Review of Gold Ahoy!

Players: 2
Playing Time: 10-15 minutes

Summary of the Components

Gold Ahoy! contains just: 36 tiles, 1 linen bag, and a rulebook.

Quality: The tiles are good-quality linen-textured cardboard, while the rules are glossy and full-color. 4 out of 5.

Beauty: The tiles are pretty basic, so as not to confuse the core game mechanics of paths and treasures chests, but they do create an attractive whole when put together. 3+ out of 5.

Usability: The game is very simple, and so there isn't much support needed for players, but as noted, the tiles are clear and easy to use. 3+ out of 5.

Theming: Though theoretically a game about finding pirate's treasure, this game is really an abstract about connecting up paths. 2 out of 5.

Overall, Gold Ahoy! is professionally produced as a quality game. I've given it a high "3" out of "5" for Style.

Summary of the Gameplay

The object of Gold Ahoy! is to capture the most treasure chests either by gaining exclusive access to them or by building the most paths to them.

Playing a Tile: On his turn a player plays a tile to the board. This tile has a treasure chest either on land or in water and connects up to the land or water of adjacent tiles in various ways.

There are a few restrictions to playing a tile: (1) it must be adjacent to another tile; (2) it must fall within a 6x6 grid; and (3) it can't start a new "row" on the opponent's side of the table.

And that's pretty much the game!

Winning the Game: The game ends after all 36 tiles have been played, forming a 6x6 grid. Each player then looks at the waterways and lands originating from his side of the board. He wins any treasure chests that he has exclusive access to. He also wins any treasure chests where he has more entrances from his side of the board into the land or water mass containing the chest.

The player with the most chests wins.

Relationships to Other Games

Gold Ahoy! is a clever variant of classic pipe game play, but you're trying to simultaneously control several fields of water and land to maximize your points and minimize those of your opponent.

The Game Design

Gold Ahoy! is a very simple game, so I was surprised when I started playing to discover that there are quite a few different tactical decisions every single turn. To start with, you have to decide whether to build your own terrains or block those of an opponent. There's even a decision point here: you have to decide when to stop fighting for a terrain and instead start minimizing it. Even the layout of the tiles can cause tough decisions; since land and water fields largely block each other, you have to frequently decide between them.

I was somewhat worried about randomness on my first play, but it turns out that your varied needs over the course of a game can change whether a tile is good or bad. Thus a 4-way land connection might be terrific if you're trying to build a land empire, but awful if you're trying to connect up to water. So, there is randomness (because you're drawing tiles), but no tile is absolutely better than others.

Overall, Gold Ahoy! is a simple, quick, and somewhat shallow game, but it has enough tactical depth to allow for constantly thoughtful play, which keeps the game interesting. I've given it a "4" out of "5" for Substance as a result.

Conclusion

Gold Ahoy! is a simple game that will be appreciated most for its quick 2-player play. However, there's quite a bit to think about when you play every single tile, which means that it has just enough depth to keep it interesting.