When the wind is blowing north or south, the player must move to a port in either the same or adjacent zones that is in the direction indicated (the map is pretty clear on which ports are north/south of which). When the wind is blowing east or west, the player must move to a port that is one or two zones away in the direction indicated. When a player moves to a port, they follow a specific sequence. First, they take the victory point tile at that point and immediately move their cube on the corresponding track that is shown on the tile (weapons, crew, or provisions). Some tiles show a treasure map, which allows the player to draw the top treasure card – if any, and some tiles allow a player to gain two items. If a player at this point has the most crew, weapons, or provisions, they take the corresponding advantage card and place it in front of themselves. They then score the victory points indicated on it (two through five). The tile is then removed and placed in the first space of the rotation bar, moving all the other tiles over one, with the last being placed in the port in question.
Then the player can claim buried treasure, if they happen to have the treasure card that matches that port. They show and discard the card (at the bottom of the treasure deck) and advance their Booty counter one space, taking the amount of points on that space (goes from “2” to “7”). If another player is at the same port, the moving player may “board” them, if they have more weapons or the Most Weapons advantage marker. The boarding player may steal either two victory points or one item (weapons, crew, or provisions). Finally, the player places one of their cubes from the reserve onto the port to show their reputation there IF they have at least as many weapons as every other ship currently at the port. The first player to have reputation at all three ports in a zone scores seven victory points, the second five points, the third three points, the fourth two points, and the fifth one point.
After a player has used their actions and moved, the next player goes; until all players have had a turn. The round marker is then moved one space, and bidding begins again. As the game progresses, players are attempting to gain one of the three advantage cards: Most weapons: Allows a player to win ties when trying to board another player.
Largest crew: Allows a player one extra action point per turn but must be taken AFTER movement.
Most provisions: Gives the player an extra victory point when sailing into port.
Players also can play thirteen different action cards on their turn for one action point. Some examples include: Choose an opponent to lose one crew.
Steal half the wind cubes (up to five) from one opponent.
Switch two victory point tiles.
Sail twice this turn (but only if in last place)
Buy one weapon for two victory points
All other players discard down to two action cards.
At the end of the ninth round, final scoring occurs. Each player gets one victory point for every three cubes in the main supply
every three weapons they have
every two crews they have
every provision they have
and two points for each advantage marker they control. The player with the most points is declared the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: The game comes with some nice bits – especially for a GMT game. The mounted board is very nicely decorated, and all tracks, ports, and zones are differentiated clearly. The colors are included to help players locate the different ports when checking their treasure cards. The tiles are nice and thick, and the wind compasses are easy to use, and the cubes – well, they’re the typical wooden cubes you get in all these type of games. Everything fits nicely into a very sturdy box, which may just be one of the nicest box designs that I’ve ever seen – very piratey.
2.) Rules: The rulebook is twelve pages and is absolutely excellently written (of course – they had several years to get it right). But there are detailed descriptions of how each action card is used, clarifying the game so that players understand exactly what is going on. I found the action cards to be very self-explanatory, and the reference sheets included with the game are quite handy. In fact, the quick start sheet is enough to teach you the game – and it’s simply one page! Players quickly understand the game after watching one turn, and everything runs smoothly after that.
3.) Meanness: I expect that this is to be desired in a pirate game – I don’t think they were friendly with each other – but folks who don’t like direct conflict should probably avoid this game. Boarding happens quite a bit; if you have more cannons than an opponent, it’s certainly a tempting opportunity to steal from them, hurting them while giving you great advantage. Many of the action cards also allow a player to directly affect an opponent. Are they hoarding action cards? Discard all but two. Are they hoarding cubes? Steal half of them. Do they have too many weapons? Make ‘em lose one. This does cause a bit of “gang up on the leader” play, as the player who is potentially winning at any point is bound to have a lot of bad events happen to them.
4.) Weapons: I’d really like to be persuaded that weapons aren’t the most important thing for any player to have, because in my next playing of the game – I’m going to hoard them all if possible. Weapons are worth the least points at the end of the game, but the fact remains that if I have the most weapons, I can simply take what I want from the other players! Now, despite this, an interesting development can occur as players get caught up in arms races; another player can sneak in for the win – but having a lot of cannons is truly helpful.
5.) Leader: In the games I’ve played, often one player ends up with all three advantage markers. Usually a concerted effort by the other players will bring them down, but it’s still a difficult thing; and an unchecked player can run off with the victory – especially when playing new players. There are a lot of strategies that players can take during the game, but ignoring other players will most likely cause a loss.
6.) Theme: The theme is fairly rich, with attacks on other players, causing mutinies on their ships, tavern brawls, and more. What I cannot buy is the bidding for the wind! I know that it’s actually quite a good mechanic and is critical to strategy, but since when do pirates control the wind? (recent popular movie excepted) I just found it odd, considering the rest of the game.
7.) Wind: Despite the strange theme, I do think that this is a crucial point to the game, one that players ignore at their own peril. Occasionally, a player is forced to go to the same port because of wind factors (something that will often mess them up with their treasure cards and/or port bonuses). Players can use a “Gust of Wind” to save themselves but give up valuable action cards to do so. Bidding the most cubes also gives one the coveted Blackbeard tile, which allows you to choose who goes first – something that’s important when establishing port bonuses, or boarding each other.
8.) Fun Factor and Strategy: For me, the thing I enjoyed most about Winds of Plunder is that there are multiple paths to gaining points. Players can attempt to get a heavily-weaponed ship and take plunder from others, or score as many port bonuses as possible, or fill up with provisions, or simply go to the ports with higher points, or try to score as many treasure cards as they can. Combinations of strategies are possible, and it’s this that keeps the game flowing and exciting. I do think that the point totals are near each other the entire game; and while it’s a bit artificial (it’s hard NOT to get points), it does keep the game exciting to the end. It’s fair to point at here that some people, especially those who were seeking a “pure” pirate game, were quite disappointed by the game play. Not everybody thought is was a great game.
Winds of Plunder is a fun, “Euro”style game in which players are attempting to maximize points with different, interesting strategies. The theme is mostly there, and the conflict interaction is high. Some people will most likely be turned away by the hard hitting action cards; others will dislike some of the abstract mechanics, but most people will like the game for what it is, a solid design with excellent components. Best with five players, Winds of Plunder isn’t the definitive pirate game. But it’s a good one.
Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games”
www.thedicetower.com
My opinion of Winds of Plunder has changed over multiple playings. At first I thought that the game lacked the feeling of a true pirate game and was awfully mean spirited. But I see now that this high interaction is actually befitting the theme, and that the game itself is quite good. I have a few small problems with the game – it’s hard to stop a runaway leader, and the point totals often feel contrived. However, there are multiple paths to victory, and despite odd theming (bidding for wind?), the game is actually quite fun. Winds of Plunder is a very good game – not great – but one that will give a good deal of enjoyment over many plays.
The game takes place in the Caribbean Sea, split into four zones – each zone containing three ports. Players use cards to determine which of six starting ports they place their ship in, and then place cubes of their matching color at the bottom four tracks – Weapons, Crew, Provisions, and Booty. Players also place a disc on a scoring track, and take a compass tile, as well as ten cubes of their color, placing the remaining sixteen cubes in the “reserve” supply. Eighteen victory point tiles are shuffled, and then one is placed face up in each of the twelve ports, and the other six are placed in a tile rotation bar. A pile of twelve buried treasure cards are shuffled and placed next to a pile of shuffled action cards. A wind arrow is placed on a compass pointing north, and a round marker place on the first space of the game round track (with nine spaces). Four “advantage” tiles are placed near the board, and then the first round is ready to begin!
The first part of each round consists of the “wind voting”. Each player secretly picks the direction they want the wind to blow using their compass, and the amount of cubes they are bidding. All of these are revealed simultaneously, with the player who bids the most cubes winning the Blackbeard tile (ownership of this tile allows the player to break all ties). Then, the wind arrow is changed to reflect the new direction the wind blows (determined by the most cubes), and all players place all cubes used in the reserve. The player with the Blackbeard tile then chooses whether they will go first, or if another player will go first, and the round proceeds to the plundering phase.
In this phase, players – in turn order – move and spend three action points. They can do this in any order. Players may spend their action points in the following ways:
When moving, the player MUST move to a port in the direction indicated by the wind. When the wind is blowing north or south, the player must move to a port in either the same or adjacent zones that is in the direction indicated (the map is pretty clear on which ports are north/south of which). When the wind is blowing east or west, the player must move to a port that is one or two zones away in the direction indicated. When a player moves to a port, they follow a specific sequence. First, they take the victory point tile at that point and immediately move their cube on the corresponding track that is shown on the tile (weapons, crew, or provisions). Some tiles show a treasure map, which allows the player to draw the top treasure card – if any, and some tiles allow a player to gain two items. If a player at this point has the most crew, weapons, or provisions, they take the corresponding advantage card and place it in front of themselves. They then score the victory points indicated on it (two through five). The tile is then removed and placed in the first space of the rotation bar, moving all the other tiles over one, with the last being placed in the port in question.
Then the player can claim buried treasure, if they happen to have the treasure card that matches that port. They show and discard the card (at the bottom of the treasure deck) and advance their Booty counter one space, taking the amount of points on that space (goes from “2” to “7”). If another player is at the same port, the moving player may “board” them, if they have more weapons or the Most Weapons advantage marker. The boarding player may steal either two victory points or one item (weapons, crew, or provisions). Finally, the player places one of their cubes from the reserve onto the port to show their reputation there IF they have at least as many weapons as every other ship currently at the port. The first player to have reputation at all three ports in a zone scores seven victory points, the second five points, the third three points, the fourth two points, and the fifth one point.
After a player has used their actions and moved, the next player goes; until all players have had a turn. The round marker is then moved one space, and bidding begins again. As the game progresses, players are attempting to gain one of the three advantage cards:
Players also can play thirteen different action cards on their turn for one action point. Some examples include:
At the end of the ninth round, final scoring occurs. Each player gets one victory point for
and two points for each advantage marker they control. The player with the most points is declared the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: The game comes with some nice bits – especially for a GMT game. The mounted board is very nicely decorated, and all tracks, ports, and zones are differentiated clearly. The colors are included to help players locate the different ports when checking their treasure cards. The tiles are nice and thick, and the wind compasses are easy to use, and the cubes – well, they’re the typical wooden cubes you get in all these type of games. Everything fits nicely into a very sturdy box, which may just be one of the nicest box designs that I’ve ever seen – very piratey.
2.) Rules: The rulebook is twelve pages and is absolutely excellently written (of course – they had several years to get it right). But there are detailed descriptions of how each action card is used, clarifying the game so that players understand exactly what is going on. I found the action cards to be very self-explanatory, and the reference sheets included with the game are quite handy. In fact, the quick start sheet is enough to teach you the game – and it’s simply one page! Players quickly understand the game after watching one turn, and everything runs smoothly after that.
3.) Meanness: I expect that this is to be desired in a pirate game – I don’t think they were friendly with each other – but folks who don’t like direct conflict should probably avoid this game. Boarding happens quite a bit; if you have more cannons than an opponent, it’s certainly a tempting opportunity to steal from them, hurting them while giving you great advantage. Many of the action cards also allow a player to directly affect an opponent. Are they hoarding action cards? Discard all but two. Are they hoarding cubes? Steal half of them. Do they have too many weapons? Make ‘em lose one. This does cause a bit of “gang up on the leader” play, as the player who is potentially winning at any point is bound to have a lot of bad events happen to them.
4.) Weapons: I’d really like to be persuaded that weapons aren’t the most important thing for any player to have, because in my next playing of the game – I’m going to hoard them all if possible. Weapons are worth the least points at the end of the game, but the fact remains that if I have the most weapons, I can simply take what I want from the other players! Now, despite this, an interesting development can occur as players get caught up in arms races; another player can sneak in for the win – but having a lot of cannons is truly helpful.
5.) Leader: In the games I’ve played, often one player ends up with all three advantage markers. Usually a concerted effort by the other players will bring them down, but it’s still a difficult thing; and an unchecked player can run off with the victory – especially when playing new players. There are a lot of strategies that players can take during the game, but ignoring other players will most likely cause a loss.
6.) Theme: The theme is fairly rich, with attacks on other players, causing mutinies on their ships, tavern brawls, and more. What I cannot buy is the bidding for the wind! I know that it’s actually quite a good mechanic and is critical to strategy, but since when do pirates control the wind? (recent popular movie excepted) I just found it odd, considering the rest of the game.
7.) Wind: Despite the strange theme, I do think that this is a crucial point to the game, one that players ignore at their own peril. Occasionally, a player is forced to go to the same port because of wind factors (something that will often mess them up with their treasure cards and/or port bonuses). Players can use a “Gust of Wind” to save themselves but give up valuable action cards to do so. Bidding the most cubes also gives one the coveted Blackbeard tile, which allows you to choose who goes first – something that’s important when establishing port bonuses, or boarding each other.
8.) Fun Factor and Strategy: For me, the thing I enjoyed most about Winds of Plunder is that there are multiple paths to gaining points. Players can attempt to get a heavily-weaponed ship and take plunder from others, or score as many port bonuses as possible, or fill up with provisions, or simply go to the ports with higher points, or try to score as many treasure cards as they can. Combinations of strategies are possible, and it’s this that keeps the game flowing and exciting. I do think that the point totals are near each other the entire game; and while it’s a bit artificial (it’s hard NOT to get points), it does keep the game exciting to the end. It’s fair to point at here that some people, especially those who were seeking a “pure” pirate game, were quite disappointed by the game play. Not everybody thought is was a great game.
Winds of Plunder is a fun, “Euro”style game in which players are attempting to maximize points with different, interesting strategies. The theme is mostly there, and the conflict interaction is high. Some people will most likely be turned away by the hard hitting action cards; others will dislike some of the abstract mechanics, but most people will like the game for what it is, a solid design with excellent components. Best with five players, Winds of Plunder isn’t the definitive pirate game. But it’s a good one.
Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games”
www.thedicetower.com
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