Review of Treasure Fleet
Look at the credits for Treasure Fleet – produced in 2006 by Ship of Fools Games and designed by Cap’n John Morgan. Can you get much more piratey than that? The cards have a thematic look, as if they are caricatures scrawled on the fiercely coveted treasure maps. At the same time, it’s a card game, so I was doubtful if it could really capture the full “pirate” experience.
Treasure Fleet actually seems very similar to games such as Loot (which actually has the same theme) but is simple enough with differences to be interesting to those seeking a fast, fun card game. It has interaction, works with up to five players (I really wish they had added a sixth) and is a simple “filler” game to play with nice theming. There’s a decent amount of guesswork – similar to “blind bidding”, which some will like and others despise, but I imagine Treasure Fleet would appeal most to the casual gamer, as it did in my groups.
Each player receives a deck of sixteen cards (fewer if less than five players are playing). These cards consist of three “4 cannon” cards, five “3 cannon” cards, five “2 cannon” cards, two “1 cannon” cards, and a boarding party card. Players use a pirate card of their color to determine turn order, and then place the card in front of themselves to show their color. The starting player also takes the lookout card. A deck of treasure ship cards is shuffled and placed on the table, with a governor card face up next to it. The first round is then ready to begin.
The top five cards from the deck are flipped face up and placed in a line. Each shows a treasure ship worth six to twenty-two points. Starting with the first player, each player chooses cards from their deck. All players choose four cards, except for the players to the direct right and left of the lookout player, who only choose three. Each player takes these cards into their hand, and the lookout player starts first, by playing one of his cards face up next to one of the treasure ships. This continues until all players have played three cards. The ships are then examined. The player with the most cannons at each ship wins it (the boarding party card acts as unlimited cannons). If there is a tie, then no player wins the ship; and it is discarded. All played cards are discarded, and the lookout card is passed to the next player.
Play continues until only one card is left in each player’s hand. This card is then played on the governor card (worth sixteen points), with the same rules applying to whoever wins it. At this point, players count up the amount of points that they have gotten, and the player with the most wins the game.
Players can also choose to use “cursed ships” in the treasure fleet deck. When these ships show up, any player that does NOT play at least one cannon card on them loses one of their previously acquired card. Players can also include a “Storm” card in their decks. When using this card, it removes all cannon cards previously placed on the ship.
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: As I mentioned in the intro, I really think the look of the cards is nifty. At first I thought the cards looked almost like a prototype game, until I realized they were going for the pirate map look. A different color border and a different flag symbol distinguish each player’s cards. Several of the cards have a “5” in their corner, showing that they are only for a five-player game. The cards are of good quality and fit easily into the small box with lid.
2.) Rules: The rules are printed on two sides of a folded sheet of paper and do a fairly good job of explaining the rules – with special formatting to explain three- player differences. One problem I did have was that the “optional” rules of cursed ships and storm card weren’t mentioned until the end, so I didn’t know to pull them from the decks when setting up. As for teaching the game, it’s incredibly easy, and people will pick it up. The only odd rule was that the players to the left and right of the lookout get one less card to choose from each round. I still don’t understand the significance of this rule. Yes, the player to place last has an advantage – but the player to place second? I would have dropped this quirky and easy-to-forget rule, it seems to add nothing to the game.
3.) Strategy: I like the fact that players have access to the same decks and can use any of the cards that they have each round. A player can play all their high cards early, hoping to overwhelm the other players and get some cards quickly, or save some of their highest cards for later. Ties are quite common in the game, and not as many treasure ships are taken as you might think; so getting any ships is usually a big deal. Saving a card for the governor is also important, but I’ve found that everyone usually saves a good card for the governor. So why fight for it, use the good cards for something else!
4.) Blind Bidding: Players really have no idea of what the others will pick each round from their hand. Even as players start playing cards from their hands – it’s very difficult to determine what their other cards are. You can keep track of every card a player has used; but it’s a bit difficult, and I’m not it’s tremendously helpful. I found this interesting and fun, but I like games that have this “blind bidding” aspect. Others who have a difficult time reading their opponents or like more information in their games would be driven crazy by this.
5.) Players and time: Games of Treasure Fleet end quickly, since there are only a few rounds, and they can be played out quickly. The only real downtime is when players are choosing their three (or four) cards – and even that’s not too difficult. The rules are written for five players, although four is easy to do; and three players utilize a “dummy” hand (something I hate) to make them viable. This restriction on players (best with four or five – no two or six) makes the game slightly less workable in some situations; but with four and five, it’s a fun, light game.
6.) Fun Factor: I suppose you could really get into the whole “Argg matey!” theme while playing, although it’s really just placing cards on other cards. That being said, the game has a bit of a “take that” element, as players steal ships from one another in a game that’s so quick nobody cares very much. I think the cursed ships and storm cards should always be used, as they add enough variety to be interesting and give all players a nice “threat” that they can use at any time. The game seems to work best with five players as a warm up to something more substantial.
Treasure Fleet isn’t a long, complicated game – and probably is less fulfilling because of this. But for those who like outguessing their opponents and want a simple card game that’s easy to play and is over quickly, Treasure Fleet is a nice choice. It has good quality and can be quickly and simply explained. And when should you play that boarding card?
Treasure Fleet actually seems very similar to games such as Loot (which actually has the same theme) but is simple enough with differences to be interesting to those seeking a fast, fun card game. It has interaction, works with up to five players (I really wish they had added a sixth) and is a simple “filler” game to play with nice theming. There’s a decent amount of guesswork – similar to “blind bidding”, which some will like and others despise, but I imagine Treasure Fleet would appeal most to the casual gamer, as it did in my groups.
Each player receives a deck of sixteen cards (fewer if less than five players are playing). These cards consist of three “4 cannon” cards, five “3 cannon” cards, five “2 cannon” cards, two “1 cannon” cards, and a boarding party card. Players use a pirate card of their color to determine turn order, and then place the card in front of themselves to show their color. The starting player also takes the lookout card. A deck of treasure ship cards is shuffled and placed on the table, with a governor card face up next to it. The first round is then ready to begin.
The top five cards from the deck are flipped face up and placed in a line. Each shows a treasure ship worth six to twenty-two points. Starting with the first player, each player chooses cards from their deck. All players choose four cards, except for the players to the direct right and left of the lookout player, who only choose three. Each player takes these cards into their hand, and the lookout player starts first, by playing one of his cards face up next to one of the treasure ships. This continues until all players have played three cards. The ships are then examined. The player with the most cannons at each ship wins it (the boarding party card acts as unlimited cannons). If there is a tie, then no player wins the ship; and it is discarded. All played cards are discarded, and the lookout card is passed to the next player.
Play continues until only one card is left in each player’s hand. This card is then played on the governor card (worth sixteen points), with the same rules applying to whoever wins it. At this point, players count up the amount of points that they have gotten, and the player with the most wins the game.
Players can also choose to use “cursed ships” in the treasure fleet deck. When these ships show up, any player that does NOT play at least one cannon card on them loses one of their previously acquired card. Players can also include a “Storm” card in their decks. When using this card, it removes all cannon cards previously placed on the ship.
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: As I mentioned in the intro, I really think the look of the cards is nifty. At first I thought the cards looked almost like a prototype game, until I realized they were going for the pirate map look. A different color border and a different flag symbol distinguish each player’s cards. Several of the cards have a “5” in their corner, showing that they are only for a five-player game. The cards are of good quality and fit easily into the small box with lid.
2.) Rules: The rules are printed on two sides of a folded sheet of paper and do a fairly good job of explaining the rules – with special formatting to explain three- player differences. One problem I did have was that the “optional” rules of cursed ships and storm card weren’t mentioned until the end, so I didn’t know to pull them from the decks when setting up. As for teaching the game, it’s incredibly easy, and people will pick it up. The only odd rule was that the players to the left and right of the lookout get one less card to choose from each round. I still don’t understand the significance of this rule. Yes, the player to place last has an advantage – but the player to place second? I would have dropped this quirky and easy-to-forget rule, it seems to add nothing to the game.
3.) Strategy: I like the fact that players have access to the same decks and can use any of the cards that they have each round. A player can play all their high cards early, hoping to overwhelm the other players and get some cards quickly, or save some of their highest cards for later. Ties are quite common in the game, and not as many treasure ships are taken as you might think; so getting any ships is usually a big deal. Saving a card for the governor is also important, but I’ve found that everyone usually saves a good card for the governor. So why fight for it, use the good cards for something else!
4.) Blind Bidding: Players really have no idea of what the others will pick each round from their hand. Even as players start playing cards from their hands – it’s very difficult to determine what their other cards are. You can keep track of every card a player has used; but it’s a bit difficult, and I’m not it’s tremendously helpful. I found this interesting and fun, but I like games that have this “blind bidding” aspect. Others who have a difficult time reading their opponents or like more information in their games would be driven crazy by this.
5.) Players and time: Games of Treasure Fleet end quickly, since there are only a few rounds, and they can be played out quickly. The only real downtime is when players are choosing their three (or four) cards – and even that’s not too difficult. The rules are written for five players, although four is easy to do; and three players utilize a “dummy” hand (something I hate) to make them viable. This restriction on players (best with four or five – no two or six) makes the game slightly less workable in some situations; but with four and five, it’s a fun, light game.
6.) Fun Factor: I suppose you could really get into the whole “Argg matey!” theme while playing, although it’s really just placing cards on other cards. That being said, the game has a bit of a “take that” element, as players steal ships from one another in a game that’s so quick nobody cares very much. I think the cursed ships and storm cards should always be used, as they add enough variety to be interesting and give all players a nice “threat” that they can use at any time. The game seems to work best with five players as a warm up to something more substantial.
Treasure Fleet isn’t a long, complicated game – and probably is less fulfilling because of this. But for those who like outguessing their opponents and want a simple card game that’s easy to play and is over quickly, Treasure Fleet is a nice choice. It has good quality and can be quickly and simply explained. And when should you play that boarding card?
Tom Vasel “Real men play board games” www.thedicetower.com
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